Dagenham Brook is a minor tributary of the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of t ...

located in the

London Borough of Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is a London borough in north-east London, England. Its population is estimated to be 276,983 in 2019. It borders five other London boroughs: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to th ...

, and the traditional eastern limit of

Leyton Marshes Leyton Marsh is an open space in the Lower Lea Valley, located in Leyton in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Geography The marsh is bordered by the Walthamstow Marshes to the north, and by Coppermill Fields, the Lee Navigation and the R ...

Course

The brook emerges from the old route of the River Lea at the northeast corner of

Lockwood Reservoir Lockwood Reservoir is located in Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is one of the ten Walthamstow Reservoirs, which are part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain. The reservoirs supply drinking water to London and are owned ...

and flows south, running alongside the members of the

Lee Valley Reservoir Chain The Lee Valley Reservoir Chain is located in the Lee Valley, and comprises 13 reservoirs that supply drinking water to London. The Reservoir Chain is a major geographic constraint; together with the Thames it is one of the two significant topog ...

until it crosses the

Lea Valley lines The Lea Valley lines are two commuter lines and two branches in north-east London, so named because they run along the Lower Lea Valley of the River Lea. They were part of the Great Eastern Railway, now part of the ''Anglia Route'' of Networ ...

railway, just to the west of St. James Street railway station in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

. For this section of its route it forms a part of the Lee Flood Relief Channel, constructed between 1947 and 1976. The flood channel turns west on the south side of the railway and the brook's original course splits off, continuing southeast under

Lea Bridge Road Lea Bridge Road is a major through route in east London, across the Lea Valley from Clapton to Whipps Cross in Leyton. It forms part of the A104 road. Places served on the road are the Lea Valley Park, Lea Bridge railway station and the B ...

until going underground at the site of the former Leyton Sewage Works. It briefly returns to the surface for a short stretch by Ruckholt Road, at which point it vanishes underground to eventually join the

Waterworks River Waterworks River is a river, at one time a tidal river, in the London Borough of Newham, one of the Bow Back Rivers that flow into the Bow Creek part of the River Lea, which in turn flows into the River Thames. The river is an artificial chann ...

. In the 19th century the brook also, at that point, joined a network of artificial channels that ran through the marshy

Temple Mills Temple Mills is a district located on the boundary of the London boroughs of London Borough of Newham, Newham and London Borough of Waltham Forest, Waltham Forest, with a small part also in London Borough of Hackney, Hackney in east London. Temp ...

area.

Ecology

The brook has been designated a site of Local Nature Conservation Importance. Different species of birds that can be spotted along it include the

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

. Mammals including

foxes Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

and

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

s have also been recorded.

Notes

References

External links

Pictures of Dagenham Brook
{{authority control Rivers of London Geography of the London Borough of Waltham Forest Tributaries of the River Lea 1Dagenham