River Chess - River Course

River Course

The river is fed by groundwater held in the chalk aquifer of the Chiltern Hills and rises from springs which surface in the Vale of Chesham at Higham Mead from Bury Pond and in Pednor just to the north of Chesham. It flows within culverts beneath the town before flowing in a south-easterly direction through Waterside. The river flows below parkland landscaped by Capability Brown and the site of a 1st Century Roman villa at Latimer House.Latimer House and just beyond the village of Latimer. The river flows to the north of Chenies passed unimproved water meadows at Frogmore and the west of Sarratt and the watercress beds at Sarratt Bottom. The Chess flows under the M25 motorway at Solesbridge Lane, before passing through the private housing estate of Loudwater, whose name was historically associated with the river at this point. Below this the river passes several disused water mills which supplied power and water for paper manufacture during the 18th and 19th Centuries. At Rickmansworth it joins the River Colne to the east of the town. The river banks are mostly not public rights of way, and only small stretches of the river are accessible. It is navigable only in its lower reaches.