Category: Westbourne River

Bayard’s Watering Place

The name Bayswater originates from Bayard’s Watering Place, first recorded in 1380 as a place where horses were refreshed on their way out of or into London. At this watering place a stream called the Westbourne passed under the Uxbridge Road, which is now known as the Bayswater Road. The stream ran south along the …

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Branch Hill Pond

[advanced_iframe securitykey=”73bfdf36bff161fdb6d48c80a87afbe943e66891″ src=”http://theundergroundmap.com/iframe.html?id=37071&mapyear=1860&zoom=16&show=westbourne&iheight=400″ width=”400″ height=”400″] Branch Hill Pond, which was covered in during 1889 because of the building of a covered reservoir, can still be seen as a distinct hollow in the heath which is still grassland even now. John Constable (1776-1837) came to Hampstead Heath in the late summer of 1819, seeking relief from …

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Whitestone Pond

[advanced_iframe securitykey=”73bfdf36bff161fdb6d48c80a87afbe943e66891″ src=”http://theundergroundmap.com/iframe.html?id=37072&mapyear=1860&zoom=16&show=westbourne&iheight=400″ width=”400″ height=”400″] Whitestone Pond lies 135 metres above the London Basin, and at the summit of Hampstead Heath marks the highest point in London. This area, lying above the pond, is the source of one of London’s “lost” rivers, the River Westbourne. These headwaters gathered to form the pond before heading off …

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The River Westbourne

The hills of Hampstead Heath provide the source of three lost rivers of London – the Westbourne, Tyburn and Fleet. These rivers were long buried underground and the modern streetscape contains few hints at these former watercourses. Old maps show the routes that these rivers took. The Westbourne rises in two main places in Hampstead …

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