London was once a city awash with watercourses. Most of these
streams and small rivers have long since disappeared underground
and their void has been filled by myth, legend and an enduring yet
uncertain fascination. The River Effra was one of these vanishings.
In its earlier existence above ground it could only ever have been
a modest tributary of the Thames, but through a vivid subterranean
afterlife it has continued to impose itself on South London's
development history and local mythology. Once fringed by willows
and water meadows, it was the haunt of salmon, eels and herons
until it fell victim to the unregulated development of suburban
South London. The Victorian housebuilder and his tenants
enthusiastically transformed it from a small river into a large
sewer until finally in desperation it was covered up. Yet it still
flows...and occasionally floods.River Effra: South London's Secret
Spine is the first comprehensive account, beginning with its
underlying geology and pre-history and continuing through to the
river's ongoing significance today.The machinations of medieval
landowners seeking to divert its course are uncovered along with
some of the more absurd legends concerning Canute, Queen Elizabeth
and others. For the Victorians it was a public health disaster in
waiting and its ignominious disappearance underground into London's
main drainage system in the 1860s was seen as a triumph of
nineteenth-century civil engineering. In the twenty-first century
its legacy is being approached anew.Richly illustrated with
archival images and crisp contemporary black and white photographs,
which combine to reveal its vanished stream, River Effra combines
geography and geology with social, environmental and engineering
history and sets this alongside a detailed walker's itinerary for
anyone needing to follow the ghost of this watercourse from
Norwood, through Herne Hill, Dulwich and Brixton to Kennington and
Vauxhall.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
