River Lea Banbury Reservoir

River Lea
The River Lea and the Aqueduct flow southwards towards the Thames. They are joined by the River Ching from the east

Post to the north Chingford Mill
Post to the east Walthamstow Stadium
Post to the west  Wild Marsh

Just south of the North Circular road this enormous reservoir fits into a bend in the Lea as it flows southwards together with other channels. It is now used for sports as well as water supply although the huge Greaves Pumping Station appears semi-derelict.  The reservoir is surrounded by 20th century housing and facilities with several important industries, which once included Phillips records factory.


Banbury Reservoir
Built under East London Water Works Acts of 1897 and 1900. Taken over by Metropolitan Water Board when opened in 1903. Now used by Lea Valley Watersports Centre.  The River Ching joins the Lea inside the reservoir 

Banbury Road
Housing – early 21st housing built round the reservoir on what was Water Board land.

Burnside Avenue
Chingford Hall Primary School
Chingford Hall Children’s Centre
Paradox Community Centre
The Gardeners Arms. Closed 2010

Cabinet Way
Deacon Estate – Trading Estate.

Chingford Hall Estate
This consisted of three tower blocks.  Built in 1966 and since replaced with low rise housing.

Folly Lane 
Golf Driving Range
Waltham Forest Muslim Cemetery. Run by a trust, the first burials were in 1991
Folly Lane Community Woodland

Harbut Road
Greaves Pumping Station. Built by the East London Water company in 1903 to serve both the Banbury and Lockwood reservoirs. . It was named after Charles Greaves, engineer to the company 1851 - 75. Long, low red brick classical building which has three Tangye vertical reciprocating engines, and three Lancashire boilers. The steam plant replaced by electric pumps in the early 1970s when the chimney was also demolished. It is now used by Lea Valley Watersports Centre
Lee Valley Watersports Centre Local watersports club on the reservoir

North Circular Road
The earliest construction of the road was in 1927.  In the 1920s the Government began a programme of ‘arterial roads’ and the North Circular was planned to link the Leytonstone with Hangar Lane. It was also thought that building it would provide for the unemployed.   

Peacock Close
Travellers site

River Ching
Straightened when the reservoirs were built in the early 20th.  It was then allowed to flow into the River Lea north of the Banbury Reservoir.

River Lea
Salisbury Hall owned a fishery later known as the Blue House and Later still as Game's Water. The site was covered by the Banbury reservoir.

Shadbolt Avenue
Trading estate named after the veering works

The Aqueduct
The Aqueduct was built in the early 20th.  It was cut from Waltham Abbey and goes to the Greaves pumping station. It is three and half miles long, brick lined along its whole length and in semi circular section.  It continues on from the Greaves skirting the Banbury and Lockwood reservoirs to the west to reach others further south.

Trinity Way
Trading Estate

Walthamstow Avenue
Philips Records Ltd. factory opened in 1958. Modern pressing plants installed there
National Plastics Ltd., which made plastics building components opened a plant here in 1953.

Sources
Victoria County History Chingford
Pevsner and Cherry North London
Neale. Chingford Water
London's Water Supply. Met. Water Board
Lea and Stort Navigation web site
Pronze Chingford History
Smith & Carr Industrial Archaeology of Hertfordshire and the Lea Valley

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