Why the River Lea is more than a boundary of Newham

In Newham, the River Lea has always been more than a boundary on a map.

It carries stories — of migration, industry, music and resistance — flowing quietly alongside our daily lives. Now, those currents are taking me somewhere new.

I’ve recently started a role with Revoluton Arts (revo Luton), working on a project called Undercurrent: movement of jah people.

The project links communities in Luton and Newham, drawing out shared experiences of migration and activism, and amplifying voices often missing from traditional histories.

In a previous column, I wrote about Sound Waves, a project by Rendez Vous Projects.

Through an online map and archive, it captures stories of clubs, gigs and music-making, offering an alternate history of the borough.

Rosamond Murdoch has been looking at how stories, people and communities travel (Image: Rosamond Murdoch)

Undercurrent builds on this idea, focusing on movement — how people, stories and cultures travel.

The phrase “movement of jah people” — from Bob Marley’s song Exodus — speaks to those journeys, and to the drive for justice and equality. From Pakistan to Plaistow, Barkhan to Bury Park, Nevis to Newham and beyond.

At the source of the River Lea in Luton sits Waulud’s Bank, a Neolithic enclosure where people have gathered for thousands of years.

The river rises here, bubbling through chalk — a reminder that coming together around shared spaces is nothing new.

That sense of gathering, and resistance, runs through more recent history.

In 1995, tensions on Luton’s Marsh Farm estate erupted into three nights of unrest, rooted in long-standing conflict between communities and policing.

In the aftermath, grassroots organising and music culture — including the Exodus Collective — helped bring people back together.

This story echoes Newham’s own history of activism.

In the 1980s, Plashet Park became a focal point for anti-racist organising, where music, protest and community came together.

In 1985, a peaceful march of over 2,000 people ended in violent clashes when police charged demonstrators inside the park.

In 1990 the park was reclaimed again by Newham Monitoring Project’s anti-racist festival - Keeping the Fight Alive.

As I begin this work, I’m interested in how we make these connections visible. How do we tell the stories that sit between places? How do we recognise the shared histories linking different towns and cities?

Because if Newham has taught me anything, it’s this: our stories don’t stay still.

They travel — like water — shaping new landscapes as they go.

Rosamond Murdoch is a freelance Cultural Producer.