Lost Rivers
Everybody in London is aware of the River Thames. It’s the second longest river in England, running west to east for over two hundred miles from Gloucestershire to Southend in Essex. It runs through Oxford, Henley and, of course central London.
The river is tidal to the east of the lock at Teddington, and within this tidal stretch the river has a number of tributaries that feed the main river course, these include the Wandle (which gives its name to Wandsworth, the River Lea and the River Roding.
Of course tributaries can be inconvenient in a major metropolis, and some of those tributaries have been ‘tamed’ over the years. Most notably the Fleet and the Westbourne.
The Fleet starts in Hampstead Heath in the form of two ponds, Hampstead and Highgate ponds. These upper reaches (which were once known as the Oldbourne – which gave Holborn its name) are then ducted into underground pipes and the underground river flows under Kentish Town, Kings Cross and Farringdon through until it joins ‘Father Thames’ by Blackfriars Bridge.
The Fleet can be heard through a grating in the street outside the Coach and Horses pub in Farringdon, and in the basements of some buildings along Farringdon.
This picture was taken by Jeffrey, the landlord of the ‘Gunmakers Arms’ pub in Clerkenwell. The well at Clerkenwell also feeds the Fleet.
The Westbourne also rises in Hampstead and flows south to Hyde Park where it becomes the Serpentine – passing what was once Bayards Watering Place – now Bayswater. After the Serpentine the Westbourne is ducted into sewer pipes for the rest of its course beneath Belgravia to the Thames.
What is particularly notable about the Westbourne is the path is takes when it crosses the ‘district’ underground line at Sloane Square station – here the course of the river is clearly visible in the form of a large pipe that crosses the lines above the heads of the underground passengers.
