For thousands of years this river has been flowing from the heights of Hendon through several London boroughs and into the Thames. With the arrival of Celtic tribes the river got its name – the Brent is named after an ancient goddess Brigantia.

Once the subject of a romantic painting by J.M.W. Turner, with the coming of industrialisation, housing and urban development many sections of the Brent have been put in concrete straitjackets and underground tunnels.

In recent years we have realised that the rural beauty of the Brent River offers a special green oasis for recreation and peace and is an important habitat for wildlife. Today many parts of the Brent have been restored to meander through parks and open spaces for all of us to enjoy.

We learn the history of this amazing river through stories, historic photographs maps and modern photographs.