248 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 



continued past Turnford Pumping Station, over Tuinford Aqueduct, and tlnough 

 the parish of Worniley to Broxbourne. From the river banks, beautiful and 

 extended views of the surrounding countiy were obtained, especially of the 

 Lea Valley and the hills forming the western boundary of Epping Forest, while 

 a number of charming pieces of New River scenery were passed on the ramble. 



The New River, as nearly everyone knows, was constructed by .Sir Hugh 

 Myddelton, a goldsmith and citizen of London. The work of forming the 

 ■conduit was commenced on the 21st April, 1609, and completed in 1O13. The 

 original source was Chadwell Spring, about j^-mile west of the town of Ware, in 

 Hertfordshire, and the water was conveyed therefrom by a gravity conduit, 

 following the contour of the country and terminating at the New River Head, in 

 Islington. 



'J he origin d length of the conduit was about 38! miles, and the fall was then 

 computed to be about four inches to the mile, and the distance, as the crow flies, 

 from Chadwell Spring to New River Head, is about 20 miles. The conduit in 

 the early days was nothing more than a mere ditch when compared with the 

 present cliannel. At a later date the conduit was extended in a westerly 

 direction from Chadwell Spring towards the town of Hertford, where the supply 

 was augmented by taking water from the River Lea. The present intake, now 

 known as the New Gauge, is a floating weir. During the last century, and 

 particularly towards the end, the conduit has been continually improved by 

 increasing its sectional area, reducing its length by cutting off loops, forming 

 embankments, tunnels and aqueducts, and by laying part of it in pipes, until at 

 the present day its length from New Gauge to New River Head does not exceed 

 27 miles. The average sectional area is about 80 to go square feet, and the fall 

 of the water surface from the intake on the River Lea to New River Head is 

 about 20 feet, and from Chadwell Spring to New River Head about 15 feet, 

 and the carrying capacity of the conduit is about 60 million gallons in 24 hours, 

 the average velocity of the stream being about i j feet per second. 



A rest for lunch was made at the " Crown Hotel," Broxbourne, when an 

 Ordinary Meeting (the 223rd) was held, the President in the Chair. 



^Ir. H. W. Unthank, B.A., B. Sc, was elected a member. 



On the motion of the President, a very cordial vote of thanks was passed to 

 Mr. Wood, who had in the kindest way arranged the details of the meeting. 



The river-side ramble was then continued, the banks being parallel with the 

 Lea Navigation ; tlie Stour Valley and Stanstead Church could be seen on the 

 east, and Haileybury College on the high land to the west. Journeying onward, 

 Rye Common Pumping Station was passed, when the River enters the 

 " Wilderness," one of the prettiest pieces of wooded scenery on the river 

 between London and Hertford ; then past the quaint little Parish Church at St. 

 Margarets to the picturesque village of Great Amwell, with its Church nestling 

 on the western hillside, and over-looking Easneye Park and the Lea and Ash 

 Valleys. At the foot of the hill, leading to the Church, are the old parish 

 " Stocks." 



At Amwell a strawberry tea was provided by Mr. Wood's hospitality, and 

 then under his guidance the celebrated Amwell pond with its two islands, stone 

 tablets and inscriptions, was visited ; it was one of the early sources of the New 

 River, and it is by far and away the most beautiful spot on the stream. Chadwell 

 Spring, the original source of the New River, was seen at the foot of the chalk 

 hills. 



