The stream that flows through a Tube station
Subterranean rivers are, needless to say, invisible. There is an exception to this in the Tube station at Sloane Square, where the Westbourne crosses the tracks above the heads of passengers waiting on the platforms. They hear no splashes and see no water, as the stream flows through a closed iron trough. Nevertheless, to look up at the black-painted underside of the aqueduct is a rare opportunity to glimpse one of the many watercourses that otherwise lie unseen beneath the city streets.
21 small rivers and streams flow into the Thames within the boundaries of Greater London. Some of them run through the suburbs above ground, but in the city centre, they all disappeared from view long ago. The Walbrook, for example, on whose banks the history of London began 2000 years ago, was covered up in the 1440s. The Tyburn passes beneath Buckingham Palace. The Fleet River, which rises on Hampstead Heath and enters the Thames near Blackfriars Bridge, was hidden underground in the 18th century, although the quays on its banks were commercially useful, because it gave off an intolerable stench.
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Address Sloane Square | Public Transport Sloane Square (Circle, District Line) | Tip The Saatchi Gallery, a major influence on British contemporary art since 1985, found a new home in converted barracks near Sloane Square in 2008 (Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Road, Sun–Wed 10am–6pm, Thu–Sat 10am–9pm, free admission).
The source of the Westbourne is on the west side of Hampstead Heath. It flows, already below the earth, through Kilburn and Maida Vale towards Paddington Station, where its course is parallel to Westbourne Terrace. From 1731 its waters fed a new lake in Hyde Park, The Serpentine, but became so polluted that in the 19th century they had to be diverted through a channel around the north side of the lake. After flowing beneath Belgravia, the Westbourne makes its brief appearance at Sloane Square Station, then continues below Holbein Place and the gardens of the Royal Hospital to its outlet near Chelsea Bridge. By looking from the bridge at low tide, it is possible to see the main outfall a short distance upstream, and two smaller ones on the downstream side.
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