There is a website – in fact more than one – but the site with the history section as I remembered it, seems to have a broken link.Another item from before even Brunel began works, is this plan of the original streams and navigable rivers that formed part of the Brent delta even after the Grand Junction Canal Company had done its worst in blocking them off.It is very odd that, bar an initial court challenge to Dr Johnson’s illegal obstruction of the western-most branch prior to the passage of the 1793 Act, nobody ever seems to have objected to the criminal offence involved in stopping up these rivers. It may be, of course, that the Act enabling the Great Western and Brentford Railway contained authority for this [I will have to check that up some day].Regardless, it does appear from correspondence of the time that the Duke of Northumberland was urging the infill of these streams and rivers, for some reason – and this map marks the sections that the Railway company were going to fill in [with material brought from Paddington if I recall correctly].It is curious to consider that the Dock estate is largely built on earth from more central London [possibly when creating Paddington Basin].
Nigel Moore ● 3597d