Fleet River & Fleet Ditch

By Tristin Turner

The River Fleet and its ditch, today covered up and underground, were utilized to serve officially as a canal but, in truth, became a convenient site to deposit waste. Fleet Ditch, as stated by De Saussure, was "a sort of canal, where big barges come up with the help of the tide" (73). The ditch was located at the end of Fleet Street, which was about a mile in length and regarded as one of the finest streets in Europe.

In the 13th century, the river was considered contaminated and the surrounding area began to see a rise in the construction of prisons and inferior-quality residences. In addition, the river's velocity began to weaken because of the increasing industry. The river transformed into a sewer as London continued to grow.

De Saussure made an interesting observation concerning the residents that live on each side of the ditch and their separate privileges. On one side, "no one can be taken up for debt" and on the other side, people can "get married without any license or publication of banns," which "sailors and people of the common sort" took advantage of. They would marry in a pothouse or tavern and pay the priest "with a half a crown and a bottle of wine" (73-74). Through De Saussure's account, the distinctive values and customs of the less privileged citizens is brought to light, which greatly contrast those of the affluent elite of society.

Nowadays, Fleet River exists as London's largest subterranean river. The river, six kilometers in length, flows from Hampstead Ponds in North London out into the River Thames under Blackfriars Bridge. Only during instances of heavy downpours can you actually witness water discharging from the Fleet, still regarded as London's best known lost river.

Sources:
César de Saussure. A Foreign View of England in the Reigns of George I and George II. London: J. Murray, 1902.
Wikipedia