#river effra

[londiniumlundene]

Lost London: Walking the River Effra Part 2: Lost in suburbia

A persistent urban legend tells that a coffin was found floating in the Thames in Victorian times. Its occupant was thought to have been buried in West Norwood Cemetery, with investigation finding the grave seemingly undisturbed. Further digging (presumably in both the figurative and literal sense) led to the discovery that the burial plot was directly over the course of the culverted river Effra, and the coffin had fallen through and been carried along to the Thames.

Starting the second leg of the walk at the Gothic West Norwood Cemetery, such direct access to the watercourse of the Effra is not available to the living, who must instead follow Norwood Road a short way, before turning into Victorian suburbs, where traces of the river are hard to discern in the grid of streets bearing highbrow names.

The Effra’s course then passes under the so-called South Circular – not a purpose-built route, but a linkage of already existing roads. Following this leads to a crossroads by West Dulwich Station; turning left keeps with the Effra, but a short diversion into nearby Belair Park reveals a long, thin pond hidden among the trees. This was most likely dug out to collect water from the hills above Dulwich, and it now drains them into the Effra sewer.

Retracing steps to the crossroads, the course of the Effra can be picked up again, running alongside the road (probably directly under the adjacent railway tracks), before it turns right, and then left, running under Dulwich Cricket Club, and then below more suburban streets.

Here, one finds very little to indicate the existence of the river, though the rather regular-sized railway arches of Giant Arches Road are there to connect to the embankment that carried the tracks over the once marshy ground of the Effra’s flood plain. There’s also an interesting mural of “actor, artist, legend” Richard Burbage at this point.

Winding through more near-identical leafy streets of Victorian houses, the walker begins to feel almost as lost as the river they are following, before suddenly emerging onto the chaotic junction at Herne Hill station. Here, the Effra flows towards the edge of Brockwell Park, where feet can be rested, and this second entry ends.

[londiniumlundene]

Lost London: Walking the River Effra Part 3: A long road to the Oval

It is thought that at Brockwell Park many more tributaries join the Effra, though most of these, like the main river itself, are now underground. One can still be seen in the form of a chain of ponds if a detour is taken, though by this point in the walk there is a strong desire to stick to the main route – there is still some way to go. The course of the Effra valley can be seen at the northern edge of the park, where there is a sharp slope down towards Dulwich Road.

Upon leaving Brockwell Park though, identifiable traces of the Effra’s physical course once again become scarce. However, walking towards Brixton its presence in still evoked, with streets bearing names such as Brixton Water Lane and Effra Road, and the Effra Hall pub.

After passing through Brixton Market, all indications of the river now seem to dry up. Instead, the walker may wish to focus their attention on local history, perhaps starting with the blue plaque of 14 Dover Mansions, once home to Henry Havelock Ellis, a pioneer in the scientific study of sex (he conducted the first serious study of homosexuality).

Soon, the route joins Brixton Road, and the longest stretch of the walk without any turnings. The Effra runs almost directly underneath, but for the walker the interest remains above ground, such as Max Roach Park (named for a famous American jazz drummer), the Byzantine-esque Christ Church, the National Theatre’s Costume and Props store (many windows filled with hats), and a faded advert for Craven A cigarettes (do not take its advice).

Brixton road comes to an end at Kennington Park, and here the Effra makes a sharp left – apparently diverted this way many centuries ago by the monks of Bermondsey Abbey to prevent it from flooding their considerable estate. It may once have been the case that the Effra went in a very different direction, curving eastwards, and met up with another lost river, the Earl’s Sluice. However, for the modern walker the route goes westward, past St Mark’s Church, and across the road to Oval tube station, bringing the famous cricket ground of the same name into view.

And here ends this third entry – just one more to go before the Effra joins the Thames.

[londiniumlundene]

Lost London: Walking the River Effra

Part 1: Sources and stink pipes

Known variously as the Shore, the Washway, the Sewer, Lambeth Creek, Vauxhall Creek and Brixton Creek, the river that drains the south London areas of Norwood, Dulwich, Peckham and Brixton (among others) has only been recorded as the Effra no earlier than the late 18th Century. The exact origin of the name is unclear, though one of the more likely roots is from the Manor of Heathrow in Brixton, the land of which it flowed through: by the 1790s the name had morphed into Effra Farm.

From the mid-1800s, the Effra was covered over as a sewer, first at its northern end where it joined the Thames, then gradually culverted along its whole length as south London suburbs sprang up. Now, very little of this river can be seen, though its route can still be traced, providing one knows where to look.

This journey along the Effra starts in Westow Park in Crystal Palace (or, more properly, Upper Norwood), where a spring rises, often leaving the eastern corner of the park rather soggy after rain. The Effra stream then flows under several residential streets of Norwood New Town, named for a lost neighbourhood that was enclosed behind a six-foot high wall and demolished in the 1960s.

It continues alongside Upper Norwood Recreation Ground, which is sometimes identified as the source of the river, and possibly has a small tributary stream flowing under it. Nearby Hermitage Road is supposed to have a drain cover under which the Effra can be heard rushing, but this may have been built over by recent developments.

At this point the river passes beneath the Virgo Fidelis Convent School, requiring the walker to divert and follow the wall of the school along the main road. The Virgo Fidelis graveyard is reported to be prone to flooding from the underground Effra, and apparently once flooded to such an extent in a storm that it swept away the school gates.

The route then takes the walker along Elder Road and Norwood High Street, here walking parallel to the river as its sewer runs beneath houses and gardens. A diversion onto Eylewood Road leads to a definite dip, at which point a plaque in the pavement and gurgling water from a nearby drain cover clearly mark the course of the lost river. Another diversion onto Gipsy Road leads to another dip, and to a Victorian ‘stink pipe’ installed to vent noxious odours from the Effra sewer.

Turning at the Boat House (not that there were ever any boats on this part of the Effra – in fact, it was unnavigable for much of its length even before culverting), a quick look down East Place reveals, between the workshops and garages, another drain cover. Back up on Norwood High Street, another stink pipe can be found.

Where Norwood High Street merges with Knight’s Hill (and aptly marked by a fountain) another tributary joins the Effra, and it is here that the first entry on this walk ends, outside the main gates of West Norwood Cemetery.

[londiniumlundene]

Lost London: Walking the River Effra

Part 4: The Effra meets the Thames

The Oval cricket ground opened in 1846 on the site of an oval market garden, whose shape had been determined by the neighbouring meander in the Effra. Later seating banks added to the Oval in 1880 were constructed using soil excavated during the culverting of this stretch of the Effra. However, the route the walker takes does not go past the cricket ground, but instead follows a winding path through streets above the buried river.

Hanover Gardens leads to Elias Place, followed by Claylands Place and Claylands Road, in a quick series of turns to avoid dead ends. The route then follows Meadow Road (no such pasture in sight though), first passing the Ashmole Estate, where the blocks are named after 19th Century cricket players, and then St Peter’s Residence, a Roman Catholic care home run by the Little Sisters of the Poor.

The diminutive Vauxhall Park comes next (undergoing major works at the time of this walk), followed by Lawn Lane, a street built directly over the Effra around 1900. At one point the Effra may have split in two here, following separate courses across the marshy ground before joining the Thames. 

Today, its underground route takes it beneath the British Interplanetary Society (the oldest space advocacy organisation in the world), under Lambeth Road, and then behind the Vauxhall mainline/Underground/bus station complex.

All that remains is to navigate the nightmarish set of crossings at the junction of Wandsworth Road, Parry Street, and Nine Elms Lane, then turn into the St George’s Wharf, a development which apparently regularly polls amongst London’s most hated buildings.

Finally, the Effra and the walker reach the Thames, though to see the river one must look directly down onto the top of the arch. There is another outflow, though this just so happens to be right under the MI6 building. Add to this the fact that the Thames Tideway project currently prevents access to the foreshore – so seeing any of the Effra’s waters at this point is somewhat difficult! 

And it will become even harder in coming years – the Thames Tideway project’s sewer tunnels will connect directly to the culverted Effra, and it will no longer discharge into the Thames –  so another trace of this lost river will be gone.

Walk length: approximately 8 1/2 miles

Walking time: around 4 hours, allowing for diversions and rest stops

Blisters: 5 (thanks to lockdown-softened feet!)

[rug]

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