River Colne, Hertfordshire

2025-02-07T13:36:48Z

82.5.21.128: Removed the Ellen Brook link, since it incorrectly goes to Ellen Brook in Australia.

{{Short description|River in south England}}
{{About|the River Colne in Hertfordshire||River Colne (disambiguation){{!}}River Colne}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2017}}
{{Infobox river
| name = Colne
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| name_other =
| name_etymology =
| image = RiverColneStaines01.JPG
| image_size =
| image_caption = River Colne as it joins the Thames at Staines-upon-Thames
| map =
| map_size =
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map =
| pushpin_map_size =
| pushpin_map_caption=
| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = [[England]]
| subdivision_type2 =
| subdivision_name2 =
| subdivision_type3 = Counties
| subdivision_name3 = [[Hertfordshire]], [[Greater London]], [[Buckinghamshire]], [[Surrey]], [[Berkshire]]
| subdivision_type4 = Districts / Boroughs
| subdivision_name4 =
| subdivision_type5 = Towns
| subdivision_name5 = [[Watford]], [[Rickmansworth]], [[Uxbridge]], [[West Drayton]], [[Staines-upon-Thames]]
| length_km = 58
| width_avg =
| width_max =
| depth_min =
| depth_avg =
| depth_max =
| discharge1_location= [[Denham, Buckinghamshire]] (rate at lower coalescence)
| discharge1_min = {{convert|0.74|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}26  August 1976
| discharge1_avg = {{convert|4.05|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_max = {{convert|18.4|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}14  October 1993
| discharge2_location= Berrygrove, Berry Grove Lane, Watford (rate at mid-to-upper coalescence)
| discharge2_min =
| discharge2_avg = {{convert|0.79|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge2_max =

| source1 = Unnamed brook
| source1_location = east of Bell Bar, [[Brookmans Park]]
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|51.7306|-0.1798}}
| source1_elevation = {{convert|410|ft}}
| source2 = "Water End" brook
| source2_location = east side of [[North Mymms]] Park (coalesence of two streams, liable-to-flood meadow)
| source2_coordinates=
| source2_elevation =
| mouth = [[River Thames]]
| mouth_location = [[Staines-upon-Thames]] town centre
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|51.4329|-0.5152}}
| mouth_elevation = {{convert|48|ft}}
| river_system = [[Thames Basin]]
| basin_size =
| tributaries_left = [[Mimmshall Brook]], [[Potters Bar Brook]], Tyttenhanger Stream, [[Tykes Water]] (The Brook (Radlett)), Hillfield Brook, [[River Pinn]]
| tributaries_right = Ellen Brook and river: [[River Ver|Ver]], [[River Gade|Gade]], [[River Chess|Chess]], [[River Misbourne|Misbourne]]
| custom_label = Number of distributaries including namesake:
| custom_data = 6
}}
{{River Colne Hertfordshire map|River Colne Hertfordshire}}
The '''Colne''' is a [[river]] and a [[tributary]] of the [[River Thames]] in [[England]]. Just over half its course is in south [[Hertfordshire]]. Downstream, it forms the boundary between [[Buckinghamshire]] and the [[London Borough of Hillingdon]]. The [[confluence]] with the River Thames is on the Staines reach (above [[Penton Hook Lock]]) at [[Staines-upon-Thames]].

Two of its distributaries, constructed in the 1600 – 1750 period largely for aesthetic reasons for [[Hampton Court Palace|Hampton Court]] and for [[Syon Park]], have been maintained. Their main purpose was not drinking water but these can be likened to the [[New River (London)|New River]] in scale and in date. Crossing its route, many viaducts and a canal, the intersecting [[Grand Union Canal]], have been recognised for pioneering engineering during the [[Industrial Revolution]].

Digging for gravel and clay along its lower course near [[Rickmansworth]] has created a belt of flooded pits below the water table, as established lakes, many of which are well-adapted habitats for wildlife, protected as nature reserves. The river, meadows and lakes form the [[Colne Valley regional park]] covering {{convert|43|mi2}}.

==Route==
The Colne becomes universally so-named after two close [[subterranean river|subterranean streams]] converge at a [[spring (hydrology)|spring]], or in very wet weather in the meadows above, all along the east side (Tollgate Road) of [[North Mymms]] Park in [[Hertfordshire]]. The source streams are long, multi-source, in final, northern stages, partly underground tributaries: a north-eastern, which can be considered the upper Colne; and the [[Mimmshall Brook]]. Their main sources are {{convert|2.5|to|4|mi|abbr=on}}: in western [[Northaw]], [[Brookmans Park]], [[Hadley, London]] and [[Borehamwood]], draining much of those places.<ref>Grade II* architectural listing of Northaw Place {{National Heritage List for England|num=1100972|access-date=2 December 2012}}</ref> A seasonal, intra-parochial stream runs under the seven-building village of North Mymms draining most of the park, which, with adjoining woods is a small square plateau, sloping down to its corners except the south-west.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brookmans.com/walks/walk3.shtml|title=Walk 3: The Water End Circular|publisher=Brookman's Walks}}</ref>
<ref name=os>{{cite web|url=http://getamap.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/getamap/frames.htm?mapAction=gaz&gazName=g&gazString=TQ048812|title=OS Maps|publisher=Ordnance Survey|access-date=2 December 2012|archive-date=29 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029221924/http://getamap.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/getamap/frames.htm?mapAction=gaz&gazName=g&gazString=TQ048812|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Shallow [[swallow hole]]s of the two brooks are in North Mymms' [[Water End, Welwyn Hatfield|Water End]], centred on so-named combined surface flow. From the [[Water End Swallow Holes]] the Colne runs [[boxing the compass|west, longer NNW, then west]] then receives the Ellen Brook and turns SSW, then meanders south-west, bounding central and residential [[Watford]] and [[Oxhey]], also bounding [[Rickmansworth]] and [[Batchworth]], then for a similar total stretch bounding [[Greater London]] (and [[Borough of Spelthorne|Spelthorne]]), east and (through anabranch ditches) [[Buckinghamshire]], west. Specifically, it passes between West Hyde, near [[Maple Cross]], and [[Harefield]], passes [[Denham Green]] then passes [[Uxbridge]], where it parallels the [[Grand Union Canal]] and its first main anabranch, the [[Frays River]] which is co-fed by the [[River Pinn|Pinn]] between [[Cowley, London|Cowley]] and [[Yiewsley]], Greater London. The [[Colne Brook]] splits off as a [[distributary]] between [[New Denham]] and Uxbridge. After this, at [[West Drayton]], the Frays rejoins and the [[Wraysbury River]], the second main anabranch, and [[Duke of Northumberland's River]] divide off.

Soon after, at [[Longford, London|Longford]], the intake is given to the [[Longford River]], a {{convert|12|mi|km|adj=on}} artificial channel created in 1610 for [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]] to supply the water features in [[Bushy Park]] and the rectangular lakes in [[Hampton Court Park]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/bushy_park/landscape_history.cfm |title=Bushy Park |publisher=Royal Parks |access-date=2011-09-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001100210/http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/bushy_park/landscape_history.cfm |archive-date=2011-10-01 }}</ref>

The Colne's [[drainage basin]] extends almost as far north again as its northern limit – the inflowing [[River Gade|Gade]], [[River Ver|Ver]] and [[River Misbourne|Misbourne]] extend well into the [[Chiltern Hills|Chilterns]]. Opposite, the other {{frac|2|3}} of outer west and north-west London is drained by the [[Pymmes Brook]], [[River Brent|Brent]], or [[River Crane, London|Crane]] sub-basins of the Thames. In the north-west, centred on [[Tring]]'s northern boundary the Chiltern ridge is most noticeable, a [[Drainage divide|watershed]] of this basin and that of the [[River Great Ouse]], north and east towards [[the Wash]].

=== Eponymous settlements and indirect reference within a district name ===
The villages of [[Colney Heath]] east of [[St Albans]], [[London Colney]] south of [[St Albans]], [[Colney Street]] (almost wholly a large business park) north of [[Radlett]] and [[Colnbrook]] between [[Slough]] and [[Heathrow (hamlet)|Heathrow]] take their name from the river. [[Three Rivers District]] Council covers part of [[Hertfordshire]] and is named after the River Colne and its two tributaries, the [[River Chess]] and the [[River Gade]].

=== Use of valley and river for navigation ===

Among early proposals to link the river to London was one in 1641 by Sir Edward Forde for a navigable canal, the main purpose of which seems to have been the supply of clean water, and two in 1766, for canals from Marylebone to the river at Uxbridge and another from Marylebone to West Drayton.<ref name=hadfield113>{{harvnb |Hadfield |1970 |p=113}}</ref>

The river underwent considerable change in the 1790s, when the [[Grand Junction Canal]] (which became part of the Grand Union Canal in 1929) was routed along the valley and still takes the river channel for part of its course. Construction began from Brentford, where it used for {{convert|3|mi}} the channel of the [[River Brent]], and progressed westwards then northwards, with it reaching Uxbridge in November 1794. To reach the Midlands it continued along the river channel until its junction with the River Gade, which it ran parallel to, but did not take over the channel.<ref>{{harvnb |Hadfield |1970 |p=111}}</ref> The [[Slough]] Arm was built in 1882 which required three aqueducts to carry it close to its junction with the Grand Junction, to cross the Fray's River, the River Colne and the Colne Brook.<ref>{{harvnb |Nicholson |2006 |pp=38–39}}</ref>

Between [[Croxley Green]], where the River Gade joins the Colne, and [[Thorney, Buckinghamshire|Thorney]]/[[West Drayton]], below the Slough Arm, the river channels thread their way between many large lakes, some of which were once watercress beds, some chalk pits,<ref>{{harvnb |Nicholson |2006 |pp=42–45}}</ref> and some of which were the result of brickmaking, an industry that developed over several miles of the valley after 1800, when the Grand Junction Canal company advertised the presence of good [[brick earth]], discovered during the construction of the canal.<ref name=hadfield113/>

== Structures ==

There are two [[Coal-tax post|London Coal Duty]] markers beside the river, which mark points at which duty became payable on coal entering the London area. The first is on the north side of the river in [[Colney Heath Local Nature Reserve]], and is a square-section [[cast iron]] pillar made by Henry Grissell at his [[Regents Canal]] ironworks and erected in 1861 or 1862. It is {{convert|5|ft|m}} high and is painted white.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1103017 |desc=London Coal Duty Marker, Colney Heath |access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref> The second is a stone obelisk, {{convert|13|ft|m}} high, with a square base, which was erected at Colne Bridge in 1861. It was moved from its original position to the other side of the river in 1984 when it was repaired by Watford Borough Council.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1101112 |desc=London Coal Duty Marker, Colne Bridge |access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref> It is close to the five-arched [[Colne Viaduct]], which was built in 1837 to carry the London to Birmingham Railway over the river. Each of the arches spans around {{convert|40|ft|m}} and is {{convert|45|ft|m}} high. The structure was designed by [[Robert Stephenson]], and is [[grade II listed]].<ref>{{NHLE |num=1101110 |desc=Five Arches Railway Viaduct, Watford |access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref>

At London Colney, there is a seven-arched brick bridge which carries Barnet Road over the river. It dates from 1774 and is called Telford's Bridge, although it is not thought to have been designed by [[Thomas Telford]]. It was modified in the 20th century when parapets and railings were added.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1174667 |desc=Telford's Bridge, London Colney |access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref>

There was a long-running dispute over water levels in the Batchford area, following the construction of the Grand Junction Canal, which were resolved in 1825, when an {{convert|8.2|ft|m|adj=on}} obelisk was erected in a pond, to act as a water gauge. The obelisk records the agreement made between the canal company, [[John Dickinson (inventor)|John Dickinson]] who was the owner of [[papermill]]s at Batchworth, and R. Williams of Moor Park, who was the landowner.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1100840 |desc=Obelisk at Moor Lane, Rickmansworth |access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref>

== Tributaries and distributaries ==

From its mouth to its source, the Colne's named tributaries, anabranches and to-Thames distributaries are:

* Sweeps Ditch (distributary in Staines-upon-Thames)
* ''[[Wraysbury River]] (anabranch West Drayton to Staines)''
* [[River Ash, Surrey|the Ash]] (distributary from Staines at [[Sunbury on Thames]]/Shepperton border)
* [[Colne Brook]] (distributary from Uxbridge Moor to [[Hythe End]], [[Wraysbury]])
**the Alder Bourne ([[Fulmer]] to Uxbridge Moor)
* [[Longford River]] (man made - distributary from Longford to [[Bushy Park]] and [[Hampton Court]])
* [[Duke of Northumberland River]] (man-made distributary from West Drayton to [[Isleworth]])
* ''[[Frays River]] (anabranch Watford to West Drayton)''
** [[River Pinn|the Pinn]] (Harrow Weald to West Drayton)
* [[River Misbourne|the Misbourne]] (Amersham to Uxbridge)
* [[River Chess|the Chess]] (Chesham to Rickmansworth)
* [[River Gade|the Gade]]
** [[River Bulbourne|the Bulbourne]]
* Hillfield Brook
* [[River Ver|the Ver]] (from Dolittle Mill)
* [[Tykes Water|Tykes Water (or The Brook, Radlett)]] (from [[Aldenham Reservoir]])
* Ellen Brook (from [[Hatfield, Hertfordshire|Hatfield]])
**Butterwick Brook (from eastern St Albans)
* Water End (north, broad end of the [[Mimmshall Brook]] having drained brook from north Brookmans Park via Welham Green, identifiable as the source and others below)
* Mimmshall Brook ([[Elstree]] to Water End (broad meandering end and sinks))
** Catherine Bourne (Shenley to Mimmshall Brook)
** Ray Brook (Brookmans Park to Water End (see above))
** [[Potters Bar Brook]] (Potters Bar to Water End (see above))

== See also ==

* [[Tributaries of the River Thames]]
* [[List of rivers in England]]
* [[Mid Colne Valley]]

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin}}

* {{Cite book
|first=Charles |last=Hadfield
|title=The Canals of the East Midlands
|publisher=David and Charles
|year=1970
|isbn=0-7153-4871-X
}}

* {{Cite book
|last=Nicholson
|author-link=Nicholson Guides
|title=Nicholson Guides Vol 1: Grand Union, Oxford and the South East
|publisher=Harper Collins
|year=2006
|isbn=978-0-00-721109-8
}}
{{Refend}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{river item box|type=confluence
|river=[[River Thames]]
|upstream=[[Colne Brook]] (north)
| downstream=[[Abbey River]] (south)
| thisis =River Colne}}
{{Rivers and Watercourses of Buckinghamshire}}
{{Rivers and Watercourses of Hertfordshire}}
{{Hydrology of Surrey}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|51|25|59|N|0|30|55|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colne, Hertfordshire}}
[[Category:Colne catchment| ]]
[[Category:Rivers of Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Rivers of Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:Rivers of London]]
[[Category:Geography of the London Borough of Hillingdon]]
[[Category:Geography of Three Rivers District]]

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River Colne, Hertfordshire