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Click on the icon to see the map
showing the course of the river
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The Brent is one of London's principal rivers, and gave the London Borough of Brent its name, when the boroughs of Wembley and Willesden merged in 1965. Formed by the confluence of Silk Stream, Dollis Brook and other streams, after the Brent Reservoir, the Brent continues its way through Neasden, past the junction of Harrow Road and North Circular Road, and then runs behind factories on the north side of North Circular Road until it reaches the Grand Union Canal Aqueduct. |
After running parallel to Queensbury Road, the Brent passes the impressive four-arch brick viaduct carrying the Piccadilly Line Underground and, after the crossing by Ealing Road, it is lost in the industrial estate which occupies the site of the old Wembley sewage works. Just before the imposing Great Western Railway viaduct, the Brent leaves Wembley to start its long winding course to the Thames at Brentford.
The road crossings of the Brent are: Great Central Way (1980's), Beresford Avenue (c.1930), Abbeydale Road (c.1930), and the four ancient crossings, Harp (or Brent) Bridge, Kingsbury Bridge, Stone Bridge and Vicar's Bridge, the dates of the original constructions being uncertain. There are also four railway crossings of the Brent in the Borough, and the Grand Union Canal aqueduct.
 Kingsbury Bridge, carrying the busy Neasden Lane over the Brent, was known from before the last century. In 1881 it was washed away during a flood. A temporary wooden structure lasted until 1892 when a girder bridge of 31 ft. between the parapets was built. This served until 1922 when it was rebuilt to facilitate access to the British Empire Exhibition |
 A northwards view from the Kingsbury Bridge - a picture of tranquility just yards away from busy Neasden Lane |
| Before its corsetting in concrete in the 20th century, and before urbanisation and the Canal Feeder extracted its head waters, the Brent was a much larger river than now. Even around 1875, near Stonebridge, the river was 5 feet deep in dry season, 10 feet in wet times, and could rise to 14 feet during extraordinary storms, when, of course, the banks would flood. Before the area was built up, this caused little problem since the adjacent lands were accepted as flood plains and used accordingly. |
 The Brent and Acqueduct near Stonebridge |
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John Betjeman, Middlesex |
However, when these plains were claimed for housing and roads, measures were taken to ensure the safety of the housing, such as putting the river in concrete channels, and straightening it and smoothing the banks. Click here to read an article about the flooding of the River Brent. Another major reason for changing the course of the river in several places was the construction of the London & North Western Railway (now the North London Line) and the North Circular Road after 1900. |
About 1937 the waterway was straightened at what became Tokyngton Recreation Ground (pic. above) and placed in a deep concrete channel there. Nowadays, new engineering techniques are available to build river banks and flood protection that are more environmentally and socially acceptable than before.
The Brent has two lengths in the Borough which retain some measure of naturalness: at Quainton Street Open Space (between Kingsbury Bridge and the tunnel under the Metropolitan, Jubilee and Central lines) and at the north end of Tokyngton Recreation Ground. The latter has been prone to riverside suppages as adjoining land has been intensely developed.
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The
section of Brent at Quainton Street Open Space has low toe-boarding retaining
the lower banks, with many sections where the inside of a bend is covered
with gravel shoals.
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The
Brent at Tokyngton Recreation Ground
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At
the north end of Tokyngton Recreation Ground the Brent still twists and
turns, and vegetation is abundant, hiding the concrete straight jacket.
However, the river is hidden and not integrated with the adjacent park
land.
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 The last bridge at the southern end of Tokyngton Recreation Ground before the river disappears underground. Here the river is much wider.. |
 The same bridge as opposite. The rubbish collectors prevent underground passages from blockage |
| The River Brent was once a clear stream with trout, pike and grayling in its waters. Yellow iris lined its banks and water cress grew. Kingfishers were seen and goldfinch common. The fishing rights were prized. Today, although there are sections of the Brent which are yet attractive, the pollution levels are high. It smells rather unpleasant at times and develops a strange blue-grey tint in slower moving parts, where even waterside vegetation draws back a respectful distance. |
 Pollution of the Brent |
The trouble started as early as 1886 with the arrival of the Willesden sewage farm between Dog Lane (now Brentfield Road) and the river, when only partly treated sewage sometimes found its way into the river. With the connection of Willesden to the London County Council main sewers in 1911 the sewage situation improved. However, by this time, road drainage into the waterway was beginning to corrupt the river. As motor traffic increased, oil and rubber flowed in freely, and, combined with a reduction of fresh water in the river, pollution increased to the point we see today.
Great Central
Railway Bridge over the Brent at Neasden, looking south
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