This article is about the River Lee in England; for the one in the Republic of Ireland see River Lee (Ireland).

The River Lee or River Lea^[1] in England originates in Leagrave Park, Leagrave, Luton in the Chiltern Hills and flows generally east and then south to London where it meets the River Thames, the last section being known as Bow Creek. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 622 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I took this photo at 14:10, on 30 April 2007. ... Hertford Basin Hertford Basin is the first marina located on the River Lee Navigation in Hertford, Hertfordshire. ... “km” redirects here. ... “Miles” redirects here. ... South-west facade of Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire. ... For other uses, see Luton (disambiguation). ... The cubic meter (symbol m³) is the SI derived unit of volume. ... This article is about the unit of time. ... It has been suggested that Thousand Cubic Feet be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about the unit of time. ... Feildes Weir is a weir on the River Lea located near Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire at the confluence of the River Lea and River Stort. ... , Hoddesdon is a commuter town in the English county of Hertfordshire, situated in the Lea Valley. ... The cubic meter (symbol m³) is the SI derived unit of volume. ... This article is about the unit of time. ... It has been suggested that Thousand Cubic Feet be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about the unit of time. ... Leagrave is a suburb of Luton in Bedfordshire. ... For other uses, see Luton (disambiguation). ... This article is about the unit of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Bow Creek is a two and a quarter mile long tidal estuary of the River Lee and is part of the Bow Back Rivers. ... This article is about the River Thames in southern England. ... This article is about the unit of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... The River Lee is a river in the Republic of Ireland, flowing through County Cork and Cork city, before draining into Cork Harbour on Irelands south coast. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Leagrave is a suburb of Luton in Bedfordshire. ... For other uses, see Luton (disambiguation). ... The Chiltern Hills are a chalk escarpment in south east England. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the River Thames in southern England. ... Bow Creek is a two and a quarter mile long tidal estuary of the River Lee and is part of the Bow Back Rivers. ...

History of river name

The spelling Lea is predominant west (upstream) of Hertford, but both spellings are used from Hertford to the River Thames; the Lee Navigation was established by Acts of Parliament and should be so spelt. Hertford (standard pronunciations /hɑtֽfəd/ and /hɑֽfəd/; local pronunciation /[h]ɑːʔֽfəd/) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is in the East Hertfordshire district of that county. ... Hertford (standard pronunciations /hɑtֽfəd/ and /hɑֽfəd/; local pronunciation /[h]ɑːʔֽfəd/) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is in the East Hertfordshire district of that county. ... This article is about the River Thames in southern England. ... Old Ford Lock, Lee Navigation The River Lee Navigation is a canalised river incorporating - as the name suggests - the River Lee (also known as the River Lea). ...

Course of the river

A pedestrian suspension bridge spans the boating lake created where the widened river flows through Wardown Park in Luton.

Rowing boats on the River Lea

Bow Creek (tidal) meets the Limehouse Cut (canal) with a view of London's Docklands

The Lee flows south from Tottenham Lock. The large housing development to the west, Bream Close, is situated on a small island in the river, whilst in the distance the Gospel Oak to Barking Line crosses the river on a high bridge.

The source is usually said to be at Well Head inside Waulud's Bank at Leagrave Common, but there the River Lea is also fed by a stream that starts 2 miles further west in Houghton Regis. The river flows through (or by) Luton, Harpenden, Welwyn Garden City, to Hertford where it changes from a small shallow river to a deep canal at Hertford Castle Weir, which then flows on to Ware, Hoddesdon, Cheshunt, Waltham Abbey, Essex, Ponders End, Edmonton, Tottenham, Upper Clapton, Hackney Wick, Stratford, Bromley-by-Bow, Canning Town and finally Leamouth where it meets the River Thames (as Bow Creek). It forms the traditional boundary between the counties of Middlesex and Essex, and was used for part of the Danelaw boundary. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... A suspension bridge is a type of bridge that has been created since ancient times as early as 100 AD. Simple suspension bridges, for use by pedestrians and livestock, are still constructed, based upon the ancient Inca rope bridge. ... Luton Museum & Art Gallery, Wardown Park, Luton. ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 119 KB)Boating on the River Lea, photo by Salimfadhley File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 119 KB)Boating on the River Lea, photo by Salimfadhley File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2021x1501, 877 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: River Lee ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2021x1501, 877 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: River Lee ... Bow Creek is a two and a quarter mile long tidal estuary of the River Lee and is part of the Bow Back Rivers. ... Looking North East along the Limehouse Cut The Limehouse Cut is a canal in the East End of London. ... The 02 and Canary Wharf from the Royal Victoria Dock. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3264 × 2448 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3264 × 2448 pixel, file size: 2. ... The Gospel Oak – Barking Line is a railway line in north and east London which connects Gospel Oak in North London and Barking in East London. ... River Wey near its source at Farringdon, Hampshire Headstream is the origin of water flow that initiates the subject watercourse. ... Wauluds Bank is a Neolithic Henge in Leagrave, Bedfordshire dating from 3,000BC. Wauluds Bank earthworks lies on the edge of the Marsh Farm Estate in Leagrave, Luton. ... Leagrave is a suburb of Luton in Bedfordshire. ... Houghton Regis is a Parish town sandwiched between the major towns of Luton to the East and Dunstable to the West. ... For other uses, see Luton (disambiguation). ... This section has been identified as trivia. ... Not to be confused with Welwyn. ... Hertford (standard pronunciations /hɑtֽfəd/ and /hɑֽfəd/; local pronunciation /[h]ɑːʔֽfəd/) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is in the East Hertfordshire district of that county. ... Stepped drop during the summer Main drop, autumnal very high water conditions Side sluice wave Hertford Castle Weir is a weir located in Hertford near to Hertford Castle and next to Castle Hall. ... For other uses, see Ware (disambiguation). ... , Hoddesdon is a commuter town in the English county of Hertfordshire, situated in the Lea Valley. ... Statistics Population: 51,998 (Census 2001) Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: TL358021 Administration District: Broxbourne Shire county: Hertfordshire Region: East of England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Hertfordshire Historic county: Hertfordshire Services Police force: Hertfordshire Constabulary Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: East of England Post... Waltham Abbey is a market town of about 20,400 people in the south west of the county of Essex, in the East of England region. ... Ponders End is a place in the London Borough of Enfield in the north of London. ... Edmonton is a place in the eastern part of the London Borough of Enfield. ... Tottenham is an urban area of north London in the London Borough of Haringey, situated 6. ... Upper Clapton is a place in the London Borough of Hackney. ... Hackney Wick is an area in the London Borough of Hackney in East London. ... , Stratford, historically Stratford Langthorne, is a place in the London Borough of Newham in East London. ... Bromley-by-Bow is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. ... , Canning Town is an area of East London, England and is one of the best places in the eastern part of London. ... Leamouth is the mouth of the River Lee at the River Thames Nearby is Trinity Buoy Wharf which is Londons only lighthouse. ... This article is about the River Thames in southern England. ... Bow Creek is a two and a quarter mile long tidal estuary of the River Lee and is part of the Bow Back Rivers. ... The Middlesex Guildhall at Westminster Middlesex is one of the 39 historic counties of England and was the second smallest (after Rutland). ... For other meanings of Essex, see Essex (disambiguation). ... and then the king did a poo in battle The Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum is an agreement between Alfred of Wessex and Guthrum, the Viking ruler of East Anglia. ...

For much of its distance the river runs within or as a boundary to the Lee Valley Park. Between Tottenham and Hackney the Lee feeds Tottenham Marshes, Walthamstow Marshes and Hackney Marshes (the latter now drained). In their early days, Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient played their matches as football amateurs on the Marshes. South of Hackney Wick the river's course is split, running almost completely in man made channels (originally created to power water mills, the Bow Back Rivers) flowing through an area that was once a thriving industrial zone. The Lee Valley Park is a 26 mile (42 km) long park running through the North East of London from the River Thames to Ware in Hertfordshire, through areas such as Camden, Tottenham, Enfield, Cheshunt, Broxbourne and Hoddesdon. ... Tottenham Marshes are located at Tottenham in the London Borough of Haringey. ... Walthamstow Marsh is now a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, it was once an area of lammas land, strips of meadow used for growing crops and grazing cattle. ... , Hackney Marshes is an area of grassland on the western (Middlesex) bank of the River Lee in the London Borough of Hackney. ... Tottenham Hotspur Football Club is an English professional football club which plays in the Premier League. ... Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football team, currently playing in League One of the Football League. ... Steps going down to the tow path, used in the past by horses Bow Back Rivers are part of the River Lee in London and form a complex system of waterways. ...

Inside Greater London below Enfield Lock the river forms the boundary with the former Royal Small Arms Factory, now known as Enfield Island Village, a housing development. Just downstream the river is joined by the River Lee Flood Relief Channel. The man-made,concrete banked water is known as the River Lee Diversion at this point as it passes a series of reservoirs: King George V Reservoir at Ponders End/Chingford,William Girling Reservoir at Edmonton and the Banbury Reservoir at Tottenham. At Tottenham Hale there is a connected set of reservoirs; Lockwood Reservoir, High Maynard Reservoir, Low Maynard Reservoir, Walthamstow Reservoirs and Warwick Reservoirs. It also passes the Three Mills, a restored tidal mill near Bow. Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. ... Enfield Lock is a place in the London Borough of Enfield. ... A UK government-owned rifle factory, which was to be later known as the Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF), Enfield which has produced British military rifles and muskets since 1804. ... Enfield Island Village is a large housing development in north east Enfield. ... The River Lee Flood Relief Channel (FRC) is located in the Lee Valley and flows between Ware, Hertfordshire and Stratford, East London. ... River Lee Diversion is located in the Lee Valley close to Enfield Lock and to the North East corner of the King George V Reservoir. ... King George V Reservoir is located in Brimsdown, Enfield, London, part of the Lee Valley chain of reservoirs. ... Ponders End is a place in the London Borough of Enfield in the north of London. ... Chingford is a town in London Borough of Waltham Forest. ... William Girling Reservoir is located at Edmonton, London. ... Edmonton is a place in the eastern part of the London Borough of Enfield. ... Banbury Reservoir is located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest[1] at Chingford. ... Tottenham is an urban area of north London in the London Borough of Haringey, situated 6. ... Tottenham Hale is a district in the former Borough of Tottenham, now part of The London Borough of Haringey. ... The Clock Mill at Three Mills in Bow The Three Mills are former working mills on the River Lee in the East End of London, one of London’s oldest still-surviving industrial centres, the largest and most powerful of the four remaining tidal mills in Britain, and is possibly... Bow is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. ...

River history

In the Roman era, Old Ford, as the name suggests, was the ancient, most downstream, crossing point of the River Lee. This was part of a pre-Roman route that followed the modern Oxford Street, Old Street, through Bethnal Green to Old Ford and thence across a causeway through the marshes, known as Wanstead Slip (now in Leyton. The route then continued through Essex to Colchester. At this time, the Lee was a wide, fast flowing river, and the tidal estuary stretched as far as Hackney Wick.^[2] Evidence of a late Roman settlement at Old Ford, dating from the 4th and 5th centuries, has been found. The Roman Era is a period in Western history, when ancient Rome was the center of power of the world around the Mediterranean Sea, where Latin was the lingua franca. ... Bow Creek (tidal) meets the Limehouse Cut (canal) with a view of Londons Docklands The River Lee or River Lea (both spellings are in general use) is a river in England. ... The Roman Era is a period in Western history, when ancient Rome was the center of power of the world around the Mediterranean Sea, where Latin was the lingua franca. ... Oxford Street, with Centre Point in the background Oxford Street in 1875, looking west from the junction with Duke Street. ... Old Street is a road in central London that runs west to east from Clerkenwell to Shoreditch. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Old Ford is also an area of Bow, London named after a crossing of the River Lee. ... , Wanstead is a suburban area in the London Borough of Redbridge, East London. ... , Leyton is an area of East London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest. ... For other meanings of Essex, see Essex (disambiguation). ... For other places with the same name, see Colchester (disambiguation). ... Hackney Wick is an area in the London Borough of Hackney in East London. ... Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between 43 and 410. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Europe in 450 The 5th century is the period from 401 to 500 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ...

In about 895, a force of Danes built a fortified camp, in the higher reaches of the Lee, about 20 miles north of London. Alfred the Great saw an opportunity to defeat the Danes and ordered the lower reaches of the Lee drained, at Leamouth. This left the Danes' boats stranded, but also increased the flow of the river and caused the tidal head to move downriver to Old Ford. For the 10th century Bishop of Sherborne, see Alfred (bishop). ...

In 1110, Matilda, wife of Henry I, reputedly took a tumble at the ford, on her way to Barking Abbey and ordered a distinctively bow-shaped, three-arched, bridge to be built over the River Lee (The like of which had not been seen before), at Bow. During the middle ages, Temple Mills, Abbey Mills, Old Ford and Bow were the sites of water mills (mainly in ecclesiastic ownership) that supplied flour to the bakers of Stratforde-atte-Bow, and hence bread to the City. It was the channels created for these mills that caused the Bow Back Rivers to be cut through the former Roman stone causeway at Stratford (from which the name is derived). Edith of Scotland, (c. ... Henry I (c. ... Curfew tower with St Margarets Church in background The ruined remains of Barking Abbey are in situated in Barking in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in East London, England; where it forms a public open space. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Temple Mills is a northerly part of Stratford, south of Leyton, located within the London borough of Newham in East London Today, Temple Mills is surrounded at present by former railway tracks and works beloging to the Great Eastern Railway, but a small maintenance depot for EWS and Railtrack still... The original Abbey Mills Pumping Station (Station A) The original Abbey Mills Pumping Station, in Abbey Lane, London E15, is a sewerage pumping station, designed by engineer Joseph Bazalgette, Edmund Cooper, and architect Charles Driver, it was built between 1865 and 1868. ...

Improvements were made to the river from 1424, with tolls being levied to compensate the landowners, and in 1571, there were riots after the extension of the River was promoted in a private bill presented to the House of Commons. By 1577, the first lock was established at Waltham Abbey and the river began to be actively managed for navigation. Type Lower House Speaker Michael Martin, (Non-affiliated) since October 23, 2000 Leader Harriet Harman, (Labour) since June 28, 2007 Shadow Leader Theresa May, (Conservative) since May 5, 2005 Members 659 Political groups Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Scottish National Party Plaid Cymru Democratic Unionist Party Sinn Féin...

The New River was constructed in 1613 to take clean water to London, from the Lee and its catchment areas and bypass the polluting industries that had developed in its downstream reaches.^[3] This artificial channel further reduced the flow to the natural river and by 1767 locks were installed on the canalised part of the River, now the River Lee Navigation with further locks and canalisation taking place during the succeeding centuries. There are also other rivers called the New River New Gauge where water leaves the River Lea at the start of the New River The New River is a man-made waterway in England, opened in 1613 to supply London with fresh drinking water. ... For other uses, see Canal (disambiguation). ... Old Ford Lock, Lee Navigation The River Lee Navigation is a canalised river incorporating - as the name suggests - the River Lee (also known as the River Lea). ...

There are now plans to canalise parts of the Bow Back rivers to assist with construction of the Olympic Park for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The London Olympic Park, is a new sporting complex to be built in Stratford for the 2012 Summer Olympics. ... London 2012 redirects here. ...

Notable Fisheries

• Amwell Magna Fishery
• Carthagena Weir
• Dobbs Weir
• Kings Weir
• Fishers Green

Amwell Magna Fishery is located on the River Lea at Amwell which is 1½ miles S of Ware Hertfordshire. ... Carthagena Weir is a weir on the River Lee. ... Weir pool and wave January 2006 Pub atop the v-drops January 2006 Dobbs Weir is a popular spot near Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire in England on the River Lee. ... Kings Weir is a weir on the River Lee. ... Fishers Green is located 1 mile north of Waltham Abbey,Essex on the B194 road on the section known as the Crooked Mile. ...

See also

• List of reservoirs and dams in the United Kingdom
• Rivers of the United Kingdom
• Bow Back Rivers
• Locks and Weirs on the River Lee
• Lea Valley Walk
• Lower Lea Valley

// This is a list of reservoirs and dams in the United Kingdom. ... This is a list of rivers of Great Britain. ... Steps going down to the tow path, used in the past by horses Bow Back Rivers are part of the River Lee in London and form a complex system of waterways. ... Hertford Castle Weir Dobbs Weir This article contains a complete list of locks and weirs on the River Lee. ... Lea Valley Walk within Greater London Lea Valley Walk is a 50 mile long distance path located between Leagrave the source of the River Lea near Luton to the Thames,at Limehouse Basin,Limehouse,East London. ... The Lower Lea Valley is the area surrounding the River Lea (or Lee), which runs along the boundary of the London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Newham and into the River Thames. ...

Tributaries

• For a full list of tributaries, please expand the River Lee info box at the bottom of this page.

Literature

• The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton

Izaak Walton (August 9, 1593 - December 15, 1683) was an English writer, author of The Compleat Angler. ... Izaak Walton (August 9, 1593 - December 15, 1683) was an English writer, author of The Compleat Angler. ...

External links

• Lee Valley Park website
• River Lee — Our River
• River-Lea.co.uk
• Hertford Loop A Wikipaddle article from a kayaking and canoeing perspective.

Notes