River Heathwall

The River Heathwall, more often known as the Heathwall Sewer,[1][2] Heathwall Ditch or Heathwall Mill Pond[3] was a set of field drainage ditches and a large mill pond in Battersea, London. It had two outlets into the tidal Thames and its inland section roughly followed Wandsworth Road. Its eastern outlet was at Nine Elms.[4]

River Heathwall
Heathwall Pumping Station, Nine Elms Lane
1830 map of Battersea, showing a Mill Pond (bottom right) fed by the River Heathwall, where it goes to join the Thames
Basin features
River systemThames Basin

The Greenwoods' map of 1827 confirms the mill pond served a tide mill, harnessing of the locally great tidal energy.[5] The generic prototype may have such a mill in the nascent City of London, in Roman Britain.[6]

The river was covered in 1866, as was the nearby Falconbrook. Pumping stations were added for the drainage of northern Battersea and to allow for widespread development.[1][7] Heathwall Pumping Station is now part of the Thames Tideway Scheme.[8]

Further reading
  • Jon Newman, The Heathwall: Battersea's Buried River (2019, Backwater Books ISBN 9781916129108)

References
  1. Institution of Civil Engineers (1875). Minutes of proceedings. p. 162.
  2. Metropolitan Board of Works (1882). Minutes of proceedings. p. 746.
  3. Metcalf, Priscilla (1972). Victorian London. New York, Praeger. p. 82.
  4. "The Lost River Of London You've Never Heard Of: The Heathwall". Londonist. 25 November 2019.
  5. Christopher and John Greenwood's's 8 inches to the mile 6 sheet map, 1827
  6. Spain, Rob: "A possible Roman Tide Mill", Paper submitted to the Kent Archaeological Society
  7. "The Junction History". VisitClaphamJunction.com.
  8. "Heathwall Pumping Station". Bazalgette Tunnel Limited.

51.483°N 0.136°W / 51.483; -0.136

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