River Gade

The River Gade is a chalk stream that flows almost entirely through Hertfordshire. It begins at a spring in the chalk of the Chiltern Hills at Dagnall in Buckinghamshire. The river passes through Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley and Watford, skirting the west side of the town through Cassiobury Park. After Croxley Green it reaches Rickmansworth, where it joins the River Colne. For most of its length the Gade is unnavigable, except for a short section in Apsley that forms part of the Grand Union Canal. The river once powered several water mills, including those at Water End, Cassiobury Park and Two Waters. It also drove the John Dickinson paper mills at Apsley and Croxley after being diverted for that purpose. In 2025 the Gade was restored to its natural course. Watercress was once farmed along the river at Cassiobury Park, Water End, the Jellicoe Water Gardens and Two Waters until 1947. A Roman villa was discovered at Gadebridge Park in Hemel Hempstead. The river gives its name to the Three Rivers district and supports ducks and a variety of insects. Below Hemel Hempstead the Gade runs alongside the Grand Union Canal and sometimes forms part of the canal itself. The river bed from the source at Dagnall to Great Gaddesden, about 3 miles downstream, is usually dry. After heavy rain it fills quickly and often floods. The river’s chalk stream character and restored course make it a notable watercourse in the Chilterns landscape.