Establishing the source of the Brook. Friday 26th December 2025.

 Starting at the point north of West Rd Where the public access to the brook ceases as it now follows the line of a hedge to the West and from here will cross into the grassy meadow previously known as Willow Mead. Follow the line of the existing footpath northwards towards Tharbies Farm. Allow at least 20 minutes for this section until you reach the buildings at Tharbies some of which have been converted into dwellings. Several of the original farm buildings remain of which the oldest is this timbered one shown.

I originally thought that the source of the Brook was at the farm pond nearby but on investigation this is not so and running water is found at the bottom of the slope from the farm buildings where it is coming in from the north through a culvert under the road. Tharbies Pond is shown first and then the culvert and Brook leading down the fields towards West Rd.

Following the road in a northerly direction you can find a small stream on the right hand side of the road which is running quite strongly through a series of bridges and crossing points which would have originally have led into the environs of the farm buildings. Several fishing ponds have been established on the other side of the fence. Following the small stream on the right hand side you will go into Trimms Lane where the flow continues to be quite strong and is obviously heavily vegetated in the growing season with Willow herb indicating damp conditions. 

At the time of this survey the channel has been cleared out which makes things a lot easier to see. Progress up the road following the roadside channel which is quite deep in places until you come to a point where there is a small tree on the right hand side by which time the flow has apparently disappeared. 

It is at this point that the site of the Moat shown on the 1873 map would have been in evidence but it has all been ploughed out and probably drained into the ditch, the only evidence is a  rise in the land in the distance and what looks like chalky boulder clay ploughed to the surface. Retracing footsteps the stream is on both sides of the road and seems to switch back and forth.

Keep on going back down the hill until you meet the point at which Sweet Dews Lane comes in on the right hand side. Progress up this lane and you will soon meet running water on the road surface which looks like another input to the Brook. This surface flooding continues for a significant distance up the hill and is on the road surface because there is no properly dugout roadside ditch. The assumption is that it is culverted under the road and meets the main flow coming in from the left.

Going back down the hill to the point where the road bends to the right towards High Wych you will find railings along the south side of the road behind which is another shallow water filled ditch opposite Tharbies  Farmhouse which is presumably also contributing to the flow of the Brook. 

At this point you have to diverge from the official footpath route to avoid having to walk across open arable land. Instead follow the line of the Brook which by this time has now sunk into a significantly deep and steep sided channel with an established badger sett in the bank.

The footpath route at this point is not well defined and the fact that there are Private Land and No Public Access signs would suggest that the land owners are not keen on public walking a proper and legal route. Locally, this area was always known as The Chase with an avenue of lime trees and it has to be assumed that the line of the footpath/bridleway follows this route but signage does not appear to be clear or welcoming. 

There is evidence of an ancient channel for the brook which can be seen to meander over the current grassland. It would seem that the Brook has been channelled away from the grassland and its original route and the bridal way or footpath now passes over a bridge and from to the lodge house at West Rd.

By disobeying the Private signs and going through a gateway to the left you can find the Brook now running down the meadows which according to the old map was called Roches Ley. 

Venturing out onto the road extreme care is advised because there is no obvious footway on either side of the road and cars travel at significant speed. Walk as quickly as possible down the hill towards the cottages on the right hand side. It is at this point that another branch of the Brook comes in from the right hand side which will be the subject of another post on this blog. It is known that the cottages on the right used to be subject to flooding and the channel of this subsidiary branch can be seen to both go under the road presumably in a culvert and also to emerge in another culvert adjacent to the cottages on the right hand side.

The main subsidiary channel of the brook is now behind the orange tree Public House / Restaurant and can next be seen opposite the farm buildings of what used to be Clay Lane Farm. It is quite obvious that this channel takes a significant flow of water because a large plastic culvert has been installed and it might be noted that there is what looks like evidence of pollution which can be investigated at a later date.

 The next picture in this post is a general view of what used to be called Willow Mead where the channel of the brook has obviously been changed and managed several times presumably because it was a wet and marshy area and has been drained in the process of agricultural improvements over the years.

There is a reminder that people have not always been on mains water in this part of Sawbridgeworth and there is all that remains of a communal water pump on the south side of the road opposite the cottages. It is assumed that the body of the hand pump has been stolen for scrap metal leaving just the broken stump of the cast iron pump barrel. It is evidence that there is sufficient water in the ground here to be made available for domestic purposes pre general water mains.