River Effra
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The River Effra is a former stream or small river in
south London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...
,
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 ...
, now
culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe (fluid conveyance), pipe, reinforced concrete or other materia ...
ed for most of its course. Once a tributary of the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
, flows from the Effra were incorporated in the
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
into a
combined sewer A combined sewer is a type of gravity sewer with a system of pipes, tunnels, pump stations etc. to transport sewage and surface runoff, urban runoff together to a sewage treatment plant or disposal site. This means that during rain events, the se ...
draining much of the historic area of
Peckham Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vi ...
and
Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...
.


Etymology

The etymology of the name "Effra" has been much disputed. There is no evidence that it was applied to the stream before the late 18th century, and early 19th century gazetteers gave it no name.Bonner, A. "Surrey Place-names" in ''Surrey Archaeological Collections'' v XXXVII, pp.126-7 A map of 1744 refers to it as the "Shore",The Effra and Lambeth Marsh
vauxhallandkennington.org, accessed 12-07-18 and it was also referred to as "Brixton Creek" and "the Wash". Unlikely suggestions for the name's origin include Ruskin's, that it was "shortened from he Latin word">Latin.html" ;"title="he Latin">he Latin wordEffrena",Bonner, p.128 that it was from a Celtic languages">Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
root "yfrid", or that it derived from Anglo-Saxon "efer", "bank",Mills, A. D. ''A Dictionary of London Place-Names'', OUP, p.83 perhaps via "heah efre" ("high bank") recorded in a charter of 693 for a spot on the bank of the Thames. A more recent suggestion is that the name is a corruption of the place-name "Heathrow", the name of a Manorialism">manor which once covered some 70 acres south of present day Coldharbour Lane and east of present day Effra Road.''Survey of London'' (1956) v.26, The Parish of St Mary Lambeth, LCC, p.137 By the 1790s the land making up the Manor of Heathrow was known as Effra Farm. There is evidence that the name was first applied to the stream at Brixton, perhaps taken from the name of the farm, and was only later extended to the rest of its course. A 2016 book by the Lambeth borough archivist supports this view, suggesting that other etymologies are a product of 19th century antiquarianism.


History


Before the 19th century

The drainage basin of the stream covered around 20 square kilometres (8 sq miles) of present-day inner south London. Historically the Effra was fed partly by a line of springs that emerged at between 80 and 100 metres above sea level along the 5 km ridge of the Great North Wood, where a layer of gravels overlies the impermeable
London Clay The London Clay Formation is a Sediment#Shores and shallow seas, marine formation (geology), geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 54-50 million years ago) age which outcrop, crops out in the southeast of England. The London C ...
.Knight, M
The Effra in Dulwich
accessed 12-08-18 There were also springs at a lower level in
Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...
; the various tributaries met near Brixton before flowing to the Thames. The lowest part of the river was diverted as early as the 13th century, after the monks of
Bermondsey Bermondsey ( ) is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, ...
Priory made an agreement with neighbouring landowners to end flooding problems. Before that time the river's course ran either into Walworth Marsh, which after draining became Walworth Common, or into the Earl's Sluice to reach the Thames. The lower, northern part of the river appeared in Ogilby's ''Britannia'' of 1675 as the "New River". The upper, southern parts of the river became increasingly suburbanised as the 19th century went on. The art critic John Ruskin, who grew up at
Herne Hill Herne Hill () is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the London ...
close to one of the Effra's tributaries, described "the good I got out of the tadpole-haunted ditch in Croxted Lane",Ruskin, ''Praeterita'', p.76 and made an early sketch of a bridge over it. Until about 1850 Brixton Road, where it ran along the course of the stream, was known as the "Washway", and the stream itself was often called the "Wash". By that time the Effra was heavily polluted with domestic waste, due to increasing development along its course, and by 1821 it was classed as an open sewer downstream of North Brixton.''The Town Planning Review'', Volume 25 (1954), 74 It still often flooded in heavy rain, and residents of Brixton Road and South Lambeth repeatedly complained of their houses being inundated. In 1847 the commissioners of the Surrey and East Kent Sewers, under the direction of surveyor Joseph Gwilt, carried out works "arching over" (culverting) the Effra"Construction" in ''The Artizan'', v 1 Third Series (1847), 279 as far upstream as Herne Hill.


Post-industrial revolution

When the
London sewerage system The London sewer system is part of the water infrastructure serving London, England. The modern system was developed during the late 19th century, and as London has grown the system has been expanded. It is currently owned and operated by Thame ...
was constructed during the mid-19th century, its designer Sir Joseph Bazalgette incorporated flows from the River Effra into the southern division of the system. The Effra Branch Sewer, about 3 miles in length and costing some £19,400 to construct,"Metropolitan Improvements". ''The Athenaeum'' n.1947 (18 February 1865), 235 received much of the Effra's surface water and ran from the Norwood area into the Southern High Level Sewer at Croxted Lane. The Southern High Level itself ran from
Herne Hill Herne Hill () is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the London ...
eastwards under
Peckham Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vi ...
and
New Cross New Cross is an area in south-east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the London_postal_district#List_of_London_postal_districts, SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, London, St Jo ...
to
Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...
. Here it joined the Southern Low Level Sewer, which picked up remaining effluent from the old course at
Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...
and passed under
Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...
and Burgess Park to Deptford; the two branches merging to form the Southern Outfall Sewer that runs underneath
Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...
and Woolwich to Crossness. As the area was increasingly urbanised, the remaining parts of the Effra's upper course were incorporated into the surface water drainage system, although some parts remained open and marked on Ordnance Survey maps until the later 19th century. The main course of the Effra remained as a sewer and culverts beneath Brixton Road, south London, and seen through a drainage grate in the crypts under St. Luke's Church, West Norwood, south London.


Course

The river was fed by several tributaries which met above Brixton. The main branch of the Effra rises near Harold Road in
Upper Norwood Upper Norwood is an area of south London, England, within the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borough of Croydon, Croydon, London Borough of Lambeth, Lambeth and London Borough of Southwark, Southwark. It is north ...
Recreation Ground, and flows through West Norwood. Where Norwood High Street merges at the fountain with the A215 to form Norwood Road, it was joined by a small tributary from Knights Hill ward. A second branch rose south of Gipsy Hill and ran into West Dulwich via Croxted Road, after flowing from near the Westow House inn, Westow Hill. Beyond the Paxton pub opposite the end of Gipsy Hill its culvert captures water from Hamilton Road, forms the back garden line of Croxted Road and joins the other tributary at the South Circular Road, where it now forms the sewers of Croxted Road, Dulwich Road, Dalberg Road, Effra Road, Electric Lane, and Brixton Road.illustrations 1, 4 of the webpage of the Walbrook River page - a synopsis which cites the following books:
Nicholas Barton, The Lost Rivers of London (1962)
Anthony Clayton, Subterranean City (2000)
Michael Harrison, London Beneath the Pavement (1961)
Alfred Stanley Foord, Springs, Streams, and Spas of London. (1910)
J. G. White, History of The Ward of Walbrook. (1904)
Andrew Duncan, Secret London. (6th Edition, 2009)
/ref> East along the watershed, springs rose in Dulwich Wood, flowing through Belair Park and beneath North Dulwich to Herne Hill. Still further to the east a tributary called the Ambrook rose from springs in Sydenham Hill Wood and Peckarmans Wood, flowing to Herne Hill through present-day Dulwich Park, where its heavily landscaped channel is visible. The longest and easternmost tributary ran from Eliot Bank and Horniman Park in Forest Hill down to Herne Hill. Rocque's map of 1746 called these confluences around Herne Hill railway station "Island Green".''The Story of Norwood'' J.B. Wilson & H.A. Wilson Most of these tributaries are no longer visible above ground: an exception is the Ambrook, which still flows seasonally in Sydenham Hill Wood. The Effra flowed generally NNW until it reached its lower course, north of
Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...
. At this point it turned northeast and then east, running through the grounds of Bermondsey Priory. It fed Lambeth and possibly Walworth Marshes, and may have joined the Earl's Sluice, which entered the Thames at Deptford Wharf. After diversion in the 13th century, it ran directly west from
Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...
to join the Thames at Vauxhall.


Folklore

A local story tells of a coffin found floating down the Thames in Victorian times, which was traced back to West Norwood Cemetery. Cemetery staff were puzzled to find that the plot the coffin had come from was undisturbed. Further investigation revealed that the ground beneath the grave had subsided, and the entire coffin had fallen into the underground Effra river, floating downstream to Vauxhall and entering the Thames. The song “Down in the Effra” by British folk band ''The Effras'' was written about this account.


Flooding

Although little more than a stream in the south, until 1935 the culverted watercourse flooded during heavy rains every decade or so; an inscription on a white stone tablet high up the side of a building in Elder Road, West Norwood reads: "FLOOD LEVEL 17th July 1890". After a three-hour-long
storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...
on Sunday 14 June 1914 the sewer overflowed again and flooded houses along its path from Elder Road to Chestnut Road, and locals were forced to evacuate their homes for several days. Further
flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...
s in the 1920s prompted works to enlarge the sewer. This was sufficient until a small part of the local area was flooded again during a powerful downpour on 20 July 2007.


The Unearthing the Effra Campaign

In 1992 a project by the London arts group Platform sparked a local campaign to dig up the river. The Unearthing the Effra project was based around a mock Effra Redevelopment Agency, which included a public office. The project gained publicity in local newspapers and radio stations before the journalists noticed that the group had scattered, the whole thing being a stunt carried out in the name of art.


See also

*
Tributaries of the River Thames This article lists the tributaries of the River Thames from the sea to the source, in England. There are also secondary lists of backwaters of the river itself and the waterways branching off. Note: the River Medway shares the saline lower ...
*
Subterranean rivers of London The subterranean or underground rivers of London are or were the direct or indirect tributary, tributaries of the upper estuary of the River Thames, Thames (the Tideway) that were Subterranean river, built over during the growth of the metropo ...
* List of rivers of England


Notes and references

;Notes ;References *Referred to in John Constantine Hellblazer 238 as a gateway to "shadow London"


External links


The EffraWalking the River EffraPlatform's Unearthing the Effra project.
*http://www.londonslostrivers.com/river-effra.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Effra, River Rivers of London Subterranean rivers of London Geography of the London Borough of Southwark Geography of the London Borough of Croydon Geography of the London Borough of Lambeth Dulwich 1Effra