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Once upon a time, the watercourse comprising Cherry Hinton and Coldham’s Brooks would have undoubtedly flowed as a single chalk stream from the spring at Giant’s Grave to the River Cam. We do not know when the stream was first modified, but by the early 19th century, significant alterations had already taken place. It is worth understanding these. Not only do they reveal the important role this watercourse has played in the lives of local people and industries, but the changes over time also help to inform the on-going work to improve water quality and biodiversity. David Brooks’ ‘Portrait of a Brook’ explains the details of these modifications (using a series of old maps), and is the result of an extensive piece of research. This is a brief summary to introduce his report.
On the 1830 Baker map, the first detailed map of the watercourse that we have, Cherry Hinton Brook is clearly shown as originating at Giants Grave. The springs there would not naturally have formed the pond that is seen today, but the area would have been quarried into this shape for the benefit of the villagers. From there, the brook flowed around the then tiny village of Cherry Hinton and across what was the former open countryside, which subsequently became the cement works, and is now the area of the lakes and complex comprising the Hilton Hotel, David Lloyd Gym etc.
In 1830, Mill Road extended only as far as Polecat Farm, located roughly at what is now the Mill Rd/Coleridge Rd junction. From this point, a footpath continued across fields to Cherry Hinton, crossing Cherry Hinton Brook at the point that is now the end of Brookfields and the beginning of the Tins Path. Close to this spot, the map shows another watercourse running roughly parallel to the brook, which we take to be a ditch along the route of what is now known as the East Cambridge Main Drain. The East Main Drain, starting from near Cherry Hinton Hall, was excavated in the 1920s in order to take excess water away from the brook. The Drain runs roughly parallel to the Brook on its west, and passes under Coldhams Lane at a bridge (labelled Stone Bridge on the 1805-1836 ordinance survey map), now the location of Sainsbury’s round about and the railway bridges.
Just after this point, on the 1830 map, the two watercourses cross each other and flow along the edge of Coldhams Common, with the Drain to the east of the Brook which is labelled Coldhams Brook – much as we see it today. Then, at the point on the edge of Coldhams Common which now has the footbridge into Galfrid Rd, the watercourses cross each other again (as they still do). They continue along the side of the Common, to Newmarket Road and the Paper Mills built in the early 18th century and subsequently used as a flour mill “until affected by reduction in the flow of the brook resulting from extraction by the Waterworks Company… ”. The maps indicate that, from the Mills, the watercourses, joined by a watercourse from Fen Ditton, flowed into the Cam.
On the early maps, the line indicating the ditch is straight, apart from a few bends; the course of the brooks is much more sinuous although straight in places, indicating that modifications had already taken place in these stretches. Of particular note, David Brooks shows that the section of what we think of as Coldhams Brook (though largely dried out), running from the Galfrid Road footbridge, past what is now Abbey Pool and the football stadium to Newmarket Rd, is probably a leat: a watercourse built to take water from a stream to a mill. Furthermore, it seems that the East Cambridge Main Drain here actually follows the route of the original Coldhams Brook, before it was straightened..
It is a complicated story which David’s ‘Portrait’ helps to unravel. Although there are many gaps in our knowledge which we hope we will be able to fill in eventually, these historical modifications do not negate the urgent need to improve and restore the water quality and biodiversity of this vital green corridor in the City.
To see the full length of the watercourse, see Cambridgeshire County Council’s Watercourse Mapping Tool. This tool identifies watercourses across Cambridgeshire, and shows them colour-coded depending on who is responsible for their maintenance. You can find out further information about each watercourse by clicking on them.
Cherry Hinton and Coldham’s Brooks A Portrait of a Much-abused Suburban Chalk Stream by David Brooks