We Love Kentish Town

The River you are talking about is called the River Fleet and is the largest subterranean river in London. There were two streams on Hampstead Heath, each is now dammed into a series of ponds made in the 18th century, the Hampstead Ponds and the Highgate Ponds.

At the south edge of Hampstead Heath these two streams go underground as sewers which join in Camden Town. Originally the river ran through Kentish Town (where the High Street is now, winding off down Angler's Lane) and often burst its banks.