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Intro.
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Post 4
The pond beside the path occupies the eastern part of what was a single large artificial lake constructed between 1899 and 1905 for W (William) S Gilbert, who lived here from 1890 to his death in 1911. Gilbert is well known as the librettist (the person who writes the words) for the "Savoy" operettas created with the composer Arthur Sullivan. On 29th May 1911 Gilbert invited two local women to swim in the lake. He died attempting to help one of them when she got into difficulties.
In Gilbert's day the lake was kept constantly topped up by pumping groundwater that then flowed into the lake down an artificial rocky waterfall. Without artificial aid the whole basin does not stay full, and by 2000 only two pools remained, the one you see here and another at the far western end. These were dredged in 2011 to increase their depth so that they would not dry out completely. In 2022 a third, central pond was created in a project funded by the Mayor of London's ReWild London initiative which also carried out work to improve the whole area around the original lake.
If you have a dog with you please make sure that it does not enter any ponds on the reserve. Dogs cause very significant damage to freshwater ponds through three routes:
- Their feet damage the bottom and banks of the pond, preventing the growth of marginal plants and stirring up sediment that takes days to settle.
- The flea treatment in their fur kills freshwater invertebrates.
- Dogs pick up invasive bacteria, animals and plants in their coats and transfer them to other waterbodies.
In 2022 an invasive aquatic fern, Azolla filiculoides, was brought to the pond by an unknown animal and grew to form a thick mat over the whole surface, shading out all other plants. We are now controlling it using a biological agent (a small beetle) but this imposes an annual cost of several hundred pounds.
Continue around the old lake basin, ignoring paths that leave to the left, until you reach post 5. Soon after leaving post 4 you will see the remains of Gilbert's artificial waterfall (see photo below). Later, after rounding the western end of the old lake, you will pass a rather ugly wire fence surrounding a telecommunications tower owned by British Telecom on land leased from Harrow Council.
To next post, post 5
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