The Spital Brook is a minor tributary of the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, England. The Spital Brook rises in Hoddesdonpark Wood and flows eastwards, passing through Barclay Park, the former Hoddesdon Common, on its journey to the Lea, while an unnamed parallel stream to the south has been diverted to form ornamental waterbodies located within the former parkland of Broxbournebury. The stream crosses the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

road,

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London (''Londinium'') to Lincoln ('' Lindum Colonia'') and York ('' Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earninga ...

, before going under the A10 and Cock Lane. The original crossing place or ford of Spital Brook in Cock Lane remains and the original route it took ran parallel to the brook in a north–south direction. The brook passes through its namesake area, Spital Brook and marks the traditional boundary between the two parishes of

Hoddesdon Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon ...

and

Broxbourne Broxbourne is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, England, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 It is located to the south of Hoddesdon and to the north of Cheshunt, north of London. ...

. The stream runs parallel to the Lea Valley Lines by Broxbourne Station until it meets the

close to Broxbourne Riverside, the former Broxbourne Lido. Spital Brook's profile is relatively steep for a Hertfordshire water course, and loses approximately 50 metres of height over the 1 kilometre upper section. Due to the brook's small catchment area, unless it is raining heavily, only the lower reach is likely to have water in it.

References

Rivers of Hertfordshire Tributaries of the River Lea 1Spital {{England-river-stub