Conservators of the River Cam

The Conservators of the River Cam are the navigation authority for the River Cam in Cambridgeshire and were founded in 1702.

Cambridge had been a major inland port as a result of its position on the navigable River Cam for centuries, but this position changed with the draining of the Fens. The most notable change was caused by the construction of Denver sluice on the River Great Ouse, under the terms of the Drainage Act of 1649, which resulted in tidal waters being cut off from the River Cam. Navigation became difficult, and in 1697, both the University of Cambridge and the town corporation complained to parliament that the supply of goods to the town from Kings Lynn was greatly impaired.

Against this background, the Corporation sought to obtain an Act of Parliament in 1699, which would allow them to reinstate navigation to Cambridge. The Act was obtained on 27 February 1702 and established the Conservators as a legal body with powers to collect tolls in order to maintain the river. Tolls ranged from four shillings (20p) a ton for wine to one penny (0.4p) for each passenger using the river, and the Conservators, of whom there were a maximum of eleven, were empowered to mortgage the tolls in order to raise capital with which to improve the condition of the river. This they did, and built sluices at Jesus Green, Chesterton, Baits Bite and Clayhithe. Most of the tolls were collected at Clayhithe.

Denver sluice collapsed prior to 1820, and although the Corporation of Cambridge opposed its rebuilding, it was rebuilt by 1850. Tolls on the river gradually increased, from £432 in 1752, to over £1,000 in 1803. 1835 was the best year, when tolls reached £1,995, after which they declined again, although they did not drop below £1,000 until 1847. The Conservators appear to have managed the river prudently, deriving a little extra revenue in rents from public houses which were constructed at each of the sluices.

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