EPW006757 ENGLAND (1921). Finchley Urban District Council Sewage Farm near Coppetts Wood, Colney Hatch, 1921. This image has been affected by flare.

Very well done Graeme. All the evidence is there for this being in the Coppett's Wood area. We have had to wait a long time for this to be identified but it is splendid when a gem like this is found. Once again, well done!

Well sorted out another long term unlocated bites the dust

Hi Graeme,



Thanks for spending time on this image, which has been baffling everyone for some time now...great finally to nail the location down! We'll update the catalogue and post the new data here in due course.



Yours, Katy

Britain from Above Cataloguing Team Leader

berryland sewage works perhaps?

I'll have another look at Beddington Sewage Works to see if it fits.

It could be the old South Norwood Sewage Farm (now South Norwood Country Park)with the allotments in the foreground (was Churchfields Road Allotments, now Dorset Road Allotments) with the little river running through it. Not sure when the houses were build on Elmers End Road (which now runs between the two sites).

I've been trying to find an image of the old South Norwood Sewage works but can't. However I have found this description on the Croydon website at

http://www.croydononline.org/history/places/parks_and_open_spaces/snorwoodpark.asp



"The Sewage Farm was never a success for the subsoil was London Clay and the flooded fields would remain wet for months without draining away. A series of concrete channels were constructed over the farm to direct the sewage out over the numerous fields.



With a change in the methods of treating sewage the irrigation beds were abandoned and a series of round filter beds were built in the centre of the site. This change in sewage disposal meant that the fields were not used for many years and in that time a great variety of wetland grasses and vegetation has grown virtually undisturbed."

I've had a look at this using the oldmaps website but I can't identify this as the South Norwood Sewage Farm. The filters do not fit and there are no railways which there are at South Norwood.

I can see from the later maps that there are small circles drawn further towards the centre of the site which would suggest that this isn't the site. However the 1919 maps don't show a location.



The tree line through the allotments does look identical to the path of the river that runs through Dorset Road Allotments; from the view (based on the allotments/tree line that could be the river) I don't think you would see the railway lines.



In 1921 none of the houses were built on Elmers End Road or on Dorset or Ancaster Roads. So it could fit from that point of view. If in 1921 the South Norwood Sewage works had round filter beds as shown. I've emailed the council parks dept to see if they have any old images/plans.

I've now found an old aerial photo of South Norwood Sewage Works- the tanks are different. http://www.ukaerialphotos.com/BROMLEY/Beckenham/Beckenham.htm

I,ve looked at the Jenkin's Lane location on oldmaps and I can find nothing to link it with our photograph. I'm as keen as everyone else to identify this photograph which has eluded everyone for almost a year.