Nine Wells is a 1.2 hectare Local Nature Reserve east of

Trumpington Trumpington is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, mostly located in Cambridge, with a small southern area of the village extending into the South Cambridgeshire district. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 UK census, the village had ...

, on the southern outskirts of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. It is owned and managed by

Cambridge City Council Cambridge City Council is the local authority for Cambridge, a non-metropolitan district with city status in the United Kingdom, city status in Cambridgeshire, England. The council has been under Labour Party (UK), Labour majority control since ...

. The site is a small area of woodland surrounded by agricultural land. Multiple springs issue from the base of a chalk hill, and feed

Hobson's Conduit Hobson's Conduit, also called Hobson's Brook, is a watercourse that was built from 1610 to 1614 by Thomas Hobson and others to bring fresh water into the city of Cambridge, England from springs at Nine Wells, a Local Nature Reserve (), near t ...

, the watercourse that was built between 1610 and 1614 by Thomas Hobson and other benefactors to bring

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...

into the city of

. There are four main springheads linked by stream channels, as well as innumerable minor fissures, that issue water at a constant 10.2 °C.Nine Wells Local Nature Reserve
/ref>

History

In 1265 a defensive channel known as 'the king's ditch' was excavated around the city of Cambridge. By the early 17th century this ditch had become an open sewer. In 1574

Andrew Perne Andrew Perne (26 April 1589), List of Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge, Vice-Chancellor of University of Cambridge, Cambridge University and Dean of Ely, was the son of John Perne of East Bilney, Norfolk. Biography Perne was ed ...

DD, Master of Peterhouse, thought of constructing a channel to bring water to the ditch.

, constructed from 1610, used the natural springs at Nine Wells to create a flow of water to the city and flush the kings ditch. This was not only successful in sanitising the city but it became the principal water supply for Cambridge for over 250 years. Water continues to flow into the city and waters the lake in the

Botanic Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

Plant species

The dominant trees here are beech which were originally planted for firewood but have a detrimental effect on the watercourses: an acidic leaf fall in autumn is causing heavy silting and a change in oxygen levels. The hedgerow that encloses the reserve was planted following the Great Shelford Inclosure Act 1834 ( 4 & 5 Will. 4. c. ''3'' ) and comprises native species like hawthorn,

spindle Spindle may refer to: Textiles and manufacturing * Spindle (textiles), a straight spike to spin fibers into yarn * Spindle (tool), a rotating axis of a machine tool Biology * Common spindle and other species of shrubs and trees in genus ''Euonym ...

and field maple. A survey determined that 108

plant species Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Sometimes ...

grow here and the area contains numerous mature ash trees as well as

blackthorn ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is an Old World species of flowering plant in the rose family, Rosaceae. It is locally naturalized in parts of the New World. The fruits are used to make sloe gin in Britain and patxaran in Basq ...

. Scented sweet violets ''(Viola odorata)'' and bluebells bloom there early in the year, and later there are cowslips and deadly nightshade.

Aquatic wildlife

It was created a biological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

because a range of relic aquatic invertebrates bred here. The flatworms ''Planaria cornuta'' and ''P. alpina'' were found here and had survived from the last glacial period. Another relic species was a trichopteran (caddisfly), ''Agapetus fuscipes''. However the drought of 1976 together with increased water abstraction caused some extinctions and Nine Wells lost its SSSI status. Efforts are being made to recreate conditions favourable to re-establishing a richer invertebrate fauna again, however there is a great deal of new building going on in the area so this special little habitat patch is potentially under threat. According to the information boards within the reserve, active management is needed to keep the streams suitable for bullhead fish to thrive and this is important as they provide food for kingfishers. Falling beech leaves need to be cleared from the streams to stop the water from becoming too acidic.

Terrestrial species

These woods are home to species including

chaffinch The Eurasian chaffinch, common chaffinch, or simply the chaffinch (''Fringilla coelebs'') is a common and widespread small passerine bird in the finch family. The male is brightly coloured with a blue-grey cap and rust-red underparts. The fema ...

robin Robin most commonly refers to several species of passerine birds. Robin may also refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), inclu ...

yellowhammer The yellowhammer (''Emberiza citrinella'') is a passerine bird in the Emberiza, bunting family that is native to Palearctic, Eurasia and has been introduced species, introduced to New Zealand and Australia. Most European birds remain in the br ...

greenfinch The greenfinches are small passerine birds in the genus ''Chloris'' in the subfamily Carduelinae within the Fringillidae. The species have a Eurasian distribution except for the European greenfinch, which also occurs in North Africa. These fin ...

, blackbird and, during the summer, chiffchaff. The site is an important refuge for birds, with

sparrowhawk Sparrowhawk (sometimes sparrow hawk) may refer to several species of small hawk in the subfamily Accipitrinae The Accipitrinae are the Family (biology), subfamily of the Accipitridae often known as the "true" hawks. The subfamily contains 73 s ...

''(Accipitier nisus)'',

green woodpecker There are four species of bird named green woodpecker: * European green woodpecker, ''Picus viridis'' * Iberian green woodpecker The Iberian green woodpecker (''Picus sharpei'') is a medium-sized woodpecker endemic to the Iberian peninsula. It wa ...

''(Picus viridis)'',

long-tailed tit The long-tailed tit (''Aegithalos caudatus''), also named long-tailed bushtit, is a common bird found throughout Europe and the Palearctic. The genus name ''Aegithalos'' was a term used by Aristotle for some European tits, including the long-tail ...

''(Aegithalos caudatus)'',

bullfinch Bullfinch is a name given to two groups of passerine birds. True bullfinches The true bullfinches are thick-billed finches in the passerine family Fringillidae. They comprise the genus '' Pyrrhula''. These birds are distributed across Asia and Eu ...

''(Pyrrhula pyrrhula)'' and

redwing The redwing (''Turdus iliacus'') is a bird in the thrush family, Turdidae, native to Europe and the Palearctic, slightly smaller than the related song thrush. Taxonomy and systematics This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1 ...

''(Turdus iliacus)'' recorded as well as a good variety of small species. This is also a good site for butterflies including

peacocks Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred to ...

and brimstones ''(

Gonepteryx ''Gonepteryx'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae; there are about 15 species of ''Gonepteryx''. They live in Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. They are commonly known as brimstones for the bright yellow colour of the wings of mos ...

)".

Monument

Within the Reserve there is a monument to Hobson's Conduit which was erected in 1861 by public subscription and records the benefactors to the water course and conduit as: * Thomas Chaplin, Lord of the Manor of Trumpington Delapole, 1610 * Stephen Perse, fellow of Gonville and Caius, 1615 * Thomas Hobson, carrier, 1630 * Edward Potto, alderman of Cambridge, 1632, and * Joseph Merrill, alderman of Cambridge, 1806 The obelix is a Grade II listed building.

Location

It is south of

Addenbrooke's Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is a large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county to ...

and east of the railway line and the genome cycle track (), near the village of

Great Shelford Great Shelford is a village located approximately to the south of Cambridge, in Cambridgeshire, in eastern England. In 1850 Great Shelford parish contained bisected by the River Cam. The population in 1841 was 803 people. By 2001, this had g ...

Gallery

File:Hobson's Conduit monument at Nine Wells.jpg, Monument to Hobson's Conduit at Nine Wells File:Spring at Nine Wells.jpg, Spring at Nine Wells that feeds Hobson's Conduit File:One of four springs at Nine Wells.jpg, One of four springs at Nine Wells, April 2016 File:NineWells.jpg, Nine Wells woods at their narrowest, looking from the north-east File:The Stripes and the Double Helix - geograph.org.uk - 751734.jpg, Double helix sculpture where National Cycle Route 11 meets track along

Hobson's Brook Hobson's Conduit, also called Hobson's Brook, is a watercourse that was built from 1610 to 1614 by Thomas Hobson (postal carrier), Thomas Hobson and others to bring fresh water into the city of Cambridge, England from springs at Nine Wells, a L ...

to Nine Wells

References

External links

Interactive Cambridge University Map
showing access routes—by cycleway and permissive paths—to Nine Wells between

Addenbrookes Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is a large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. It is run by Cambrid ...

and

. {{Authority control Local Nature Reserves in Cambridgeshire History of Cambridge Water supply and sanitation in England