Three Mills by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority

Stratford

CA RP

EN TE

AT F

ST .S TR H

ET ST

Crossharbour (DLR)

A Heritage Walk

from Three Mills Island, Bromley-by-Bow

Lee Valley Regional Park Myddelton House Bulls Cross Enﬁeld Middlesex EN2 9HG

ROA DGE BRI

)

A R OAD

R LT M T

RIV

A102

Canary Wharf (DLR)

A RO

www.leevalleypark.org.uk Telephone: 08456 770 600 TH

This is one of several walking and cycling guides covering Lee Valley Regional Park. We have lots of places to visit within the 26 mile long Regional Park and look forward to welcoming you soon.

AD R RO

MANO

Devons Road (DLR)

EAST INDI A DOCK RD

Shadwell (DLR)

Wapping

Bromleyby-Bow

IAL ROAD

West Ham

APPR

COMMERC

Limehouse

T RTH L NO

Bow Church (DLR)

Plaistow

Three Mills Island

KINGSLAND ROAD

Mile End

O WR

Bethnal Green

O TR

Whitechapel

Liverpool Street

E GR

RO AN

Pudding Mill Lane (DLR)

For further information, maps and directions or to ﬁnd out about events please contact our Information Service on 08456 770 600. www.leevalleypark.org.uk

L NA

There’s something for everyone in our regular events programme. Whether you’re looking to take the family out for the day or to learn more about your local history and wildlife or watch top sporting action, we’d love to see you at one of our many events.

Three_Mills_Walk_cover.indd 1

Events

E KN

In 1424 the Lea was the ﬁrst river in the country to have an Act issued to improve its navigable state, highlighting its importance as a major trading route. The Act formed commissions composed of local landowners who arranged river improvements and raised money by tolls. Records show that in 1832, a total of 214,542 tons of goods were carried on the Navigation. One-third of that total was coal, a quarter was malt, and other large cargoes included wheat, ﬂour and gunpowder, an obvious link with Three Mills.

We’re easy to reach by cycle, car, bus, train or on foot. So whether you want to walk or ice skate, visit our farms or historic gardens, or if you’re on holiday or just out for the day, we hope that you enjoy the many different sites, facilities and experiences that the Regional Park has to offer. Bring your friends and family and come and explore, discover and enjoy your Regional Park.

O ER

Above: The great gate of Stratford Langthorne Abbey as it appeared in 1774

Lee Valley Regional Park is a unique mix of sport and leisure facilities, heritage sites, gardens, nature reserves and riverside trails. Stretching over 10,000 acres, the Regional Park winds its way 26 miles along the banks of the River Lee from Ware in Hertfordshire, down through Essex, North London, past the Olympic Park to East India Dock Basin on the River Thames.

The River Lea has served man since the Middle Bronze Age, Caesar overthrew an English stronghold in the mists of it, Saxons had barges on it, and King Alfred stranded the Danes up it. A Cistercian abbey at Stratford Langthorne was built beside the Channelsea River in 1135 by William de Montfitchet, the most influential manorial lord in ‘Hame’. He endowed the foundation with ‘two mills next to the causeway’. One may have been the Abbey Mill. By the 15th century this foundation had grown so wealthy and influential that it owned all of present-day Newham and had properties elsewhere in Essex, including the River Lea basin. The Abbey was dissolved in 1538 by Henry VIII and most of the buildings were destroyed.

London Fields GR

The power of the Lea

About Lee Valley Regional Park Authority

CHESTER RO

RIV

ER THAME

A TR

ROA

How to get there By train North London Line to WEST HAM 15 minutes walk to Three Mills Enquiries: 020 7222 1234 Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to BOW CHURCH 10 minutes walk to Three Mills Enquiries: 020 7222 1234

By underground District line (Metropolitan during peak hours) to BROMLEY-BY-BOW 5 minutes walk to Three Mills, or to WEST HAM 15 minutes walk to Three Mills Enquiries: 020 7222 1234

www.tﬂ.gov.uk

By bus

D8, 108, 25, 425, 276 (Stratford High Street) 488 (Bromley-by-Bow/ Tesco) Enquiries: 020 7222 1234

By car Directions to: Three Mills, Tesco car park (free)

A11 from the City or Stratford Leave A11 at junction with A102 (Blackwall Tunnel Northern Approach)

Picture credits (pages): Hackney Archives (14 top and bottom); Local Studies Library at Stratford Library (IFC , 2, 4 bottom, 9, 10, 16); Gas Museum (7 bottom); Thames Water (11 left and right); Louise Joly (12 top); 3 Mills Studios (6 top left); Tania Field ([FC] 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 top right and bottom, 7 top, 8, 11 bottom, 12 middle and bottom, 13, 15, 16 top left and right) Research, text, illustrations and maps: Tania Field © Lee Valley Regional Park Authority 2009

A102 from Hackney

or Blackwall Tunnel/ A13 Leave A102 at junction

with A11. Take roundabout under Bow Flyover and head south as if joining A102 (Blackwall Tunnel Northern Approach), but take second left (Hancock Road) towards Tesco

29/4/09 22:26:36

To Hackney

1 A1 D OR TF

RA ST AD

ABBEY ROAD

)

S L

BROMLEYBY-BOW

E LV

ANE

EEK

To Bow Locks

3 Mills Studios

BOW ROAD

Tesco superstore

Bromleyby-Bow Gas Works

E T RE E S CRESCEN T

AY THE GREENW

ANNE

Abbey Mills Pumping Station

House Mill T HREE

OU RH

BOW ROAD

IVER ALL R SW

ILL EE M

OAD

’S R O

THR

Y L AN

E AT

2 GR

MILL MEADS

KEY

Three Mills Lock

Walking route

WEST HAM

Other routes

1 All the paths skirt rivers and waterways, so please take care of yourself and your belongings when you visit.

3 Yardley Box Factory 4 Bow Porcelain

5 Old Ford Nature Area 6 Peanuts! Peanuts!

Close to Old Ford lock the old Percy Dalton peanut factory in Dace Road used to give a roasted aroma across the area. The peanut factory moved to Haverhill, Suffolk in 2005. 7 First Murder on Railways!

Old Bryant & May Match Factory

W R

2 Abbey Gardens

RIV

.S.E

N.O

N WA Y

ENT

ANKM

PUDDING MILL LANE

Bow Church

ER E MB

GREE

▲

SEW

THE

▲ ▲ ▲

Please Beware: Mud banks and tidal waters Steep drops and deep water Contact with river water can cause disease Children should be supervised.

FA L L

OUT

STRATFORD HIGH STREET

1 West Ham Allotment Society

A community garden that will escape development due to the archaeological ﬁnds of the remains of the precinct of the Cistercian Abbey of St. Mary Stratford Langthorne, thought to be its gatehouse.

At spring and autumn high tides and during adverse weather, parts of the walk may be ﬂooded. For information phone the Environment Agency on 0845 988 1188, www.environmentagency.gov.uk.

RT H E RN

▲

O MF

D OA

STRATFORD

2012 LONDON OLYMPIC PARK

▲

Allow at least two hours to complete the walk. The footpaths are in good condition. There are a number of places with a steep steps which make the route unsuitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs.

AT E

Old Ford Lock

OAD

MILL RIV ER

UTE SS RO

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

ITY

CRO A CE

Please Do: Respect the waterway environment Show consideration for others Take your litter home Make sure your dog doesn’t foul the tow path Refer to the Waterways Code (British Waterways) Refer to the Cycling Code (LVRPA).

L E E N A V I G AT I O N

ST 6

W I CK

Enjoy the waterways in safety

STRATFORD

400m

G R EAT

N T E RS RO CARPE A

The Lee Valley lies between the ancient counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire on the west and Essex on the east. Three Mills is in Stratford, West Ham, now part of the London Borough of Newham. The Mills are sometimes referred to as being at Bromleyby-Bow. This guide focuses on Stratford. A map at the back of this guide recommends a walking route, a good starting point is Three Mills Island. The House Mill is East London’s only surviving tidal mill and the world’s largest. It’s one of the original ‘Three Mills’, is open regularly throughout the year for guided tours, and at other times for special interest groups. It’s well worth a visit. There are high quality conference rooms in the Miller’s House which can be hired for meetings at any time. Telephone: 020 8980 4626, or email: info@housemill.org.uk, or visit www.housemill.org.uk The River Lea Tidal Mill Trust owns and is responsible for the running, restoration and development of both the heritage House Mill and the contemporary Miller’s House. The Trust runs on an entirely voluntary basis and is keen to hear from anyone who may be interested in joining as a ‘Volunteer’ or a ‘Friend’. The Miller’s House Café is open Monday to Friday from 10.00 until 15.00 h, and on Sundays when the House Mill is open for tours. To the rear of the Miller’s House there is a lovely walled garden and seating areas, ideal for enjoying lunch in the summer. Public toilets can be found in the Tesco superstore next to Three Mills Island.

HACKNEY WICK

This guide will help you unravel the historical secrets of the Lower Lee Valley through an exploration of the footpaths in the area. Imagine the Great Stink of London, spot the Yardley Lady and visit the House Mill.

Scale

IVI N

A waterway revolution in East London

Places of interest Underground station DLR station National Rail

P WC

Car Park Toilets

On the morning of 9 July 1864 a Mr Thomas Biggs of Clacton was travelling from Fenchurch Street to Hackney Wick when he was viciously assaulted. A motive of the attack was the theft of his gold pocketwatch. He was found dying on the railway tracks and carried to a nearby pub in Cadogan Terrace, The Mitford Castle, now the Top O’ The Morning. He died later. In the attack the assailant stole Mr Biggs’ hat, replacing it with his own. He was identiﬁed and captured by leaving a vital clue… The murderer’s name was embroidered inside his hat! Franz Muller was sentenced to death by hanging at Newgate, 50,000 people attended the execution. 8 Bow Bridge

Please note that some of the pathways around Three Mills Island and The Greenway are closed and the whole route may not be accessible. Three_Mills_Walk_cover.indd 2

29/4/09 22:27:00

The history of Stratford in West Ham can be traced back to 1066 when William the Conqueror invaded Britain. William the Conqueror wanted a record of the resources he commanded and so commissioned the Domesday Survey which was completed in 1086. At this time Newham was called ‘Hame’, meaning low-lying pasture. It’s recorded that there were eight tidal watermills on the Old River Lea and its branches, in 1066 there had been nine – more than anywhere else in Essex. At least five of these sites are identifiable from the names given to the nearby tributaries of the Lea: Pudding Mill, City Mill, Waterworks Mill, Abbey Mill and Three Mills. Three Mills was almost certainly one of the sites comprising the ‘8 Mills of Hame’ as it was written in the Domesday Book. Tidal water provided Even as early as the power for the mill wheels Middle Ages the mills of West Ham produced when the tide was going flour which was sold to out. By penning water London bakers. Bakers at high tide, water could of white bread were some of the be released at low tide first traders to establish their own giving a constant supply city livery company or craft guild of power which was over 800 years ago. needed to lengthen the The marshes around the working day. Old River Lea and its channels provided the perfect ground for many different types of industries to be established. A unique Royal boost to the area came in the 14th century when Edward III set out to direct policy towards commercial expansion. The industries that subsequently developed included bone boiling for soap, calico printing, paper-making, gunpowder manufacture, flour-milling, distilling, silk weaving, tanning and the manufacture of porcelain. In the 16th century the City of London was anxious to ensure a constant supply of grain from the outlying counties and this led to the Act of 1571 with its plans to improve navigation of the lower Lea, and to construct additional water cuts with towpaths; but there is no known evidence of this work.

Above: Detail from Rocque’s Survey 1745 Below: River Lee Navigation looking north

Three_Mills_Walk_16pp_text.indd 1

29/4/09 22:34:18

Mill power in Stratford Go back through time over 700 years! A journey retracing the ‘bygone times’ of Stratford industries, the backbone of the development of London.

Below: The Three Mills, an oil painting by I.M. Huggins in 1840

In about 1588 the Three Mills area comprised two water mills: one a corn mill and the other a gunpowder mill. In the early 1600s, soldiers returning from the wars in the Netherlands brought back a drink called ‘jenever’, the Dutch word for juniper. Juniper berries were used for flavouring this somewhat cheap and deadly spirit. The English shortened the word jenever to gin. The custom of gin drinking was made popular by William III, the Dutch King of England, it was said to be his favourite tipple. The Three Mills changed ownership many times until Peter Lefevre bought ‘Get drunk for them in 1727. Lefevre, a ‘mealman’ a penny, (a manufacturer and trader in flour) get dead drunk for went into partnership with a number of tuppence’ men, including Daniel Bisson. With their collective experience a large, successful gin distilling business was built. By 1735, with the prohibition of brandy from France, gin had taken the place of ale and beer as the staple drink of the thirsty working class. Mills in the area were continually increasing output, which put severe demand on the flow of the waterways. In 1743 a windmill was built south of Three Mills which helped the overburdened waterways. This mill survived until about 1840. Over time Daniel Bisson took over the business and ran it with his son, also named Daniel, and Philip and Roger Metcalfe. After Bisson’s death in 1776, his son continued to run it with Philip Metcalfe for a short time; he too died in 1776. They described themselves as ‘millers and malt distillers in a very large and extensive way’. During the Napoleonic wars there was a fear of a French invasion and anxiety about food supplies. The use of grain for distilling was forbidden during times of grain shortage and many distilling mills closed. Three Mills survived because they continued to produce flour.

Above: Gin label and ephemera published by J.& W.N. & Co.

Three_Mills_Walk_16pp_text.indd 2

29/4/09 22:34:23

The House Mill, the older of the two remaining tidal mills, was built by Daniel Bisson Senior in 1776. It is the largest and most powerful tidal mill still standing in Britain and is grade I listed. The miller and brewers occupied houses on either side of the mill enabling them to be permanently on site during the milling cycle. The House Mill is so called because of its location between these houses. Surprisingly the front and sides of the mill are just a facade. Although it appears to be a brick building it is in fact timber-framed. The rear, north-facing side, is weather-boarded. The front has 24 sash windows, three loading doors at the first and second levels and 40 cast iron Shaking wall plates which hold tensioning all over! rods which pull the brick front into the timber frame. These plates and rods were needed to counter the effects that the years of trundling wheels, gears and grind stones had inflicted on the mill building which worked roundthe-clock. The nature of this pounding work made it necessary to employ teams of carpenters to fill the gaps between the brick and timber to stop the vibration shaking the front of the building to pieces! The mill is 80 feet long, 50 feet deep and five storeys high. The 19th century slate roof has been replaced with clay peg-tiles as original. Some of the milling machinery remains, including four ‘undershot’ water wheels 20 and 19 feet in diameter. The flow of water hit the lower part of the wheels. Power for the mill was created by holding the high tide behind the mill to create a 57-acre mill pond. Once the tide began to ebb the sluice gates were opened, giving a reliable source of water

The water wheels are just visible under the bridge on which the House Mill is built; the wheels drove the gear mechanism which turned the millstones. They ground to a halt during the ‘Blitz’ in 1940 or 1941. Below: Weather-boarded north-facing back of House Mill

Look up to the stone date plaque just below the roofline of the front of the House Mill. It bears the initials of Daniel Bisson within his family coat of arms, a flamboyant display of wealth. Left: Millstones on the first floor of the House Mill 3

Three_Mills_Walk_16pp_text.indd 3

29/4/09 22:34:37

Wheels they trundle, gears lurch’n roll, stones round ’n round, the mill, it quiver’n quake to drive the mill’s water wheels. Grain was brought by cart to the mill from farms, thought to be in Suffolk, Essex and Hertfordshire, or by barge to the pool area in front of the House Mill, lifted up on to the cobbled road and rumbled over granite slabs built into the road. The grain would have been hoisted up to the top ﬂoor.

Look down at the cobbles, or ‘setts’, you’re standing on, you’ll notice the lines of granite slabs. These are 200-year-old tramways which were used by grain carts, they too are Grade II listed.

Bringing the wheels alive There are plans to restore the House Mills’ four original water wheels to work alongside external turbines to produce hydro-electricity. One of the wheels will also be rebuilt to demonstrate the milling process. Once these works are complete, the House Mill will be able to demonstrate 18th and 21st century technologies working together. The hydo-electricity created will run the House Mill and surplus will be sold to the National Grid. The Clock Mill was built in 1817, five storeys high and 80 feet long. It replaced a timber-built, weather-boarded mill. The clock tower, bell and clock face were part of the previous mill, and date back to about 1750. Next to the clock tower stands a pair of drying If only the river kilns used to dry out the grain. The could talk, the silent grain was spread out on a fireproof survivor of 900 years floor and heated from a furnace below. of milling toil.

Look up to the north-facing wall of the Clock Mill; the black painted metal date plaque reminds us of Philip Metcalfe, who rebuilt the Mill in 1817. Right: The Clock Mill, north elevation, 1817, drawn by Denis Smith

Three_Mills_Walk_16pp_text.indd 4

29/4/09 22:34:57

At the end of the Clock Mill the signposted towpath to Mill Meads and the Greenway passes between the mill and the distillery. Here, look down at a stone set into the distillery wall which shows record ﬂood levels. Over the years water has eroded the dates.

Their revolving cowls allowed fumes to escape. Cool air passing over the cowls created suction which drew up the warmer fumes. On the side facing south there is an attractive cast iron crane for unloading barges and a weather-boarded sack-lift hoist (Lucam) near the eaves. The wheel pit contains three undershot water wheels which last turned in 1952. The Clock Mill is a grade II listed building. At the beginning of the 19th century the Three Mills business was in decline and heavily mortgaged following bad debts and bankruptcies. The property was transferred to J & W Nicholson of Nicholson’s Gin in 1872. After the mill stopped milling in 1952 the site continued to be used for bottling and warehousing until the 1990s.

Can you work out when the ﬁrst ﬂood took place?

Look south towards the Bromley-by-Bow gasworks, a canal path, part of the Lea Valley Walk, will lead you to Bow Locks.

From grinding grain to shooting the stars Now, the Clock Mill, Customs House and most of Three Mills Island is home to 3 Mills Studios, London’s largest ﬁlm and television studio, a 20-acre site offering 14 stages and 10 rehearsal rooms. The Studios attract work for feature ﬁlms, TV programmes, commercials, music videos and West End shows. Credits include: Amy Winehouse, Billy Elliot the Musical, Eastern Promises, Hell’s Kitchen, How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live, The Killers, Madonna for H&M, The Might Boosh, Sunshine and Wicked.

Three_Mills_Walk_16pp_text.indd 5

29/4/09 22:35:06

Remembering the brave About 100m north of the Miller’s House lies the open space Three Mills Green. A mound in the north corner gives a ﬁne 360˚ view of the surrounding area. A memorial also stands in north of the Green commemorating four brave men who lost their lives in 1901 to ‘foul gas’. They were making a routine inspection of a well here and were, one by one, overcome by the killer gas, falling into the well as they tried to save their colleagues. This memorial replaces the tall cross memorial erected shortly after the tragedy. Above: The memorial at Three Mills Green, the sculpture of clasped hands was erected in 2001

Rockets’ red glare

Nothing remains of Congreve’s 14-acre rocket factory. It was built in the early 1800s where the Bromley-by-Bow gas works stand. The factory was founded by William Congreve (1772-1828), an English artillery ofﬁcer, scientist and inventor. He was one of the ﬁrst to experiment with gas. Congreve was known for his military rocket, which was much more advanced than black military gunpowder rockets. He based his design on those used by Indian Prince Hyder Ali, who fought the British in the late 18th century in India. Congreve rockets were used to great effect at Leipzig in 1813 during the Napoleonic wars and as a result two rocket troops were formed within the Royal Artillery. Rockets were used when the British attacked Fort McHenry near Baltimore in the USA in 1814. They inspired Francis Scott Key to write in the ‘Star Spangled Banner’, the US national anthem:

Below: The view from the Three Mills Green mound of the present-day pumping station belonging to Thames Water

“Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro’ the perilous ﬁght, O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,…”.

Congreve later became the Controller of the Royal Laboratory of Woolwich Arsenal. 6

Three_Mills_Walk_16pp_text.indd 6

29/4/09 22:35:21

An evil spirit

Bromley-by-Bow gas works was built between 1870 and 1873 by the Imperial Gas Company on the site of the Congreve factory. It was over-shadowed by the world’s largest gas works at Beckton owned by the Gas Light and Coke Company. Imperial later amalgamated with them in 1875. Many people did not trust this ‘new’ form of energy and believed gas was from the Devil, a gift which had been sent to haunt their lives. Spent oxide, a by-product of the gas manufacturing process, was heated in air to give sulphur dioxide which was then converted into sulphuric acid. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that a chemical works which produced sulphuric acid grew up next door, undoubtedly using the by-products. Gas was produced at the works until the early 1960s. Seven of the original eight Victorian gas holders remain and are grade II listed. Each is made of cast and ornate wrought iron and continue to store natural gas.

Above: One of seven gas holders. An eighth was destroyed by a bomb during World War II. Look up at the ornate ironwork

Poison brew

During the Industrial Revolution new factories in the Stratford area took the place of local ‘cottage industries’. These new factories produced waste in great quantity and disposed of it into the rivers. West Ham became signiﬁcant in the development of the chemical industry because it was just outside the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Buildings Act 1844 and the Metropolitan Local Managing Act. These acts Right: Rowlandson’s caricature of Londoners’ suspicion of the ﬁrst street gas lights 7

Three_Mills_Walk_16pp_text.indd 7

29/4/09 22:35:41

protected the city of London from ‘bad neighbour’ trades such as oil-burners, gut-spinners and varnish makers from settingup. Building regulations were also imposed on ‘new’ areas so that roads, drains, gas and pavements were provided before development could take place. Cheap land, with no building restrictions, around Stratford, which included Bromley-byBow, attracted every type of industry, especially chemical works. Between 1860 and 1900 in the West Ham area alone, there were 200 chemical concerns. Boneboilers, soapmakers and other industries which processed animal refuse were also situated in West Ham to avoid the 1844 Act and the 1879 Slaughterhouse Act. Fertiliser made from animal refuse, in particular blood, was a big industry. For example, in 1855 the Patent Nitro-Phosphate and Blood Company were making manure by treating blood in a lead-lined vessel with sulphuric acid. The product was taken out, dried and sold as fertiliser.

Cross over the footbridge at the new lock at the south end of Prescott Channel. This is a ﬂood relief channel cut between 1931–35, It’s here that stones from the dismantled Euston Arch were found submerged, they were used to block a hole in the canal. The majestic Abbey Mills pumping station can be seen for the ﬁrst time across Mill Meads and the allotments ahead.

A new lock for the Bow Back Rivers The Bow Back Rivers had fallen into disuse with the decline of canal freight and the demise of waterside industries. Investment in their upkeep was non-existent, but the wildlife, flora and fauna, thrived. However, with the Stratford Channel Tunnel Link development and the decision to host the 2012 Olympic Games in the Lower Lee Valley a regeneration of the Bow Back Rivers got a big boost. In a bid to reduce construction traffic on local roads, the waterways north of Three Mills have been restored, together with building a new commercial lock and water control structure in the Prescott Channel. This will provide a gateway for the barge traffic entering the Olympic Park. What a wonderful way to raise awareness of the waterway’s potential to contribute to a ‘green’ and sustainable Olympics, benefiting local people and the wildlife.

Above: The view south from the new lock towards the Channelsea River

Bomb unearthed! On 2 June 2008, during the work to cut away the banks of the Prescott Channel, a 1000kg World War II unexploded bomb was discovered lodged in the east bank, the largest found for 15 years. Fifteen bomb disposal experts from the Royal Engineers part-disarmed and then carried out a controlled explosion, scattering 400 tonnes of sand across the whole area.

Right: The new lock at the south end of the Prescott Channel. 8

Three_Mills_Walk_16pp_text.indd 8

29/4/09 22:35:50

The Great Stink

From the Middle Ages onwards, drainage and waste disposal systems in London hardly existed and public hygiene was Left: illustration published chaotic. The tributaries of the Thames were little more than in Punch, July 1858 open sewers. Rubbish was piled high on the streets, a situation which could have fuelled the Great Fire of Pepys recorded: London in 1666. ‘…my wife stooped By the in the street to do her 1800s London business…’ stood on an underground system of excavated domestic cesspools. On the opposite bank These should have across the Channelsea been emptied by River was the site of Berks ‘nightmen’, but more sulphuric acid works. often than not the Look out for the giant oak sewage overﬂowed back up into the houses. In 1832 cholera beams scattered across the (‘vibrio’ bacillus) spread westward from India and arrived banks. They were used to in London claiming 7,000 lives. protect boats from damage. It was thought that the vibrio was Terror! as the transmitted by direct contact with silent, invisible killer Left: Photograph (1960s) contaminated excrement, inevitable in hits the London of the F. W. Berk & Co. Ltd. the poor overcrowded urban districts. streets chemicals and acids works It was unknown at the time that cholera was also transmitted by contaminated water. An epidemic of typhus ravaged London in 1837-38, breeding in the decaying refuse and stinking pools of sewage. In 1847 about 200,000 cesspools were abolished. Water closets had been replacing the privies to solve some of the disgusting problems within houses. These emptied directly into the drains and tributaries and then into the Thames. The situation came to a head in the summer of 1858 when temperatures reached the mid-nineties and the River Thames, a main water supply for Londoners, became a ﬂow of human and industrial waste. It stank along Outbreaks of cholera its length through London and so bad was the stench that the in London: windows of the Houses of Parliament had to be draped with 1848-49, kills 14,000 curtains soaked in chloride of lime to mask the terrible smell. 1853-54, kills 11,000 This episode was called the ‘Great Stink’. Carbolic acid was 1865-66, kills 4,500 dumped into the river but had very little neutralising effect. London faced a desperate situation threatening thousands of lives, an answer had to be found… Cathedral of Sewage. 9

Three_Mills_Walk_16pp_text.indd 9

29/4/09 22:35:57

Cathedral of Sewage

Continue your walk east of Mill Meads along the Long Wall Path and Channelsea Island comes up into view on the right. The island was the site of Abbey Mill, owned by Queen Maud who gave it to

After six unsuccessful commissions concerning public health, the Metropolitan Board of Works was set up in 1855. It was the task of their engineer-in-chief, Joseph Bazalgette, to design a new sewerage and drainage system to alleviate London’s problems. His scheme incorporated 1,300 miles of sewers built with bricks with a system of northsouth, eggshaped, gravity falling sewers linked to east-west intercepting sewers, and four pumping stations. At first, the outfalls discharged into the Thames but the sludge spewed back into London. The sewage was later separated: effluent flowed into the river, sludge was shipped out to sea in ‘gravy boats’. The construction of the Northern Outfall Sewer between 1860 and 1865, led to the building of a pumping station at Stratford. The pumping station lifted the lower-level effluent (a mixture of human waste and rainwater) into the outfall and disposed of surface A fine example of drainage and storm water. Victorian civic pride. The Abbey Mills pumping station, PEVSNER designed by Bazalgette, engineer Edmund Cooper and architect Charles Driver was built between 1865 and 1868 on a grandiose scale in yellow Suffolk Brimstone Gault brick. It was detailed with elaborate stonework depicting British flora and fauna. and bands of blue encaustic Minton tiles.

Barking Abbey as part of an endowment for Bow and Channelsea bridges. It was rebuilt several times, but ﬁnally destroyed during World War II. The island is now a wildlife haven, a refuge for breeding moorhens Above right: Northern Outfall Sewer works at Bow Creek Right: An engraving showing the twin chimneys

Three_Mills_Walk_16pp_text.indd 10

29/4/09 22:36:07

Left: Abbey Mills Pumping Station

It was a mix of French gothic, Byzantium or Moorish, Russian orthodox, Venetian, Flemmish and Celtic styles in a cruciform plan, each arm housed two coal-ﬁred steam-powered beam engines, replaced by electricity in 1933. It was nicknamed the ‘Cathedral of Sewage’. The pumping station originally had intricately-designed, Moorish twin chimneys, 210 feet tall. which acted as exhaust ﬂues for the engines. They were no longer used when the station switched over to electricity. During World War II a German bomb landed on the coal bunkers damaging the east boiler house, which had to

Above: Joseph Bazalgette Left: East wing doorway Left below: View inside looking up into the lantern Below: Ornate ironwork inside of Abbey Mills Pumping Station

be demolished. Sadly, the chimneys were also taken down, if they had been damaged by a bomb it was feared they might fall on the pumping station, destroying it. Now only the bases remain. The pumping station was a major innovation of the 19th century and Bazalgette, who was knighted in 1875, continued to work on the Thames Embankment and District Line Railway which runs alongside the Channelsea River. He became known as ‘Mr Underground’! Close to Abbey Mills is the old West Ham Pumping Station built in 1899. It still houses its two original beam engine pumps with ﬂywheels 20 feet in diameter. They haven’t been used since 1970.

Abbey Mills Pumping Station is currently closed to the public, for information and updates please contact the Thames Water Customer Call Centre on 0845 9200 800 11

Three_Mills_Walk_16pp_text.indd 11

29/4/09 22:36:29

100 years of the hidden allotments Tucked away between Abbey Mills Pumping Station and the Prescott Channel members of the West Ham Allotment Society have been tilling the soil there for over 66 years. Allotments have probably been present on this site for over 100 years. There are currently 37 plots (www.westhamallotments.org.uk).

The Greenway

The Northern Outfall Sewer Embankment, known as N.O.S.E, runs for 41⁄2 miles from Wick Lane, Bow to Beckton. It’s been opened as the ‘Greenway’, a landscaped footpath and cycleway across east London crossing several rivers: Old River Lea, City Mill River, Waterworks River and Abbey Creek. It gives an important link to the Lea Valley Walk, a 50-mile regional route waymarked with the swan symbol between Bow Locks and Luton. The Greenway is developed by Thames Water, Lee Valley Regional Park, and the London Borough of Newham. As part of the Olympic Park, London Wildlife Trust has been involved with inﬂuencing and working with Thames Water and the Olympic Delivery Authority to treat it as an ecological corridor for wildlife as well as people. The Trust works with volunteers improving the habitat for invertebrates, birds, bats and reptiles.

Signage on the Greenway is made from old sewerage pipes. Walking northwestward on the sewer itself, you pass Abbey Mills pumping station on the left and cross the Meridian Line. This section of Greenway ends at Stratford High Street.

Yardley box factory ‘Lavender Sellers’ 3 Designed by architects Higgins &

Thomerson, Warton House was the Yardley box factory and offices built near Grove’s Bridge in 1937. The firm later moved to Basildon. The mosaic image on the wall, of the partlydemolished Warton House, comes from the flowersellers from Wheatley’s ‘Cries of London’ 1792–1796. The original paintings showed primroses, the Yardley version shows lavender, a clue to Yardley’s activities in making soap, cosmetics and perfumes. Soap was made at their Stratford Carpenters Road factory at the beginning of the 20th century. Yardley moved to Basildon in Essex in the 1960s. 12

Three_Mills_Walk_16pp_text.indd 12

29/4/09 22:36:41

Bow Porcelain

Bow Porcelain was established at Stratford in 1744 by George Arnold, alderman and haberdasher, Edward Heylyn, glassblower, and Thomas Frye, portrait painter and engraver. Their factory was built in 1749 on the north side of Stratford High Street, west of Marshgate Lane. From 1750 bone ash was one of the main ingredients, a by-product of the local tanneries and foodrelated industries. Bow Porcelain produced vases, tableware and ﬁgures of statesmen, generals, actors, actresses and birds.

Above: Old Ford Nature Reserve Left: Old Ford Lock

Old Ford Nature Reserve 5 Clinging on, with redevelopment all around, there’s small area of pasture alongside the Greenway at Old Ford. A low-lying meadow thickly surrounded by trees which blot out the urban landscape. The range of scrub and tall vegetation provides an excellent habitat for birds and butterﬂies. The area is managed by the London Wildlife Trust. There’s currently no public access but for information, telephone 020 7803 4280.

Old Ford Lock

The most important Roman road linking London to Essex crossed the Old River Lea at Old Ford and continued through the marshes to the Roman city of Colchester. The Bow Back Rivers are a mass of river channels which is said to have formed when King Alfred dammed the River Lea in order to trap the invading Vikings upstream. Legend has it that in about 1110, Henry I’s, wife Queen, Maud fell into the river at the Old Ford crossing. This mishap led her to build Bow Bridge, Channelsea Bridge and a causeway over the marshes which follows the line of the present Stratford High Street. These improvements meant that the Roman road at Old Ford turned south and two townships grew up on either side of Bow Bridge: Stratford-atte-Bow (Bow as it is called now) and Stratford Langthorne (Stratford).

Three_Mills_Walk_16pp_text.indd 13

29/4/09 22:36:57

Factory of ﬁre

The first practical friction match was invented in 1827 by John Walker in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. His formula was potassium chlorate, sulphide of antimony and gum arabic which was put on splints and supplied with glasspaper for ignition. He sold his Friction Lights in tins of 84 matches for 10d (2d for the tin). Phosphorus matches were a European invention introduced in 1833, called Lucifers (meaning ‘light bringer’) or Congreves, named as a tribute to the rocket man five years after his death. The Lucifer was so unstable and the fumes so poisonous that the boxes were given red warning labels. By the mid-19th century match manufacture was confined to small factories, often in houses. The bulk of matches were however imported from Sweden, Austria and Germany where large, efficient, health-conscious factories existed. In 1843 William Bryant, a soap and Above: Bryant & May grease maker in the matchbox label design west of England, produced between 1893 and Francis May, and 1915 son of a London merchant, formed the partnership of Bryant & May. They started importing matches from Swedish matchmakers, brothers Carl and Johan Lundström. In 1845 Johan invented the safety match which would strike on one specially prepared surface thanks to a newly discovered material which he added to the friction surface paint. He didn’t patent this until 1855 and sold the British patent to Bryant & May for £100.

Above: Bryant & May about 1890, working women and coils ﬁlled with wood matches

Below: Matches drying and being ﬁlled into boxes, about 1920

Three_Mills_Walk_16pp_text.indd 14

29/4/09 22:37:05

Eventually the Swedish firm couldn’t satisfy demand in Britain, so Bryant & May decided to move into the production of matches. With a capital of £8,000, they leased a factory in Fairfield Road, Bow in 1861. Candles had been made in the factory and before that, crinolines (hooped skirts). A medical condition known as ‘phossy jaw’ or phosphorus necrosis Skulls that glow was becoming common among in the dark workers in matchmaking factories. Worldwide it was recorded as the greatest tragedy caused by an occupational disease. The culprit was the poisonous yellow phosphorus in the head of the ‘strike anywhere’ match. The disease was caused by fumes from the yellow phosphorus eating into the jaw bone through the cavities in decayed teeth. Tooth decay was common among the poor workers. The disease was painful and the smell horrendous and would cause the jaw bone to rot away. Doctors would remove the bones – somehow keeping the face intact. Many workers died of the disease and there are stories about sufferers earning money by putting on macabre performances. At dusk their teeth and skulls would glow eerily under the skin with the presence of the phosphorus. Bryant & May were aware of the problem and introduced measures such as improving the ventilation of the buildings and offering dental treatment. The first ever women’s trade union, The Union of Women Matchmakers was formed in 1880 at the factory during a

Above and below: Present-day Fairﬁeld Works

Three_Mills_Walk_16pp_text.indd 15

29/4/09 22:37:12

decade of national industrial unrest. Bryant & May’s Fairﬁeld Works was the scene of the famous ‘Matchgirls strike’ in 1888; a dispute over piecework pay and working penalties. The strike became an important part of the history of the British working class movement. A new factory was built on the same site at Bow in 1911, replacing the piecemeal development that had taken place since 1861. This building remains and has recently been converted into luxury ﬂats. Bryant & May stopped match production and closed their last factory in Liverpool in December 1994.

Above: A blue plaque celebrating the efforts of Annie Besant as secretary of the Union of Women Matchmakers Right: Fairﬁeld Works in 1995

Bow Bridge

Built between 1100 and 1118 by Maud, Queen of Henry I, it was a medieval stone bridge named after its arched construction. In 1465 it was decided that Stratford Langthorne Abbey was responsible for the Bow and Channelsea bridges. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the break-up of the lands, there was a long period of uncertainty concerning the upkeep of Bow Bridge. The ﬂyover which you see now is built over the fourth Bow Bridge.

Three_Mills_Walk_16pp_text.indd 16

29/4/09 22:37:22