Tomkins' 1802 map of Reading shows a series of water filled ditches connecting to the Thames on one side, and this was one of them along with Plummery Ditch which seems to connect to the Vastern Ditch.
The ditch has an ancient past - in 1831 a Viking sword was found next to it along with the skeletons of a man and a horse, while workmen were digging a railway ballast pit. The ditch was later covered over and became a culvert.
It is said the brook eventually connects up to Portman Brook which apparently runs under Portman Road, but there is no proof of this yet.
