Spital Brook 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 ...

which rises in Hoddesdonpark Wood in the county of

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Spital Brook flows eastwards from Hoddesdonpark Wood, passing through Barclay Park, the former Hoddesdon Common, on its journey to the Lea, while an unnamed parallel stream to the south has been diverted to form ornamental waterbodies located within the former parkland of Broxbournebury. The stream crosses the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

road,

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London ('' Londinium'') to Lincoln ('' Lindum Colonia'') and York ('' Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earn ...

, before going under the A10 and Cock Lane. The original crossing place or ford of Spital Brook in Cock Lane remains and the original route it took ran parallel to the brook in a north–south direction. The brook passes through its namesake area, Spital Brook and marks the traditional boundary between the two parishes of

Hoddesdon Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon ...

and

Broxbourne Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 I ...

. The stream runs parallel to the

Lea Valley Lines The Lea Valley lines are two commuter lines and two branches in north-east London, so named because they run along the Lower Lea Valley of the River Lea. They were part of the Great Eastern Railway, now part of the ''Anglia Route'' of Network ...

by Broxbourne Station until it meets the

close to Broxbourne Riverside, the former Broxbourne Lido. Spital Brook's profile is relatively steep for a Hertfordshire water course, and loses approximately 50 metres of height over the 1 kilometre upper section. Due to the brook's small catchment area, unless it is raining heavily, only the lower reach is likely to have water in it.

References

Rivers of Hertfordshire Tributaries of the River Lea 1Spital {{England-river-stub