The mouth of the River Fleet where it joins the Thames at Blackfriars Bridge
The subterranean or underground rivers of London are the tributaries of the River Thames and River Lea that were built over during the growth of the metropolis of London. Since it is difficult to stop water from flowing downhill, the rivers now flow through underground culverts.
The Fleet was a clear sparkling river that for centuries ran from its source at Hampstead Heath to the Thames. Now its banks are found in a series of labyrinthine sewer tunnels, deep underground, for the brave and hardy to explore.
Royal procession in 1869 under the new Holborn Viaduct which crosses the valley of the Fleet River
The River Fleet is the largest of London's subterranean rivers. Its two headwaters are two streams on Hampstead Heath; each is now dammed into a series of ponds made in the 18th century, the Hampstead Ponds and the Highgate Ponds. At the south edge of Hampstead Heath these two streams flow underground as sewers which join in Camden Town. From the ponds the water flows underground for 4 miles (6.4 km) to join the River Thames.
The Fleet flows from two underground springs in Hampstead Heath on each side of Parliament hill. The western source starts at the Hampstead Ponds, and the old course of the river just to the south is marked by Fleet Road. The second source is in the northern edge of the park, on the grounds of Kenwood House. A longer series of ponds, the Highgate ponds, show where this spring flows along the eastern side of the park.
The two springs united just north of Camden Town. In 1826, it was recorded that the river at this point was 65 feet wide. The Fleet had always one of London’s bigger rivers—the name itself is thought to have been derived from a word meaning, basically, “big enough to float a large boat”
The Fleet River was commonly known as the Fleet Ditch, and it was notoriously filthy. In this romanticised view the Bridewell Footbridge that crosses it gives the scene a Venetian air. The different river craft include lighters moored along the quay of the River Fleet and two sprit-rigged sailing barges. The vessels in the Thames include three West Country barges, a sprit-rigged sailing barge, and wherries carrying passengers and cargoes. The Fleet River was covered over from Holborn to Fleet Street in 1737, and from Fleet Street to the Thames in 1869 when Blackfriars Bridge was under construction. The river survives today as a sewer under New Bridge Street.
The reality - The "Fleet Ditch" in 1844
The River Fleet's long and fascinating history goes all the way back to Roman times, when it was a major river and contained one of the oldest tidal mills in the world. Later on, in Anglo-Saxon times, the river was a dock for shipping at the point where it joined the Thames in a marshy tidal basin 100 yards wide. You can still see iron hoops that may have been used to tie up ships to the banks. At one time, gaily dressed women with parasols and men in their top hats promenaded in nearby gardens.
They partook of the 'healing' waters at spas along the Fleet's upper route — such as those in Bagnigge, a famous well. Further into London, however, it was a different story. As industry inexorably made London its headquarters, the River Fleet declined into a mishmash of sewage and garbage. Even old carcasses were thrown into it.
The development of the Regent's Canal and urban growth covered the river in King's Cross and Camden from 1812. The 'Fleet Market' was closed during the 1860s with the construction of Farringdon Road and Farringdon Street as a highway to the north and the Metropolitan Railway, while the final upper section of the river was covered when Hampstead was expanded in the 1870s. The Fleet played a very important part in the construction of the Metropolitan Line, the world's first Underground Metro, which gave its name to all underground railways.
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-circle-line-journey.html
The Underground Railway was the brainchild of Charles Pearson, Solicitor to the Corporation was an early advocate of a railway into the city and the terrible slums of Clerkenwell along the valley of the river Fleet being rebuilt in the process. As the line neared completion in June 1862 the Fleet sewer, which had been diverted into a brick culvert, burst near Farringdon and flooded the line back to Kings Cross to a depth of ten feet. The railway was also dogged by funding problems due to the delays and the Crimean War which was then taking place.
The bifurcation chamber under Camden Town where the two streams which rise on Hampstead Heath join to form the River Fleet
Due to the Great Stink of 1858, when sewage made the smell of London unbearable, 70% of all of the city's river networks were covered. You can guess where they were, however, by the road names. Water closets were adopted by the more affluent households of London in the early 19th century, in place of privies and cess pits. As a result, sewers originally intended to take rain water into the Thames now carried raw sewage - which was then extracted by the water companies to be drunk by their customers. The Metropolitan Commission of Sewers had responsibility for the situation, but didn't have the power to impose sufficient taxes to solve the problem.
In the 'Great Stink' of London such was the overpowering smell from the Thames, that the curtains of the Commons were soaked in chloride of lime in a vain attempt to protect the sensitivities of MPs. It is no surprise that a bill was rushed through Parliament and became law in 18 days, to provide more money to construct a massive new sewer scheme for London, and to build the Embankment along the Thames in order to improve the flow of water and of traffic.
In London with the expansion of the city in the early C19th the Thames was an open sewer and cholera was a constant problem, but it wasn't until the 'Great Stink' of 1858 that any serious action was taken. The great Victorian engineer Joseph Bazalgette solved the problem by building the great system of sewers, pumping stations and treatment works which still operate to this day. It also led to the building of the Victoria and Albert Embankments along the Thames changing the face of London and the River Thames to this day.
Although few ever saw it, Bazalgette’s sewer system was one of the engineering marvels of its day. Round brick tunnels ranging from six to twelve feet in diameter hold mainline sewers, as well as rivers like the Fleet that had become so polluted that they were best put underground. Round tunnels flow into even vaster tunnels shaped like an upside-down horseshoe, with gently concave floors. Smaller channels were often oval or egg-shaped. (With the smaller end of the egg’s profile pointed downward, this shape keeps sewage flowing faster even when it’s low flow, and that helps reduce silt build-up.) These were built not only for sewage and wastewater, but also to drain the city of rain or snowmelt. Because of this, the tunnels often seem needlessly huge.
When Bazalgette designed the sewer system, one of the most important things he did was create a system of five “interceptor” sewers, which ran parallel to the Thames at various distances and intercepted the water from the north- and south-flowing sewers to carry the sewage to a treatment plant. Previously, the sewage had flowed directly into the Thames, near where drinking water for the city was withdrawn. Bazalgette’s new system probably saved an incalculable number of lives from disease.
Fleet Street is still one of the most famous streets in London, known for its past use by newspaper companies. The Fleet can be heard through a grating in Ray Street, Clerkenwell in front of the Coach and Horses pub. The position of the river can still be seen in the surrounding streetscape with Ray Street and its continuation Warner Street lying in a valley where the river once flowed. It can also be heard through a grid in the centre of Charterhouse Street where it joins Farringdon Road (on the Smithfield side of the junction). In wet weather, the murky Fleet can be seen gushing into the Thames at a right angle on a very low tide from the Thameswalk exit of Blackfriars station, immediately under the Blackfriars Bridge. Look for a ladder that descends into the water. (The picture shows the right location but it can be seen much more clearly when standing over it.)
The final chamber of the Fleet Sewer.The huge metal doors are the floodgates onto the Thames and the circular objects are one way valves which open when the tide on the Thames is out to release the chambers contents into the river
The Fleet is now largely invisible underground but many ghosts remain. These include the many people who earned a living in its dank, smelly waters. So-called mudlarks and toshers scavenged items of value there, including bits of coal that had dropped off barges. Often these people were small children trying to eke out a living underground. It is part of the history of London going back to Roman Times waiting to see the light of day again.
London’s underground rivers;
River Thames - North Bank
The River Tyburn in Central London, it flows under Buckingham Palace and "Brook Street" in Mayfair is named after it
The Walbrook
The River Fleet, the largest
The Tyburn
The Tyburn Brook
The River Westbourne
Counter's Creek
Stamford Brook
River Brent (partly underground)
River Rom (partly underground)
River Fleet - "Steps" down to the Thames outlet
River Thames – south bank:
The River Peck
The River Neckinger
The River Effra
The Falconbrook
The Graveney River
River Lea:
The Moselle is visible above ground flowing through Tottenham Cemetery on its way to the Lea.
Hackney Brook
The River Moselle
To see some of the underground pictures on their original sites see;
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/news-londons-secret-subterranean-river
www.sub-urban.com
Some of this article and photos are licensed under the Creative Commons BY-SA License. The text uses material from Wikipedia content. Thanks to sub-urban.com and john Doe for their pictures of the underground river.
Thanks to my good Bloggy Buddy “The Girl in the Cafe” for the heads up on these wonderful photos of the underground river.
http://www.thegirlinthecafe.com
Lost Rivers of London Click for larger image
