Areas surrounded by decay though a safe haven for many species of wildlife.

When walking around some of these waterways you really do forget that you

are in London..........

Starting off with the Thames....

I've walked all along the Thames from Staines to Dartford though most subject matter for this website appears

to be the eastern section. However, a walk from a Central London nightclub at 4 in the morning along the Thames

to Richmond actually inspired me to do London photography in the first place!

Greenwich - Lovell's Wharf

This wharf is at the end of Pelton Road - the first site on the final section of the Greenwich

Riverside Walk before the Dome. It is a 'protected' wharf, declared due to most other riverside

sites being converted to housing.The wharf was used until the 1980s by Shaw Lovell as part

of their metal transhipment operation and since has been used occasionally for storage and

transhipment of large items Historically the site has dealt with coal, lime, metal and gravel

for the past 150 years. There is probably an ice house on site built for a commercial ice company

at the turn of the century.

Lovell's Wharf and the neighbouring wharves are all under threat of demolition, to build further

housing, including some rather tall tower blocks. The wharf is no longer protected and revised

plans have been / are about to be submitted to Greenwich Council's planning department.

The more people that are aware of these plans and maybe are proactive enough to write to

Greenwich Council or to Ken Livingstone about protection of the riverside, then the more chance

there is of saving the buildings.

Want present day pics of your old haunts? Researching your family tree and need location pics? Pictures taken to order - low cost - any job considered (not just derelicts!). Much cheaper than professional photographers

Contact: Paul at derelictlondon.com

Bermondsey - Chambers Wharf

Chambers Wharf was used in 80's in at least 2 episodes of tv series The Professionals!

The discovery of a partially articulated skeleton on the Thames foreshore by Chambers Wharf

in February 2002,seemed to suggest that a Neolithic burial had been uncovered by erosion.

This could have been the first burial of a Londoner known.

This is a deconstructed railway bridge over the River Thames, next to Blackfriars

Bridge. It is partially demolished leaving behind the majestic supports that held up the bridge

above: Various Thames locations between Woolwich & Rotherhithe

Pimlico - The River Tyburn

This arch is where the Tyburn meets the Thames. At this point the Tyburn is called Kingschoole Sluice.

River Tyburn flowed through the area from South Hampstead to the Thames. Tyburn is now one of London's

'lost rivers' and is underground, but many years ago it crossed Regent's Park, followed Marylebone Lane,

down to Piccadilly near Green Park, and into the main river near Vauxhall Bridge.

Vauxhall Bridge - The River Effra

Running into the river very close to Vauxhall Bridge is the River Effra, another of London's "lost rivers".

Like the others the Effra has been reduced over the years to nothing more than a drain. there are, however,

stories that King Canute once sailed up the Effra and that Queen Elizabeth once did the same when visiting

Sir Walter Raleigh. In 1664 the Effra was of sufficient size and importance for Lord Loughborough to propose

converting it into a navigable canal from Brixton to the Thames.

Sloane Square - The River Westbourne

Yet another of London's lost rivers - it is conveyed in a large pipe above the station platform

Paul Whitfield writes:

I was in London in September 06 , the Bayswater Road was blocked for the whole week, due it was said to a ‘burst water main’.

The water was a lovely coffee colour – hardly mains quality! - and it was obvious from the location in the dip near Craven something

that this was an angry reappearance by the River Westbourne.

A postman's Royal Mail trolley thrown into the Thames

The Bow Backs Rivers

see also at the foot of this page an article on how the

London Olympic bid will affect these waterways

Pudding Mill River

"Welcome to Waterworks River" noticeboard and empty bottle hanging in trees

The familiar vehicle scrap and a bench along the overgrown footpath.

Waterworks River

Discarded shopping trolleys

Three Mills Wall River

Abbey Creek ChannelSea River

decaying boat

The old lock

City Mill River

Carpenters Road Lock

Waterworks River

St Thomas' Creek

The view from the Canning Town flyover on the A13

Bow Creek, Canning Town (site of Thames Ironworks)

This is where the River Lee (or Lea) reaches its tidal estuary. It was navigable from a very early date.

In 896 King Alfred the Great is believed to have chased the invading Danish fleet up the Lea.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells of Alfred lowering the water-level of the Lea to strand the Danish invading

fleet upstream. Being outside the City of London and free from its regulations, the area became a centre of

mills and industry in the Middle Ages. Some traffic (but not much) remained until the 1970s for the Pura Vegatable Oil refinery – prior to building their own wharf on the Thames (due south of the site and linked by an underground pipeline).

Thames Ironworks had built ships in Canning Town since the mid 19th century at their yard along both sides

of Bow Creek adjacent to the Thames. The Ironworks built some of the largest vessels of their time. Because

the width of the river at Bow Creek was relatively narrow, the larger vessels were built parallel to the shore and

launched 'sideways' into the river. On the occasion of the launch of the Navy cruiser HMS Albion this was also

to be the case. However up to 200 people keen to get a good view of the launch had made their way to a temporary

slipway 'bridge' beside a nearly completed vessel also being built in the yard for the Japanese navy, to get a better

view of the occasion. The 'bridge was not designed to hold so many, and was signposted as 'dangerous',

but despite this a large crowd had gathered and those on the bridge felt they had the perfect viewpoint to see the

ship launched by the Duke and Duchess of York. Local schools were given the day off and thousands were standing

watching when the 390 foot long, 74 foot wide, 6,000 ton ship slid into the water. The momentum of the vessel's

launch created a large 'tidal wave' which raced along and crossriver and engulfed the 'bridge', smashing it to pieces

and plunging shocked onlookers into the river, where they were also smashed by the broken bridge and the inevitable

debris of the launch itself. Their cries of panic were drowned out by the cheers of the main crowd applauding the

launch. 38 people perished in the incident, which was in 1898, one of the worst disasters in the East End in

peacetime. The Royal Humane Society later awarded 26 of its Bronze Medals to those men that had risked their

lives by jumping into the river and rescuing many of those that were in danger of drowning.

In 1895 Thames Ironworks formed the Thames Ironworks Football Club. Since 1900, they had been known as

West Ham Football Club after a merger with another local side, Old Castle Swifts.

Ricky writes: "As a child, I'm in my 40's now, I remember an island in the river lea at the

bottom of southwold road near where the ice rink is now.

The island was called "rat island" locally and was a very real ,standalone

island that you could only reach if you were prepared to swim.

Over the years it has filled in due to natural river deposits and prams and

motorbikes, etc and is no longer an island. You wouldnt even know that it

was once an island. we used to canoe to the island and pull our canoes up

onto the bank and skadoo off the bank into the water."

Every year more than 900,000

tonnes of used electrical and

electronic goods are discarded

in the UK. This figure includes

up to 350,000 tonnes of large

domestic appliances such as

washing machines, fridges and

cookers - so-called "white

goods" - over 8 million pieces

of equipment in total

Hackney Cut Mile End

Disused footbridge on River Lea Navigation

Mile End, Grand Union Canal

I was having a drink down at The Palm Tree the other day and noticed these old buildings have

been completely demolished and replaced by modern apartments

Tower Bridge Clapton Pond

This particular area of Hackney recently got labelled

as the ‘Murder Mile’ after a series of drug-related murders.

Derelict Boathouse Nr Three Mills Hertford Union Canal Lock

Hertford Union Canal Woolwich

The Chisenhale studios has been occupied An old boat repair graving dock which was

by various artists who have had the lease for filled with water to allow fishing

about 25 years. About half of it is completely

derelict and the other half is used as studios

Apparently the windows have been fighting

a losing battle against kids with stones,

so they no longer bother fixing them.

The Greenwich Reach project will see the run-down estate at Deptford Creek revived with almost 1,000

new homes as well as a host of shops, bars and restaurants.The project, which has been given the

green light will include a new Waitrose supermarket, a public plaza as well as over 2,000 square metres

of business units and retail spaces.Thirty five per cent of the new homes will also be affordable housing.

It is set to open up the riverside for public use and includes a 14-storey landmark building at the point

where the Thames meets Deptford Creek. (Taken from The Bexley Times March 2006)

Broadwater, Thamesmead South Quay, Isle of Dogs

Any places you think should be on this site? Let me know!

Also info (however trivial) or stories/personal memories on any of the pictures would

and more of the Thames, heading east of Woolwich towards Dartford:

Decaying structures of SE London Thames industry

Crystal Palace Aquarium

The Aquarium was built after the first major fire at Crystal Palace in 1866 left a devasted area by the

North Tower. It was opened in 1871 and salt water was brought all the way from Brighton by train.

Tastes change and by the 1890s it had been transformed into menagerie of monkeys who occupied

the empty fish tanks. The Aquarium survived the 1936 fire but was destroyed when the North Tower

was demolished in 1941.

River Wandle - Wandsworth

A small waterway in the woods runs around Hanworth Park House like a moat


the following is an edit of an article from www.nolondon2012.org Olympics and the Bow Backs: Direct local environmental impacts The Olympic zone incorporates the Bow Back Rivers. These comprise the Old River Lea, Waterworks River, City Mill River, Pudding Mill River and Bow Back River. The waterways flow through an area typified by dereliction, mainly old factories and vacant land. The neglect of the area has, however, been extremely beneficial in terms of wildlife. Natural colonisation by a large variety of native and exotic species supplemented, in places, by tree and shrub planting (the bulk being the work of volunteers), has provided the area with a green 'backdrop' where, in places, it is hard to believe you are in London. The limited amount of vegetation management has resulted in the habitats having a 'wild' feel, as opposed to the frequently cut towpaths of the nearby canal system, where few species get a chance to flower. Disuse and neglect has also benefited wildlife, and species that are frequently seen in the area are kingfisher, heron, coot, moorhen, mallard, mute swan, green woodpecker, grey wagtail, great-crested and little grebes, dunnock, tits and kestrel, as well as the summer visiting sand martins. Small mammals are frequent in the rough grasslands, as evidenced by hovering kestrels, and there is a rich invertebrate population , which includes a number of notable and rare species. The Olympic proposals will destroy all the existing habitat and thus the associated wildlife. Proposals to provide mitigation in terms of translocating species and providing alternative habitat are unlikely to be successful, and it is only legally protected species that will be the focus of such work. A new 'park' is promised post Olympics, providing a greater amount of open space than now exists. This park will not be created until 2020 (8 years after the games), and meanwhile public amenity of the area will be lost. There are, as yet, no financial arrangements for the management of a new park, and no organisation has claimed they want to run it. By 2020, will anyone remember a park was promised? Claims that these will be a 'green' Olympics are related to recycling, energy generation and use, i.e. green technology, in terms of the environment, they are anything but green. For an area typified as brownfield, apart from the waterways, there are over 500 mature trees in the area - all are to be felled. The river system of the Lower Lea is, according to the Environment Agency, extremely complex and is very important in terms of its flood relief function. The network of channels and their associated wildlife is probably unique in London. Over the years, the Lower Lea Project/Lea Rivers Trust, have carried out improvements along the waterways, which has involved planting, vegetation management and habitat creation, as well as clean-ups. It has also run an education programme and organised walks which has introduced thousands of children and adults to the waterways. The olympic proposals will involve the complete relandscaping of the area, and include lowering towpaths and the creation of land bridges, all intended to get people onto the site quickly. The effect of the number and size of bridges will be to virtually culvert the waterways. The shading effect of bridges means that nothing grows below them, either on land or in the water. The network of waterways will effectively be fragmented and their 'habit corridor' (i.e. continuity) function lost. Proposals to landscaping the bridges is, not only problematic, but does not replace the river environment. Apart from their effect on habitat and wildlife, the bridges will destroy the attractiveness of the towpaths for walking or cycling. Post Olympics, many of the bridges will remain as 'legacy. The Olympic stadium will rise to 50 metres and its shading effect on the surrounding land and waterways will be significant. A benefit of a successful bid, it is claimed, will be the removal of invasive species from the waterways and the clean-up of the River Lea (doubtful, given that they are not looking at Deephams because it is outside the Olympic zone). Apart from that, it is Thames Waters' responsibility. It has also been said (by Ken himself) that if the bid is not successful, the regeneration of the Lower Lea will not be of as high a quality! Does that mean the Lower Lea was going to get low quality regeneration ? because an Area Development Framework was being developed before the bid was an option.