Nine Wells

Last updated

Nine Wells
Streams leading out of Nine Wells - geograph.org.uk - 751770.jpg
Nine Wells
TypeLocal Nature Reserve
LocationTrumpington, Cambridgeshire
OS grid TL 461 542
Area1.2 hectares
Managed byCambridge City Council

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. [1] [2]

Contents

The site is a small area of woodland surrounded by agricultural land. Multiple springs issue from the base of a chalk hill, and feed Hobson's Conduit, the watercourse that was built between 1610 and 1614 by Thomas Hobson and other benefactors to bring fresh water into the city of Cambridge. There are four main springheads linked by stream channels, as well as innumerable minor fissures, that issue water at a constant 10.2 °C. [3] [4]

History

Location of King's Ditch overlaid on a modern map Cambridge Kings Ditch map.svg
Location of King's Ditch overlaid on a modern map

In 1265 a defensive channel known as 'the king's ditch' was excavated around the city of Cambridge. By the early 17th century this ditch had become an open sewer. In 1574 Andrew Perne DD, Master of Peterhouse, thought of constructing a channel to bring water to the ditch. Hobson's Conduit, constructed from 1610, used the natural springs at Nine Wells to create a flow of water to the city and flush the kings ditch. This was not only successful in sanitising the city but it became the principal water supply for Cambridge for over 250 years. Water continues to flow into the city and waters the lake in the Botanic Gardens.

Plant species

Sweet violets at Nine Wells, April 2016 Sweet violet Nine Wells.jpg
Sweet violets at Nine Wells, April 2016

The dominant trees here are beech which were originally planted for firewood but have a detrimental effect on the watercourses: an acidic leaf fall in autumn is causing heavy silting and a change in oxygen levels. The hedgerow that encloses the reserve was planted following the Enclosures Act of 1834 and comprises native species like hawthorn, spindle and field maple. A survey determined that 108 plant species grow here and the area contains numerous mature ash trees as well as blackthorn. Scented sweet violets (Viola odorata) and bluebells bloom there early in the year, and later there are cowslips and deadly nightshade. [4]

Aquatic wildlife

It was created a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest because a range of relic aquatic invertebrates bred here. The flatworms Planaria cornuta and P. alpina were found here and had survived from the last glacial period. Another relic species was a trichopteran (caddisfly), Agapetus fuscipes. [5] However the drought of 1976 together with increased water abstraction caused some extinctions and Nine Wells lost its SSSI status. [3] Efforts are being made to recreate conditions favourable to re-establishing a richer invertebrate fauna again, however there is a great deal of new building going on in the area so this special little habitat patch is potentially under threat. According to the information boards within the reserve, active management is needed to keep the streams suitable for bullhead fish to thrive and this is important as they provide food for kingfishers. Falling beech leaves need to be cleared from the streams to stop the water from becoming too acidic.

Terrestrial species

These woods are home to species including chaffinch, robin, yellowhammer, greenfinch, blackbird and, during the summer, chiffchaff. The site is an important refuge for birds, with sparrowhawk (Accipitier nisus), green woodpecker (Picus viridis), long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus), bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) and redwing (Turdus iliacus) recorded as well as a good variety of small species. This is also a good site for butterflies including peacocks and brimstones (Gonepteryx)".

Monument

Within the Reserve there is a monument to Hobson's Conduit which was erected in 1861 by public subscription and records the benefactors to the water course and conduit as:

Location

It is south of Addenbrooke's Hospital and east of the railway line and the genome cycle track ( 52°09′58″N0°08′06″E / 52.166°N 0.1349°E / 52.166; 0.1349 (Hobson Conduit (spring at Nine Wells)) ), near the village of Great Shelford.

Related Research Articles

Thomas Hobson (postal carrier)

Thomas Hobson was an English carrier, best known as the origin of the expression Hobson's choice.

Addenbrookes Hospital NHS teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England

Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. The hospital is run by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is a designated academic health science centre. It is also the East of England's major trauma centre and was the first such centre to be operational in the United Kingdom.

River Wandle Tributary of the River Thames, England

The River Wandle is a tributary of the River Thames in south London, England. With a total length of about 9 miles (14 km), the river passes through the London boroughs of Croydon, Sutton, Merton and Wandsworth, where it reaches the Thames. A short headwater – the Caterham Bourne – is in Surrey, the historic county of the river's catchment. Tributaries of the Wandle include The Wrythe and Norbury Brook.

South Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1997 onwards

South Cambridgeshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Anthony Browne, a Conservative.

Wicken Fen Nature reserve in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom

Wicken Fen is a 254.5 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Wicken in Cambridgeshire. It is also a National Nature Reserve, and a Nature Conservation Review site. It is protected by international designations as a Ramsar wetland site of international importance, and part of the Fenland Special Area of Conservation under the Habitats Directive.

Noar Hill

Noar Hill is a 63-hectare (160-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Selborne in Hampshire. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2, and part of East Hampshire Hangers Special Area of Conservation. An area of 20 hectares is a nature reserve managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.

Hobsons Conduit

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, England from springs at Nine Wells, a Local Nature Reserve, near the village of Great Shelford. It is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument and historical relic. The watercourse currently runs overground until Cambridge University Botanic Garden 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 in broad gutters towards Peterhouse and St Catharine's College, and also St Andrew's Street. The conduit currently ends at Silver Street.

Byrons Pool

Byron's Pool is a 4.4 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Grantchester in Cambridgeshire. It is managed by Cambridge City Council and the City Greenways Project.

Stephen Perse English academic and philanthropist

Stephen Perse was an English academic and philanthropist, who founded schools that still carry his name.

Cherry Hinton Pit

Cherry Hinton Pit is a 12.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the south-eastern outskirts of Cambridge. The site consists of East Pit and most of the smaller West Pit. East Pit is part of the Limekiln Close and East Pit Local Nature Reserve, which is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire under the name Cherry Hinton Chalk Pits. West Pit is a separate Local Nature Reserve (LNR).

Castor Hanglands National Nature Reserve

Castor Hanglands is an 89.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. The site is also a National Nature Reserve, and it is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I for its woodlands and Grade 2 for its grassland. It is common land managed by Natural England.

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, an arterial route out of Cambridge, at the junction with Lensfield Road.

Trumpington Road

Trumpington Road is an arterial road in southeast central Cambridge, England. It runs between the junction of Trumpington Street and Lensfield Road at the northern end to the junction of the High Street in the village of Trumpington and Long Road at the southern end. The Fen Causeway leads off to the west near the northern end, over Coe Fen and the River Cam.

St Andrews Street, Cambridge

St Andrew's Street is a major street in central Cambridge, England. It runs between Sidney Street, at the junction with Hobson Street, to the northwest and Regent Street to the southeast. Downing Street leads off to the west.

Market Hill, Cambridge

Market Hill is the location of the marketplace in central Cambridge, England. Operating as a marketplace since Saxon times, a daily outdoor market with stalls continues to run there.

Lensfield Road

Lensfield Road is a road 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 and Hills Road to the west. It continues as Gonville Place to the northeast past Parker's Piece, a large grassed area with footpaths.

Great Kneighton

Great Kneighton is a large housing development and residential area in the southern part of the City of Cambridge district of Cambridgeshire, adjacent to, and integrated with, the neighbouring village of Trumpington. Together with nearby development Trumpington Meadows, it forms part of the southern fringe expansion of the city. Currently nearing completion by developers Countryside Properties, it will ultimately consist of almost 2,300 homes.

Limekiln Close and East Pit

Limekiln Close and East Pit is a 10 hectare Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in Cherry Hinton, on the south-eastern outskirts of Cambridge. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire as Cherry Hinton Chalk Pits. East Pit is part of the Cherry Hinton Pit biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, which excludes Limekiln Close but includes the neighbouring West Pit.

West Pit

West Pit is a 4.3 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Cherry Hinton, on the south-eastern outskirts of Cambridge. It is part of the Cherry Hinton Pit biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which includes the neighbouring East Pit.

References

  1. "Nine Wells". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  2. "Map of Nine Wells". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  3. 1 2 Nine Wells Local Nature Reserve
  4. 1 2 "Nine Wells LNR Management Plan" (PDF). lnr.cambridge.gov.uk. UK. 2014.
  5. correspondence with Dr. Nigel Russell, Lead Conservation Adviser, Cambridgeshire Land Management Team, Natural England, Nov 2015

Coordinates: 52°10′01″N0°08′05″E / 52.167°N 0.1348°E / 52.167; 0.1348