History of the River Lee

The people of the Lea Valley have always called on their local river for many needs: transport, water supply, fishing, flood control, power for mills, and today, pleasure boating.

There is evidence of its use for transport as early as the Bronze Age. The improvements for navigation are among the oldest in the country. In the 17th century, Isaac Walton wrote The Compleat Angler based on his experiences of fishing the river.

The river was improved between Hertford and the River Thames under an Act of 1767. The river was increasingly heavily used as a water supply, but the works encouraged industry - such as small arms manufacture, gunpowder mills and furniture-making. In recent times, the area has become a focus for technological progress, such as computing and TV broadcasting - the first few series of Big Brother were filmed next to the navigation!

The River Stort joins the Lee a few miles below Hertford. Its narrower, more meandering course is of a totally different character. Together, the two rivers comprise over 40 miles of navigable waterways through the valley which since 1967 has been managed by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.