Hobson's Conduit, also called Hobson's Brook, is a watercourse that was built from 1610 to 1614 by Thomas Hobson and others to bring fresh water into the city of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

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from springs at

Nine Wells Nine Wells is a 1.2 hectare Local Nature Reserve east of Trumpington, on the southern outskirts of Cambridge. It is owned and managed by Cambridge City Council. The site is a small area of woodland surrounded by agricultural land. Multiple sprin ...

, a Local Nature Reserve (), near the village of Great Shelford. It is now a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

and historical relic. The watercourse currently runs overground until

Cambridge University Botanic Garden The Cambridge University Botanic Garden is a botanical garden located in Cambridge, England, associated with the university Department of Plant Sciences (formerly Botany School). It lies between Trumpington Road to the west, Bateman Street to ...

and Brookside, where it is at its widest. At the corner of Lensfield Road stands a hexagonal monument to Hobson, which once formed part of the market square fountain, and was moved to this location in 1856, after a fire in the Market. The flow of water runs under Lensfield Road, and subsequently runs along both sides of

Trumpington Street Trumpington Street is a major historic street in central Cambridge, England. At the north end it continues as King's Parade where King's College is located. To the south it continues as Trumpington Road (the A1134), an arterial route out of ...

in broad gutters towards

Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite o ...

and St Catharine's College, and also St Andrew's Street. The conduit currently ends at Silver Street. The scheme was first devised in 1574 by

Andrew Perne Andrew Perne (26 April 1589), Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University and Dean of Ely, was the son of John Perne of East Bilney, Norfolk. Biography Perne was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, graduating BA in 1539, BD in 1547 and D ...

, Master of Peterhouse, who proposed that a stream be diverted from

chalk springs through the town and the King's Ditch to improve sanitation. The design was revived by James Montagu, Master of

Sidney Sussex College Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wif ...

and built at the expense of the

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and town.Inscription on the monument at Nine Wells Although Thomas Hobson was just one of those involved in the construction he endowed a Hobson's Conduit Trust to deal with maintenance of the waterway, which still exists today. The new river was dug from Vicar's Brook near Long Road to the conduit head at the end of Lensfield Road as a joint venture between the University and the city. Here the flow of water was divided into four separate branches for different uses.

Hobson's Brook from Nine Wells to the conduit head

Hobson's Conduit was originally formed by diverting the water from Vicar's Brook. From its source in chalkland springs at

, near Great Shelford, this stream flows east of Trumpington under bridges on Long Road and Trumpington Road until reaching

Coe Fen Coe Fen is a semi-rural meadowland area to the east of the River Cam in the south of the city of Cambridge, England.River Cam The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distance from Cambridge to ...

above Cambridge. The man-made channel Hobson's Brook branches off from Vicar's Brook between the two bridges and initially runs parallel to Vicar's Brook, enclosing a stretch of common ground, now used for allotments. A public footpath, formerly known as Finch's or Senior Wrangler's Walk, follows this portion of the watercourse. The stream widens as it skirts the western boundary of the University Botanic Gardens until passing under Bateman Street. In the last portion before the conduit head at Lensfield Road, where it divides into four branches, the channel flows between Brookside and Trumpington Street through gardens enclosed by 19C wrought iron railings.

Trumpington Street branch

The original branch still functions as sluices along Trumpington Street, where it is known as the Pem (east side) and Pot (west side). The City Council's Drainage Engineer controls flow through the sluices and generally lets water flow in the open conduits in Trumpington Street between April and September. Feeds run into

and Pembroke Colleges. A run also used to feed into the basement of the old Addenbrooke's Hospital, which became the location of the Judge Institute by 1995.

Market Place branch

Completed in 1614, this branch brought fresh water to the Market fountain in the centre of the Cambridge Market Place. Following a fire in 1849, the

Market Square The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

gabled fountain was erected (marked on many contemporary maps as "lavatory" as there were underground public conveniences here) and the original structure of Hobson's Conduit was moved. Most of the fountain was pulled down in 1953. Flow to this branch was cut off in 1960 during construction of the Lion Yard development and has never been restored.

St Andrew's Street branch

Added in 1631, this branch flowed from the conduit head along Lensfield Road and St Andrew's Street toward Drummer Street where it split into feeds that ran into Christ's and Emmanuel Colleges as well as a public dipping point. Much of the open conduit along St Andrew's Street was covered in 1996 as part of pedestrian improvements.

Parker's Piece branch

A final branch ran from the conduit head toward

Parker's Piece Parker's Piece is a flat and roughly square green common located near the centre of Cambridge, England, regarded by some as the birthplace of the rules of association football. The two main walking and cycling paths across it run diagonally, an ...

to feed a cattle pond, but this was disrupted in 1827 when the pond was filled in.

Monuments

There are two monuments, one on Lensfield Road (, see picture below) and one at Nine Wells. The latter was erected in 1861 by public subscription and records the benefactors to the water course and conduit as: * Thomas Chaplin, Lord of the Manor of Trumpington Delapole, 1610 *

Stephen Perse Stephen Perse (1548 – 30 September 1615) was an English academic and philanthropist, who founded schools that still carry his name. Biography He was probably educated at Norwich School, and took his B.A. degree at Gonville and Caius Colle ...

, fellow of Gonville and Caius, 1615 * Thomas Hobson, carrier, 1630 * Edward Potto, alderman of Cambridge, 1632, and * Joseph Merrill, alderman of Cambridge, 1806 Image:Hobson's Conduit monument at Nine Wells.jpg, Monument to the conduit at Nine Wells Image:One_of_four_springs_at_Nine_Wells.jpg, Spring at Nine Wells that feeds the conduit Image:Hobson's_Brook_-_geograph.org.uk_-_702236.jpg, View along the conduit towards Nine Wells Image:Hobsons Brook - geograph.org.uk - 647599.jpg, Footpath along conduit between Brooklands Avenue and Long Road Image:Hobson'sconduit4.JPG, Hobson's conduit at the end of Brookside Image:Hobson'sconduit2.JPG, The Market fountain reerected at the point where the conduit crosses Lensfield Road as a monument to Hobson Image:Hobson'sconduit3.JPG, Hobson's conduit as it runs in a sluice toward

References

External links

*{{cite web, url=https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Hobsons%20Brook%20Management%20plan%20consultation.pdf, title=Hobson's Brook Corridor, access-date=13 April 2016 Report by The Wildlife Trusts 1614 establishments in England History of Cambridge Buildings and structures in Cambridge Buildings and structures in Cambridgeshire Water supply and sanitation in England Scheduled monuments in Cambridgeshire Canals in Cambridgeshire Canals opened in 1614