The River Purwell is a chalk stream in Hertfordshire, England. The entire course of the stream is near Hitchin.
Its source is springs which rise out of the chalk bedrock at St Ippolyts, forming Ippollitts Brook. [1] It is known as the Purwell by the time it reaches Ninesprings on the border of the parishes of Great Wymondley and Hitchin. It flows on to join the River Hiz. [2]
The river and associated wetlands are protected by nature reserves at Ninesprings and Purwell Meadows. [1]
At Purwell Meadows the river powered a watermill until the 1920s. The existing building is a couple of hundred years old, [3] but a mill at this site is mentioned in the Domesday Book. This document from 1086 recorded a mill worth 20s in the part of Great Wymondley belonging to King William. Because part of the mill extended over the river to the opposite bank, in Hitchin manor, the Manor of Great Wymondley had to pay an annual fee of 6d. [4]
Hertfordshire 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 government statistical purposes, it forms part of the East of England region.
Hitchin and Harpenden is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Bim Afolami, a Conservative.
Walsworth is a part of the town of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. It was originally a village about a mile north east of the town, and later became incorporated into it, although it is still referred to as a village by some locals. Hitchin Walsworth is one of five wards for the purposes of electing councillors to North Hertfordshire District Council. The ward includes the Purwell neighbourhood, south of Walsworth, which is named after the River Purwell.
St Ippolyts is a village and civil parish on the southern edge of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. It has a population of approximately 2,000.
Kimpton is a village in Hertfordshire, England, six miles south of Hitchin, seven miles north of St Albans and four miles from Harpenden and Luton. The population at the 2011 Census was 2,167.
Great Wymondley is a village situated near Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. Despite the names, Great Wymondley is a smaller settlement than its neighbour, Little Wymondley. It is in the civil parish of Wymondley.
The River Bulbourne is a small river in Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. The word bourne derives from the Anglo-Saxon word for a stream. It is an unnavigable tributary of the River Gade, which flows into the River Colne, which in turn is a tributary of the River Thames. The Bulbourne is an example of a chalk stream, which is a watercourse that flows from chalk-fed groundwater. Chalk streams are a very rare habitat globally, with more than 85% of all the 210 chalk streams in the world are found in England. The river is reduced in size, due to human activity, the main one being the building of the London to Birmingham Grand Union Canal through the narrow valley which takes most of the river's water.
The River Hiz is a small tributary river in Hertfordshire that feeds the River Ivel that, in turn, feeds the River Great Ouse. Starting at its source of a chalk fed spring just south of the village of Charlton, the river winds its way through the county of Hertfordshire, moving its way into and through Hitchin, where it meets the River Oughton and River Purwell. The Hiz finally meets the River Ivel near the village of Henlow.
The A602 is a road linking Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England, with A10 at Ware in Hertfordshire, via Stevenage.
Hitchin Rural District was a rural district in Hertfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974, covering an area in the north of the county.
Pegsdon Hills and Hoo Bit is a 79-hectare (200-acre) nature reserve in Pegsdon in Bedfordshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The site is on the border between Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, and it covers Pegsdon Hills and part of the adjacent Deacon Hill in Bedfordshire, and Hoo Bit in Hertfordshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and part of the site is designated by Natural England as the Deacon Hill SSSI.
Wymondley is a civil parish in Hertfordshire, England.
Highbury Ward is an electoral ward in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. It covers 230.174 hectares. It is a largely residential area bounded roughly to the north by the A505, to the south west by the A602, and by the railway line to the east. Schools in the ward include Highbury JMI and Whitehill Junior School.
Purwell Meadows is an 8.6 hectare nature reserve in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. It was declared a Local Nature Reserve in 1994. It is owned and managed by North Hertfordshire District Council.
Purwell Ninesprings is a 6.4 hectare nature reserve managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust on the edge of Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England.
The River Oughton is a two mile long tributary of the River Hiz in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. It rises at Oughtonhead and flows north-east between Oughtonhead Common and Oughtonhead Nature Reserve. It forms the boundary of Hitchin parish.
Wymondley Roman Villa is a ruined Roman villa near Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. It is also known as Ninesprings Roman Villa. It is situated in the valley of the River Purwell in the parish of Great Wymondley. In Roman times, as now, the villa would have been above a wetland which is protected as the Purwell Ninesprings nature reserve.
St Mary's Church is an active Anglican church in Great Wymondley, Hertfordshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
Wymondley Castle, also known as Great Wymondley Castle, is a ruined castle in the village of Great Wymondley, near Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England.