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 List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

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from springs at Nine Wells, a Local Nature Reserve (), near the village of

Great Shelford Great Shelford is a village located approximately to the south of Cambridge, in Cambridgeshire, in eastern England. In 1850 Great Shelford parish contained bisected by the River Cam. The population in 1841 was 803 people. By 2001, this had g ...

. 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, visu ...

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, University of Cambridge, Department of Plant Sciences (formerly Botany School). It lies be ...

and Brookside, where it is at its widest. At the corner of

Lensfield Road Lensfield Road is a road (part of the A603 road, A603) in southeast central Cambridge, England. It runs between the junction of Trumpington Street and Trumpington Road to the west and the junction of Regent Street, Cambridge, Regent Street and ...

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 in broad gutters towards

Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

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), List of Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge, Vice-Chancellor of University of Cambridge, Cambridge University and Dean of Ely, was the son of John Perne of East Bilney, Norfolk. Biography Perne was ed ...

, Master of Peterhouse, who proposed that a stream be diverted from Nine Wells 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 (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

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 Nine Wells, near

, this stream flows east of

Trumpington Trumpington is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, mostly located in Cambridge, with a small southern area of the village extending into the South Cambridgeshire district. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 UK census, the village had ...

under bridges on Long Road and Trumpington Road until reaching Coe Fen, where it forms the first tributary of the

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, Cambridgeshire, Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distanc ...

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 Cambridge Judge Business School is the business school of the University of Cambridge. The School is a provider of management education. It is named after Sir Paul Judge, a founding benefactor of the school. The School is a department of the u ...

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 A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

was redeveloped and in 1855 a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

gabled fountain was erected (marked on many contemporary maps as "lavatory" as there were underground public conveniences here) and the original fountain was partly moved to form the monument in Lensfield Road, and the remainder demolished. Most of the Victorian fountain was pulled down in 1953. Flow to this branch was cut off in 1970 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, a ...

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, 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

* Report by

The Wildlife Trusts The Wildlife Trusts, the trading name of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, is an organisation made up of 46 local Wildlife Trusts in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and Alderney. The Wildlife Trusts, between them, look after more than 2, ...

{{coord, 52.19796, 0.12243, format=dms, type:river_region:GB, display=title 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 the 17th century Buildings and structures completed in 1614 Transport infrastructure completed in the 1610s