London's Lesser Known Rivers - Beverley Brook
Beverley Bridge carries the A3 across the Brook at Roehampton Vale near to the Robin Hood Roundabout. Note boundary marker between London County Council and Surrey County Council (and between Boroughs of Wandsworth and Maldon)
Beverley Brook is located in south-west London. It rises at Cuddington Recreation Park in Worcester Park, flows through Motspur Park, New Malden, Wimbledon Common, Richmond Park and Barnes. It then joins the River Thames near Putney Bridge at Barn Elms. Barn Elms is the venue for a main drive shaft site for lowering in drilling equipment to create a new 21-mile Thames Tunnel "super sewer"
Beverley Brook is recorded as ‘Beferithi’ in 693. The name is derived from the former presence in the river of the Beaver a species extinct in Britain since the sixteenth century - Beverley = Beaver's Ley - a place where beavers live. For many years in the twentieth century it was fed by poorly treated sewage from a sewerage works in Green Lane, Worcester Park. Since the introduction of improved treatment methods in 1998 the range of wildlife species in the river has steadily increased.
Beverley Brook is on the Environment Agency's watch list of rivers susceptible to flooding. In 2007, the Brook flooded its banks, damaging homes in the Worcester Park area.
Beverley Brook is recorded as ‘Beferithi’ in 693. The name is derived from the former presence in the river of the Beaver a species extinct in Britain since the sixteenth century - Beverley = Beaver's Ley - a place where beavers live. For many years in the twentieth century it was fed by poorly treated sewage from a sewerage works in Green Lane, Worcester Park. Since the introduction of improved treatment methods in 1998 the range of wildlife species in the river has steadily increased.
Beverley Brook is on the Environment Agency's watch list of rivers susceptible to flooding. In 2007, the Brook flooded its banks, damaging homes in the Worcester Park area.
The mouth of the Beverley Brook. Sluice gates provide a flood defence from the Thames
