Cumberland Basin (or Cumberland Market Basin) was a

canal basin A canal basin is (particularly in the United Kingdom) an expanse of waterway alongside or at the end of a canal, and wider than the canal, constructed to allow boats to moor or unload cargo without impeding the progress of other traffic, and to al ...

near

Euston railway station Euston railway station ( ; or London Euston) is a major London station group, central London railway terminus and Euston tube station, connected London Underground station managed by Network Rail in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sout ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and a part of the

Regent's Canal Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in ea ...

. It was originally known as Jew's Harp Basin in the 1880s, after a nearby public house. The basin's excavation was authorised in 1813 to serve

Cumberland Market Cumberland Market was a London market between Regent's Park and Euston railway station. It was built in the early 19th century and was London's hay and straw market for a hundred years until the late 1920s. An arm of the Regent's Canal was buil ...

and the then-industrial "New Road", and in 1941–2 the basin was filled back in, chiefly using rubble from the

London Blitz London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

. London Canal Museum
The Regent's Canal, Urban engineering
retrieved 2008-06-26.

Cumberland Arm

The Cumberland Arm (or Cumberland Market Branch) was a long stretch of

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

that connected Cumberland Basin to the

(which passes through the present site of the car park for

London Zoo London Zoo, previously known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens and sometimes called Regent's Park Zoo, is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828 and was originally intended to be used as a colle ...

). The ''Cumberland Turn'' junction with the Regent's Canal is still visible with the short stub-end of the arm remaining housing the ''Feng Shang Floating Restaurant''. In the 1880s, when American writer Ellis Martin was touring the London canals, he chose not to enter the basin as an 1850s report had described it as "no better than a stagnant putrid ditch", and noted that cholera had spread amongst nearby neighbourhoods and boat-dwellers. The basin and associated works were authorised in 1813 to serve

and New Road (now

Euston Road Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to Kings Cross, London, King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston ...

), and closed in 1942. London Canal Museum
The Regent's Canal, Urban engineering
retrieved 2008-06-26. The basin was dammed off in August 1938, and during the Blitz, the arm was used to supply water to fire pumps attending fires in the West End. By 1941, the arm and basin had been filled in with rubble from demolished buildings.

Historical remains

Starting after World War I, sections of the area around the Cumberland Market were used by the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

to develop housing for war veterans. Eventually, the land right beside the Cumberland Basin was included in these allotments for the Cumberland Market Estate. Some street lamps associated with the basin remain on Gloucester Gate BridgeCamden Railway Heritage Trust
Newsletter No. 4, Q1 2008, ''Lamp Standards''
retrieved 2008-06-26. above the Main Line of the Regent's Canal just west of Cumberland Turn.

References

Cumberland Arm Transport in the London Borough of Camden Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Camden London docks Canal basins in England and Wales {{UK-canal-stub