Thames
River
The Thames in London
Country	England
Counties	Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Kent
Cities	Oxford, Reading, Slough, London, Southend
Source
- location	Kemble
- elevation	110 m (361 ft)
Mouth	Thames Estuary, North Sea
- location	Southend-on-Sea, Essex, UK
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	346 km (215 mi)
Basin	12,935 km² (4,994 sq mi)
Discharge	for London
- average	65. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland History See also History of Gloucestershire Gloucestershire is a historic county mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century History See also History of Oxfordshire The county of Oxfordshire was formed in the early years of the 10th century and is broadly situated in the Berkshire (ˈbɑːkʃə or /ˈbɑːkʃɪə/ say Baak-shuh/-sheer sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a Home County in the South Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, Reading (ˈrɛdɪŋ as Redding) is a town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between Slough ( ˈslaʊ is a Borough and Unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Kemble is a Village in Gloucestershire, England. It lies four miles (6 km from Cirencester and is the settlement closest to Thames The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit The Thames Estuary is the area in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea. The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. 8 m³/s (2,324 cu ft/s)
Discharge elsewhere (average)
- entering Oxford	17. CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. The second ( SI symbol s) sometimes abbreviated sec, is the name of a unit of Time, and is the International System of Units The cubic foot is an imperial and US customary (non- metric) unit of Volume, used in the United States Canada and the United Kingdom The second ( SI symbol s) sometimes abbreviated sec, is the name of a unit of Time, and is the International System of Units Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, 6 m³/s (622 cu ft/s)
- leaving Oxford	24. CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. The second ( SI symbol s) sometimes abbreviated sec, is the name of a unit of Time, and is the International System of Units The cubic foot is an imperial and US customary (non- metric) unit of Volume, used in the United States Canada and the United Kingdom The second ( SI symbol s) sometimes abbreviated sec, is the name of a unit of Time, and is the International System of Units Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, 8 m³/s (876 cu ft/s)
- Reading	39. CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. The second ( SI symbol s) sometimes abbreviated sec, is the name of a unit of Time, and is the International System of Units The cubic foot is an imperial and US customary (non- metric) unit of Volume, used in the United States Canada and the United Kingdom The second ( SI symbol s) sometimes abbreviated sec, is the name of a unit of Time, and is the International System of Units Reading (ˈrɛdɪŋ as Redding) is a town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between 7 m³/s (1,402 cu ft/s)
- Windsor	59. CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. The second ( SI symbol s) sometimes abbreviated sec, is the name of a unit of Time, and is the International System of Units The cubic foot is an imperial and US customary (non- metric) unit of Volume, used in the United States Canada and the United Kingdom The second ( SI symbol s) sometimes abbreviated sec, is the name of a unit of Time, and is the International System of Units Windsor (ˈwɪnzə/ /ˈwɪndzə is a suburban town and tourist destination in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. 3 m³/s (2,094 cu ft/s)

The Thames (tɛmz (help·info)) is a major river flowing through southern England. CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. The second ( SI symbol s) sometimes abbreviated sec, is the name of a unit of Time, and is the International System of Units The cubic foot is an imperial and US customary (non- metric) unit of Volume, used in the United States Canada and the United Kingdom The second ( SI symbol s) sometimes abbreviated sec, is the name of a unit of Time, and is the International System of Units "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading and Windsor. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, Reading (ˈrɛdɪŋ as Redding) is a town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between Windsor (ˈwɪnzə/ /ˈwɪndzə is a suburban town and tourist destination in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England.

The river gives its name to the Thames Valley, a region of England centred around the river between Oxford and West London, and the Thames Gateway, the area centred around the tidal Thames and the Thames Estuary to the east of London. The Thames Valley generally implies the region that drains into the River Thames (the Thames catchment) from west of Cirencester to London West London is the area of Greater London to the west of Central London. The Thames Gateway is an area of land stretching 40 miles (60 km east from inner East London on both sides of the River Thames and the Thames Estuary. The Thames Estuary is the area in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.

Contents 1 Summary 2 Physical and natural aspects 2.1 Course of the river 2.2 Catchment area and discharge 2.2.1 The non-tidal section 2.2.2 The tidal section 2.3 Islands 2.4 Geological history 2.5 Wildlife 3 Human aspects 3.1 Human history 3.2 Origin of the name 3.3 The active river 3.4 Transport and tourism 3.5 Police and lifeboats 3.6 Navigation 3.7 The river as a boundary 3.8 Crossings 4 Sport 4.1 Rowing 4.2 Sailing 4.3 Skiffing 4.4 Punting 4.5 Kayaking and canoeing 4.6 Meanders 5 Culture 5.1 Visual arts 5.2 Literature 5.3 Music 5.4 Cinema and television 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links

Summary

The River Thames is the longest river entirely in England, rising officially at Thames Head in Gloucestershire, and flowing into the North Sea at the Thames Estuary. Thames Head, near Cirencester, England, is traditionally identified as the source of the River Thames. The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. The Thames Estuary is the area in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea. It has a special significance in flowing through London, the capital of the United Kingdom, although London only touches a short part of its course. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The river is tidal in London with a rise and fall of 7 metres (23 ft) and becomes non-tidal at Teddington Lock. Teddington Lock is a lock (or lock complex and Weir on the River Thames in England at Ham in the western suburbs of London. The catchment area covers a large part of South Eastern and Western England and the river is fed by over 20 tributaries. The river contains over 80 islands, and having both seawater and freshwater stretches supports a variety of wildlife.

The river has supported human activity from its source to its mouth for thousands of years providing habitation, water power, food and drink. It has also acted as a major highway both for international trade through the Port of London, and internally along its length and connecting to the British canal system. The Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames from London, England to the North Sea. The river’s strategic position has seen it at the centre of many events and fashions in British history, earning it a description as “Liquid History”. It has been a physical and political boundary over the centuries and generated a range of river crossings. In more recent time the river has become a major leisure area supporting tourism and pleasure outings as well as the sports of rowing, sailing, skiffing, kayaking, and punting. The river has had a special appeal to writers, artists, musicians and film-makers and is well represented in the arts. It is still the subject of various debates about its course, nomenclature and history.

Physical and natural aspects

Course of the river

The Thames has a length of 215 miles (346 km). The London Eye, also known as the Millennium Wheel, is the tallest (its height is) Ferris wheel in Europe, and has become the most popular paid tourist A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand Its usually quoted source is at Thames Head (at grid reference ST980994), about a mile north of the village of Kemble and near the town of Cirencester, in the Cotswolds. Thames Head, near Cirencester, England, is traditionally identified as the source of the River Thames. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude Kemble is a Village in Gloucestershire, England. It lies four miles (6 km from Cirencester and is the settlement closest to Thames Cirencester is a Market town in Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles (150 km west northwest of London See also Cotswold The Cotswolds is a range of Hills in west-central England, sometimes called the "Heart of England" However, Seven Springs near Cheltenham, where the river Churn rises, is also sometimes quoted as the Thames' source, as this location is furthest from the mouth both in distance along its course and as the crow flies. Education The River Churn is one of the Cotswold rivers that feeds into the River Thames catchment. " As the crow flies " is a phrase used to describe the most direct route between two points on a Planetary body. The springs at Seven Springs also flow throughout the year, while those at Thames Head are only seasonal. A spring is a point where Groundwater flows out of the ground and is thus where the Aquifer surface meets the ground surface

The Thames flows through or alongside Ashton Keynes, Cricklade, Lechlade, Oxford, Abingdon, Wallingford, Goring-on-Thames, Reading, Henley-on-Thames, Marlow, Maidenhead, Windsor, Eton, Staines and Weybridge, before entering the Greater London area. Ashton Keynes is a village and Civil parish in the North Wiltshire district of Wiltshire, England, near the border with Gloucestershire Cricklade Cricklade is a small town in north Wiltshire in England, on the River Thames situated midway between Swindon and Cirencester. Lechlade is a Town in Gloucestershire, England. It is located at the southern edge of the Cotswolds. Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, Wallingford is a small Market town and Civil parish in the upper Thames Valley in Oxfordshire, England. Goring-on-Thames is a Village and Civil parish on the River Thames in the English county of Oxfordshire. Reading (ˈrɛdɪŋ as Redding) is a town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between Henley-on-Thames is a town on the north side of the River Thames in south Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Marlow (previously Great Marlow or Chipping Marlow) is a town and Civil parish within Wycombe district in south Buckinghamshire, England Maidenhead is a town within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. Windsor (ˈwɪnzə/ /ˈwɪndzə is a suburban town and tourist destination in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. Eton is a Town in Berkshire, England, lying on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor and connected to it by Windsor Staines is a Thames -side town in the Spelthorne borough of Surrey and part of the London Commuter Belt of South East England, Weybridge is a town in the Elmbridge district of Surrey in South East England. Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. The present course is the result of several minor redirections of the main channel around Oxford, Abingdon and Maidenhead and more recently the creation of specific cuts to ease navigation.

From the outskirts of Greater London, the river passes Hampton Court, Kingston, Teddington, Twickenham, Richmond (with a famous view of the Thames from Richmond Hill), Syon House and Kew before flowing through central London. Hampton Court Palace is a former royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, south west London, England. Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough Teddington is in London, England on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. Twickenham is a suburb in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, in south west London. The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames ( is a London borough in south west London, England, which forms part of Outer London. Syon House and its 200 acre (80 Hectare /800000 m² Park is situated in West London, in England. Kew is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. In central London, the river forms one of the principal axes of the city, from the Palace of Westminster to the Tower of London and was the southern boundary of the mediaeval city, with Southwark on the opposite bank. Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower) is a historic monument in central London Southwark or The Borough is an area of south-east London in the London Borough of Southwark, situated 1

Once past central London, the river passes between Greenwich and the Isle of Dogs, before flowing through the Thames Barrier, which protects central London from flooding in the event of storm surges. Greenwich ( ˈɡrɛnɪtʃ GREN-itch /ˈɡrɛnɪdʒ/ GREN-idge or /ˈɡrɪnɪdʒ/ GRIN-idge is a district in south-east London, The Isle of Dogs is a former island in the East End of London that is surrounded on three sides (east south and west by one of the largest Meanders in The Thames Barrier is a flood control structure on the River Thames, constructed between 1974 and 1984 at Woolwich Reach and first used defensively in 1983 Storm surge or tidal surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system typically a Tropical cyclone. Below the barrier, the river passes Dartford, Tilbury and Gravesend before entering the Thames Estuary near Southend-on-Sea. Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in the northwest corner of Kent, England, 16 miles (25 km east south-east Tilbury is a town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. The Thames Estuary is the area in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.

Catchment area and discharge

The river drains a catchment area of 4,994 square miles (12,934 km²) or 5,924 square miles (15,343 km²) if the River Medway is included as a tributary. The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters ^[1]

The non-tidal section

Main article: Locks and weirs on the River Thames

Brooks, canals and rivers, within an area of 3,841 square miles (9,948 km²), combine to form 38 main tributaries feeding the Thames between its source and Teddington Lock, the tidal limit. The English River Thames is navigable from Lechlade to the sea and this part of the river falls 71 metres (234 feet Teddington Lock is a lock (or lock complex and Weir on the River Thames in England at Ham in the western suburbs of London. Before Teddington Lock was built in 1810-12, the river was tidal as far as Staines. The tributaries include the rivers Churn, Leach, Cole, Coln, Windrush, Evenlode, Cherwell, Ock, Thame, Pang, Kennet, Loddon, Colne, Wey and Mole. The River Churn is one of the Cotswold rivers that feeds into the River Thames catchment. The River Leach is a River Tributary to the River Thames, in England which runs mostly in Gloucestershire. The River Cole is a tributary of the River Thames in England which flows through Wiltshire and Oxfordshire, where it forms part of the border between the The River Coln is a River in Gloucestershire, England. It rises at Charlton Abbotts, Gloucestershire southeast of Cheltenham, and The River Windrush is a river in the English Cotswolds, forming part of the River Thames catchment. The River Evenlode is a river in England which is a Tributary of the Thames in Oxfordshire. The River Cherwell ( IPA /ˈtʃɑːwɛl/ is a river which flows through the Midlands of England. See also the River Ock Surrey. The River Ock is a small English River. The River Thame (pronounced as "tame" is a River in southern England. The River Pang is a small Chalk stream river in the west of the English county of Berkshire, and a Tributary of the River Thames. Kennet Fluss2 dbjpg|150px]] The upper reaches of the River Kennet near Avebury The The River Loddon is a River in the English counties of Berkshire and Hampshire. The Colne is a River in England. It flows mainly through Hertfordshire and forms the boundary between the South Bucks district of Buckinghamshire The River Wey in Surrey, Hampshire and West Sussex is a tributary of the River Thames with two separate branches which join at Tilford The River Mole is a river in Southern England, which rises in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport and flows north west through Surrey In addition there are many backwaters and distributaries and some man-made channels such as the Longford River. The Longford River is an artificial waterway that diverts water 19km from the River Colne at Longford to Bushy Park and Hampton Court Palace

More recently, an artificial secondary channel to the Thames, known as the Jubilee River, was built between Maidenhead and Windsor for flood relief, being completed in 2002. The Jubilee River is a Hydraulic channel in southern England.

More than half the rain that falls on this catchment is lost to evaporation and plant growth. The remainder provides the water resource that has to be shared between river flows, to support the natural environment, navigation and the community needs for water supplies to homes, industry and agriculture.

The non-tidal section of the river is managed by the Environment Agency which has the twin responsibilities of managing the flow of water to control flooding, and providing for navigation. The Environment Agency (Asiantaeth yr Amgylchedd is a Non-Departmental Public Body of the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly The volume and speed of water down the river is managed by adjusting the gates at each of the weirs and at high water levels are usually dissipated over flood planes adjacent to the river. Occasionally flooding is unavoidable, and the Agency issues Flood Warnings. During heavy rainfall the Thames occasionally receives raw sewage discharge due to sanitary sewer overflow. Sanitary sewer overflow (SSO is a condition whereby untreated Sewage is discharged into the environment prior to reaching treatment facilities thereby escaping Wastewater

The tidal section

Main article: Tideway

Below Teddington Lock (about 55 miles/89 kilometres upstream of the Thames Estuary) the river is subject to tidal activity from the North Sea. The Tideway is a name given to the part of the River Thames in England that is subject to Tides This stretch of water is downstream from the Teddington For London as a whole see the main article London. The City of London is a geographically Characteristics A tide is a repeated cycle of sea level changes in the following stages Over several hours the water rises or advances up a beach in the flood The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. Before the lock was installed the river was tidal as far as Staines. London, capital of Roman Britain was established on two hills, now known as Cornhill and Ludgate Hill. Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and 410 Cornhill is a ward, and one of the principal streets of the City of London, the historic nucleus of modern London. Ludgate Hill is a hill in the City of London, near the old Ludgate, a gate to the City that was taken down with its attached jail in 1780 These provided a firm base for a trading centre at the lowest possible point on the Thames. ^[2] A river crossing was built at the site of London Bridge. London Bridge is now used as the basis for published tide tables giving the times of high tide. Characteristics A tide is a repeated cycle of sea level changes in the following stages Over several hours the water rises or advances up a beach in the flood High tide reaches Putney about 30 minutes later than London Bridge, and Teddington about an hour later. The tidal stretch of the river is known as "the Tideway". The Tideway is a name given to the part of the River Thames in England that is subject to Tides This stretch of water is downstream from the Teddington

The principal tributaries on the Tideway include the rivers Brent, Wandle, Effra, Westbourne, Fleet, Ravensbourne (the final part of which is called Deptford Creek), Lea, Roding, Darent and Ingrebourne. A tributary is a Stream or River which flows into a mainstem (or parent river The Brent is a river within Greater London which is a tributary of the River Thames. The River Wandle is a River in southeast England. It runs through southwest London and is approximately 9 miles (14 km long The River Effra is a river in south London, England. It is now underground The River Westbourne is a river in London, England. It flows from Hampstead down through Hyde Park to Sloane Square and into The River Fleet is the largest of London 's subterranean rivers It formerly flowed on the surface The River Ravensbourne is a Tributary of the River Thames in South London, England. The River Ravensbourne is a Tributary of the River Thames in South London, England. The River Lee or River Lea in England originates in Leagrave Park, Leagrave, Luton in the Chiltern Hills and flows generally southeast The River Darent or River Darenth or Dartford Creek is a Kentish tributary of the River Thames in England. The River Ingrebourne, 27 miles (433km in length is a Tributary of the River Thames. At London, the water is slightly brackish with sea salt, being a mix of sea and fresh water.

This part of the river is managed by the Port of London Authority. The Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames from London, England to the North Sea. The flood threat here comes from high tides and strong winds from the North Sea, and the Thames Barrier was built in the 1980’s to protect London from this risk.

The average discharge of the Thames grows up to approximately 2300 cubic feet per second (66 m³/s) at the end of its non-tidal section, at Kingston upon Thames, a figure which is exceeded by some other British rivers (e. Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough g. , the Severn and the Tay). For other rivers named "Severn" see Severn River. The River Severn ( Welsh: Afon Hafren, Latin The Tay ( Gaelic: Tatha) is a river starting in the Highlands and flowing down into the centre of Scotland through Perth and Indeed, if the Thames were not a tidal river, its average discharge in the centre of London would be somewhere between 2800 and 3500 cubic feet per second (80 - 100 m³/s), and the Thames would look like a small river, not the large river we can see today by Westminster, the Houses of Parliament or the City. For London as a whole see the main article London. The City of London is a geographically

Islands

Main article: Islands in the River Thames

The river Thames contains over 80 islands ranging from the large esturial marshlands of the Isle of Sheppey, Isle of Grain and Canvey Island to small tree covered islets like Rose Isle, Oxfordshire and Headpile Eyot Berkshire. This article lists the islands in the River Thames, in England Temple Island is an island in the River Thames in England just north of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. This article is about the Isle of Sheppey in northern Kent not to be confused with Shepway in south-eastern Kent For the peninsula sometimes mistakenly called the Isle of Grain see the Hoo Peninsula. Canvey Island (area 1845 km² pop 37479is a reclaimed island in the Thames estuary separated from the mainland of south Essex by a network of creeks Rose Isle is an island in the River Thames in England just downstream of Kennington Railway Bridge on the reach above Sandford Lock, near Kennington Headpile Eyot is long narrow island in the River Thames in England just above Bray Lock, near Bray, Berkshire. Some of the largest inland islands - Formosa Island near Cookham and Andersey Island at Abingdon - were created naturally when the course of the river divided into separate streams, while Desborough Island, Ham Island at Old Windsor and Penton Hook Island were artificially created by lock cuts and navigation channels. Formosa Island is an island in the River Thames in England at Cookham Lock near Cookham, Berkshire, with two smaller adjacent islands Andersey Island is a large island in the River Thames in England near Abingdon Oxfordshire on the reach above Culham Lock. Desborough Island is a large artificially-created island in the River Thames on the reach above Sunbury Lock. Ham Island, is an island in the River Thames in England It was created when the course of the river was diverted via a cut to avoid a weir and provide a navigable route Penton Hook Island is an island in the River Thames in England adjacent to Penton Hook Lock, near Laleham, Surrey. Chiswick Eyot is a familiar landmark on the Boat Race course, while Glover's Island forms the centrepiece of the spectacular view from Richmond Hill. Chiswick Eyot (ˈtʃɪzɪk ˈeɪt is a small narrow uninhabited Island in the River Thames in England Originally called Petersham Ait Glover's Island is situated in Horse Reach on the River Thames, between Richmond lock and Teddington Lock. Islands with a historical interest are Magna Carta Island at Runnymede, Fry's Island at Reading and Pharaoh's Island near Shepperton. Magna Carta Island is an Island in the River Thames in England on the reach above Bell Weir Lock. Fry's Island, also known as De Montfort Island, is an island in the River Thames in England See also Pharaoh's Island in Egypt. Pharaoh's Island is an island in the River Thames, England. In more recent times Platts Eyot at Hampton was the place where MTBs were built, Tagg's Island near Molesey was associated with the impresario Fred Karno, and Eel Pie Island at Twickenham was the birthplace of the South East’s R&B music scene. Platts Eyot is an Island on the River Thames at Hampton, England on the reach between Molesey Lock and Sunbury Lock. Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB was the name given to fast Torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, the Royal Norwegian Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy and Tagg's Island is an island in the River Thames in England on the reach above Molesey Lock, near East Molesey, Surrey. Frederick John Westcott ( March 26, 1866 - September 18, 1941) best known by the stage name Fred Karno, was a Theatre Eel Pie Island, in the River Thames at Twickenham in London, can be reached only by footbridge or boat ley navigation system

Geological history

The River Thames can first be identified as a discrete drainage line as early as 58 million years ago, in the late Palaeocene Period Thanetian Stage. The Chiltern Hills are a Chalk Escarpment in Southeast England. Lardon Chase the Holies and Lough Down are three adjacent National Trust countryside properties in the English county of Berkshire. The Paleocene or Palaeocene, "early dawn of the recent" is a geologic epoch that lasted from 65 ^[3] Until around half a million years ago, the Thames flowed on its existing course through what is now Oxfordshire, before turning to the north east through Hertfordshire and East Anglia and reaching the North Sea near Ipswich. History See also History of Oxfordshire The county of Oxfordshire was formed in the early years of the 10th century and is broadly situated in the Hertfordshire (ˈhɑːtfədʃə(r, abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of East Anglia is often used as a shorthand for the Kingdom of the East Angles. The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. Ipswich ( ˈɪpswɪtʃ is a Non-metropolitan district and the County town of Suffolk, England on the Estuary of the River Orwell At this time the river system headwaters lay in the English West Midlands and may, at times, have received drainage from the North Wales Berwyn Mountains. The West Midlands is an official Region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. North Wales (Gogledd Cymru is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales, bordered to the south by Mid Wales and to the east by England. The Berwyn range ( Welsh: Y Berwyn or Mynydd y Berwyn) is an isolated and sparsely-populated area of moorland located in the north-east of Wales Arrival of an ice sheet in the Quaternary Ice Age, about 450,000 years ago, dammed the river in Hertfordshire and caused it to be diverted onto its present course through London. An ice sheet is a mass of Glacier Ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50000 km² (20000 mile²) Overview The term Quaternary ("fourth" was proposed by Giovanni Arduino in 1759 for alluvial deposits in the Po river valley in northern An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the Temperature of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere resulting in an expansion of continental Ice sheets This created a new river route aligned through Berkshire and on into London after which the river rejoined its original course in southern Essex, near the present River Blackwater estuary. Berkshire (ˈbɑːkʃə or /ˈbɑːkʃɪə/ say Baak-shuh/-sheer sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a Home County in the South London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common A blackwater river is a river with a deep slow-moving channel that flows through forested Swamps and Wetlands. Here it entered a substantial freshwater lake in the southern North Sea basin. The overspill of this lake caused the formation of the Dover Straits or Pas-de-Calais gap between Britain and France. The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait ( French: Pas de Calais, pɑdə kalɛ "Strait of Calais " Dutch: Nauw van Pas-de-Calais is a department in northern France. Its name is the French language equivalent of the Strait of Dover, which it borders See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Subsequent development led to the continuation of the course which the river follows at the present day. ^[4]

At the height of the last ice age around 12000 years ago, Britain was connected to mainland Europe via a large expanse of land known as Doggerland in the southern North Sea basin. An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the Temperature of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere resulting in an expansion of continental Ice sheets Doggerland is the former landmass in the southern North Sea which connected the island of Great Britain to mainland Europe during the last ice At this time, the Thames' course did not continue to Doggerland, but was aligned southwards from the eastern Essex coast where it met the Rhine, the Meuse and the Scheldt^[4] flowing from what are now The Netherlands and Belgium. The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge The Meuse (in Dutch and in German: "Maas" in Latin: "Mosa" in Celtic:"Mus" (the rootword presumingly The Scheldt (Dutch Schelde, French Escaut, Latin Scaldis) is a 350 km[http //www The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those These rivers formed a single river—the Channel River (Fleuve Manche)—that passed through the Dover Strait and drained into the Atlantic Ocean in the western English Channel.

Wildlife

Various species of bird feed off the river or nest on it, some being found both at sea and inland. A Thames skiff is a traditional River Thames wooden Rowing boat used for the activity of Skiffing. Penton Hook Island is an island in the River Thames in England adjacent to Penton Hook Lock, near Laleham, Surrey. These include Cormorant, Black-headed Gull, and Herring Gull. The Great Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax carbo) known as the Great Black Cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere the Black Cormorant in Australia and the The Black-headed Gull ( Chroicocephalus ridibundus) is a small Gull which breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern The Herring Gull, Larus argentatus, is a large Gull (up to 26 inches or 66 cm long and is the most abundant and best known of all gulls along the shores of The Swan is a familiar sight on the river but the Black Swan is more rare. The Mute Swan ( Cygnus olor) is a Eurasian member of the Duck, Goose and Swan family Anatidae. The Black Swan ( Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The annual ceremony of Swan upping is an old tradition of counting stocks. Swan Upping is an annual ceremonial and practical activity in England in which Mute swans on the River Thames are rounded up caught marked Geese that can be seen include Canada Geese, Egyptian Geese, and Bar-headed Geese, and familiar ducks include the Mallard, Mandarin Duck, and Wood Duck. The Canada Goose ( Branta canadensis) is a Goose belonging to the Genus Branta native to North America. The Egyptian Goose ( Alopochen aegyptiacus) is a member of the Duck, Goose and Swan family Anatidae. The Bar-headed Goose ( Anser indicus) is a Goose which breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes The Mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos) probably the best-known and most recognizable of all ducks is a Dabbling duck which breeds throughout the Temperate The Mandarin Duck ( Aix galericulata) or just Mandarin, is a medium-sized Perching duck, closely related to the North American Wood Duck See also Australian Wood Duck. The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck ( Aix sponsa) is a medium-sized Perching duck. Other water birds to be found on the Thames include the Great Crested Grebe, Coot, Moorhen, Heron, and Kingfisher. The Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus is a member of the Grebe family of water birds The Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra, also known as Coot, is a member of the rail and crake Bird family the Rallidae. "Gallinule" redirects here For the blue gallinules see Porphyrio. The Grey Heron ( Ardea cinerea) is a wading Bird of the Heron family Ardeidae native throughout temperate Europe and Asia The Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis, also known as Eurasian Kingfisher or River Kingfisher, is a small Kingfisher with seven subspecies In addition there are many types of British birds that live alongside the river, although they are not specific to the river habitat.

The Thames contains both seawater and freshwater, thus providing support for seawater and freshwater fish. The salmon, which inhabits both environments has been reintroduced, and succession of fish ladders built into weirs to allow them to travel upstream. Fishways, most commonly called fish ladders but also known as fish passes and in Australia also referred to as fish steps, are structures on or around artificial WEIR (1430 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format The eel is a particularly associated with the Thames and there were formerly many eel traps designed to catch them. The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is a snake-like facultatively catadromous fish which can reach in exceptional cases a length of 1½  m, but is Some of the freshwater fish to be found in the Thames and its tributaries include brown trout, chub, dace, roach, barbel, perch, pike, bleak, and flounder. The brown trout ( Salmo trutta morpha fario and S trutta morpha lacustris) and the sea trout ( S For European Chubs other than this particular species see Squalius. The Common Dace ( Leuciscus leuciscus) also known as the Dare or the Dart, is a freshwater or Brackish Fish belonging The European perch ( Perca fluviatilis) is a highly predatory species of Perch found in Europe and Asia. The northern pike (known as the pike in Britain Esox lucius, is a Species of carnivorous Fish of the genus Esox (the pikes Flounder (rarely fluke) are Flatfish that live in ocean waters ie Colonies of short-snouted seahorses have also recently been discovered in the river. The short-snouted seahorse, Hippocampus hippocampus, is a species of Fish in the Syngnathidae family ^[5]

In addition the Thames is host to some invasive crustaceans including Signal crayfish and Chinese Mitten Crab. The signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus, is an American Crayfish indigenous to the western United States. Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis, also known as the big binding crab (大閘蟹 and Shanghai hairy crab (上海毛蟹 is a medium-sized

On 20 January 2006 a northern 16-18 ft (5 m) bottle-nosed whale was spotted in the Thames and was seen as far upstream as Chelsea. Events 250 - Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. A bottlenose whale is one of two Species of Whale in the Ziphiid family. This is extremely unusual because this type of whale is generally found in deep sea waters. Crowds gathered along the riverbanks to witness the extraordinary spectacle. But it soon became clear there was cause for concern, as the animal came within yards of the banks, almost beaching, and crashed into an empty boat causing slight bleeding. Approximately 12 hours later, the whale was believed to be seen again near Greenwich, possibly heading back to sea. Greenwich ( ˈɡrɛnɪtʃ GREN-itch /ˈɡrɛnɪdʒ/ GREN-idge or /ˈɡrɪnɪdʒ/ GRIN-idge is a district in south-east London, There was a rescue attempt lasting several hours, but it eventually died on a barge. See River Thames whale. The River Thames Whale was a juvenile female Northern Bottlenose whale which was discovered swimming in the River Thames in Central London on Friday ^[6]

Human aspects

The River Thames has served several roles in human history, being an economic resource, a water highway, a boundary, a fresh water source, also a source of food and more recently a leisure facility.

Human history

There is evidence of human habitation living off the river along its length dating back to Neolithic times. The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos ^[7] The British Museum has a decorated bowl (3300-2700 BC), found in the River at Hedsor, Buckinghamshire and a considerable amount of material was discovered during the excavations of Dorney Lake. The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London. Hedsor is a small Village and Civil parish within Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England, in the very south of the county near Dorney Lake is a purpose built rowing Lake in the United Kingdom. ^[8] A number of Bronze Age sites and artifacts have been discovered along the banks of the River including settlements at Lechlade, Cookham and Sunbury-on-Thames. The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for Lechlade is a Town in Gloucestershire, England. It is located at the southern edge of the Cotswolds. Cookham is a Village and Civil parish in the north-easternmost corner of Berkshire in England, on the River Thames. Sunbury-on-Thames (also known as Sunbury)is a London commuter belt town in the Surrey borough of Spelthorne in England. Some of the earliest written accounts of the Thames occur in Julius Caesar’s account of his second expedition to Britain in 54BC^[9] when the Thames presented a major obstacle and he encountered the Iron Age Belgic tribes the Catuvellauni, and the Atrebates along the river. This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. The Belgae were a group of tribes living in northern Gaul in the 1st century BC and later also attested in Britain. The Catuvellauni were a Celtic Belgic tribe or state of south-eastern Britain before the Roman conquest. The Atrebates (singular Atrebas, meaning "settlers" were a Belgic tribe of Gaul and Britain before the Roman conquests

Under the Emperor Claudius in AD 43, the Romans occupied England and recognising the River's strategic and economic importance, built fortifications along the Thames valley including a major camp at Dorchester. Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I ( August 1, 10 BC &ndash October 13, AD 54 ( Tiberius Claudius Drusus from birth to Dorchester-on-Thames is a Village on the Thames in Oxfordshire, England. Two hills, now known as Cornhill and Ludgate Hill, provided a firm base for a trading centre at the lowest possible point on the Thames called Londinium where a bridge was built. Cornhill is a ward, and one of the principal streets of the City of London, the historic nucleus of modern London. Ludgate Hill is a hill in the City of London, near the old Ludgate, a gate to the City that was taken down with its attached jail in 1780 The next Roman bridge upstream was at Staines (Pontes) to which point boats could be swept up on the rising tide with no need for wind or muscle power. Staines is a Thames -side town in the Spelthorne borough of Surrey and part of the London Commuter Belt of South East England, Many of the Thames’ riverside settlements trace their origins back to very early roots and the suffix - “ing” in towns such as Goring and Reading, Berkshire owes their origins to the Saxons. Reading (ˈrɛdɪŋ as Redding) is a town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between Recent research suggests that these peoples preceded the Romans rather than replaced them. ^[10] The river’s long tradition of farming, fishing, milling and trade with other nations started with these peoples and has continued to the present day. Competition for the use of the river created the centuries-old conflict between those who wanted to dam the river to build millraces and fish traps and those who wanted to travel and carry goods on it. Economic prosperity and the foundation of wealthy monasteries by the Anglo-Saxons attracted unwelcome visitors and by around AD 870 the Vikings were sweeping up the Thames on the tide and creating havoc as in their destruction of Chertsey Abbey. A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas Chertsey Abbey, dedicated to St Peter was a Benedictine monastery located at Chertsey in the English county of Surrey.

Once King William had won total control of the strategic Thames Valley he went on to invade the rest of England. William I of England ( 1027 His reign which brought Norman culture to England had an enormous impact on the subsequent course of England in the Middle Ages He had many castles built, including those at Wallingford, Rochester, Windsor and most importantly the Tower of London. Wallingford is a small Market town and Civil parish in the upper Thames Valley in Oxfordshire, England. Rochester is a town in Kent, England. It is located within the Unitary authority area of Medway and is at the lowest bridging point of the Windsor (ˈwɪnzə/ /ˈwɪndzə is a suburban town and tourist destination in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower) is a historic monument in central London Many details of Thames activity are recorded in the Domesday book. The Domesday Book (ˈduːmzdeɪ bʊk also known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester) was the record of the great survey The following centuries saw the conflict between King and Barons coming to a head in AD 1215 when King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta on an island in the Thames at Runnymede. Magna Carta ( Latin for Great Charter, literally " Great Paper " also called Magna Carta Libertatum ( Great Charter of Freedoms Runnymede is a Water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the county of Surrey, England, associated with the signing of the Magna Carta This granted them among a host of other things under Clause 23 the right of Navigation. Another major consequence of John’s reign was the completion of the multi-piered London Bridge which acted as a barricade and barrage on the river, affecting the tidal flow upstream and increasing the likelihood of freezing over. London Bridge is a Bridge between the City of London and Southwark in London, England, over the River Thames. In Tudor and Stuart times the Kings and Queens loved the river and built magnificent riverside palaces at Hampton Court, Kew, Richmond on Thames, Whitehall and Greenwich. Hampton Court Palace is a former royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, south west London, England. Kew is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London. The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames ( is a London borough in south west London, England, which forms part of Outer London. Whitehall is a road in Westminster in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards traditional Greenwich ( ˈɡrɛnɪtʃ GREN-itch /ˈɡrɛnɪdʒ/ GREN-idge or /ˈɡrɪnɪdʒ/ GRIN-idge is a district in south-east London,

The 16th and 17th Centuries saw the City of London grow with the expansion of world trade. The wharves of the Pool of London were thick with sea-going vessels while naval dockyards were built at Deptford. Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in south-east London. The Dutch navy even entered the Thames in 1667 in the raid on the Medway. The Raid on the Medway, sometimes called the Battle of Medway or the Battle of Chatham, was a successful Dutch attack on the largest English

A cold series of winters led to the Thames freezing over above London Bridge, and this led to the first Frost Fair in 1607, complete with a tent city set up on the river itself and offering a number of amusements, including ice bowling. River Thames frost fairs were Fairs held on the River Thames at London when that portion of the river sometimes froze over during the 15th–19th centuries In good conditions barges travelled daily from Oxford to London carrying timber and wool, foodstuffs and livestock, battling with the millers on the way. The stone from the Cotswolds used to rebuild St Paul’s Cathedral after the Great Fire in 1666 was brought all the way down from Radcot. See also Cotswold The Cotswolds is a range of Hills in west-central England, sometimes called the "Heart of England" Radcot Bridge is a crossing of the River Thames in England south of Radcot, Oxfordshire and not far north of Faringdon, Oxfordshire (formerly The Thames provided the major highway between London and Westminster in the 16th and 17th centuries and the clannish guild of watermen ferried Londoners from landing to landing and tolerated no outside interference. In AD 1715 Thomas Doggett was so grateful to a local waterman for his efforts to ferry him home pulling against the tide, that he set up a rowing race for professional watermen known as “Doggett's Coat and Badge”. Thomas Doggett (or Dogget) (ca 1670 &ndash 20 September 1721) was an Irish Actor. Doggett's Coat and Badge is the prize and name for the oldest rowing race in the world and is believed to be the oldest sporting contest in continued existence

By the 18th century, the Thames was one of the world's busiest waterways, as London became the centre of the vast, mercantile British Empire and progressively over the next century the docks expanded in the Isle of Dogs and beyond. The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. . Efforts were made to resolve the navigation conflicts up stream by building locks along the Thames. After temperatures began to rise again, starting in 1814, the river stopped freezing over completely. ^[11] The building of a new London Bridge in 1825 with fewer pillars than the old, allowed the river to flow more freely and reduced the likelihood of freezing over in cold winters. London Bridge is a Bridge between the City of London and Southwark in London, England, over the River Thames. ^[12]

The Victorian era was an era of imaginative engineering. In the 'Great Stink' of 1858, pollution in the river reached such proportions that sittings at the House of Commons at Westminster had to be abandoned. The Great Stink or The Big Stink was a time in the summer of 1858 during which the smell of untreated Sewage almost overwhelmed people in central London The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords A concerted effort to contain the city's sewage, by constructing massive sewers on the north and south river embankments followed, under the supervision of engineer Joseph Bazalgette. An engineer is a person professionally engaged in a field of Engineering. Sir Joseph William Bazalgette ( 28 March 1819 &ndash 15 March 1891) was one of the great English Civil engineers of Meanwhile, similar huge undertakings took place to ensure water supply, with the building of reservoirs and pumping stations on the river to the west of London. The embankments in London house the water supply to homes, plus the sewers, and protect London from flood. The coming of rail added both spectacular and ugly railway bridges to fine range of earlier road bridges but reduced commercial activity on the river. "Railroad" and "Railway" both redirect here For other uses see Railroad (disambiguation. However sporting and leisure use increased with the establishment of regattas like Henley and The Boat Race. A regatta is a term used to describe either a Boat race or series of boat races Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Boat Race, also known as the University Boat Race and The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University On 3 September 1878, one of the worst river disasters in England took place, when the crowded pleasure boat Princess Alice collided with the Bywell Castle, killing over 640 people. Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius Year 1878 ( MDCCCLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common SS Princess Alice was a Thames river steamer which sank after a collision in 1878 with the loss of an estimated 640 lives Bywell Castle is situated in the village of Bywell overlooking the River Tyne, four miles east of Corbridge, Northumberland, England

The growth of road transport and the decline of the Empire, in the years following 1914, reduced the economic prominence of the river. Road transport ( British English) or road transportation ( American English) is Transport on Roads of passengers or goods During World War II the protection of the Thames was crucial to the defence of the country. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Defences included the Maunsell forts in the estuary and barrage balloons to cope with the threat of German bombers using the distinctive shape of the river to navigate during The Blitz. The Maunsell Sea Forts were small fortified towers built in the Thames and Mersey estuaries during the Second World War to help defend the United Kingdom A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables used to defend against low-level attack by aircraft by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables The Blitz was the sustained bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941 in World War II. Although the Port of London remains one of the UK's three main ports, most trade has moved downstream from central London. The Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames from London, England to the North Sea. The decline of manufacturing industry and improved sewage treatment have led to a massive clean-up since the filthy days of the late 19th and early- to mid-20th centuries, and aquatic life has returned to its formerly 'dead' waters. Alongside the river runs the Thames Path, providing a route for walkers and cyclists. The Thames Path is a National Trail, opened in 1996 following the length of the River Thames from its source near Kemble in Gloucestershire

In the early 1980s a massive flood-control device, the Thames Barrier, was opened. The Thames Barrier is a flood control structure on the River Thames, constructed between 1974 and 1984 at Woolwich Reach and first used defensively in 1983 It is closed several times a year to prevent water damage to London's low-lying areas upstream (as in the 1928 Thames flood for example). The 1928 Thames flood was a disastrous Flood of the River Thames that affected much of riverside London England on 7 January 1928 as well as places further In the late 1990s, the 7-mile (11 km) long Jubilee River was built, which acts as a flood channel for the Thames around Maidenhead and Windsor. The Jubilee River is a Hydraulic channel in southern England. A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land a deluge ^[13]

Origin of the name

The Thames, from Middle English Temese, is derived from the Celtic name for the river, Tamesas (from *tamēssa)^[14], recorded in Latin as Tamesis and underlying modern Welsh Tafwys "Thames". St John's Lock is a lock on the upper reaches of the River Thames in England near the town of Lechlade, Gloucestershire. Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic The name probably meant "dark" and can be compared to other cognates such as Irish teimheal and Welsh tywyll "darkness" (PC *temeslos) and Middle Irish teimen "dark gray"^[14], though Richard Coates^[15] mentions other theories: Kenneth Jackson's^[16] that it is non Indo-European (and of unknown meaning), and Peter Kitson's^[17] that it is IE but pre-Celtic, and has a name indicating muddiness from a root *tã-, 'melt'. Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Phonological reconstruction Consonants The phonological changes from Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Celtic Consonants may be summarised as follows Middle Irish is the name given by historical philologists to the Goidelic language used from the 10th to 12th centuries it is therefore a contemporary Richard Coates (born in Grimsby, 16 April 1949 is Professor of Linguistics (alternatively professor of Onomastics) at the University of Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson (1 November 1909 – 20 February 1991 was an English linguist and a translator who specialised in the Celtic languages.

The river's name has always been pronounced with a simple t; the Middle English spelling was typically Temese and Celtic Tamesis. Middle English is the name given by Historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic" a branch of the greater Indo-European Language family. Tamesis was the ancient name for the River Thames. There may have been an eponymous goddess of the same name The th lends an air of Greek to the name and was added during the Renaissance, possibly to reflect or support a belief that the name was derived from River Thyamis in the Epirus region of Greece, whence early Celtic tribes were erroneously thought to have migrated. The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere The Thyamis,a Greek Hydronym, is a river in the Epirus region of Greece, which is also known as the Kalamas River. Epirus (from Ionic Greek Ήπειρος - Ēpeiros, Doric Greek: Ἅπειρος - Apeiros, in Albanian Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts

Indirect evidence for the antiquity of the name 'Thames' is provided by a Roman potsherd found at Oxford, bearing the inscription Tamesubugus fecit (Tamesubugus made this). It is believed that Tamesubugus's name was derived from that of the river. ^[18]

The Thames through Oxford is often given the name the River Isis, although historically, and especially in Victorian times, gazetteers and cartographers insisted that the entire river was correctly named the River Isis from its source until Dorchester-on-Thames. Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, The Isis is the name given to the part of the River Thames above Iffley Lock which flows through the city of Oxford. Culture The Victorian fascination with novelty resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities Dorchester-on-Thames is a Village on the Thames in Oxfordshire, England. Only at this point, where the river meets the River Thame and becomes the "Thame-isis" (subsequently abbreviated to Thames) should it be so-called; Ordnance Survey maps still label the Thames as "River Thames or Isis" until Dorchester. The River Thame (pronounced as "tame" is a River in southern England. Ordnance Survey (OS is an Executive agency of the United Kingdom government However since the early 20th century, this distinction has been lost in common usage outside Oxford, and some historians suggest the name Isis—although possibly named after the Egyptian goddess of that name—is nothing more than a contraction of Tamesis, the Latin (or pre-Roman Celtic) name for the Thames. Ancient Egyptian religion encompasses the various religious beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Egypt from the predynastic period until the adoption of Christianity Isis is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs and is celebrated in their mythology as the ideal mother and wife patron of nature and magic friend of slaves sinners Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome.

Richard Coates suggests that while the river was as a whole called the Thames, part of it, where it was too wide to ford, was called *(p)lowonida. Richard Coates (born in Grimsby, 16 April 1949 is Professor of Linguistics (alternatively professor of Onomastics) at the University of The Thames ( is a major River flowing through southern England. This gave the name to a settlement on its banks, which became known as Londinium, from the Indo-European roots *pleu- "flow" and *-nedi "river" meaning something like the flowing river or the wide flowing unfordable river). This article covers the history of London during the Roman period from around 47 AD when the Roman city of Londinium was founded ^[15]

For merchant seamen, the Thames has long been just 'The London River'. Londoners often refer to it simply as 'the river', in expressions such as 'south of the river'. ^[19]

The active river

One of the major resources provided by the Thames is drinking water provided by Thames Water whose area of responsibility covers the length of the River Thames. Thames Water, known originally as the Thames Water Authority and after privatisation as Thames Water Utilities Limited, is the utility responsible The Thames Water Ring Main is the main distribution mechanism for water in London with one major loop linking the Hampton, Walton, Ashford and Kempton Water Treatment Works to central London. The Thames Water Ring Main (TWRM — formerly known as the London Water Ring Main (LWRM — is a major part of London's water supply infrastructure that consists Hampton is a town on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England Walton-On-Thames is a Town in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey in South East England. Ashford is a town almost entirely in the Surrey borough of Spelthorne in England, with a small part falling within Greater London

In the past, commercial activities on the Thames included fishing (particularly eel trapping), coppicing willows which provided wood for many purposes including osiers, and running watermills for flour and paper production and metal beating. Willows, sallows and osiers form the Genus Salix, around 400 species of Deciduous Trees and Shrubs found primarily This article is about a type of structure For other locational uses see Milldam. These activities have disappeared, although there was a proposal to build a hydro plant at Romney Lock to power Windsor Castle. Romney Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England near Windsor and Eton. Windsor Castle, in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, is the largest inhabited Castle in the world and dating back to the time of As of January 2008, this scheme appears to have been abandoned.

The Thames is popular for riverside housing whether in high rise flats in central London or chalets on the banks and islands up stream. The river has its own residents dwelling on houseboats, typically around Brentford and Tagg's Island

Transport and tourism

One of the major industries on the river now is tourism. Brentford is a suburb in the London Borough of Hounslow at the Confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent in West London Tagg's Island is an island in the River Thames in England on the reach above Molesey Lock, near East Molesey, Surrey. In London there are many sightseeing tours in tourist boats, past the more famous riverside attractions such as the Houses of Parliament and the Tower of London as well as regular riverboat services provided by London River Services. Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower) is a historic monument in central London London River Services is an arm of Transport for London (TfL which manages passenger transport on the River Thames in London, UK. Along the course of the river a number of small private companies offer river trips at tourist sites such as Hampton Court, Windsor and Oxford. Many companies also provide boat hire and accommodation on the river.

The leisure navigation and sporting activities on the river have given rise to a number of dependent businesses including boatbuilding, marinas, ships chandlers and salvage services.

Police and lifeboats

The river is policed by five police forces. The Thames Division is the River Police arm of London’s Metropolitan Police, while Surrey Police, Thames Valley Police, Essex Police and Kent Police have responsibilities on their parts of the river outside the metropolitan area. The Marine Support Unit (MSU sometimes still known by its prior name of Thames Division) is a Central Operations unit of the Metropolitan Police, that "Metropolitan Police" redirects here See also Metropolitan police. Surrey Police is the Home Office police force of the county of Surrey in the south of England The force is lead by Temporary Chief Constable Thames Valley Police is one of the largest Home Office Police services in England and the largest non- metropolitan one covering 2200 sq mi (5700 Essex Police is a Home Office (territorial police force with responsibility for policing the County of Essex in the East of England. Kent Police, a Home Office police force polices Kent in England, including the unitary authority of Medway. There is also a London Fire Brigade fire boat on the river. The London Fire Brigade ( LFB) is the statutory The river claims a number of lives each year. As a result of the Marchioness disaster in 1989 when 51 people died, the Government asked the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the Port of London Authority and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to work together to set up a dedicated Search and Rescue service for the tidal River Thames. The Marchioness disaster occurred on the River Thames in London, England, in the early hours of 20 August 1989, when the pleasure Her Majesty's Government, or when the monarch is male His Majesty's Government, is the title used by the Government of the United Kingdom, based at The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is a UK Executive agency working to prevent the loss of lives at sea and is responsible for implementing British and International The Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames from London, England to the North Sea. The founder Sir William Hillary Sir William Hillary came to live on the Isle of Man in 1808 As a result, there are four lifeboat stations on the river Thames based at Teddington, Chiswick Pier, Tower Lifeboat Station and Gravesend. Teddington is in London, England on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. The Tower Lifeboat Station is a lifeboat station on the River Thames in London, UK, operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. ^[20]

Navigation

The Thames is navigable from the estuary as far as Lechlade in Gloucestershire. Lechlade is a Town in Gloucestershire, England. It is located at the southern edge of the Cotswolds. History See also History of Gloucestershire Gloucestershire is a historic county mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century Between the sea and Teddington Lock, the river forms part of the Port of London and navigation is administered by the Port of London Authority. Teddington Lock is a lock (or lock complex and Weir on the River Thames in England at Ham in the western suburbs of London. The Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames from London, England to the North Sea. The Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames from London, England to the North Sea. From Teddington Lock to the head of navigation, the navigation authority is the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency (Asiantaeth yr Amgylchedd is a Non-Departmental Public Body of the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Both the tidal river through London and the non-tidal river upstream are intensively used for leisure navigation. All craft using the river Thames must be licensed.

The river is navigable to large ocean-going ships as far upstream as the Pool of London and London Bridge. Originally the Pool of London was the stretch of the River Thames forming the south side of the City of London. London Bridge is a Bridge between the City of London and Southwark in London, England, over the River Thames. Although London's upstream enclosed docks have closed and central London sees only the occasional visiting cruise ship or warship, the tidal river remains one of Britain's main ports. A cruise ship or cruise liner is a Passenger ship used for pleasure voyages where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience A naval ship is a Ship (or sometimes Boat, depending on classification used for combat purposes commonly by a Navy. Around 60 active terminals cater for shipping of all types including ro-ro ferries, cruise liners and vessels carrying containers, vehicles, timber, grain, paper, crude oil, petroleum products, liquified petroleum gas, etc. See also Merchant ship Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro Ships are ferries designed to carry wheeled Cargo such as Containerization (or containerisation) is a system of Intermodal freight transport Cargo Transport using standard ISO containers Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit Petroleum products are useful materials derived from crude oil ( Petroleum) as it is processed in Oil refineries. Liquefied petroleum gas (also called LPG, GPL, LP Gas, or Autogas) is a mixture of Hydrocarbon Gases used as a Fuel ^[21] There is a regular traffic of aggregate or refuse vessels, operating from wharves in the west of London. Construction aggregate, or simply " aggregate " is a broad category of coarse particulate Material used in Construction, including WASTE is a Peer-to-peer and Friend-to-friend protocol and software application developed by Justin Frankel at Nullsoft in 2003 that features A wharf is a landing place or Pier where ships may tie up and load or unload The tidal Thames links to the canal network at the River Lea Navigation, the Regent's Canal at Limehouse Basin, and the Grand Union Canal at Brentford. The River Lee Navigation is a Canalised river incorporating — as the name suggests — the River Lee (also known as the River Lea The Regent's Canal is a Canal across an area just to the north of central London, England. The Limehouse Basin in Limehouse, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets provides a navigable link between the Regent's Canal and the River Thames The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system.

The non-tidal River Thames is divided into reaches by the 45 locks. A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal Waterways. The locks are manned for a greater part of the day, but can be operated by experienced users out of hours. This part of the Thames links to existing navigations at the River Wey Navigation, the River Kennet and the Oxford Canal. The Wey and Godalming Navigations is the name given to the Navigable parts of the River Wey, in Surrey, UK. Kennet Fluss2 dbjpg|150px]] The upper reaches of the River Kennet near Avebury The The Oxford Canal is a 78 mile (130 km long narrow Canal in central England linking Oxford with Coventry via Banbury and

There is no speed limit on the Tideway downstream of Wandsworth Bridge,^[22] although boats are not allowed to create undue wash. Wandsworth Bridge crosses the River Thames in London in a North-West to South-East direction Upstream of Wandsworth Bridge a speed limit is in force for powered craft to protect the riverbank environment and to provide safe conditions for rowers and other river users. The speed limit of 8 knots (15 km/h) applies to powered craft on this tidal part and 4. 3 knots (8 km/h) on the non-tidal Thames. The Environment Agency has patrol boats (named after tributaries of the Thames) and can enforce the limit strictly since river traffic usually has to pass through a lock at some stage. There are pairs of transit markers at various points along the non-tidal river that can be used to check speed - a boat travelling legally taking a minute or more to pass between the two markers. Navigation Transit Markers are posts placed alongside a navigation to allow powered craft to check their speed

The river as a boundary

Until sufficient crossings were established, the river provided a formidable barrier, with Belgic tribes and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms being defined by which side of the river they were on. When English counties were established their boundaries were partly determined by the Thames. On the Northern bank were the traditional counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Middlesex and Essex. History See also History of Gloucestershire Gloucestershire is a historic county mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century History See also History of Oxfordshire The county of Oxfordshire was formed in the early years of the 10th century and is broadly situated in the Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. Middlesex is one of the 39 historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common On the southern bank were the counties of Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey, and Kent. Etymology The county formerly 'Wiltonshire' or 'Wiltunscir' (9th century is named after the former county town of Wilton (itself named after the River Wylye Berkshire (ˈbɑːkʃə or /ˈbɑːkʃɪə/ say Baak-shuh/-sheer sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a Home County in the South Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format However the 214 bridges and 17 tunnels that have been built to date have changed the dynamics and made cross-river development and shared responsibilities more practicable. The 1974 boundary changes moved some of the boundaries away from the river, so that, for example, some of Berkshire became Oxfordshire, some of Buckinghamshire became Berkshire, and some of Middlesex became Surrey. On occasion – for example in rowing – the banks are still referred to by their traditional county names.

Crossings

Main article: Crossings of the River Thames

Many of the present road bridges on the river are on the site of earlier fords, ferries and wooden structures. The earliest known major crossings of the Thames by the Romans were at London Bridge and Staines Bridge. London Bridge is a Bridge between the City of London and Southwark in London, England, over the River Thames. Staines Bridge is a road bridge running in a south-west to north-east direction across the River Thames in Surrey. At Folly Bridge in Oxford the remains of an original Saxon structure can be seen, and mediaeval stone structures such as Newbridge, and Abingdon Bridge are still in use. Folly Bridge is a stone bridge over the River Thames carrying the Abingdon Road, south from the centre of Oxford, England. Abingdon Bridge consists of a pair of bridges across the River Thames at the town of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. Kingston’s growth is believed to stem from its having the only crossing between London Bridge and Staines until the beginning of the 18th century. During the 18th century, many stone and brick road bridges were built from new or to replace existing structures both in London and along the length of the river. These included Putney Bridge, Westminster Bridge, Windsor Bridge and Sonning Bridge. Putney Bridge is a Bridge crossing of the River Thames in west London, linking Putney on the south side with Fulham to the north Westminster Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames between Westminster, Middlesex bank and Lambeth, Surrey bank in what Windsor Bridge or Windsor Town Bridge, is a road bridge over the River Thames between the towns of Windsor and Eton in the English Sonning Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames at Sonning, Berkshire. Several central London road bridges were built in the 19th century, most conspicuously Tower Bridge, the only Bascule bridge on the river, designed to allow ocean going ships to pass beneath it. Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and Suspension bridge in London, England over the River Thames. The Bascule Bridge is a paved one-lane highway bridge in Westport, Massachusetts, USA. The most recent road bridges are the by passes at Isis Bridge and Marlow By-pass Bridge and the Motorway bridges, most notably the two on the M25 route Queen Elizabeth II Bridge and M25 Runnymede Bridge. Isis Bridge is a modern road bridge carrying the Southern Oxford By-pass A423 road at Oxford, England across the River Thames. Marlow By-pass Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames in England The Dartford Crossing joins Dartford and Thurrock across the River Thames, to the east of London. The M25 Runnymede Bridge is a motorway bridge built in the 1980s carrying the M25 motorway across the River Thames.

The development of the railway resulted in a spate of bridge building in the 19th century including Blackfriars Railway Bridge and Charing Cross (Hungerford) Railway Bridge in central London, and the spectacular railway bridges by Isambard Kingdom Brunel at Maidenhead Bridge, Gatehampton Railway Bridge and Moulsford Railway Bridge. Blackfriars Railway Bridge is a railway bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and the Millennium Bridge The Hungerford Bridge crosses the River Thames in London, and lies between Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (9 April 1806 &ndash 15 September 1859 (ˈɪzəmbɑrd ˈkɪŋdəm brʊˈnɛl was a British Engineer. Maidenhead Bridge is a Bridge carrying the A4 road over the River Thames between Maidenhead, Berkshire and Taplow, Gatehampton Railway Bridge is a Railway Bridge carrying the Great Western Main Line over the River Thames in Lower Basildon, Moulsford Railway Bridge lies a little to the north of Moulsford and South Stoke in Oxfordshire, UK.

The world’s first underwater tunnel was the Thames Tunnel by Marc Brunel built in 1843 and used to carry the East London Line. The Thames Tunnel is an underwater tunnel built beneath the River Thames in London. The East London Line was a line of the London Underground, coloured orange on the Tube map. The Tower Subway was the first railway under the Thames, which was followed by all the deep-level tube lines. The Tower Subway is a Tunnel beneath the River Thames in central London, close — as the name suggests — to the Tower of London. Road tunnels were built in East London at the end of the 19th century, being the Blackwall Tunnel and the Rotherhithe Tunnel, and the latest tunnel was the Dartford Crossing. The Blackwall Tunnel is a pair of road Tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, linking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the The Rotherhithe Tunnel is a road tunnel crossing beneath the River Thames in East London. The Dartford Crossing joins Dartford and Thurrock across the River Thames, to the east of London.

Many foot crossings were established across the weirs that were built on the non-tidal river, and some of these remained when the locks were built – for example at Benson Lock. Benson Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England close to Benson, Oxfordshire but on the opposite bank of the river Others were replaced by a footbridge when the weir was removed as at Hart's Weir Footbridge. Hart's Weir Footbridge is a single span wooden footbridge across the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England Around the year 2000 AD, several footbridges were added along the Thames, either as part of the Thames Path or in commemoration of the Millennium. These include Temple Footbridge, Bloomers Hole Footbridge, the Hungerford Footbridges and the Millennium Bridge, all of which have distinctive design characteristics. Temple Footbridge is a pedestrian bridge near Hurley Berkshire across the River Thames in England Bloomers Hole Footbridge is a footbridge across the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England The Hungerford Bridge crosses the River Thames in London, and lies between Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge. The London Millennium Footbridge is a pedestrian-only steel Suspension bridge crossing the River Thames in London, England, linking

Some ferries still operate on the river. The Woolwich Ferry carries cars and passengers across the river in the Thames Gateway and links the North Circular and South Circular roads. The Woolwich Free Ferry is a boat service across the River Thames, London, UK, which is operated by the London Borough of Greenwich Upstream are smaller pedestrian ferries, for example Hampton Ferry and Shepperton to Weybridge Ferry the last being the only non-permanent crossing that remains on the Thames Path. Hampton Ferry is a pedestrian and cycle ferry service across the River Thames in England. The Shepperton to Weybridge Ferry is a pedestrian and cycle Ferry service across the River Thames in the English county of Surrey.

Sport

There are several watersports prevalent on the Thames, with many clubs encouraging participation and organising racing and inter-club competitions.

Rowing

Main article: Rowing on the River Thames

The Thames is the historic heartland of rowing in the United Kingdom. The River Thames is one of the main rowing areas in England with activity taking place on the Tideway and on the 45 separate lock reaches on the non tidal GB coxless pair of Toby Garbett & Rick Dunn at Henley Royal Regatta 2004 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located There are over 200 clubs on the river, and over 8,000 members of the Amateur Rowing Association (over 40% of its membership). The Amateur Rowing Association (ARA is the governing body in the United Kingdom for the sport of rowing. Most towns and districts of any size on the river have at least one club, but key centres are Oxford, Henley-on-Thames and the stretch of river from Chiswick to Putney. Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, Henley-on-Thames is a town on the north side of the River Thames in south Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Chiswick ( IPA /ˈtʃɪzɪk/ is an area of West London, located west of Charing Cross, which covers the eastern part of the London Borough of Hounslow Putney is a district of south-west London in the London Borough of Wandsworth.

Two rowing events on the River Thames are traditionally part of the wider English sporting calendar:

The University Boat Race is rowed between Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club in late March or early April, on the Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake in the west of London. The Boat Race, also known as the University Boat Race and The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University The Oxford University Boat Club ( OUBC) is the rowing club of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at The Cambridge University Boat Club ( CUBC) is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England, located on the River Cam at The stretch of the River Thames between Mortlake and Putney in London, England is a well-established course for rowing races most Putney is a district of south-west London in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Mortlake is a district of London, England and part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom.

Henley Royal Regatta takes place over five days at the start of July in the upstream town of Henley-on-Thames. Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. Henley-on-Thames is a town on the north side of the River Thames in south Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Besides its sporting significance the regatta is an important date on the English social calendar alongside events like Royal Ascot and Wimbledon. The social season or Season has historically referred to the annual period when it is customary for members of the British social Elite of society to hold Debutante Ascot Racecourse is an English racecourse located in the village of Ascot, Berkshire used for Thoroughbred horse racing. The Championships Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon, is the oldest Tennis tournament in the world and is widely considered as the most prestigious

Other significant or historic rowing events on the Thames include:

• The Head of the River Race and other head races over the Championship Course
• The Wingfield Sculls for the amateur sculling championship of the Thames and Great Britain
• Doggett's Coat and Badge for apprentice watermen, one of the oldest sporting events in the world
• Henley Women's Regatta
• The Henley Boat Races for the Women's and Lightweight crews of Oxford and Cambridge Universities
• The Oxford University bumping races known as Eights Week and Torpids

Other regattas, head races and bumping races are held along the Thames which are described under Rowing on the River Thames. The Head of the River Race ( HORR) is a processional rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the The stretch of the River Thames between Mortlake and Putney in London, England is a well-established course for rowing races most The Wingfield Sculls is a rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the 4¼ mile (6 Doggett's Coat and Badge is the prize and name for the oldest rowing race in the world and is believed to be the oldest sporting contest in continued existence Henley Women's Regatta is a rowing Regatta held at Henley-on-Thames, England. The Henley Boat Races are a number of rowing races between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the A bumps race is a form of rowing race in which a number of boats chase each other in single file each boat attempts to catch (" bump " the boat At Oxford University, Summer Eights, a Bumps race constitutes the main intercollegiate rowing event of the year and happens in the fifth week of the Torpids is one of two bumping races held at Oxford University yearly the other being Eights. A regatta is a term used to describe either a Boat race or series of boat races A head race is a Time trial rowing race typically held in the fall or early spring. The River Thames is one of the main rowing areas in England with activity taking place on the Tideway and on the 45 separate lock reaches on the non tidal

Sailing

Main article: Sailing on the River Thames

Sailing is practiced on both the tidal and non-tidal reaches of the river. Sailing on the River Thames is practised on both the tidal and non-tidal reaches of the river Raven's Ait is an island in the Thames at Surbiton, in Surrey, in the reach above Teddington Lock. The highest club upstream is at Oxford. The most popular sailing craft used on the Thames are lasers, GP14s, and Wayfarers. The International Laser Class sailboat, also called Laser Standard and the Laser One is a popular One-design class of small sailing dinghy The GP14 is a 42m (14 ft sailing dinghy developed in 1949. Almost 14000 GP14s have been built and the class is active in the UK Ireland Australia and South The Wayfarer is a wooden or Fibreglass hulled Bermuda rigged Sailing dinghy, often used for short sailing trips as a 'day boat' One sailing boat unique to the Thames is the Thames Rater, which is sailed around Raven's Ait. The Thames A Class Rater is both a historic and modern specialist sailing craft designed for the particular conditions at Thames Sailing Club, on the River Thames Raven's Ait is an island in the Thames at Surbiton, in Surrey, in the reach above Teddington Lock.

Skiffing

Skiffing remains popular, particularly in the summer months. Skiffing refers to the sporting and leisure activity of rowing (or more correctly Sculling) a Thames skiff. Several clubs and regattas may be found in the outer suburbs of west London.

Punting

Unlike the "pleasure punting" common on the Cherwell in Oxford and the Cam in Cambridge, punting on the Thames is competitive and uses narrower craft. This article concentrates on the history and development of punts and punting in England for other usages see Norfolk punt and the general disambiguation pages at Punt The River Cherwell ( IPA /ˈtʃɑːwɛl/ is a river which flows through the Midlands of England. Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, The River Cam is a Tributary of the River Great Ouse in the east of England. The city of Cambridge (ˈkeɪmbrɪdʒ is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England

Kayaking and canoeing

Main article: Kayaking and Canoeing on the River Thames

Kayaking and canoeing are popular, with sea kayakers using the tidal stretch for touring. The River Thames is a very popular River for Kayakers and Canoeists, and has been practised for over a hundred years at clubs such as the Royal Canoe Kayaking is the use of a Kayak for moving across water Kayaking is generally differentiated from Canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of Canoeing is the activity of paddling a Canoe for the purpose of recreation (also called a float trip Sport, or transportation. A Sea kayak or touring kayak is a Kayak developed for the sport of paddling on open waters of lakes bays and the ocean Sheltered water kayakers and canoeists use the non-tidal section for training, racing and trips. Whitewater playboaters and slalom paddlers are catered for at weirs like those at Hurley Lock, Sunbury Lock and Boulter's Lock. Whitewater is formed in a Rapid, when a River 's gradient drops enough to disturb its Laminar flow and create Turbulence, i Playboating is a discipline of whitewater Kayaking or Canoeing where the paddler performs various technical moves in one place (a playspot as opposed to downriver Whitewater Slalom is a competitive sport where the aim is to navigate a decked Canoe or Kayak through a course of hanging gates on river rapids WEIR (1430 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format Hurley Lock is a lock and Weir on the River Thames in England situated in a clump of wooded islands close to the village of Hurley, Berkshire Sunbury Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England near Walton-on-Thames in north-west Surrey. Boulter's Lock is a lock and Weir on the River Thames in England on the eastern side of Maidenhead (formerly in Cookham) Berkshire At Teddington just before the tidal section of the river starts is Royal Canoe Club said to be the oldest in the world founded in 1867. The Royal Canoe Club (RCC founded in 1866 is the oldest canoe club in the world and received royal patronage in the 19th century

Meanders

A Thames meander is a long-distance journey over all or part of the Thames by running, swimming or using any of the above means. Thames meander refers to a long-distance journey over all or part of the River Thames in England. It is often carried out as an athletic challenge in a competition or for a record attempt!

Culture

Visual arts

The River Thames has been a subject for artists, great and minor, over the centuries. Four major artists with works based on the Thames are Canaletto, J. M. W. Turner, Claude Monet, and James McNeil Whistler. This is about the first and better known artist "Canaletto" for his nephew and pupil sometimes also called "Canaletto" especially in Poland and Germany see Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 1775 &ndash 19 December 1851 was an English Romantic landscape painter, Watercolourist and Claude Monet ( French klod mɔnɛ also known as Oscar-Claude Monet or Claude Oscar Monet (14 November 1840 &ndash 5 December 1926 was a founder The 20th century British artist Stanley Spencer produced many works at Cookham. Sir Stanley Spencer ( 30 June 1891 &ndash 14 December 1959) was an English painter. Cookham is a Village and Civil parish in the north-easternmost corner of Berkshire in England, on the River Thames.

The river is lined with various pieces on sculpture, but John Kaufman's sculpture The Diver:Regeneration is actally sited in the Thames near Rainham. The Diver is a Sculpture by John Kaufman located in the River Thames at Rainham, East London. The Diver is a Sculpture by John Kaufman located in the River Thames at Rainham, East London. Rainham may refer to Rainham London, England Rainham Kent, England See also Raynham

Literature

The Thames is mentioned in many works of literature including novels, diaries and poetry. It is the central theme in three in particular.

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome, first published in 1889, is a humorous account of a boating holiday on the Thames between Kingston and Oxford. Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog, published in 1889 is a humorous account by Jerome K Jerome Klapka Jerome ( May 2, 1859 – June 14, 1927) was an English writer and Humorist, best known for the humorous travelogue The book was intended initially to be a serious travel guide, with accounts of local history of places along the route, but the humorous elements eventually took over. The landscape and features of the Thames as described by Jerome are virtually unchanged, and enduring humour has meant that it has never been out of print since it was first published.

Charles Dickens Our Mutual Friend (written in the years 1864–65) describes the river in a grimmer light. Our Mutual Friend (written in the years 1864–65 is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is in many ways one of his most sophisticated works combining It begins with a scavenger and his daughter pulling a dead man from the river near London Bridge, to salvage what the body might have in its pockets, and heads to its conclusion with the deaths of the villains drowned in Plashwater Lock upstream. Shepperton Lock is a lock on the River Thames, in England adjoining the northern bank near Shepperton, Surrey (formerly Middlesex) The workings of the river and the influence of the tides are described with great accuracy. Dickens opens the novel with this sketch of the river, and the people who work on it:

In these times of ours, though concerning the exact year there is no need to be precise, a boat of dirty and disreputable appearance, with two figures in it, floated on the Thames, between Southwark Bridge which is of iron, and London Bridge which is of stone, as an autumn evening was closing in. Southwark Bridge is an Arch bridge for traffic linking Southwark and the City across the River Thames, in London, England London Bridge is a Bridge between the City of London and Southwark in London, England, over the River Thames. The figures in this boat were those of a strong man with ragged grizzled hair and a sun-browned face, and a girl of nineteen or twenty. The girl rowed, pulling a pair of sculls very easily; the man with the rudder-lines slack in his hands, and his hands loose in his waisteband, kept an eager look-out.

Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows written in 1908 is set in the middle to upper reaches of the river. Kenneth Grahame ( March 8, 1859 – July 6, 1932) was a British Writer, most famous for The Wind in the Willows The Wind in the Willows is a classic of Children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. This starts as a tale of gentle anthropomorphic animals "simply messing" about on the water and concludes with the arrogant and anti-social Mr Toad getting his come-uppance on a river barge.

The river almost inevitably features in many books set in London. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Most of Dickens' other novels include some aspect of the Thames. Oliver Twist finishes in the slums and rookeries along its south bank. Oliver Twist (1838 is Charles Dickens' second Novel. The book was originally published in Bentley's Miscellany as a serial A rookery (also sometimes described as a stew) was the colloquial British English name historically given to a city Slum or Ghetto frequented by poor people Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle often visit riverside parts as in The Sign of Four. Sherlock Holmes is a famous fictional detective of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who first appeared in Publication in 1887 Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930 was an Anglo-Scottish Author most noted for his stories about the The Sign of the Four ( 1890) (also called The Sign of Four see " Publishing history " below was the second Novel featuring In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the serenity of the contemporary Thames is contrasted with the savagery of the Congo River, and with the wilderness of the Thames as it would have appeared to a Roman soldier posted to Britannia two thousand years before. Heart of Darkness is a Novella written by Polish-born writer Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924 was a Polish-born English novelist The Congo River (for a time known as the Zaire River) is the largest River in Western Central Africa. Conrad also gives a description of the approach to London from the Thames Estuary in his essays The Mirror of the Sea (1906). The Thames Estuary is the area in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea. Up river, Henry James Portrait of a Lady uses a large riverside mansion on the Thames as one of its key settings. Henry James, OM ( –) son of theologian Henry James Sr, brother of the philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James The Portrait of a Lady

Literary non-fiction works include Samuel Pepys diary, in which he recorded many events relating to the Thames including the Fire of London. Samuel Pepys, FRS (23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703 was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament, who is now most famous for This article is about the Great Fire of 1666 For other great fires in London see Early fires of London or Second Great Fire of London. He was disturbed while writing it in June 1667 by the sound of gunfire as Dutch warships broke through the Royal Navy on the Thames.

In poetry, William Wordsworth's sonnet On Westminster Bridge closes with the lines

Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!

The river glideth at his own sweet will:

Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;

And all that mighty heart is lying still!

T. S. Eliot references makes several references to the Thames in The Fire Sermon, Section III of "The Waste Land". Composed upon Westminster Bridge September Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26 1888 – January 4 1965 was a poet Dramatist, and Literary critic. The Waste Land ( 1922) is a highly influential 434-line modernist poem by T

Sweet Thames run softly , till I end my song.

The river bears no empty bottles, sandwich papers,

Silk handkerchiefs, cardboard boxes cigarette ends

Or other testimony of summer nights.

And

The river sweats

Oil and tar

The barges drift

With the turning tide

Red sails

Wide

To leeward, swing on the heavy spar,

The barges wash

Drifting logs

Down Greenwich reach

Past the Isle of Dogs

The Sweet Thames line is taken from Edmund Spenser’s Prothalamion which presents a more idyllic image. Edmund Spenser (c 1552 &ndash 13 January, 1599) was an important English Poet and Poet Laureate best known for The

Along the shoare of silver streaming Themmes;

Whose rutty banke, the which his river hemmes,

Was paynted all with variable flowers.

And all the meads adornd with daintie gemmes

Fit to deck maydens bowres

Also writing of the upper reaches is Matthew Arnold in The Scholar Gypsy

Crossing the stripling Thames at Bab-lock-hythe

Trailing in the cool stream thy fingers wet

As the slow punt swings round

Oh born in days when wits were fresh and clear

And life ran gaily as the sparkling Thames;

Before this strange disease of modern life. Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 &ndash 15 April 1888 was an English Poet, and Cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools

Science Fiction novels make liberal use of a futuristic Thames. The utopian News from Nowhere by William Morris is mainly the account of a journey through the Thames valley in a socialist future. News from Nowhere (1890 is a classic work combining Utopian socialism and Soft science fiction written by the artist designer and socialist pioneer William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896 was an English Architect, Furniture and Textile designer artist writer and socialist associated The Thames Valley generally implies the region that drains into the River Thames (the Thames catchment) from west of Cirencester to London The Thames also features prominently in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, as a communications artery for the waterborne Gyptian people of Oxford and the Fens. Philip Pullman CBE (born October 19, 1946) is an English writer. His Dark Materials is a Trilogy of Fantasy Novels by Philip Pullman comprising Northern Lights (1995 A trilogy is a set of three works of art usually Literature, Film, or Video games, that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or three

Music

The Water Music composed by George Frideric Handel premiered in the summer of 1717 (July 17, 1717) when King George I requested a concert on the River Thames. The Water Music is a collection of orchestral movements often considered as three Suites composed by George Frideric Handel. George I (George Louis German Georg Ludwig; 28 May 1660 &ndash 11 June 1727 For the first year of his life George was the only heir to his father's and three childless The concert was performed for King George I on his barge and he is said to have enjoyed it so much that he ordered the 50 exhausted musicians to play the suites three times on the trip.

The Sex Pistols played a concert on the Queen Elizabeth Riverboat on June 7, 1977, the Queen's Silver Jubilee year, while sailing down the river. The Sex Pistols are an English Punk rock band that formed in London in 1975

Cinema and television

A boat chase on the Thames forms the long opening scene of the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. James Bond 007 is a Fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve Novels and two Short story The World Is Not Enough is a 1999 film&mdashthe nineteenth entry in the James Bond series, and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as The offices of MI6, Britain's external spy agency, are right on the river in a building known as Vauxhall Cross. The Secret Intelligence Service ( SIS) colloquially known as MI6 is the United Kingdom 's external Intelligence agency. Vauxhall is an inner city area of South London in the London Borough of Lambeth.

The theme of the Thames being completely drained was used in the Doctor Who episode "The Runaway Bride". Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. "The Runaway Bride" is a special episode of the long running British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, starring This theme was also used in the Hollywood Blockbuster Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), where a huge hole in the riverbed beside Westminster Bridge and the London Eye stranded the items formerly floating on the river. Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer is a 2007 Superhero film, and sequel to the 2005 film Fantastic Four. Traversed on an episode of Top Gear season 10 episode 5. A birds eye view version can be seen in the main titles of EastEnders. EastEnders is a most popular and award-winning Television Soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC1 on 19 February 1985

See also

• 1947 Thames flood
• Thames sailing barge
• River and Rowing Museum
• Rivers of the United Kingdom
• Thames Town
• Thames Television
• London Stones beside the river
• Nore

References

Further reading

• Ackroyd, Peter (2007). Peter Ackroyd (born 5 October 1949, East Acton, London) is an English Author. Thames: Sacred River. Chatto and Windus. ISBN 0701172843.  

External links

• The River Thames Guide - Covers all of the Thames and many aspects including Accommodation, Thames Information, etc.
• A guide to the River Thames Above Teddington - Information on boating, fishing, walking and places to eat, drink and stay.
• The Thames Estuary Partnership
• River Thames
• Article includes map of the River Thames catchment area
• Thames Gallery at the River and Rowing Museum, Henley-on-Thames
• The Thames Path
• The Thames Path National Trail
• The Thames from Hampton Court to Sunbury Lock
• Photos of the Thames at central London
• Independent Guide to the River Thames and its famous Tow Path
• Walks along the Thames Path
• Source of the Thames from Google Maps — this map stops tracing the river at Ashton Keynes, south-west from Kemble
• Michael Pead :: Photos of the River Thames
• Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide - by John Eade
• Physiography, T.H. Huxley, 1978 The physical geography of the Thames River Basin as seen by Huxley in 1878. The River and Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, is located on a site at Mill Meadows by the River Thames. Henley-on-Thames is a town on the north side of the River Thames in south Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Full text free to read and search, Courtesy the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Library.
• The Mirror of the Sea, Joseph Conrad at Wikiquote. From the estuary to the Port of London by boat in 1906, when the port was the commercial heart of the British Empire.
• London's River - An intriguing journey down the Thames in rare archive film.
• River Thames - A Brief History Article explaining the Thames' History over 400,000 years.

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