Falconbrook facts for kids

This is Falcon Road today, looking towards The Falcon pub. The old Falconbrook stream now flows underground as a sewer, right under the manhole you see on the left.

The Falconbrook was once a small stream in southwest London. It started in areas like Balham and Tooting. The stream then flowed through the south and west parts of Battersea, including the area around Clapham Junction. Finally, it joined the River Thames in London. For a short distance, it even formed the border with Wandsworth Town. This old border is still seen in the SW11 and SW18 postcode lines today.

In the 1860s, the Falconbrook stream was covered over and put into underground pipes. This process is called "culverting." It became a very important "combined sewer." This means it carries both rainwater and wastewater from homes. In 2007, there was a lot of rain. This caused the underground sewer to overflow and flood Falcon Road near Clapham Junction station. The water wasn't very deep, but it still caused damage to nearby buildings.

Where Did the Falconbrook Flow?

This old map from 1884 shows the Falconbrook stream before many houses were built in London.

The Falconbrook was a stream in southwest London. Today, its path is mostly followed by underground pipes and drains. The area where the stream used to flow forms a gentle valley. This valley now holds a big underground pipe system built in the Victorian era. This system was designed to handle the city's growth back then.

However, London has grown a lot since then. The old system, which is a combined sewer, often can't handle all the rainwater when it rains heavily. This causes it to overflow into the tidal River Thames. To fix this problem, a huge new tunnel called the Thames Tideway Tunnel is being built. It is expected to be finished by 2025. This tunnel will help stop the overflows into the Thames.

The Falconbrook stream started near Streatham Hill. Another smaller source was to the west, south of Tooting Bec Common. From its source, the stream flowed west through Balham. Then it turned north, just before Wandsworth Common. Here, another small stream from Tooting Bec joined it. The stream continued to carve out a valley, which is now followed by streets like St John's Road and Northcote Road in Battersea.

The stream (and now the sewer) flows along Drewstead Road, past Woodfield Avenue, and through the north part of Tooting Bec Common. It then goes north down Cavendish Road, west along Kenilford Road, and along Oldridge Road. It turned north by Holy Ghost School, west of Rusham and Montholme Road, and along Northcote Road. After St John's Road, it flowed along Falcon Road in Battersea. Just before its end, it turned west and emptied into the tidal River Thames. This point is in the western corner of Battersea, right on the border with Wandsworth Town.

What Were Its Names?

The Falconbrook has had several names over time.

The Hyde Burn

The oldest known name for the stream was the Hyde Burn or Hydebourne. This name appeared in old documents from 693 and 695. It might be linked to "Hyde Farm," which was near Tooting Bec Common in Clapham. The name "Hyde" could also refer to a "hide of land" in Balham, which was a measure of land size.

The York Brook

From the mid-1400s to the 1800s, the stream was known as the York Brook or York Sewer. This name came from "York House." This house belonged to the Archbishops of York and stood where the stream met the Thames. The smaller stream that fed into it from Tooting Bec Common was sometimes called the York Ditch.

The Falconbrook Name

The Manor of Battersea was owned by the St John family from about 1627 to 1763. The St John family had a special symbol on their family crest. This symbol showed "a falcon with wings displayed." This means a golden falcon with its wings spread out.

The name Falconbrook, and other nearby places, come from this family symbol. You can see this in names like Falcon Park, Falcon Road, "The Falcons" housing estate, the Falcon pub, and the Falconbrook Primary School. When the stream was put into pipes, both "Falconbrook" and "York Sewer" were still being used.

Why Does It Flood?

The area where the Falconbrook flows is mostly made of London Clay. This type of soil does not let water soak in easily. Before cities were built, this was a big reason why the stream would overflow. The lower part of the stream's path through Battersea was also quite flat, which made flooding worse.

Today, many parks, roofs, and roads have separate drains for rainwater. These drains try to stop rainwater from entering the main sewer system. This helps prevent pollution in the River Thames. As mentioned, the Thames Tideway Scheme is a new, large pipe that should be finished by 2025. It will help stop the sewer from overflowing.

In late 2006, Thames Water worked to fix flooding problems with the Falconbrook sewer in Balham. This involved closing some roads. However, in July 2007, very heavy rain caused the Falconbrook sewer to overflow again. Water came out onto pavements and roads, including Falcon Road near Clapham Junction. Since then, there have been five more flooding events in that area.