River Lee - William Girling Reservoir

The Lee Navigation, the River Lea and the River Lee Diversion Channel
The Lee Navigation, The River Lea and the River Lea Diversion all flow southwards. An aqueduct leaves the River Lea diversion flowing southwards towards the Greaves pump house at the Banbury Reservoir.

Post to the north Picketts Lock
Post to the south Chingford Mill
Post to the west Marsh side

Cherrydown Avenue
This covers the area of what was Cherrydown Farm.  This was demolished in 1930 following attempts to save its fields which lay between the church and the river.

Lee Navigation.
Picketts Lock. This was built in 1770 and Rebuilt 1861. Portland stone was used in it which had been bought from old Westminster Bridge which was demolished 1854 - 1862. It is thought highly probable that the stone is still there.  It was called Piggott’s Lock until 1856, except for the years between 1826 and 1840, when it was Skinner's Lock. It is the only lock on the Lee which was not duplicated and mechanised in the 1960s.
Lock House condemned in 1877 demolished and replaced. It was again replaced by a modern bungalow in the 1960s
Sword found here in the Lea in 1939 which is now in the British Museum, it is thought to be 11th

Lea Park Way
Private road

Lee Diversion
The diversion was cut during the construction of the George V reservoir to the north. It originally went only as far as Flanders Weir and the southerly section which uses the old bed of the River Lee was put in during the construction of the William Girling Reservoir
Weir – a weir in the Lee Diversion is thought to be near the site of the old Flanders Weir which was a fishery and included the cottage of the water bailiff before demolition for the William Girling Reservoir. Flanders were 18th occupants. It is said the actual site of the weir could be seen when the water level in the reservoir has fallen in times of drought.  It was earlier called Shury's after the early 19th occupants.

Lock Lane
Picketts Lock depot – in commercial use for building materials.

William Girling reservoir.
Construction work began 1935 by Mowlem but was interrupted by major earth slips and World War II. It was completed in 1951. The Control tower passes water either into the Diversion or to other reservoirs and filter beds to the south.
Bronze Age coffin was found during construction, later lost during bombing of the London Museum.

Sources
Pevsner and Cherry London North
Neale Chingford Water
Info on East London Water from Waltham Forest Local History Department
London's Water Supply. Met. Water Board
Ray. Chingford in the Past
Chingford as it was
Lea and Stort Navigation web site

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