The Cornmill Stream is a minor tributary of the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of t ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

History

The stream is an artificial watercourse which may have been built by 1086 to serve the mills mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

Waltham Abbey Waltham Abbey is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the metropolitan and urban area of London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the Greenwich Meridian, between the River Lea in the west and E ...

Course

After leaving the

River Lee Flood Relief Channel The Lee Flood Relief Channel (FRC) is located in the Lea Valley and flows between Ware, Hertfordshire, and Stratford, east London. Work started on the channel in 1947 following major flooding and it was fully operational by 1976. The channel in ...

(Horsemill Stream) at

Fishers Green Fishers Green is a settlement to the north of the town of Waltham Abbey, Essex, England, in the parish of Waltham Abbey. It lies on the flood plain of the River Lea. Description In the years following World War II much of the flood plain was ...

the stream flows south to form the western boundary with the former

Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills The Royal Gunpowder Mills are a former industrial site in Waltham Abbey, England. It was one of three Royal Gunpowder Mills in the United Kingdom (the others being at Ballincollig and Faversham). Waltham Abbey is the only site to have survive ...

before flowing through the

Waltham Abbey SSSI Waltham Abbey SSSI is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which is located within the Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills at Waltham Abbey in Essex. History For 300 years the area was cut off from its surroundings by river bounda ...

within the Gunpowder Mills property. Above

the stream diverges from the

Old River Lea The Old River Lea is the former natural channel of the River Lea below Lea Bridge, in the London Borough of Hackney. The Old River forms a large meander from the Middlesex Filter Beds Weir to rejoin the main channel of the River Lee Navigati ...

Hertfordshire County council
Retrieved 12 September 2008 with both channels bordering the

Cornmill Stream and Old River Lea The Cornmill Stream and Old River Lea is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Waltham Abbey, Essex. Location The site is bounded by a channel of the Old River Lea to the north and west which formed a boundary with the former R ...

SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

. The stream passes under the 14th-century Harold's Bridge and the B194 road (Abbey View) before flowing through a sluice in the abbey's grounds. The stream flows underground to emerge adjacent to Waltham Abbey town hall. After flowing through an urban area, it rejoins the River Lee Flood Relief Channel beyond the town of Waltham Abbey.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Essex Tributaries of the River Lea 1Cornmill Waltham Abbey