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 to

Euston railway station Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railw ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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 eas ...

. 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 bui ...

and then-industrial "New Road" and in 1941-1942 was filled back in chiefly using rubble from the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

of those years and the previous year.

London Canal Museum London Canal Museum in the King's Cross area of London, England, is a regional museum devoted to the history of London's canals. History The museum was opened in 1992. It is housed in a Victorian ice warehouse that was used by Carlo Gatti. The ...

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 flow un ...

that connected Cumberland Basin to the

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

London Zoo London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens 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 collection for science, scientific study. In 1831 o ...

). 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, American writer Ellis Martin was touring the London canals, but chose not to enter the basin as an 1850s report 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 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 Hall, the family ...

), and closed in 1942.

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 through 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