New River opened to supply London
- When
- 1613
- Where
- Hertfordshire
- Episodes
- 1
The New River, an artificial waterway in England, was opened in 1613 to supply London with fresh drinking water from springs in Hertfordshire. Conceived by Edmund Colthurst and completed by Hugh Myddelton, it was operated by the New River Company for nearly three centuries.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. In 1602, Edmund Colthurst proposed digging an artificial waterway to supply London from Chadwell and Amwell springs near Ware in Hertfordshire. He obtained a charter from King James I in 1604 to carry out the project, which was later completed by Hugh Myddelton.
Opening. The New River was opened in 1613 to supply London with fresh drinking water taken from Chadwell and Amwell Springs near Ware in Hertfordshire. It was an artificial waterway designed to transport water from these sources to the city.
People involved
- Edmund Colthurst · Conceiver of the New River
- Hugh Myddelton · Completer of the New River
- New River Company · Operator of the New River
Sources
- New River (London) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-06-25
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.