The wilds of LondonExplorations of the quotidian: lost rivers, rural London and much, much more… |
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The New River Head, 2024. Photo Lesley Lawson
Returning to my investigations of the New River, I forgo the walk from Canonbury to its terminus, choosing instead to take the Number 19 bus.
Alighting at Sadler’s Wells, I find Myddelton Passage, a narrow street that leads directly to the New River Head. This was the site of London’s first waterworks and the operational base of the New River Company. It was constructed in 1613 to collect water carried in the New River canal from springs far north in Hertfordshire and deliver it to thirsty Londoners.
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Installation by Christina Iglesias at the site of the former Walbrook River.
City of London, 2024. Photo Lesley Lawson.
An 1180 account of London describes the settlement as having flowing streams and surrounded by “excellent springs; the water of which is sweet, clear and salubrious”. Indeed, until the mid-nineteenth century, London was traversed by more than a dozen rivers, which have since disappeared underground. Hackney Brook, was one such river that ran west to east across the city, feeding the lakes in Clissold Park along the way. Having discovered this during the COVID lockdown, I resolved to trace its route through my north London neighbourhood.
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Clissold Park, 2024. Photo: Lesley Lawson.
My obsession with London’s lost rivers all began with the Covid lockdown.
Every morning, at first light, I would pace around Clissold Park—1,000 steps from my front door—alongside likeminded walkers, dog people and huffing hipsters. The 54-acre park was originally the grounds of a stately home built in 1793 by anti-slavery campaigner Joseph Hoare and taken into public ownership in 1888. Paradise House, as it was then called, is a Grade II listed building that hosts park offices and is rented out for weddings and private functions. At the time of writing, the café on the ground floor is closed due to a tragic history of poor food and mismanagement. But therein lies another tale…