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Report - - The Ranelagh Sewer & Storm Relief, London 2017-2020 | UK Draining Forum | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - The Ranelagh Sewer & Storm Relief, London 2017-2020

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tallginge

more tall than ginger tho.....
Regular User
Ranelagh Sewer
(formally the River Westbourne)

The Ranelagh has taken me longer to complete than any of London’s other “lost rivers”. As you’d expect, the sewer roughly follows the course of the old river and it is the western-most of the three rivers that rise from Hampstead Heath, the other two being the Tyburn and the Fleet. Like all the lost rivers, which eventually became sewers, it was ‘maintained’, often haphazardly, by the Commissioners of Sewers as described in the account below from Joseph Bazelgette’s book ‘On the Main Drainage of London”

Prior to the year 1847, the sewers were under the management of eight distinct Commissions, viz. the City, Westminster, Holborn and Finsbury, Tower Hamlets, Poplar and Blackwall, Surrey and Kent, Greenwich, and St Katherines Commissions of Sewers. These were independent bodies: each appointed its own officers, and carried out its drainage works, frequently regardless of the effect thereby produced upon the neighbouring districts, through which the sewage flowed. The works were not constructed upon a uniform system; and the sizes, shapes and levels of the sewers at the boundaries of different districts were often very variable. Larger sewers were made to discharge into smaller ones, sewers with upright sides and circular crowns and inverts were connected with egg shaped sewers: and egg shaped sewers with the narrow part upper-most were connected with similar sewers having the smaller part downwards.

It’s the old brickwork and ever-changing styles that justifiably make the lost rivers the most appealing in terms of exploring and the Ranelagh has some unique features not seen elsewhere at such a good size. They’re not the cleanest, though.

There’s over a hundred photo’s below, split into seven groups. For a change I’ve not captioned them individually, instead I’ve just written a paragraph or two about each section, letting you’s work out what’s going on from the pics – they’re fairly self-explanatory. If you prefer, you can just look at the nice pictures, they’re in order from upstream to downstream


We’ll start just upstream from the Ranelagh’s first interaction with the North West Storm Relief (NWSR). It was one of the last parts of the sewer @TheVicar and I visited. Being about the furthest upstream as you can realistically walk, the pipe diameter is reduced to a mere 5’ and can overflow into a similar sized brick pipe, which runs parallel to the sewer and about 8’ below it.

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@Ojay showed me this chamber, junction, dropshaft and tumbling bay last year. I’d seen it in his and adders’ report but hadn’t understood the complexity of it and even when walking about inside, it took a few minutes to fathom. I remember getting into it in the first place was tricky. Some bag-head lass had seen us pull up, in the early hours and didn’t leave the vicinity of the lid for ages even after we pretended to leave. Basically, the two parallel pipes, described above, arrive at the chamber at different levels. The sewer drops down a steep tumbling bay (middle of three pipes) and joins another branch of the Ranelagh Sewer (the pipe on the left), while the storm relief, which used to enter via the opening on the right, now drops down a large concrete shaft into what is the modern day start of the North West Storm Relief – it’s concrete extension if you like. When I re-visited this section with TheVicar I went off up the curving 6’ pipe on the left and found another tumbling bay. The flow coming down this comes from two 4’ pipes - a pill and an egg. I thought I’d surprise TheVicar by returning above ground to the other chamber he was photographing but I got lost in a housing estate! After spending 5 minutes trying to find the lid again from above ground, I accepted defeat and conceded that it’s easier, straighter and probably quicker anyway to take the drain. The flow leaving the chamber TheVicar was in is fast and powerful and the brickwork slippery. We found other lids to explore the connections a short distance downstream, one of which I am fairly sure is a branch of the river and takes the flow diverted away from the 4’ pipe and tumbling bay further upstream. The extract below from an article in ‘The Builder’, which announces that the NWSR will be built, sheds some light on this possible diversion (I think). The last pic is Shelf Life, accessed by the NWSR

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If the flow was lower, we could’ve walked down to Shelf Life junction, the original start of the NWSR, but like the flow going out of it, it’s too deep, so we picked up the Ranelagh from its connection with the Mid Level No.2 near Little Venice on the Regent’s Canal. At the start of our pilgrimage, TheVicar said goodbye (or something not from the bible) to his tripod here, just days after Ojay had his mishap in the Effra. I decided not to walk under any ladders for a while.....Having just researched the area a bit more thoroughly I’ve discovered there’s more drains 2c up the small egg-shaped middle pipe shown in the first two pictures below – I might post a link eventually. Leaving the ML2 junction the sewer passes easily under the canal in a concrete pipe (the Tyburn and Fleet both have to split into two smaller pipes to pass) and after a slippery but interesting old section it arrives at the top of a large slide.

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The purpose of the slide and the double decker section beyond the slide baffled me for ages. I just would not believe what I was being told! So, here’s my understanding of what happens hereabouts - clear as muck. In the early 1860’s a now abandoned branch of the Metropolitan railway needed to be built but its level clashed with that of the existing sewer, so the sewer needed to be lowered. At a similar time to the railway being built JB was designing (building) the Mid Level Interceptor No.1 which the Ranelagh Sewer would flow into at a point near to Lancaster Gate tube station. When the top (original) deck of the sewer was built (pre 1815 when the ‘sewers’ carried rainwater only and every house had a cesspit) it wasn’t actually a sewer, rather it provided a clean water supply for the Serpentine in Hyde Park. When the waters became too mucky (and the sewers became actual sewers as we now know them) the Ranelagh was diverted around the park’s perimeter (sort of). This kept the Serpentine completely separate from the sewer (for a period while it was still a river, carrying surface water, it could’ve overflowed to the Serpentine) and 50 years or so later the Mid Level Interceptor No.1 replaced a section of the diverted Ranelagh Sewer, running along the Northern edge of Hyde Park. So why didn’t they do away with the upper deck when they built the lower one? And how do you construct 300m of sewer directly beneath another one. Answering the first question – because it was a live sewer with a lot of flow in it and when it rained a lot it caused a problem and couldn’t be diverted because none of the interceptors had yet been built. The second question – they slowly but very surely underpinned the whole lot.

I was amazed when I read this extract from The Builder ‘proving’ the Metropolitan Board of Works had gone to those lengths to connect the Ranelagh to their new Interceptor. Under-pinning a sewer that size for that distance is not standard practice!

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tallginge

more tall than ginger tho.....
Regular User
The ramp itself was, at a guess, the last part to be built. Whilst it was being constructed, I’d imagine the pipe was severed so the top of the ramp could be connected to the newly built lower deck and the live flow pumped over the gap. When TheVicar and I set out to cover this section we’d agreed to meet up with @The_Raw afterwards. As we were clearly still going to be underground come the agreed meeting time, I had to rearrange it so he could join us – all from underground, which was challenging. I walked down the pipe to the lid, whispered to him on the phone from just below the lid and even moved the lid slightly to be certain he was at the same one! He was, so he told me when the coast was clear enough and I let him in – ace, hello mate! We walked back up to meet TheVicar and then returned to walk back downstream to where the Ranelagh can now overflow and it meets the Mid Level Interceptor. Needless to say, the quality of the photography went up a notch and we could all help each other up into the top deck, which isn’t easy if you start from on the staircase leading down to the lower deck.

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The next section runs beneath Hyde Park, close to the Serpentine and is confusingly known as the Ranelagh Storm Relief, despite it appearing to be on the sewers’ main line and there being another separate Ranelagh Storm Relief (an egg shaped one) which ends at the Thames. It’s easiest to access it from downstream but it’s a long walk across the whole of the park with little of interest on the way. When the Mid Level was built and connected to the Ranelagh there wouldn’t have been any overflows at all – they came 20 years later in the mid 1880’s. Just before you reach the three arches at the end you get to a junction on the left that takes you under the Mid Level and eventually through a lot of filth to the Ranelagh overflow that TheVicar and I got to with The_raw (see above). It’s easy enough to walk in the sewer/ interceptor from the three arches side but not recommended from the Ranelagh Sewer side – take the stoopy smelly pipe. On the walk back downstream I passed what I assume is a disused outlet/ overflow from the Serpentine but there’s not much else until you arrive at a large three way junction at the southern tip of the Serpentine

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tallginge

more tall than ginger tho.....
Regular User
This three-way junction serves an important purpose. Up the pipe on the left is this large chamber resembling the underside of a bridge – indeed it may use to have been one. There’s three 5’ arches at the end – two of them are blocked up or small, I can’t remember, but the one on the left takes overflows from the Serpentine. Tidy too – I took the Brizzle lads up there once and somehow got us out of a ridiculously-heavy-for-its-size circular lid, which it turns out was bang in the middle of a cycle path. Fortunately, the park had closed and fortunately the lid was round as well so getting it back on without dropping it down the ‘ole was easy – I didn’t have manhole keys on me. Back in the main line and the pipe on the right eventually leads to another overflow on the Mid Level. The pipes about 5’ diameter and also crosses the whole of Hyde Park. As I understand it, this pipe was once the diverted Ranelagh Sewer, which was moved closer to the park’s perimeter to avoid polluting the Serpentine. It runs on the same line as the lost Tyburn Brook, another confusion causer as it has/ had nothing at all to do with the Tyburn River or the KSP Sewer

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A short distance downstream is an overflow to the other Ranelagh Storm Relief, more correctly called the Kings Scholars Pond and Ranelagh Relief, also constructed in the mid 1880’s. Drainorz call it The Egg because it’s egg shaped…. and because it’s big and makes explaining the useful link between the Ranelagh and the KSPS a lot easier! The junction has appeared on the tele a number of times as well. Everyone seems to ask if this is where the fat-burgs are, lol. This was amongst the first of my drains under London and an area I’ve visited more than once shall we say. You can easily head off in five directions from here. On my first visit here with TheVicar we went to do the downstream section of The Egg, which runs roughly parallel to the Ranelagh, but nearing the end it became clear the tide was definitely coming back up the pipe, so we turned back and did some of the Tyburn I think. We returned to do the downstream section of the Ranelagh Sewer on a scorching hot day and England had been surprising everyone at the World Cup. Consequently, the sewer stank of piss (would you believe) so we opted to complete the deeper, cooler and drier storm relief first, while the tide was out and the game was on. There’s a big heavy flap (or two) to pass and a few small connections to sewers either side of it but not much else till the end, except nice, red bricks. Twas cool though.

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tallginge

more tall than ginger tho.....
Regular User
This just left the downstream section of the Ranelagh Sewer and things got interesting again. After the junction with the egg the pipe diameter increases dramatically. Given it’s just downstream from the relief, one assumes it never really fills up to the level it used to prior to The Egg or even the Interceptors being built – ie pre 1860’s. Features along the way include the connection with the Low Level No.2, the shiny aqueduct over Sloane Square Tube Station – clearly visible above the platform, a connection with the (as yet unexplored?) Western Deep Sewer, an enormous remotely operated, hydraulically powered flap to not get trapped behind, another couple of big, heavy flaps to pass (yay!) and towards the end where clean blue and red engineering brickwork takes over is probably the biggest leap weir in London, where the remaining flow drops down a short stretch of 2’ pipe and into the Low Level No.1. Beyond the leap weir and the flaps is a long empty chamber with another flap at the end. I’ve not been passed that one but it’s either the Thames and Tideway’s site or another chamber with the Storm Relief flowing into it and then the Thames

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And that’s the Ranelagh

Thanks for looking’ :thumb
 

pastybarm

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Thanks tg, not heard from you for a long time, think the last time was when I PM'ed you about something up norf. Hope all is ok, going to read this report from the top, tons of pics :eek: :Not Worthy
 

tarkovsky

SWC
Regular User
How am I meant to get any work done today when you put this up?! Awesome job, awesome photos - I'll have to see if I can make myself wait until this evening to read the wordage. Good stuff!
 

tallginge

more tall than ginger tho.....
Regular User
Hi pasty, yeah in suffolk atm and for the forseeable the way things are. Closest thing to drains round here is a soggy old ice house. Closest thing to climb is a big prominent tree just inside someones back garden :D Not much else to do except reminisce over old pics, walk the dogs and hang about on me hang board. Could be worse i suppose. Yeah lots of pics - not much new though. Thanks @tarkovsky hope yer gotta garden and it's as sunny in Yorkshire as it is here :thumb
 

Ojay

Admin
Staff member
Admin
I’m going to have to read this lot again properly later, buts it’s definitely one of my favourite systems and it took me and Adders ages completing as well a good few years back now.

Some amazing pics and a good write up, was good going back into some of this lot with you.

I’ll still never forget a fresh turd floating down at the outfall whilst I was taking a pic of the outfall structure... trust @Adders to be curling some history out eh :p
 

urbanchemist

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Astonishing variety of things to see down there really.
I'd like all monster drain reports like this to come with a map with some indication of where the groups of photos were taken, since most people probably won't have a clue which bits of London you were underneath without having to look it all up.
 

Calamity Jane

i see beauty in the unloved, places & things
Regular User
Outstanding stuff, very well organised and the photos are just hitting the mark, I read it briefly yesterday and re read whole thing today. Looks so big, and so photogenic. Quality through & though.:D
 

TheVicar

Loyal to the Drain
Regular User
Absolutely cracking report and stunning photos! :thumb
Brings back some great memories (despite losing my decent tripod) of several different trips to see all of this epic drain.
Will read though again this evening when I get a bit more time.
 

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