London’s Hidden Tributaries
If you’ve ever looked at a map of London, you’ve noticed the Thames, the main river that flows through the city. But have you ever noticed its tributaries? I bet you haven’t. That’s because many of these rivers no longer exist above ground.
London was built on a vast alluvial floodplain—sediment moved around by water—which meant the river meandered and changed its course frequently. The Thames is also tidal: when the tide comes in, water levels rise; when it goes out, water levels drop.
Victorian Waste Management and Public Health
In the Victorian era London’s waste management relied on individual cesspools located at each household. Solid waste—called night soil—had to be manually collected. Wastewater often seeped into the ground, streets, and old tributary streams, which by then were little more than open sewers. Clean drinking water was a serious problem. Most people drew water from shallow wells, while wealthier households might get water piped in from private companies—but even that water often came from the Thames, which was being fed by all those open sewers.
Cholera, a deadly disease causing severe diarrhea, became a major threat. London saw outbreaks in 1831 (6,000 deaths), 1848–1849 (14,137 deaths), and 1853 (10,738 deaths). Many still believed the disease was caused by miasma—bad air—but the real culprit was contaminated water.
Engineering Marvels
Enter Joseph Bazalgette, a civil engineer who recognized the problem and devised a plan to stop sewage from flowing into the Thames. In June 1858, during what became known as the “Great Stink,” London politicians were finally forced to act. Bazalgette’s solution was ambitious: he intercepted existing sewers, built 1,100 miles of new underground tunnels, replaced 165 miles of old sewers with brick-lined tunnels, and used gravity whenever possible. Where gravity failed, pumping stations were built, like the Crossness Pumping Station—still a Victorian marvel you can visit today.
While this solved London’s immediate sewage problem, it wasn’t perfect. Sewers still occasionally overflowed, as in 1928 when snowmelt caused widespread flooding. Yet, for me, the history of these lost rivers became a source of inspiration for my own writing.
The River Effra
One river in particular, the Effra, caught my imagination. Upstream it was barely a stream, but heavy rains could swell it. By the 1600s it was already an open sewer, and by the mid-1800s, it had been fully covered. Interestingly, the South London Waterworks—established in 1805 and later part of the Vauxhall Water Company—drew water from the mouth of the Effra, supplying households despite its contaminated state. In my book The Golden Spider, this waterworks building becomes Airship Sails, the company that sews the giant balloons for dirigibles.
The Effra empties into the Thames near Vauxhall Bridge, which also plays a role in my story. The bridge in my setting, 1884, was already showing structural problems, with inspections in 1879 revealing badly eroded central piers. These historical details helped me ground the story in real Victorian London while weaving in my fictional elements.
From History to Storytelling
During research, I also discovered Ben Aaronovich’s Rivers of London (known as Midnight Riot in the U.S.). His series blends London’s lost rivers with paranormal elements. One of his rivers, the Tyburn, even becomes a character in the story. If you’re curious, remnants of the Tyburn can still be visited in the basement of an antique shop—check the show notes for a link.
Studying London’s lost rivers and sewers wasn’t just fascinating history—it helped me imagine secret pathways, hidden dangers, and unexpected settings for my characters. The rivers themselves, the waterworks, and bridges became inspiration for The Golden Spider, blending historical reality with adventure and romance.
On the foggy streets of Victorian London, secrets and spies hide in a world of gaslamp fantasy
THE GOLDEN SPIDER
Book One of the Elemental Web Chronicles
Lady Amanda blackmailed her way into a prestigious London medical school…
Not the preferred method of entrance, of course, but necessary, for it’s the only way to force Lord Thornton, a professor at the school, to help her perfect her invention: a clockwork spider capable of spinning artificial nerves.
And Lord Thornton is interested… but is he interested in Amanda, or simply the invention that could cure his own debilitating injury? Neither one can trust the other, but both know this: any attraction is a danger, any romance forbidden.
But when a foreign spy steals the spider and uses it to perform grisly experiments on human subjects, they must set aside both their differences and their growing attraction to capture the killer terrorizing the streets of London.
I just completed The Golden Spider and ended up here – Fascinating! I look forward to checking out your show notes and reading the next books in your series.
So interesting!!! I love the Victorian era!! If I could go back in time it would be their!!💋💞