Lost London: Walking the River Effra
Part 1: Sources and stink pipes
Known variously as the Shore, the Washway, the Sewer, Lambeth Creek, Vauxhall Creek and Brixton Creek, the river that drains the south London areas of Norwood, Dulwich, Peckham and Brixton (among others) has only been recorded as the Effra no earlier than the late 18th Century. The exact origin of the name is unclear, though one of the more likely roots is from the Manor of Heathrow in Brixton, the land of which it flowed through: by the 1790s the name had morphed into Effra Farm.
From the mid-1800s, the Effra was covered over as a sewer, first at its northern end where it joined the Thames, then gradually culverted along its whole length as south London suburbs sprang up. Now, very little of this river can be seen, though its route can still be traced, providing one knows where to look.
This journey along the Effra starts in Westow Park in Crystal Palace (or, more properly, Upper Norwood), where a spring rises, often leaving the eastern corner of the park rather soggy after rain. The Effra stream then flows under several residential streets of Norwood New Town, named for a lost neighbourhood that was enclosed behind a six-foot high wall and demolished in the 1960s.
It continues alongside Upper Norwood Recreation Ground, which is sometimes identified as the source of the river, and possibly has a small tributary stream flowing under it. Nearby Hermitage Road is supposed to have a drain cover under which the Effra can be heard rushing, but this may have been built over by recent developments.
At this point the river passes beneath the Virgo Fidelis Convent School, requiring the walker to divert and follow the wall of the school along the main road. The Virgo Fidelis graveyard is reported to be prone to flooding from the underground Effra, and apparently once flooded to such an extent in a storm that it swept away the school gates.
The route then takes the walker along Elder Road and Norwood High Street, here walking parallel to the river as its sewer runs beneath houses and gardens. A diversion onto Eylewood Road leads to a definite dip, at which point a plaque in the pavement and gurgling water from a nearby drain cover clearly mark the course of the lost river. Another diversion onto Gipsy Road leads to another dip, and to a Victorian ‘stink pipe’ installed to vent noxious odours from the Effra sewer.
Turning at the Boat House (not that there were ever any boats on this part of the Effra – in fact, it was unnavigable for much of its length even before culverting), a quick look down East Place reveals, between the workshops and garages, another drain cover. Back up on Norwood High Street, another stink pipe can be found.
Where Norwood High Street merges with Knight’s Hill (and aptly marked by a fountain) another tributary joins the Effra, and it is here that the first entry on this walk ends, outside the main gates of West Norwood Cemetery.
