Floods

We are fortunate to live well away from any danger of flooding.  The unceasing rain caused havoc in many areas and much misery.  I can just remember when the Thames burst its banks in 1928.  Water flowed up our street inundating the little cottages below us.  This was followed by a plague of rats, one of which made a nest in our chest of drawers.  Flossie, our dog, killed it.

When I lived in West Dulwich in south London our Victorian house had a large, deep cellar leading off the scullery. This small scullery had three doors and I suffered terribly with chilblains caused by the draught from garden and cellar when doing the cooking and washing etc.  In the cellar we kept the coal and coke delivered by horse and cart.  On occasions the cellar would be flooded, not deep, but a nuisance.  The river Effra was converted to the sewerage system in the 1800s to carry away rainwater and now ran underground.  Part of its course ran through West Norwood and through the large cemetery. where incidentally, Mrs. Beeton is buried,  and on under our road.  It went on through Herne Hill under Effra Road to Brixton's Water Lane. then to Kennington and into the Thames at Vauxhall.  One of London's underground rivers.

I had to  go down a number of steps with a bucket and shovel to fetch the coal and coke upstairs from the cellar.  Not a nice job if the fuel was wet.  On one occasion I brought the coke up for the kitchen boiler and was amazed to see three little frogs hopping round the kitchen floor.