London's Lost Rivers From Above: The Westbourne

M@
By M@ Last edited 172 months ago
London's Lost Rivers From Above: The Westbourne
The Westbourne opening. Much bigger than a M@.
The Westbourne opening. Much bigger than a M@.
A close up of the Westbourne conduit at Sloane Square.
A close up of the Westbourne conduit at Sloane Square.
Once inside, the tunnel soon bifurcates. The floor is slimey and slippery, but there is no smell.
Once inside, the tunnel soon bifurcates. The floor is slimey and slippery, but there is no smell.
A plaque on the long-defunct Bird in Hand pub marks a major flooding of the Westbourne.
A plaque on the long-defunct Bird in Hand pub marks a major flooding of the Westbourne.
Both passages lead to strong steel doors, which open to release flood waters. Best not stand here during a heavy downpour.
Both passages lead to strong steel doors, which open to release flood waters. Best not stand here during a heavy downpour.
A plaque on Kilburn High Road marks the site of an ancient bridge over the Westbourne.
A plaque on Kilburn High Road marks the site of an ancient bridge over the Westbourne.
Entrance to the Westbourne on Chelsea foreshore.
Entrance to the Westbourne on Chelsea foreshore.
The waters of the Westbourne once flowed into the Serpentine, ahead. Since the early 19th Century, they have been diverted east of the lake - beneath where this photo was taken from.
The waters of the Westbourne once flowed into the Serpentine, ahead. Since the early 19th Century, they have been diverted east of the lake - beneath where this photo was taken from.
A steel conduit carries the Westbourne over the tracks at Sloane Square.
A steel conduit carries the Westbourne over the tracks at Sloane Square.
One of several watery mews along the Westbourne route.
One of several watery mews along the Westbourne route.
The source of the Westbourne - Whitestone Pond on Hampstead Heath, also said to be the highest point in London.
The source of the Westbourne - Whitestone Pond on Hampstead Heath, also said to be the highest point in London.

Helping you find the sights, sounds, and occasional smells of our buried waterways.

Along with the Tyburn and Fleet, the River Westbourne is one of the 'big three' lost watercourses north of the Thames, now buried and used as a sewer. It shares a similar point of origin to its siblings, rising in Whitestone Pond on Hampstead Heath. From there, it flows down through Hampstead, Kilburn, Paddington, Hyde Park, on to Knightsbridge, and out into the Thames at Chelsea.

Of the three, the Westbourne is the most accessible. You can even get inside it by clambering down to the foreshore at Chelsea Embankment during low tide. The opening is obvious, taking up half the height of the Embankment wall. You can penetrate perhaps twenty metres or so before firm steel hatches block the way.


View Underground London in a larger map

Londonist's Map of Subterranean London.

The next obvious (and famous) evidence of the river comes at Sloane Square Tube station, where a metal conduit carries the waters over the tracks. The Westbourne can then be traced through the streets of Chelsea and Belgravia (see map for route) and on in to Hyde Park via Knightsbridge (the name thought to come from a watery crossing point).

Westbourne water originally fed the Serpentine, but is now diverted East of the lake. North of the park, a bridge once carried Bayswater Road over the Westbourne, where the Swan Inn still stands. You can clearly see the ancient river valley as a dip in the road at this point.

The route becomes harder to follow once we enter the Paddington and Maida Vale areas. Names such as Upbrook Mews and Conduit Mews offer reminders. More signs can be found in Kilburn, where a plaque marks the point where the stream was once bridged by the Roman Watling Street (now Kilburn High Road). Further plaques commemorate the Kilburn wells (a spa on the banks of the Westbourne), and a flooding event from the 1970s on West End Lane. Beside the latter, you can clearly hear fast-moving water from a nearby drain. The journey from here up to Hampstead Heath is somewhat confused by the branching of differnet tributaries. The only other hint of the river we came across was the sound of running water at the Northern end of Reddington Gardens.

Further (and, frankly, much better) pictures of the inside of the Westbourne sewer can be found here.

Images by M@ Brown and Paul Cox. Previous entries in this series.

Last Updated 20 November 2009