The Fleet River was commonly known as the Fleet Ditch, and it
was notoriously filthy. In this romanticised view the Bridewell
Footbridge that crosses it gives the scene a Venetian air. The
different river craft include lighters moored along the quay of the
River Fleet and two sprit-rigged sailing barges. The vessels in the
Thames include three West Country barges, a sprit-rigged sailing
barge, and wherries carrying passengers and cargoes. The Fleet
River was covered over from Holborn to Fleet Street in 1737, and
from Fleet Street to the Thames in the 1760s when Blackfriars
Bridge was under construction. The river survives today as a sewer
under New Bridge Street.
Entrance to the Fleet River
School of Samuel Scott
Oil on canvas
Date unknown