Editing River Fleet (section)

==Course and tributaries==
[[File:St Pancras, Middlesex (1815).png|thumb|The Fleet passing by [[St Pancras Old Church]]]]
The Fleet rises on [[Hampstead Heath]] as two sources, which flow on the surface as the [[Hampstead Heath Ponds|Hampstead Ponds and the Highgate Ponds]]. They then go underground, pass under [[Kentish Town]], join in [[Camden Town]], and flow onwards towards [[St Pancras Old Church]], which was sited on the river's banks. From there the river passed in a sinuous course which is responsible for the unusual building line adjacent to [[King's Cross, London|King's Cross]] station; the [[German Gymnasium, London|German Gymnasium]] faced the river banks, and the curve of the Great Northern Hotel follows that of the Fleet, which passes alongside it. King's Cross was originally named ''Battle Bridge'', a corruption of ''Broad Ford Bridge'' referring to an older crossing of the Fleet.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Godfrey |first1=Walter |last2=Marcham |first2=W. |author1-link=Walter Godfrey |title=Survey of London |date=1952 |publisher=Victoria County History |location=London |chapter=King's Cross Neighbourhood|volume=24}}</ref> In turn John Nelson in his ''The History, Topography, and Antiquities of the Parish of St. Mary Islington'' of 1811 linked a supposed Roman army camp found under some nearby brick fields with the site of [[Boudica]]'s final battle, based only on his comparison of the local topography with the scant description of the battlefield supplied by the near-contemporary historian [[Tacitus]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nelson |first1=John |title=The History, Topography, and Antiquities of the Parish of St. Mary Islington . |date=1811 |publisher=[[John Nichols (printer)|John Nichols]] |location=Islington |oclc=1016252323 |page=64}}</ref> The name was changed in the 19th century to refer to an unpopular [[King's Cross (building)|statue of George IV]] erected in 1830 but, although it was replaced after only fifteen years, the name remains.

From there, it heads down King's Cross Road and other streets, including [[Farringdon Road]] and [[Farringdon Street]]. The line of the former river marks the western boundary of [[Clerkenwell]], the eastern boundary of [[Holborn]] and a small part of the eastern boundary of [[St Pancras, London|St Pancras]].<ref>'West of Farringdon Road', in Survey of London: Volume 47, Northern Clerkenwell and Pentonville, ed. Philip Temple (London, 2008), pp. 22-51. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol47/pp22-51 [accessed 2 August 2020].</ref> In this way it continues to form part of the boundary of the modern London Boroughs of [[London Borough of Camden|Camden]] and [[London Borough of Islington|Islington]].

At Farringdon Street the valley broadens out and straightens to join the Thames beneath [[Blackfriars Bridge]]. In the lower reaches, the valley slopes in the surrounding streets which explains the presence of three viaduct bridges (at [[Holborn Viaduct]] across Farringdon Street, another over Shoe Lane, and another on [[Rosebery Avenue]] where it crosses Warner Street).

===Lamb's Conduit===
A small tributary flowed west to east to join the Fleet near [[Mount Pleasant Mail Centre|Mount Pleasant]]. This was later utilised to feed [[Lamb's Conduit Street|Lamb's Conduit]]. The line of the original brook formed [[Holborn]]'s boundary with [[St Pancras, London|St Pancras]] to the north. The sweeping curve of Roger Street is part of that boundary line.<ref>The History of the River Fleet, UCL Fleet Restoration Team, 2009</ref>

===Fagswell Brook===
The Fagswell Brook (also spelled ''Faggeswell'') was a tributary that joined the Fleet from the east and partially formed the northern boundary of the City of London.<ref>From a map based on Stow c.1600, (discussed in "Street-names of the City of London", (1954) by Eilert Ekwall) shows the "Fagswell Brook" south of Cowcross Street as the northern boundary of the City</ref> The brook flowed east to west on a line ''approximating'' to [[Charterhouse Street]] and [[Charterhouse Square]]. In 1603, the historian [[John Stow]] described its demise:

{{quote|Fagges Well, neare unto [[Smithfield, London|Smithfield]] by the [[London Charterhouse|Charterhouse]], now lately dammed up.<ref>'Introduction', in Survey of London: Volume 46, South and East Clerkenwell, ed. Philip Temple (London, 2008), pp. 3–27. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol46/pp3-27 [accessed 27 July 2020].</ref>}}

A part of the course close to Charterhouse Square was excavated as part of the [[Crossrail]] project.<ref>article on MOLA excavations http://islingtontribune.com/article/crossrail-engineers-find-500-year-old-shoes-in-clerkenwell-mud</ref>

===Today===
[[File:Fleet Mouth.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The mouth of the River Fleet in 2002, appearing as a drainage outlet (obscured in shadow) in the [[Thames Embankment|embankment]] wall beneath [[Blackfriars Bridge]]]]
The Fleet, which is now a sewer that follows its route, can be seen and heard through a grating in Ray Street, [[Clerkenwell]]<ref>{{cite web |first=Tom |last=Bolton |title=Where to see and hear the hidden River Fleet |website=Londonist |date=3 July 2020 |url=https://londonist.com/2016/09/where-to-see-and-hear-the-hidden-river-fleet |access-date=28 August 2023 }}</ref> in front of The Coach pub (formerly the Coach and Horses), just off [[Farringdon Road]]. The position of the river can still be seen in the surrounding streetscape with Ray Street and its continuation, Warner Street, lying in a valley where the river once flowed. It can also be heard through a grid in the centre of [[Charterhouse Street]], where it joins Farringdon Road (on the [[Smithfield, London|Smithfield]] side of the junction). In wet weather (when the sewer system is overloaded), and on a very low tide, the murky Fleet can be seen gushing into the Thames from the Thameswalk exit of [[Blackfriars station]], immediately under [[Blackfriars bridge]]. (The tunnel exit shown in the picture can be seen much more clearly from directly above.)

The former [[mayor of London]], [[Boris Johnson]], proposed [[daylighting (streams)|opening]] short sections of the Fleet and other rivers for ornamental purposes,<ref>[https://archive.today/20080905000647/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4138268.ece Boris Johnson to revive London’s lost rivers] (payment required)</ref> although the [[Environment Agency]] – which manages the project – is pessimistic that the Fleet can be among those uncovered.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/jan/08/river-restoration-london|title= River rescue: project launched to breathe life into waterways buried under London concrete and brick|last=Jowit|first=Juliette |date=8 January 2009|work=[[The Guardian]]|page=15|access-date=8 January 2009}}</ref>