41-641: The River Effra is a former set of streams in south London , England , culverted and used mainly for storm sewerage. It had been a tributary of the Thames . Its catchment waters, where not drained to aquifer soakaways and surface water drains, have been incorporated into 1850s-built combined sewer sectors, devised by Sir Joseph Bazalgette . One drains Peckham , the other Brixton , then intended to flow towards Peckham. These generally flow east to be treated at Crossness . When it rains these sectors can purposefully backup and overflow in two Effra sewers that mirror
82-538: A South West sub-region consisting of Croydon, Kingston, Lambeth, Merton, Sutton, Richmond and Wandsworth. In 2011 a new south London region was created consisting of Bromley, Croydon, the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames, Merton, Sutton, Wandsworth, Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham. South London is, like other parts of London and the UK in general, a temperate maritime climate according to
123-500: A WNW cut – then a dyke – was dug to cut across a low plain of the strip parish of Lambeth and is emulated by a key section of the Southern Low Level Interceptor sewer. 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. A map of 1744 refers to it as
164-563: 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. It still often flooded in heavy rain, and residents of Brixton Road and South Lambeth repeatedly complained of their houses being inundated. In 1847,
205-640: A drainage grate in the crypt of St. Luke's Church, West Norwood . The Effra was fed by all water falling on the inside and north of the very broad Norwood Ridge . Much of this coalesced south-east of Brixton, the remainder at the border of Camberwell and Peckham to flow to an ambiguous distributary in Southwark (see final paragraph below). The main branch rose near Harold Road in Upper Norwood Recreation Ground, and flowed through West Norwood . Where Norwood High Street merges at
246-587: A key one turned northeast and then east, running through the grounds of Bermondsey Priory. Others 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 to join the Thames at Vauxhall. A local story tells of a coffin found floating down the Thames in Victorian times, which
287-519: A known and, from the study of medieval records, a suspected distributary . At least four of these limbs can operate to enable overflow, as opposed to normal flow, and it is not known how many Southwark distributaries ran before the known diversion to Vauxhall was made in the 13th century. Overflows reach two combined sewer overflows that will discharge into the Thames Tideway Tunnel on its completion in 2025. The 13th century ending,
328-459: A lower level in Dulwich ; 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 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
369-645: A practical architect were Markree Castle near Sligo in Ireland, and St Thomas's Church (1849–1850) at Charlton in Kent (today part of the Royal Borough of Greenwich ) and the tower of St Thomas, Clapton Common (1829). Gwilt was also associated ( c. 1813–1830 ) with a flawed and short-lived attempt to rebuild the mediaeval predecessor of today's St Margaret's Church in Lee . When it became clear that
410-491: A product of 19th century antiquarianism . 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 . There were also springs at
451-563: A short course of instruction in his father's office was in 1801 admitted a student of the Royal Academy , where in the same year he gained the silver medal for his drawing of the tower and steeple of St Dunstan-in-the-East . In 1811 he published a Treatise on the Equilibrium of Arches , and in 1815 he was elected FSA . After a visit to Italy in 1816, he published in 1818 Notitia architectonica italiana , or Concise Notices of
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#1732772059979492-558: Is notably lower than other London area weather stations (by about 50–100 hours a year), suggesting Greenwich may be a fog trap in winter, and that the hillier land to the south may obscure early morning and late evening sunshine. The highest temperature recorded across south London was 38.1 °C (100.6 °F) on the same occasion at Kew Gardens. Although the Met Office accepts a higher reading from Brogdale in Kent, many have questioned
533-516: Is that while there are more than thirty bridges linking the area with West London and the City , there is only one, Tower Bridge , linking the area with East London . Very little of London's underground rail network lies south of the river, largely due to the challenging geology; however, 21st-century technology makes tunnelling much cheaper (though stations are still expensive) and this may lead to an improved underground provision in south London with
574-529: Is the corruption of "Heathrow", a small, late, subinfeudated manor of 70 acres south of Coldharbour Lane and east of Effra Road (a Victorian naming). By the 1790s it 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 channels. A 2016 book by the Lambeth borough archivist supports this view, suggesting that other etymologies are
615-668: 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". These tributaries are no longer visible above ground: save for the Ambrook, which still flows seasonally in Sydenham Hill Wood. The Effra flowed generally NNW until it reached its splayed lower channels ( distributaries ), north of Brixton . At this point
656-470: The City of London , a sui generis local authority which is mainly located north of the Thames. The term 'south London' has been used for a variety of formal purposes with the boundaries defined according to the purposes of the designation. In 2017 the government asked the Boundary Commission for England to reconsider the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies. The commission's study,
697-523: The Crossrail 2 line proposed alongside extensions to the Northern and Bakerloo Lines . South London contains an extensive overground rail network and all of London's trams operate within the area. The 12 boroughs included, in whole or part are: (Outer London for statistics) A small area of land, on which the southern end of Blackfriars Bridge stands, is not part of Southwark. It forms part of
738-582: 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". While the upper, southern parts of the river were rural, they became increasingly suburbanised as the 19th century went on. The art critic John Ruskin, who grew up at Herne Hill close to one of the Effra's tributaries, described "the good I got out of the tadpole-haunted ditch in Croxted Lane", and made an early sketch of
779-472: The Köppen climate classification system . Three Met Office weather stations currently collect climate data south of the river; Kew, Hampton and Kenley Airfield, on the southern edge of the urban area. Long term climate observations dating back to 1763 are available for Greenwich, although observations ceased here in 2003. Temperatures increase towards the Thames, firstly because of the urban warming effect of
820-692: The South Circular Road , where it now forms the sewers of Croxted Road, Dulwich Road, Dalberg Road, Effra Road, Electric Lane, and Brixton Road. 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
861-511: The "Shore", and it was also referred to as "Brixton Creek" and "the Wash". Unlikely suggestions include Ruskin 's, that it was "shortened from [the Latin word] Effrena", that it was from Celtic "yfrid", or that it derived from Anglo-Saxon efer or efre , "bank". Bonner notes " heah efre " ("high bank") in a charter of 693 CE records a spot on the bank of the Thames. A 1956 suggestion
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#1732772059979902-574: The 1920s prompted works to enlarge the Effra Branch. This was sufficient until a very small number of homes flooded during the powerful downpours of 20 July 2007 . 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
943-588: The Brixton outfall of the Effra could safely withstand and runs from Dulwich and Norwood into the Southern High Level Interceptor Sewer at Croxted Lane. This itself continues east from Herne Hill under Peckham and New Cross to Deptford . Here it joins its low-level counterpart, which picks up non-overflow effluent from the old depression converted to sewer at Vauxhall (routed via Kennington and Burgess Park to Deptford);
984-594: The Buildings and Architects of Italy . In 1825 he published an edition of Sir William Chambers 's Treatise on Civil Architecture ; and among his other principal contributions to the literature of his profession are a translation of the Architecture of Vitruvius (1826), a Treatise on the Rudiments of Architecture, Practical and Theoretical (1826), and his valuable Encyclopaedia of Architecture (1842), which
1025-537: The accuracy of this and regard the Kew reading as the most reliable highest UK temperature reading. Joseph Gwilt Joseph Gwilt (11 January 1784 – 14 September 1863) was an English architect and writer. He was the son of George Gwilt , architect surveyor to the county of Surrey , and was born at Southwark . George Gwilt the Younger , was his elder brother. He was educated at St Paul's School , and after
1066-580: The commissioners of the Surrey and East Kent Sewers, under the direction of surveyor Joseph Gwilt , carried out works "arching over" (culverting) the Effra as far upstream as Herne Hill. When the London sewerage system was constructed during the mid-19th century, its designer Sir Joseph Bazalgette incorporated flows from the Effra into the southern half of the system. The about c. 3-mile (4.8 km) Effra Branch Sewer cost £19,400 to build, received all but
1107-590: The foundations of the old church were incapable of supporting a new building, a new church was commissioned, from another architect, on land nearby. A portrait of him is part of the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery in London. In his Encyclopaedia of Architecture , he informs us that standing stones predated all other forms of architecture, that the Druids were the world’s first race of civilised people, and that at one time
1148-585: The fountain with the A215 to form Norwood Road, it was joined by a brook 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 the Effra Branch sewer drains Hamilton Road, forms the back garden line of Croxted Road and joins the other tributary at
1189-611: The journalists noticed that the group had scattered, the whole thing being a stunt carried out in the name of art. South London South London is the southern part of Greater London , England , south of the River Thames . The region consists of the boroughs , in whole or in part, of Bexley , Bromley , Croydon , Greenwich , Kingston , Lambeth , Lewisham , Merton , Richmond , Southwark , Sutton and Wandsworth . South London originally emerged from Southwark , first recorded as Suthriganaweorc , meaning 'fort of
1230-411: The men of Surrey '. From Southwark , London then extended further down into northern Surrey and western Kent . South London began at Southwark at the southern end of London Bridge , the first permanent crossing over the river, with early development of the area being a direct result of the existence and location of the bridge . Southwark was first known as Suthriganaweorc , the fortress of
1271-773: The men of Surrey , mentioned in the Burghal Hidage as part of military system created by Alfred the Great to defeat the Great Heathen Army of the Vikings. Southwark was also known as the Borough due to be it being an incorporated (nationally represented) Borough from 1295. From 1550 to 1899 it was administered as part of the City of London and referred to as the ward of Bridge Without . In 1720, John Strype's 'Survey of London' described Southwark as one of
River Effra - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-508: The purposes of progress reporting on the London Plan , there was a south London sub-region in operation from 2004 to 2008 consisting of Bromley, Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Richmond and Sutton. In 2001 this area had a population of 1,329,000. This definition is used by organisations such as Connexions . Between 2008 and 2011 it was replaced with a South East sub-region consisting of Southwark, Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley and Bromley and
1353-539: The south than in areas north of the Thames . The opening of Westminster Bridge and other subsequent bridges to the west encouraged growth in the south-west, but only Tower Bridge was built to the east of London Bridge , so south-east London grew more slowly, at least until the Surrey Commercial Docks were built. The development of a dense network of railway lines in the mid nineteenth century significantly accelerated growth. The County of London
1394-472: The surrounding area, but secondly due to altitude decreasing towards the river, meaning the southern margins of south London are often a couple of degrees cooler than those areas adjacent to the Thames. Often snow can be seen to lie on the North Downs near Croydon when central London is snow free. The record high temperature at Greenwich is 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) recorded during August 2003. Sunshine
1435-452: The then four distinct areas of London; in it he describes the City of London , Westminster (West London) , Southwark (South London) , and 'That Part Beyond the Tower' (East London) . The area now usually referred to as North London developed later. As late as the mid 18th century, however, there were no other bridges crossing the river and as a result urban growth was considerably slower in
1476-504: The two branches merge to form the Southern Outfall Sewer that similarly drains Greenwich and Woolwich for treatment at Crossness works . As the drainage basin urbanised, most visible headwaters were incorporated into surface water local solutions or the combined sewer Effra successors. Some remained open and marked on Ordnance Survey maps until the later 19th century. A local moderately foul flow can be seen through
1517-498: Was formed in 1899, which incorporated these boroughs south of the river: Wandsworth, Lambeth, Battersea, Camberwell, Southwark, Bermondsey, Deptford, Lewisham, Greenwich and Woolwich. During the first half of the 20th century, towns in the Home Counties such as Kingston, Croydon and Bromley gradually coalesced with South London, until Greater London was formed in 1965. A significant feature of south London's economic geography
1558-652: Was published with additions by Wyatt Papworth in 1867. In recognition of Gwilt's advocacy of the importance to architects of a knowledge of mathematics , he was in 1833 elected a member of the Royal Astronomical Society . He took a special interest in philology and music, and was the author of Rudiments of the Anglo-Saxon Tongue (1829), and of the article "Music" in the Encyclopaedia metropolitana . His principal works as
1599-451: Was to start with existing regions of England and then group the local authorities within that area into sub-regions for further sub-division. The south London sub-region included the 11 boroughs which lay south of the river, plus the parts of cross-river Richmond upon Thames that did so. An earlier 2013 study, whose recommendations were not adopted, took a different approach by including all of Richmond in its south London sub-region. For
1640-400: 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
1681-560: Was written about this account. Until 1935 a key part of the combined sewer 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 on 14 June 1914, this section overflowed again and flooded houses along its path from Elder Road to Chestnut Road – locals evacuated their damaged homes for several days. Further floods in