The Lost Euston Arch

From grand Victorian monument to lying at the bottom of the River Lea, the story of the Euston Arch is certainly unique.

Built in 1837, the Arch used to welcome railway travellers to London from the North. The monument was the first defining landmark of the railway age and reputed to be the largest Doric gateway ever built, towering 70 feet into the air.

Years after its demolition in 1962, historian Dan Cruickshank began searching for the remains of the arch, leading to a ground-breaking discovery – 60% of the arch had been acting as a dam on the bed of the River Lea.

The location was revealed by Bob Cotton, a retired British Waterways engineer, who had acquired 4,000 tonnes of stone from the monument to plug a section of river the size of two semi-detached houses.

For 40 years, the remains lay here forgotten, and while sections of the arch have now been restored, you can still find large parts of the historic arch in its watery resting place in the River Lea.