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THE LONDON SOUND SURVEY: TEXT ONLY

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SOUND MAP RECORDINGS: INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL SOUND MAP

This page introduces the collection of sound map recordings and lists all the areas covered by the daytime sound map. No recordings are linked to directly from this page. The other sound maps on the London Sound Survey are as follows:

Waterways sound map: around 130 recordings made exclusively along London's canals and minor rivers.

Thames estuary sound map: a small collection of recordings made along the estuary from Dartford in the west to Shoeburyness and the Isle of Sheppey in the east.

Andre's London sound map: the start of new collection of recordings featuring work by musician and recordist Andre Louis.

London Unseen sound maps: the start of a series of sound maps featuring anonymised parts of London. Can you guess where they are?

Unlike in the Sound actions section, sound map recordings are typically of ambient noises or atmospheres encountered all over London. It is the place itself which is the primary subject of nearly every sound map recording. They are organised by allocating each one to a grid square about two-and-a-half miles or four kilometers across. 112 grid squares cover the Greater London area.

To present the grid squares on this page, they have been arranged into twelve rows. The rows begin in the north and work down to the south, growing and then diminishing in length to reflect London's shape. The westernmost square appears first in each row. Each grid square has a title made up of some of the areas it covers, for example 'Knightsbridge and West End'. On this page the titles serve as links which will take you to a new page where all the recordings for a given square will appear.

Most recordings have descriptive filenames which work as direct links to the sound files themselves, which are in MP3 format. They range from one to around six minutes in length, with the majority lasting one or two minutes. Some recordings have more abstract-sounding titles, such as 'TQ 2835 9963'. These are the Ordnance Survey co-ordinates for where the recording was made, and each occurrence marks the exact centre of a grid square.

To help navigate this page more quickly, the following links will allow you to jump directly to each row's position on this page:

Row 1. Row 2. Row 3. Row 4. Row 5. Row 6. Row 7. Row 8. Row 9. Row 10. Row 11. Row 12.

ROW 1: ENFIELD CHASE THROUGH CREWS HILL TO ENFIELD LOCK

Enfield Chase. Crews Hill, Clay Hill. Turkey Street, Enfield Lock.

ROW 2: SCRATCHWOOD THROUGH COCKFOSTERS TO NORTH CHINGFORD

Scratchwood, Barnet Gate. Barnet, Totteridge. Oakwood, Cockfosters. Winchmore Hill, Enfield. Ponders End, North Chingford.

ROW 3: HILL END THROUGH TOTTENHAM TO BROOK STREET

Hill End, Mount Pleasant. Ducks Hill, Northwood. Pinnerwood Park, Hatch End. Stanmore, Canons Park. Edgware, Mill Hill. Mill Hill, East Finchley. Friern Barnet, Bounds Green. Palmers Green, Edmonton, Tottenham. South Chingford, Higham. Hale End, Woodford. Hainault, Collier Row. Havering-atte-Bower, Gallows Corner. Harold Hill, Brook Street.

ROW 4: SOUTH HAREFIELD THROUGH LEYTON TO CRANHAM

South Harefield. Ruislip. Pinner, Rayners Lane. Harrow, North Wembley. Kingsbury, Hendon. Cricklewood, Golders Green. Hampstead Heath, Highgate, Archway. Stroud Green, Seven Sisters, Stoke Newington. Walthamstow, Leyton, Lea Bridge. Leytonstone, Snaresbrook. Ilford, Newbury Park. Chadwell Heath, Crowlands. Romford, Hornchurch. Emerson Park, Upminster. Cranham.

ROW 5: UXBRIDGE THROUGH CAMDEN TO NORTH OCKENDON

Cowley, Uxbridge. Hillingdon. Northolt, Greenford. Sudbury, Perivale. Wembley, Neasden, Harlesden. Willesden, Kilburn, West Hampstead. Hampstead, Tufnell Park, Camden. Islington, Finsbury, Dalston. Hackney, Stratford, Bow. Forest Gate, West Ham. East Ham, Barking, Ilford. Barking Riverside, Dagenham. Elm Park, Rainham. Hacton, Corbets Tey. North Ockendon.

ROW 6: WEST DRAYTON THROUGH KENSINGTON TO RAINHAM MARSHES

West Drayton. Goulds Green, Hayes. Southall, Norwood Green. Hanwell, Ealing. Acton, Wormwood Scrubs. Hammersmith, Shepherds Bush, Kensington. Knightsbridge, West End. City, Spitalfields, Waterloo, Borough. Mile End, Isle of Dogs, Rotherhithe. Canning Town, Silvertown, North Greenwich. Beckton, Woolwich, Thamesmead. Thamesmead, Abbey Wood, Belvedere. Rainham and Wennington Marshes.

ROW 7: HEATHROW THROUGH CLAPHAM TO ERITH

Longford, Heathrow. Heathrow, Hatton. Heston, Hounslow. Brentford, Isleworth, Richmond. Kew, Mortlake, Chiswick. Fulham, West Brompton, Putney. Chelsea, Battersea, Clapham. Walworth, Brixton, Peckham. New Cross, Brockley, Lewisham. Greenwich, Chalton, Blackheath. Shooters Hill, Plumstead, Falconwood. Bexleyheath, Barnehurst. Erith, Slade Green, Crayford.

ROW 8: FELTHAM THROUGH DULWICH TO BEXLEY

Stanwell, Feltham. Hounslow Heath, Whitton, Hanworth. Twickenham, Teddington, Strawberry Hill. Richmond Park, Kingston Vale. Putney Heath, Wandsworth, Wimbledon Common. Balham, Streatham, Tooting. Tulse Hill, Herne Hill, Dulwich. Forest Hill, Catford, Ladywell. Hither Green, Grove Park, Mottingham. Eltham, Sidcup. Bexley, Albany Park.

ROW 9: HAMPTON WICK THROUGH CRYSTAL PALACE TO HOCKENDEN

Hampton Wick, Kingston. Norbiton, New Malden. Wimbledon, Morden, Merton. Mitcham, Collier's Wood, Streatham Vale. Thornton Heath, Crystal Palace, Selhurst. Penge, South Norwood, Beckenham. Bromley, Widmore. Chislehurst, Bickley, Petts Wood. St Mary Cray, Hockenden.

ROW 10: TOLWORTH THROUGH CROYDON TO CHELSFIELD

Tolworth, Old Malden. North Cheam, Sutton. Carshalton, Hackbridge. Waddon, Croydon. Shirley Oaks, West Wickham. Hayes, Keston. Farnborough, Orpington. Chelsfield, Ramsden.

ROW 11: CARSHALTON BEECHES THROUGH SELSDON TO HAZELWOOD

Carshalton Beeches, Woodcote. Purley, Riddlesdown, Sanderstead. Selsdon, Forestdale. New Addington, Biggin Hill. Downe, Hazelwood.

ROW 12: COULSDON AND HORNS GREEN

Coulsdon. Berry's Green, Horns Green.

That concludes the list of grid squares for the Daytime sound map.

SOUND MAP RECORDINGS LINKS: TEXT VERSIONS

Waterways sound map. Thames estuary sound map. Andre's London sound map. London Unseen sound maps.

MAIN SITE SECTION LINKS: TEXT VERSIONS

Home page. Sound actions. Wildlife. About and contact.

MAIN SITE SECTION LINKS: GRAPHICS VERSIONS

Home page. London map. Sound actions. Sound maps. London wildlife. Historical. Blog. About. Say hello.

The London Sound Survey 2018. A Creative Commons Licence applies to all site content except where stated otherwise.