The Middlesex Filter Beds Weir, or Lea Bridge Road Weir, marks the start of the Hackney Cut, an artificial channel of the

River Lee Navigation The Lee Navigation is a canalised river incorporating the River Lea (also called the River Lee along the sections that are navigable). It flows from Hertford Castle Weir to the River Thames at Bow Creek; its first lock is Hertford Lock and its ...

built in 1770, in the London Borough of Hackney. The weir lies between the former Middlesex

Filter Beds Sand filters are used as a step in the water treatment process of water purification. There are three main types; rapid (gravity) sand filters, upward flow sand filters and slow sand filters. All three methods are used extensively in the water ...

– now a nature reserve – and the

Thames Water Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is a large private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, north Wiltsh ...

treatment works at Lea Bridge Road. Excess water from the Navigation passes over the weir into the former natural channel of the

River Lee The River Lee (Irish: ''An Laoi'') is a river in Ireland. It rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of County Cork and flows eastwards through Cork, where it splits in two for a short distance, creating an island on which Cork's ...

that passes in a large loop to the east of the modern water course, as the

Old River Lea The Old River Lea is the former natural channel of the River Lea below Lea Bridge, in the London Borough of Hackney. The Old River forms a large meander from the Middlesex Filter Beds Weir to rejoin the main channel of the River Lee Navigati ...

. The natural water course travels and rejoins the Navigation below

Old Ford Lock Old Ford Lock is a paired lock and weir on the River Lee Navigation, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. It is at Fish Island in Old Ford and takes its name from the natural ford which used to cross the River Lea. Tidal section ...

External links

Middlesex Filter Beds on the Official Lee Valley website
Weirs on the River Lea Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hackney Geography of the London Borough of Hackney {{London-struct-stub