# Nine Wells > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nine_Wells > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nine_Wells.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Wells > Source revision: 1355270044 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Park in United Kingdom}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox park | name = Nine Wells | image = Streams leading out of Nine Wells - geograph.org.uk - 751770.jpg | image_caption = | type = Local Nature Reserve | grid_ref_UK = TL 461 542 | location = Trumpington, Cambridgeshire | area = {{cvt|1.2|hectare}} | manager = Cambridge City Council }} '''Nine Wells''' is a 1.2 hectare (3 acres) [Local Nature Reserve](/source/Local_Nature_Reserve) east of [Trumpington](/source/Trumpington), on the southern outskirts of [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge). It is owned and managed by [Cambridge City Council](/source/Cambridge_City_Council).{{cite web|url=http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=5&N=&ID=1124 |title= Nine Wells|series=Local Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England| date = 20 February 2013 |access-date =16 December 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=lnrIndex&query=REF_CODE%3D%271084816%27 |title=Map of Nine Wells|series=Local Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England| access-date =16 December 2016}} 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](/source/Hobson's_Conduit), the watercourse that was built between 1610 and 1614 by [Thomas Hobson](/source/Thomas_Hobson_(postal_carrier)) and other benefactors to bring [fresh water](/source/fresh_water) into the city of [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge). There are four main springheads linked by stream channels, as well as innumerable minor fissures, that issue water at a constant 10.2 °C.[http://lnr.cambridge.gov.uk/nature_reserve/nine-wells Nine Wells Local Nature Reserve]{{cite web| url=http://lnr.cambridge.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ninewells_mngplan.pdf | title=Nine Wells LNR Management Plan | website=lnr.cambridge.gov.uk | location=UK | date=2014 }} ==History== thumb|upright|Location of King's Ditch overlaid on a modern map 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](/source/Andrew_Perne) DD, Master of Peterhouse, thought of constructing a channel to bring water to the ditch. [Hobson's Conduit](/source/Hobson's_Conduit), 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](/source/Cambridge_University_Botanic_Garden). ==Plant species== thumb|Sweet violets at Nine Wells, April 2016 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](/source/Great_Shelford_Inclosure_Act_1834) ([4 & 5 Will. 4](/source/4_%26_5_Will._4). c. ''3'' {{small|Pr.}}) and comprises native species like [hawthorn](/source/Crataegus), [spindle](/source/Euonymus) and field maple. A survey determined that 108 [plant species](/source/plant_species) grow here and the area contains numerous mature ash trees as well as [blackthorn](/source/blackthorn). Scented sweet violets ''(Viola odorata)'' and [bluebells](/source/Hyacinthoides) bloom here early in the year, and later there are [cowslips](/source/Primula_veris) and [deadly nightshade](/source/deadly_nightshade). ==Aquatic wildlife== It was created a biological [Site of Special Scientific Interest](/source/Site_of_Special_Scientific_Interest) 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''.correspondence with Dr. Nigel Russell, Lead Conservation Adviser, Cambridgeshire Land Management Team, Natural England, Nov 2015 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](/source/acidic). ==Terrestrial species== These woods are home to species including [chaffinch](/source/chaffinch), [robin](/source/European_robin), [yellowhammer](/source/yellowhammer), [greenfinch](/source/European_greenfinch), [blackbird](/source/True_thrush) and, during the summer, [chiffchaff](/source/Common_chiffchaff). The site is an important refuge for birds, with [sparrowhawk](/source/Eurasian_sparrowhawk) ''(Accipitier nisus)'', [green woodpecker](/source/European_green_woodpecker) ''(Picus viridis)'', [long-tailed tit](/source/long-tailed_tit) ''(Aegithalos caudatus)'', [bullfinch](/source/Eurasian_bullfinch) ''(Pyrrhula pyrrhula)'' and [redwing](/source/redwing) ''(Turdus iliacus)'' recorded as well as a good variety of small species. This is also a good site for butterflies including [peacocks](/source/Aglais_io) and brimstones ''([Gonepteryx](/source/Gonepteryx))''. ==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 watercourse and conduit as: * Thomas Chaplin, Lord of the Manor of Trumpington Delapole, 1610 * [Stephen Perse](/source/Stephen_Perse), fellow of [Gonville and Caius](/source/Gonville_and_Caius), 1615 * [Thomas Hobson](/source/Thomas_Hobson_(postal_carrier)), carrier, 1630 * Edward Potto, alderman of Cambridge, 1632 * Joseph Merrill, alderman of Cambridge, 1806 The [obelisk](/source/obelisk) is a [Grade II listed](/source/Grade_II_listed) building.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1127825|desc=Nine Wells Monument|grade=II}} ==Location== It is south of [Addenbrooke's Hospital](/source/Addenbrooke's_Hospital) and east of the railway line and the genome cycle track ({{coord|52.166|N|0.1349|E|type:landmark_region:GB|name=Hobson Conduit (spring at Nine Wells)}}), near the village of [Great Shelford](/source/Great_Shelford). ==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](/source/National_Cycle_Route_11) meets track along [Hobson's Brook](/source/Hobson's_Brook) to Nine Wells ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{Commons category|Nine Wells}} *[https://map.cam.ac.uk/Trumpington+Street#52.169878,0.141149,15 Interactive Cambridge University Map], showing access routes—by [cycleway](/source/National_Cycle_Route_11) and [permissive paths](/source/Rights_of_way_in_England_and_Wales)—to Nine Wells between [Addenbrookes Hospital](/source/Addenbrookes_Hospital) and [Great Shelford](/source/Great_Shelford). {{Coord| 52.167| 0.1348 |type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}} {{Local Nature Reserves in Cambridgeshire}} {{Authority control}} Category:Local nature reserves in Cambridgeshire Category:History of Cambridge Category:Water supply and sanitation in England --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nine Wells](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Wells) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Wells?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.