Walbrook

Walbrook is the name of a ward, a street and a subterranean river in the City of London.

Underground river

The river played a key role in the Roman settlement of Londinium, the city now known as London. It is thought that the river was named because it ran through or under the London Wall; another theory is the name comes from Weala broc meaning 'brook of the Welsh' ^[1]. The stream started in what is now Finsbury and flowed right through the centre of the walled city into the River Thames, near where Cannon Street Railway Bridge is now, splitting the settlement in two. It was probably used for fresh drinking water and also for carrying sewage down to the Thames. During Roman times it was also used for transport with the head of navigation at Bucklersbury where the Romans built a port and temple to Mithras on the east bank.^[2] The temple was found and later excavated during rebuilding work after World War II. The Roman Governor's palace was also found on the east bank of the stream, near its entry into the Thames. It is said that, when Londinium (also known then as Caer Lundein) was captured by the invading Anglo-Saxons during the late 6th century, all the British (Celtic) inhabitants were forced to live on the east bank of the Walbrook while the Saxons would reside on the west. Perhaps a more likely reason for this is that the prevailing winds over London blow from the West. This naturally carries the soot, fumes and odours from the "Great Wen" eastwards and makes living in the East End somewhat less salubrious than living in the West End. People with the money to do so naturally enough chose to live historically in the cleaner West End. Actions such as the Clean Air Act 1956 and the general cleaning of industry has somewhat reduced this atmospheric effect; the differences in infrastructure, however, remain.

John Stow, the historian of London, wrote about the Walbrook in 1598, saying that the watercourse, having several bridges, was afterwards vaulted over with brick and paved level with the streets and lanes where it passed and that houses had been built so that the stream was hidden as it is now.

The Walbrook's source was Moorfields, north of the City wall which it passed through just west of All Hallows-on-the-Wall Church.^[3]

In the 1860s, excavations by General Augustus Pitt Rivers uncovered a large number of human skulls, and almost no other bones, in the bed of the Walbrook.^[4] This has been seen as reminiscent of a passage from Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain (ca. 1136) in which a legion of Roman soldiers who surrendered to Asclepiodotus after being besieged in London were decapitated by his allies the Venedoti, and their heads thrown into a river called the Gallobroc.^[5] However, Geoffrey's History is notoriously unreliable, and some historians consider these skulls to be a result of the rebellion of Boudica.^[6] As late as the early 19th century, part of the branch that runs from Islington was open and powered a lead mill.^[2]

During the 'Carnival Against Capitalism' on June 18, 1999, a fire hydrant was let-off on Dowgate Hill by Reclaim the Streets to symbolically represent the freeing of the Walbrook.^[7]

The Walbrook is one of many "lost" rivers of London, the most famous of which is the River Fleet. It enters the Thames at Dowgate.

Ward of Walbrook

The Walbrook river now runs completely underground and the only evidence above ground that the stream is there is a street called Walbrook, which runs parallel to its course. On the street is a church called St Stephen Walbrook, which originally stood on the west bank of the stream, but was rebuilt around 1439 on the east side. In 1666 the church burned down in the Great Fire of London and Sir Christopher Wren built a new church there in 1672 to replace it, which still stands. The historic London Stone, which would have been a highly important religious symbol in Roman as well as pre-Roman London, is situated on Cannon Street within the ward of Walbrook. The Bank of England and Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor, are both situated in Walbrook ward.

Walbrook is one of 25 wards in the City of London, each electing an Alderman, to the Court of Aldermen and Commoners (the City equivalent of a Councillor) to the Court of Common Council of the City of London Corporation. Only electors who are Freemen of the City of London are eligible to stand.

References

London The Biography by Peter Ackroyd page 33

See also

• Roman sites in the United Kingdom
• Tributaries of the River Thames
• Subterranean rivers of London
• List of rivers in England

External links

• City of London Corporation Map of Walbrook ward (2003 —)
• Walbrook Ward The Official Ward Website
• walbrookriver.org Indepth information regarding the river and hydrological issues in London
• An indepth resource for the history, issues and future proposals of how to deal with Londons Walbrook River and water issues in the city
• Map showing the location of the street named Walbrook
• Map showing the location of remains the temple of Mithras

• Map of Early Modern London: Walbrook Ward - Historical Map and Encyclopedia of Shakespeare's London (Scholarly)