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The River Effra is a former set of streams in
south London South London is the southern part of 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, London Borou ...
,
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 ...
,
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, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom ...
ed and used mainly for storm sewerage. It had been a tributary of the
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
. Its catchment waters, where not drained to aquifer soakaways and surface water drains, have been incorporated into 1850s-built
combined sewer A combined sewer is a type of gravity sewer with a system of pipes, tunnels, pump stations etc. to transport sewage and urban runoff together to a sewage treatment plant or disposal site. This means that during rain events, the sewage gets dilute ...
sectors, devised by Sir
Joseph Bazalgette Sir Joseph William Bazalgette CB (; 28 March 181915 March 1891) was a 19th-century English civil engineer. As chief engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works, his major achievement was the creation (in response to the Great Stink of 1 ...
. One drains
Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...
, the other
Brixton Brixton is a district in 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 ce ...
, 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 a known and, from the study of medieval records, a suspected
distributary A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...
. At least four of these limbs can operate to enable overflow, as opposed to normal flow, and it is not known how many
Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
distributaries ran before the known diversion to
Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...
was made in the 13th century. Overflows reach two
combined sewer overflow A combined sewer is a type of gravity sewer with a system of pipes, tunnels, pump stations etc. to transport sewage and urban runoff together to a sewage treatment plant or disposal site. This means that during rain events, the sewage gets dilute ...
s that will discharge into the
Thames Tideway Tunnel The Thames Tideway Tunnel is a combined sewer under construction running mostly under Tideway, the tidal section (estuary) of the River Thames across Inner London to capture, store and convey almost all the raw sewage and rainwater that curren ...
on its completion in 2025. The 13th century ending, a WNW cut – then a dyke – was dug to cut across a low plain of the
strip parish A strip parish is a parish with a narrow, elongated shape, typically formed during the Anglo-Saxon and early medieval period. The shape is influenced by landscape, political and economic factors. Evidence of such parishes can be found throughout E ...
of
Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...
and is emulated by a key section of the Southern Low Level Interceptor sewer.


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 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 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 Fo ...
"yfrid", or that it derived from Anglo-Saxon or , "bank".Mills, A. D. ''A Dictionary of London Place-Names'', OUP, p.83 Bonner notes "" ("high bank") in a charter of
693 CE records a spot on the bank of the Thames. A 1956 suggestion is the
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
of "Heathrow", a small, late,
subinfeudated In English law, subinfeudation is the practice by which tenants, holding land under the king or other superior lord, carved out new and distinct tenures in their turn by sub-letting or alienating a part of their lands. The tenants were termed m ...
Manorialism">manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...
of 70 acres south of Coldharbour Lane and east of Effra Road (a Victorian naming).''Survey of London'' (1956) vol.26, The Parish of St Mary Lambeth, London County Council (LCC), p.137 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 a product of 19th century
antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
ism.


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 The Great North Wood was a natural oak woodland that started south-east of central London and scaled the Norwood Ridge. At its full extent, the wood's boundaries stretched almost as far as Croydon and as far north as Camberwell. It had occa ...
, where a layer of gravels overlies the impermeable
London Clay The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 56–49 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from t ...
.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 ...
; 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 the
Earl's Sluice Earl's Sluice is an underground river in south-east London, England. Its source is Ruskin Park on Denmark Hill. In South Bermondsey it is joined by the River Peck before emptying into the Thames at Deptford Wharf. Earl's Creek marks the boun ...
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 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 boroughs ...
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 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. ...
, 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 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 Effra Branch Sewer cost £19,400 to build,"Metropolitan Improvements". ''The Athenaeum'' n.1947 (18 February 1865), 235 received all but 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 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 boroughs ...
under
Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...
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 Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...
(routed via
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 the ...
and
Burgess Park Burgess Park is a public park situated in Camberwell the London Borough of Southwark, and is close to Walworth to the north, Bermondsey to the east and Peckham to the south. At , it is one of the largest parks in South London. Unlike most other ...
to Deptford); the two branches merge to form the Southern Outfall Sewer that similarly drains Greenwich and
Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...
for treatment at Crossness works. As the
drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
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 a drainage grate in the crypt of St. Luke's Church,
West Norwood West Norwood is a largely residential area of south London within the London Borough of Lambeth, located 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south south-east of Charing Cross. The centre of West Norwood sits in a bowl surrounded by hillsides on its east ...
.


Course

The river was fed by all water falling on the inside and north of the very broad
Norwood Ridge The Norwood Ridge is a rectangular upland which occupies the geographical centre of south London, centred south of London Bridge. Beneath its topsoil it is a ridge of London Clay that is capped on all sides (including as isolated knolls in t ...
. 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 A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
near Harold Road in
Upper Norwood Upper Norwood is an area of south London, England, within the London Boroughs of Bromley, Croydon, Lambeth and Southwark. It is north of Croydon and the eastern part of it is better known as the Crystal Palace area. Upper Norwood is situated ...
Recreation Ground, and flowed through
West Norwood West Norwood is a largely residential area of south London within the London Borough of Lambeth, located 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south south-east of Charing Cross. The centre of West Norwood sits in a bowl surrounded by hillsides on its east ...
. Where Norwood High Street merges at the fountain with the
A215 The A215 is an A road in south London, starting at Elephant and Castle and finishing around Shirley. It runs through the London Boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and Croydon. Beginning as Walworth Road, the A215 becomes Camberwell Road—much o ...
to form Norwood Road, it was joined by a brook from Knights Hill ward. A second branch rose south of
Gipsy Hill Gipsy Hill in south London is a hilly neighbourhood spanning the southern parts of the London Boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark characterised for its great views of the City of London and Dulwich. Historically, north of its traditional Westow ...
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 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 Belair Park is a park located in the West Dulwich part of the London Borough of Southwark, southeast London, England. The park grounds once belonged to Belair House, a country villa built in Adam style that is now a Grade II listed building. The ...
and beneath
North 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 o ...
to Herne Hill. Still further to the east a tributary called the Ambrook rose from springs in
Sydenham Hill Wood Sydenham Hill Wood is a ten-hectare wood on the northern slopes of the Norwood Ridge in the London Borough of Southwark. It is designated as a Local Nature Reserve and Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. With the adjacent ...
and Peckarmans Wood, flowing to Herne Hill through present-day
Dulwich Park Dulwich Park is a public park in Dulwich in the London Borough of Southwark, south London, England. The park was created by the Metropolitan Board of Works from former farmland and meadows. While the initial design was by Charles Barry (juni ...
, 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 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 A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributary ...
), north of
Brixton Brixton is a district in 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 ce ...
. At this point 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 Earl's Sluice is an underground river in south-east London, England. Its source is Ruskin Park on Denmark Hill. In South Bermondsey it is joined by the River Peck before emptying into the Thames at Deptford Wharf. Earl's Creek marks the boun ...
, which entered the Thames at
Deptford Wharf Deptford Wharf in London, UK is situated on the Thames Path southeast of South Dock Marina, across the culverted mouth of the Earl's Sluice and north of Aragon Tower. In the late 18th and early 19th century this area was used for shipbuildi ...
. 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 the ...
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

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 West Norwood is a largely residential area of south London within the London Borough of Lambeth, located 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south south-east of Charing Cross. The centre of West Norwood sits in a bowl surrounded by hillsides on its east ...
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 Roadlocals evacuated their damaged homes for several days. Further
flood A flood is an overflow of water ( 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 an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
s in 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.


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 Tha ...
*
Subterranean rivers of London The subterranean or underground rivers of London are or were the direct or indirect tributaries of the upper estuary of the Thames (the Tideway), that were built over during the growth of the metropolis of London. They now flow through culve ...
*
List of rivers of England This is a list of rivers of England, organised geographically and taken anti-clockwise around the English coast where the various rivers discharge into the surrounding seas, from the Solway Firth on the Scottish border to the Welsh Dee on the Wel ...


Notes and references

;Notes ;References *Referred to in John Constantine, Hellblazer, John Constantine's "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