The Shirebourne is a brook that rises in
King George's Fields
A King George's Field is a public open space in the United Kingdom dedicated to the memory of King George V (1865–1936).
In 1936, after the king's death, Sir Percy Vincent, the then-Lord Mayor of London, formed a committee to determine a ...
, Hadley, and eventually joins the
Pymmes Brook
Pymmes Brook is located in North London and named after William Pymme, a local land owner. It is a minor tributary of the River Lea. The brook mostly flows through urban areas and is particularly prone to flooding in its lower reaches. To a ...
. It may have marked the historic county boundary between
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
and
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
.
Location
The Shirebourne rises in King George's Fields, Hadley. It is culverted between the eastern side of the Fields at Bosworth Road until it emerges overground at the south-west corner of the
Victoria Recreation Ground
Victoria Recreation Ground is a park located on Recreation Ground Road, just off Carisbrooke Road, in Newport, on the Isle of Wight, England. It was opened in 1902.
The park comprises a cricket pitch, tennis courts, petanque terrain, pavilio ...
in
New Barnet
New Barnet is a neighbourhood on the north east side of the London Borough of Barnet. It is a largely residential North London suburb located east of Chipping Barnet, west of Cockfosters, south of the village of Monken Hadley and north of Oaklei ...
. There it flows along the southern side of the park, and under Park Road, after which it joins the
Pymmes Brook
Pymmes Brook is located in North London and named after William Pymme, a local land owner. It is a minor tributary of the River Lea. The brook mostly flows through urban areas and is particularly prone to flooding in its lower reaches. To a ...
.
In history
The brook may originally have been named Scirbrunan in old English which translates as "shirebourn" meaning "county stream". The name Shirebourne appears in the Barnet Manor Rolls in 1277 and the upper reaches of the Shirebourne in the modern King George's Fields were known in 1556 as Sheredyche. The manor rolls for 1699 mention a field known as Sherborne Meadow and the index to the 1817 enclosure map mentions Sherbourn Field abutting the Shirebourne. The brook may be the one that formed the county boundary between
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
and
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
.
''Newsletter''.
Vol. 8, August 2005, p. 4. Hendon & District Archaeological Society. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
Gallery
File:Bridge over the Shirebourne at Victoria Recreation Ground looking south.jpg, Bridge over the Shirebourne at Victoria Recreation Ground
File:Bridge over the Shirebourne at Victoria Recreation Ground east side.jpg, Site where the Shirebourne emerges from its culvert at Victoria Recreation Ground
File:South bank of the Shirebourne at Victoria Recreation Ground.jpg, South bank at Victoria Recreation Ground
References
External links
Geography of the London Borough of Barnet
Rivers of London
{{England-river-stub