The River Purwell is a chalk stream in Hertfordshire, England. It is a continuation of the Ippollitts Brook where its source is found at St Ippollitts and the Purwell's source is between on the border of Great Wymondley and Hitchin, where it joins the Hiz at its confluence downstream at Walsworth. The river powered a watermill until the 1920s.
Course
The River Purwell is a continuation of Ippollitts Brook. Ippollitts Brook's source is found at St Ippollitts flowing through the A602 and Oakfield Farm, where its course flows predominantly south of Hitchin, the tributary of Ash Brook joins the Ippollitts Brook. By the time it reaches the border between Great Wymondley and Hitchin, Ippollitts Brook becomes the River Purwell. The actual point of the changes in the name are unclear; maps show it could be shortly before the stream crosses before from the south of Hitchin to the east of Hitchin, or on the border between Great Wymondley and Hitchin.
The River Purwell flows through Purwell Mill and traverses through the A505 before joining the River Hiz downstream at Walsworth. The Environment Agency gave the river a length of and a catchment area of . Text was copied from this source, it is available under the Open Government License 3.0
The river and associated wetlands are protected by nature reserves at Ninesprings and Purwell Meadows.
History At Purwell Meadows the river powered a watermill until the 1920s. The existing building is a couple of hundred years old, but a mill at this site is mentioned in the Domesday Book. This document from 1086 recorded a mill worth 20s in the part of Great Wymondley belonging to King William. Because part of the mill extended over the river to the opposite bank, in Hitchin manor, the Manor of Great Wymondley had to pay an annual fee of 6d.
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