The Brent is a river in south-east England. It is a minor tributary of the River Thames. About 20 miles long and its general course is north-east to south-west, flows within Greater London.

The name Brent is a derived from the name of a Celtic Goddess of fire Brigid. The river is flows through gravel deposits which have been left by the ice age, formed in the heavy clay soil.

From Barnet to Brent Cross

The River Brent rises in low hills and fields of the London Borough of Barnet in north London, as several different tributaries. The main one is the Dollis Brook, which rises in what was Barnet Common, Arkley, and passes eastward through Duck Island (Barnet) . The name the Dollis is believed by some to have something to do with the rights of commoners at Barnet, and is routed in the same word as "dole". It marks the boundary between the ancient parish of Totteridge and Chipping Barnet. The Dollis turns south and flows down between Totteridge]] and the Finchley side of Whetstone. A tributary of the Dollis, Folly Brook rises at place called Darlands which has been damned to form a decorative lake and a nature reserve. The Folly flows eastward to meet the Dollis not far from Woodside Park tube station. The Folly marks the boundary between the ancient parish of Hendon, at Mill Hill to the south, and that of Totteridge, until 1965 in Hertfordshire, to the North. From here the Dollis flows south as a boundary between Mill Hill, and ancient parish of Finchley. The tributary, Mutton Brook, rises in East Finchley at Cherry Tree Wood. It flows westward from here, underground, until it comes out shortly after Bishops Avenune . Just west of Henley’s Corner, Mutton Brook joins the Dollis, and from here on the Dollis is called the Brent. A small stream called Decoy Brook that rises somewhere in Temple Fortune runs parallel to Golders Green Road to join the Brent River, at Brent Bridge. One other Clitterhouse brook, much of it under ground, rises at Childs Hill and flows through Clitterhouse playing fields and joins the Brent at Brent Cross shopping centre. The River Brent then flows alongside the A406 North Circular Road to Brent Cross.

From Brent Cross to Kew

From here, still closely following the North Circular, it passes Stonebridge Park, south of Wembley, and under an aqueduct carrying the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal. From Hanger Lane, the river turns westward for two miles before swinging south again to Hanwell. Here, it enters parkland and is spanned by a lofty viaduct carrying the main line railway from Paddington to the west of England.

A mile further on, the River Brent is joined from the west by the main line of the Grand Union Canal at the foot of a flight of locks. From here, the Brent is canalised - the river and canal pass through Osterley and a further three locks before joining the tidal River Thames at Brentford, a mile upstream of Kew Bridge.

See also

• Rivers of the United Kingdom