Beverley Brook is a -long river in the south-western suburbs of London, England. It rises in Worcester Park and joins the River Thames to the north of the Putney Embankment at Barn Elms, having flowed through the green spaces of Wimbledon Common, Richmond Park, Barnes Common and Putney Lower Common on its course. It is followed for much of its course by the Beverley Brook Walk.

The brook has a catchment area of .

Etymology

The name is derived from the former presence in the river of the European beaver (Castor fiber), a species extinct in Britain since the sixteenth century. The Middle English word for beaver was bever, the word for meadow was ley (or lei or various other spellings, still rarely used today as lea) and brook meant stream, as it does today. Beverley Brook was thus the Beaver-Meadow Stream.

For some to the south of Richmond Park, the brook is followed by the A3 trunk road from London to Portsmouth and that stretch of the road is named Beverley Way in consequence.

Course

From source to Wimbledon Common

thumb|Beverley Brook in Motspur Park

Beverley Brook rises at the top of a hill in a shady area at Cuddington Recreation Ground in Worcester Park then flows north in an approximately long culvert under several residential streets and the A2043 road, emerging into an open culvert across the 4 lane interchange from The Brook pub. From here the brook flows for about alongside Green Lane and past Green Lane Primary School to a bridge under the Raynes Park to Epsom railway line. North of the railway, it flows about through the suburb of Motspur Park and passes under the A3 for the first time, before reaching Beverley Park, where the Pyl Brook joins from the east.

After passing under the A3, the brook then flows northeast for through Richmond Park, the largest of London's Royal Parks. The park is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a National Nature Reserve and was first enclosed by Charles I in 1637. It contains many ancient oak trees that pre-date its enclosure, as well as herds of red deer and fallow deer. Within the park the Beverley Brook creates a water feature used by the deer, smaller animals, water grasses and some water lilies. Along this stretch the brook is followed by the Tamsin Trail as well as the Beverley Brook Walk.

Once in Richmond Park, the river passes into the borough of Richmond. After leaving Richmond Park, the brook briefly forms the boundary between the boroughs of Richmond and Wandsworth, before flowing back into the borough of Richmond near Priest's Bridge. It remains in that borough until it reaches Putney Lower Common, where it again forms the boundary between the boroughs of Richmond and Wandsworth as far as the Thames. It flows from Sutton through Lower Morden to join it at Beverley Park in New Malden. and there is scope for further such improvements.

In fiction

Beverley Brook is a regular character in Ben Aaronovitch's series of urban fantasy police procedural novels Rivers of London. She describes her kind thus: "'Orisa', said Beverley. 'We're Orisa. Not spirits, not local geniuses – Orisa'."

See also

  • Tributaries of the River Thames
  • List of rivers of England

References

  • Beverley Brook Catchment
  • Royal Parks press release on the improving water quality of the river, 1 January 2004
  • The Beverley Brook waymarked walk <!-- Gone? -->
  • Beverley Brook Walk
  • Beverley Brook Walk map
  • Flow measurements