111-545: The Ancestral Thames is the geologically ancient precursor to the present day River Thames . The river has its origins in the emergence of Britain from a Cretaceous sea over 60 million years ago. Parts of the river's course were profoundly modified by the Anglian (or Elsterian) glaciation some 450,000 years ago. The extensive terrace deposits laid down by the Ancestral Thames over the past two million years or so have provided
222-694: A course towards the North Sea Basin. At times, "the southern North Sea was occupied by the huge delta complex of the North German Rivers, the Rhine, Thames, Meuse and Scheldt". The Early and Middle Pleistocene gravel which was deposited by the Thames in East Anglia also contains chert from Lower Greensand beds to the south of London, and this "can only have been transported northwards by south-bank tributaries of
333-533: A large part of south-eastern and a small part of western England; the river is fed by at least 50 named tributaries . The river contains over 80 islands . With its waters varying from freshwater to almost seawater, the Thames supports a variety of wildlife and has a number of adjoining Sites of Special Scientific Interest , with the largest being in the North Kent Marshes and covering 20.4 sq mi (5,289 ha). According to Mallory and Adams,
444-748: A line approximately along the Vale of St Albans . In East Anglia, it moved down to around Colchester . East of that, around Clacton , the Thames finally formed a confluence with the River Medway. It seems likely that, at some time prior to the Anglian glaciation, the River Darent was captured by a left-bank tributary of the Medway. The Darent thus ceased to be a right-bank tributary of the Ancestral Thames, and instead turned east somewhere just north of Dartford , and flowed into
555-503: A network of creeks. Lying below sea level, it is prone to flooding at exceptional tides, but has nevertheless been inhabited since Roman times. The usually quoted source of the Thames is at Thames Head (at grid reference ST980994 ). This is about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) north of the village of Kemble in southern Gloucestershire , near the town of Cirencester , in the Cotswolds . However, Seven Springs near Cheltenham , where
666-641: A relative displacement of c.180 metres between the western London Basin and the Suffolk coast, and remnants of those fossiliferous sands are now found at up to that altitude in the North Downs and Chiltern Hills . As the sea retreated eastwards, the River Thames system occupied the basin vacated by the sea. There is evidence that, for a time during the Early and possibly Middle Pleistocene period (c.2-0.5 million years ago),
777-522: A rich source of material for studies in geology , geomorphology , palaeontology and archaeology . During the latter part of the Cretaceous period, around 80 million years ago, sea level is thought to have been over 150 metres higher than today. Much of the land which was later to form Britain was covered by sea. In this marine environment, thick deposits of Chalk were laid down. From the early Paleocene (from around 65 million years ago), much of what
888-616: A summer venue for organised swimming, which is prohibited on safety grounds in a stretch centred on Central London . After the river took its present-day course, many of the banks of the Thames Estuary and the Thames Valley in London were partly covered in marshland , as was the adjoining Lower Lea Valley . Streams and rivers like the River Lea , Tyburn Brook and Bollo Brook drained into
999-522: Is Coombe Hill , 260 m (852 ft.) above sea level. The more gently sloping country – the dip slope – to the southeast of the Chiltern scarp is also generally referred to as part of the Chilterns; it contains much beech woodland and many villages. Enclosed fields account for almost 66% of the " Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty " (AONB) area. The next most important, and archetypal, landscape form
1110-492: Is woodland , covering 21% of the Chilterns, which is thus one of the most heavily wooded areas in England. Built-up areas (settlements and industry) make up over 5% of the land area; parks and gardens nearly 4%, open land (commons, heaths and downland) is 2%, and the remaining 2% includes a variety of uses, including communications, military, open land, recreation, utilities and water. The Chilterns are almost entirely located within
1221-466: Is a landmark on the Boat Race course, while Glover's Island forms the centre of a view from Richmond Hill . Islands of historical interest include Magna Carta Island at Runnymede , Fry's Island at Reading, and Pharaoh's Island near Shepperton. In more recent times Platts Eyot at Hampton was the place where Motor Torpedo Boats (MTB)s were built, Tagg's Island near Molesey was associated with
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#17328551064441332-579: Is a more prominent hill, although its altitude is only 249 m (817 ft.). It is the starting point of the Icknield Way Path and the Ridgeway long-distance path , which follows the line of the Chilterns for many miles to the west, where they merge with the Wiltshire downs and southern Cotswolds . To the east of Ivinghoe Beacon is Dunstable Downs, a steep section of the Chiltern scarp. Near Wendover
1443-402: Is an important water source, especially in the drier months, so maintaining its quality and quantity is extremely important. Groundwater is vulnerable to surface pollution, especially in highly urbanised areas. Brooks, canals and rivers, within an area of 3,842 sq mi (9,951 km ), combine to form 38 main tributaries feeding the Thames between its source and Teddington Lock . This
1554-628: Is believed that Tamesubugus' name was derived from that of the river. Tamese was referred to as a place, not a river in the Ravenna Cosmography ( c. AD 700 ). The river's name has always been pronounced with a simple t /t/ ; the Middle English spelling was typically Temese and the Brittonic form Tamesis . A similar spelling from 1210, "Tamisiam" (the accusative case of "Tamisia"; see Kingston upon Thames § Early history ),
1665-440: Is believed to be Brittonic in origin. According to Eilert Ekwall , Chiltern is possibly related to the broader ethnic name Celt ( Celtæ in early Celtic languages ); the root celto- "high" (and suffix -erno- ) could provide the origin of Chiltern . Before the 18th century, the population lived dispersed across the largely rural landscape of the Chilterns in remote villages, hamlets, farmsteads, and market towns along
1776-592: Is difficult to say at present which former south-bank tributaries of the proto-Thames were responsible for their deposition. Further east, the former River Medway left pre-Anglian river terrace deposits (the "High-Level East Essex Gravel") across a strip of land which runs approximately northwards from Southend-on-Sea. Quartz-rich gravels were deposited by the ancestral River Thames in southern Buckinghamshire and adjacent areas of Hertfordshire and Essex. River Thames The River Thames ( / t ɛ m z / TEMZ ), known alternatively in parts as
1887-591: Is formed for much of its length for shipping and supplies: through the Port of London for international trade, internally along its length and by its connection to the British canal system. The river's position has put it at the centre of many events in British history, leading to it being described by John Burns as "liquid history". Two broad canals link the river to other rivers: the Kennet and Avon Canal ( Reading to Bath ) and
1998-678: Is found in Magna Carta . The Thames through Oxford is sometimes called the Isis . Historically, and especially in Victorian times, gazetteers and cartographers insisted that the entire river was correctly named the Isis from its source down to Dorchester on Thames and that only from this point, where the river meets the Thame and becomes the "Thame-isis" (supposedly subsequently abbreviated to Thames) should it be so called. Ordnance Survey maps still label
2109-457: Is now Britain emerged above sea level. The maximum uplift occurred in the north-west, with a regional tilt towards the east and south-east. The North Sea basin and the western English Channel basin also developed. The drainage of much of England was thus aligned to the south-east. As the land emerged from beneath the Cretaceous sea, precursors of some of today's major drainage systems of central, eastern and southern England developed. Thus, from
2220-452: Is responsible for managing the flow of water to help prevent and mitigate flooding, and providing for navigation: the volume and speed of water downstream is managed by adjusting the sluices at each of the weirs and, at peak high water, levels are generally dissipated over preferred flood plains adjacent to the river. Occasionally, flooding of inhabited areas is unavoidable and the agency issues flood warnings. Due to stiff penalties applicable on
2331-640: Is seen as representing a south-bank tributary (perhaps a precursor of the Mole-Wey drainage system) of the Early Pleistocene Thames. And the gravel which caps the Langdon Hills , near Basildon , is thought to have been laid down by a precursor of the River Darent. However, in the case of similar hilltop gravel deposits - such as those at High Beach in Epping Forest , and at Warley, near Brentwood - it
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#17328551064442442-898: Is shared by many other river names in Britain, such as the River Tamar at the border of Devon and Cornwall , several rivers named Tame in the Midlands and North Yorkshire , the Tavy on Dartmoor , the Team of the North East, the Teifi and Teme of Wales , the Teviot in the Scottish Borders and a Thames tributary, the Thame . Kenneth H. Jackson proposed that the name of
2553-549: Is sometimes called the Isis), Reading , Henley-on-Thames and Windsor . The Thames also drains the whole of Greater London . The lower reaches of the river are called the Tideway , derived from its long tidal reach up to Teddington Lock . Its tidal section includes most of its London stretch and has a rise and fall of 23 ft (7 m). From Oxford to the estuary, the Thames drops by 55 metres (180 ft). Running through some of
2664-404: Is the usual tidal limit ; however, high spring tides can raise the head water level in the reach above Teddington and can occasionally reverse the river flow for a short time. In these circumstances, tidal effects can be observed upstream to the next lock beside Molesey weir , which is visible from the towpath and bridge beside Hampton Court Palace . Before Teddington Lock was built in 1810–12,
2775-713: The River Isis , is a river that flows through southern England including London . At 215 miles (346 km), it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom , after the River Severn . The river rises at Thames Head in Gloucestershire and flows into the North Sea near Tilbury , Essex and Gravesend , Kent, via the Thames Estuary . From the west, it flows through Oxford (where it
2886-673: The Berwyn Mountains in North Wales . About 450,000 years ago, in the most extreme Ice Age of the Pleistocene , the Anglian , the furthest southern extent of the ice sheet reached Hornchurch in east London, the Vale of St Albans, and the Finchley Gap . It dammed the river in Hertfordshire , resulting in the formation of large ice lakes, which eventually burst their banks and caused
2997-525: The British Geological Survey from the banks of the tidal River Thames contain geochemical information and fossils which provide a 10,000-year record of sea-level change. Combined, this and other studies suggest that the Thames sea-level has risen more than 30 m during the Holocene at a rate of around 5–6 mm per year from 10,000 to 6,000 years ago. The rise of sea level dramatically reduced when
3108-562: The Churn (which feeds into the Thames near Cricklade ) rises, is also sometimes quoted as the Thames' source, as this location is farthest from the mouth and adds some 14 mi (23 km) to the river's length. At Seven Springs above the source is a stone with the Latin hexameter inscription "Hic tuus o Tamesine pater septemgeminus fons", which means "Here, O Father Thames, [is] your sevenfold source". The springs at Seven Springs flow throughout
3219-664: The Grand Union Canal (London to the Midlands). The Grand Union effectively bypassed the earlier, narrow and winding Oxford Canal which remains open as a popular scenic recreational route. Three further cross-basin canals are disused but are in various stages of reconstruction: the Thames and Severn Canal (via Stroud ), which operated until 1927 (to the west coast of England), the Wey and Arun Canal to Littlehampton , which operated until 1871 (to
3330-751: The Lincolnshire Wolds , finally ending as the Yorkshire Wolds in a prominent escarpment, south of the Vale of Pickering . The beds of the Chalk Group were deposited over the buried northwestern margin of the Anglo-Brabant Massif during the Late Cretaceous . During this time, sources for siliciclastic sediment had been eliminated due to the exceptionally high sea level. The formation is thinner through
3441-747: The London to Aylesbury Line via Amersham , the West Coast Main Line via Berkhamsted , and the Midland Main Line all run through the Chiltern Hills. The Great Western Main Line and its branches such as the Henley and Marlow branch lines link the southern side of the Chilterns with London Paddington . The Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway is a preserved line. High Speed 2 (HS2) will pass underneath
Ancestral Thames - Misplaced Pages Continue
3552-664: The Oligocene period, around 30 million years ago, the coastline had retreated to the east of the London Basin. It is believed that, at that time, the Ancestral Thames was still flowing from the north-west, into the London Basin. From there, the river flowed broadly eastwards towards the North Sea basin of that period. And, also by the Oligocene period, the Wealden (or Weald-Artois) Anticline , to
3663-480: The River Lea can be considered another boundary. Most of the local riverside was also marshland. The land was drained and became farmland; it was built on after the Industrial Revolution . Canvey Island in southern Essex (area 18.45 km , 7.12 sq mi; population 40,000 ) was once marshy, but is now a fully reclaimed island in the Thames estuary, separated from the mainland of south Essex by
3774-895: The River Thames drainage basin , and also drain towards several major Thames tributaries, most notably the Lea , which rises in the eastern Chilterns, the Colne to the south, and the Thame to the north and west. Other rivers arising near the Chilterns include the Mimram , the Ver , the Gade , the Bulbourne , the Chess , the Misbourne and the Wye . These are classified as chalk streams , although
3885-417: The River Thames , there are no navigable rivers. The Grand Union Canal passes through the Chilterns between Berkhamsted and Marsworth following the course of the Gade and Bulbourne . Also, after crossing a watershed, the Ouzel is partly in the Chilterns. During the Iron Age , the Chiltern ridge provided a relatively safe and easily navigable route across southern Britain. The toponym , Chiltern ,
3996-433: The Royal Academy , London , in 1785. They are now on show at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley). 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 . 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
4107-441: The Thames Barrier , which protects central London from flooding by storm surges . Below the barrier, the river passes Woolwich , Thamesmead , Dagenham , Erith , Purfleet , Dartford , West Thurrock , Northfleet , Tilbury and Gravesend before entering the Thames Estuary near Southend-on-Sea . The sea level in the Thames estuary is rising and the rate of rise is increasing. Sediment cores up to 10 m deep collected by
4218-420: The Thanetian stage of the late Palaeocene epoch. Until around 500,000 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 present-day Ipswich . At this time the river-system headwaters lay in the English West Midlands and may, at times, have received drainage from
4329-459: The Weald Basin of southern England, underwent structural inversion . This phase of deformation tilted the chalk strata to the southeast in the area of the Chiltern Hills. The gently dipping beds of rock were eroded , forming an escarpment. The chalk strata are frequently interspersed with layers of flint nodules which apparently replaced chalk and infilled pore spaces early in the diagenetic history. Flint has been mined for millennia from
4440-512: The AONB. Third, to publish and promote the implementation of a management plan for the AONB. In contrast to National Parks , The Chilterns – as other AONBs – do not possess their own planning authority . The Board has an advisory role on planning and development matters and seeks to influence the actions of local government by commenting upon planning applications . The local authorities (two County Councils, three Unitary Authorities and four District and Borough Councils) are expected to respect
4551-448: The Anglian glaciation and the principal Wolstonian (or Saalian) glaciation about 150,000 years ago, sea level fell and rose as secondary glaciations came and went. But, during periods of low sea level in this time, it seems that the Thames turned to the south-west after leaving where Essex is today, then went through the proto-Dover Strait, and reached the sea in the English Channel. The Rhine, however, continued to flow northwards towards
Ancestral Thames - Misplaced Pages Continue
4662-425: The Anglian ice sheet. The oldest of such tributary deposits appear to include spreads of "Pebble Gravel", now found on plateaus and hilltops in north London, Hertfordshire and Essex. It has been suggested that the Stanmore Pebble Gravel at Harrow Weald Common , for example, was laid down at about the same time as the Thames terrace at Stoke Row (see above) - that is, nearly two million years ago. This Stanmore Gravel
4773-409: The Chiltern AONB area. The Board's purposes are set out in Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 : In summary these are:- First, to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the AONB, and increase the understanding and enjoyment by the public of the special qualities of the AONB. Second, while taking account of the first purpose, to foster the economic and social wellbeing of local communities within
4884-422: The Chiltern Hills than the chalk strata to the north and south and deposition was tectonically controlled, with the Lilley Bottom structure playing a significant role at times. The Chalk Group, like the underlying Gault Clay and Upper Greensand , is diachronous . During the late stages of the Alpine Orogeny , as the African Plate collided with Eurasian Plate , Mesozoic extensional structures, such as
4995-428: The Chiltern Hills. They were first extracted for fabrication into flint axes in the Neolithic period, then for knapping into flintlocks . Nodules are to be seen everywhere in the older houses as a construction material for walls. The highest point is at 267 m (876 ft.) above sea level at Haddington Hill near Wendover in Buckinghamshire; a stone monument marks the summit . The nearby Ivinghoe Beacon
5106-403: The Chilterns are a chalk escarpment in southern England, northwest of London, covering 660 square miles (1,700 km ) across Oxfordshire , Buckinghamshire , Hertfordshire , and Bedfordshire , stretching 45 miles (72 km) from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast. The hills are 12 miles (19 km) at their widest. In 1965, almost half of the Chilterns
5217-403: The Chilterns in the Chiltern tunnel . This tunnel, the longest under construction on the HS2 route, will be 16 km (9.9 miles) in length. The Conservation Board has made clear it was opposed to the routing of HS2 through the Chilterns AONB. Bus services are provided by Arriva Shires & Essex and Carousel Buses . Air corridors from Luton Airport pass over the Chilterns. Apart from
5328-437: The Chilterns, including long-distance trackways such as the Icknield Way and The Ridgeway . The M40 motorway passes through the Chilterns in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire sections with a deep cutting through the Stokenchurch Gap . The M1 motorway crosses the Bedfordshire section near Luton . Other major roads include the A41 and the A413 . The Chiltern Main Line Railway via High Wycombe and Princes Risborough ,
5439-515: The English Channel and join the Thames. The combined rivers presumably flowed through the Lobourg Channel. Sea level rose again in the Ipswichian /Eemian interglacial period, around 120,000 years ago. The land bridge between Britain and the continent was cut off again. The River Thames then joined the sea a little inland compared to now. Sea level fell again during the Devensian/Weichselian glaciation (115,000-12,000 years ago). This temporarily linked Britain and north-west Europe once more. However,
5550-508: The Lea is degraded by water from road drains and sewage treatment works. The Thames flows through a gap between the Berkshire Downs and the Chilterns. Portions around Leighton Buzzard and Hitchin are drained by the Ouzel , the Flit and the Hiz , all of which ultimately flow into the River Great Ouse (the last two via the Ivel ). Several transport routes pass through the Chilterns in natural or human-made corridors. There are also over 2,000 km (1,200 mi) of public footpaths in
5661-445: The Medway. As noted below, it is thought that, when the Thames was diverted by the Anglian glaciation, it followed this lower section of the Darent into the Medway. During the Anglian glaciation, some 450,000 years ago, ice sheets of a significantly greater amplitude than that of any ice sheets which had previously developed in the Pleistocene moved down from Scandinavia and the north of Britain. They coalesced and reached as far south as
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#17328551064445772-433: The North Sea basin. Even at times of relatively high sea level, there was usually a land barrier between the estuaries of the Thames and the Rhine. And also between the Anglian glaciation and the principal Wolstonian glaciation, the Thames in eastern Essex migrated southwards, from around Clacton to around Southend-on-Sea . During the principal Wolstonian glaciation, ice sheets from the north coalesced once again. As during
5883-431: The North Sea coastline extended westwards, depositing various early Crag formations in an area now occupied by parts of East Anglia . But, again, this appears not to have had any significant effect on the Thames drainage system. However, in the Late Pliocene and early Pleistocene periods (c.3-2 million years ago), the London Basin became submerged. Fossiliferous sands were deposited. Subsequent Pleistocene uplift caused
5994-411: The North Sea, and the Thames Barrier was built in the 1980s to protect London from this risk. The Nore is the sandbank that marks the mouth of the Thames Estuary , where the outflow from the Thames meets the North Sea . It is roughly halfway between Havengore Creek in Essex and Warden Point on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. Until 1964 it marked the seaward limit of the Port of London Authority. As
6105-410: The Pleistocene period, the Thames carved out a number of terraces as it flowed south through Oxfordshire , crossed the London Basin and then headed across East Anglia to the North Sea basin. The river also laid down on those terraces extensive deposits of (principally) silt, sand and gravel. Across Essex and Suffolk some of those deposits have been referred to as the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels. Overall,
6216-489: The River Thames on the Tideway include the rivers Crane , Brent , Wandle , Ravensbourne (the final part of which is called Deptford Creek ), Lea (the final part of which is called Bow Creek ), Roding (Barking Creek), Darent and Ingrebourne . In 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 flood threat here comes from high tides and strong winds from
6327-416: The Thames Estuary), the river is subject to tidal activity from the North Sea . Before the lock was installed, the river was tidal as far as Staines, about 16 mi (26 km) upstream. London, capital of Roman Britain , was established on two hills, now known as Cornhill and Ludgate Hill . These provided a firm base for a trading centre at the lowest possible point on the Thames. A river crossing
6438-503: The Thames and Rhine continued to flow south-westwards into the English Channel, not northwards towards the North Sea basin. Sea level rose again towards the end of the Devensian glaciation. This led to the creation of the current coastline from around 8,000 years ago, with the Thames reaching the sea at its Essex-Kent estuary. Inland of that estuary, and throughout post-Anglian times, the Thames shifted its course in various ways. (However, there were no further substantial changes to either
6549-524: The Thames and then the Thames itself". Thus, ancestral versions of today's Mole, Wey and Darent rivers were feeding into the Thames from the Weald at that time. (The Mole and Wey joined to form one river in south London , and that Mole-Wey watercourse flowed north-eastwards across London and south Hertfordshire before joining the Thames. ) The deposits laid down by the Thames in East Anglia are also said to contain material from " Carboniferous and Devonian sandstones from southern Wales". This suggests that
6660-470: The Thames as "River Thames or Isis" down to Dorchester. Since the early 20th century this distinction has been lost in common usage outside of Oxford, and some historians suggest the name Isis is nothing more than a truncation of Tamesis , the Latin name for the Thames. Sculptures titled Tamesis and Isis by Anne Seymour Damer are located on the bridge at Henley-on-Thames , Oxfordshire (the original terracotta and plaster models were exhibited at
6771-406: The Thames at Richmond. The Thames's north bank tributary, the Lea , extended its course southwards from Hertfordshire to join the diverted Thames somewhere south of Tottenham . In addition, the Colne river was formed as a new north bank tributary of the Thames, flowing south from Hertfordshire, along part of the former valley of the Thames, to join the Thames at Uxbridge. Between the end of
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#17328551064446882-439: The Thames is not Indo-European (and of unknown meaning), while Peter Kitson suggested that it is Indo-European but originated before the Britons and has a name indicating "muddiness" from a root *tā- , 'melt'. Early variants of the name include: 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
6993-486: The Thames valley "includes the largest single spread of terrace deposits in the country". The Thames terrace deposits are remarkably diverse in composition and origin. For example: - Rocks of volcanic origin from Wales have been found in some of the older deposits. - " Pudding stone " and sarsen stones from lower Eocene beds in the London Basin have also been found in places. - Extensive spreads of wind-blown deposits, laid down in extremely cold, dry conditions during
7104-511: The Thames, from Middle English Temese , is derived from the Brittonic name for the river, Tamesas (from * tamēssa ), recorded in Latin as Tamesis and yielding modern Welsh Tafwys "Thames". The name element Tam may have meant "dark" and can be compared to other cognates such as Russian темно ( Proto-Slavic * tĭmĭnŭ ), Lithuanian tamsi "dark", Latvian tumsa "darkness", Sanskrit tamas and Welsh tywyll "darkness" and Middle Irish teimen "dark grey". The origin
7215-408: The Thames, such as the Evenlode , Kennet, Lea, Mole, Wey and Darent, have also left behind spreads of fluvial deposits. In particular, those tributaries which flowed northwards from the Weald left behind deposits which, in some cases, now lie north of today's River Thames. This is because, as noted above, the confluences of those tributaries with the Thames moved south when the Thames was diverted by
7326-400: The area's status as a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Examples of historical architecture in the Chiltern region are preserved at the Chiltern Open Air Museum near Chalfont St Giles . This open-air folk museum contains reconstructed buildings which might otherwise have been destroyed or demolished as a result of redevelopment or road construction. The Chilterns include
7437-423: The case of the Colne ), and man-made distributaries such as the Longford River . Three canals intersect this stretch: the Oxford Canal , Kennet and Avon Canal and Wey Navigation . Its longest artificial secondary channel (cut), the Jubilee River , was built between Maidenhead and Windsor for flood relief and completed in 2002. The non-tidal section of the river is managed by the Environment Agency , which
7548-486: The chalk aquifer is exploited via a network of pumping stations to provide a public supply for domestic consumption, agriculture and business uses, both within and well-beyond the Chilterns area. Over-exploitation has possibly led to the disappearance of some streams over long periods. In a region without building stone, local clay provided the raw materials for brick manufacture. Timber and flint were also used for construction. Mediaeval strip parishes reflected
7659-423: The confluence, the overall length of the Thames measured from Seven Springs, at 229 mi (369 km), is greater than the Severn's length of 220 mi (350 km). Thus, the "Churn/Thames" river may be regarded as the longest natural river in the United Kingdom. The stream from Seven Springs is joined at Coberley by a longer tributary which could further increase the length of the Thames, with its source in
7770-406: The course of the Thames east of around Watford . The flow of the Thames was blocked and a proglacial lake was formed. The Thames was diverted away from its course along the Vale of St Albans, and it moved southwards to a line running from Uxbridge to Richmond , then north-east to Walthamstow , then eastwards, following in part the line of the pre-Anglian lower section of the River Darent, to about
7881-577: The course of the river inland or to its catchment area.) For example, in west London, the Thames moved south from Hillingdon to Weybridge . And in east London the river moved southwards also, from Walthamstow to Greenwich . The onset of colder climatic conditions at the beginning of the Pleistocene period led to frequent downcutting by rivers in the Thames catchment area (and in north-west Europe in general). Periglacial processes also supplied abundant material for periodic aggradation, which mostly took place in braided river environments. Thus, throughout
7992-457: The current position of the Thames estuary. There, it joined the Medway coming from Kent . From there, the Thames flowed roughly northwards, along the course of the Medway, to re-join its former course at Clacton. Then the river flowed into the North Sea basin of that time. The Mole-Wey river was also blocked by the advancing Anglian ice sheet, and a proglacial lake was formed in that river's valley, south of Finchley . The river subsequently joined
8103-594: The deposits, it has been possible to trace in detail the Pleistocene history of the Thames as it changed course and continually cut down into underlying geological formations. The oldest identified Thames deposits in the London Basin are those at Nettlebed (possibly) and Stoke Row in the Oxfordshire Chilterns, at altitudes today of 200 and 175 metres respectively. The Stoke Row deposits are thought to have been laid down nearly two million years ago. Tributaries of
8214-545: The diversity of land from clay farmland , through wooded slopes to downland. Their boundaries were often drawn to include a section of each type of land, resulting in an irregular county boundary. These have tended to be smoothed out by successive reorganisations. As people have come to appreciate the open country, the area has become a visitor destination and the National Trust has acquired land to preserve its character, for example at Ashridge , near Tring . In places, with
8325-562: The drier parts of mainland Britain and heavily abstracted for drinking water, the Thames' discharge is low considering its length and breadth: the Severn has a discharge almost twice as large on average despite having a smaller drainage basin . In Scotland , the Tay achieves more than double the Thames' average discharge from a drainage basin that is 60% smaller. Along its course are 45 navigation locks with accompanying weirs . Its catchment area covers
8436-539: The earlier Anglian glaciation, a pro-glacial lake built up, fed by the Rhine in particular. That lake too overflowed south-westwards, reinforcing the proto-Dover Strait. This process may have played a significant role in the formation of the relatively deep and box-shaped Lobourg Channel in the bed of what is now the Dover Strait. Once the Wolstonian lake was drained, the Rhine then flowed south-westwards, to turn towards
8547-409: The early Tertiary period a number of major consequent rivers flowed approximately NW-SE down the tilted emergent Chalk surface towards what later became southern England. One of those watercourses was a precursor of the River Thames. South-eastern England was low-lying and, from the late Palaeocene onwards (from about 55 million years ago), it was inundated periodically by marine transgressions from
8658-506: The east. Substantial deposits of marine, lacustrine and deltaic origin were laid down across the region. In particular, over 150 metres of London Clay were laid down. And, as the Palaeocene period progressed, subsidence in this region led to the formation of the London Basin , with its approximately west-east axis. The Ancestral Thames thus flowed from the north-west, into this basin. By
8769-468: The flowing river or the wide flowing unfordable river. The river gives its name to three informal areas: the Thames Valley , a region of England around the river between Oxford and West London; the Thames Gateway ; and the greatly overlapping Thames Estuary around the tidal Thames to the east of London and including the waterway itself. Thames Valley Police is a formal body that takes its name from
8880-560: The formation and overflow southwards of a large pro-glacial lake which was fed by the Thames, Rhine and other major north-west European rivers and which was blocked to the north by the coalesced ice sheets. The lake drained, with immense force, into the Channel River to the south-west, thus carving out what was later to become the Dover Strait . The Anglian ice sheet in East Anglia, and its powerful outwash, completely overrode and engulfed
8991-491: The government confirmed that the landscape qualities of AONBs are equivalent to those of National Parks, and that the protection given to both types of area by the land use planning system should also be equivalent. The Chilterns Conservation Board was established by Parliamentary Order in July 2004. It is an independent body comprising 27 members drawn from the relevant local authorities and from those living in local communities within
9102-648: The grounds of the National Star College at Ullenwood . The Thames flows through or alongside Ashton Keynes , Cricklade , Lechlade , Oxford , Abingdon-on-Thames , Wallingford , Goring-on-Thames and Streatley (at the Goring Gap ), Pangbourne and Whitchurch-on-Thames , Reading , Wargrave , Henley-on-Thames , Marlow , Maidenhead , Windsor and Eton , Staines-upon-Thames and Egham , Chertsey , Shepperton , Weybridge , Sunbury-on-Thames , Walton-on-Thames , Molesey and Thames Ditton . The river
9213-455: The headwaters of the River Kennet (which today has its source in Wiltshire and meets the Thames at Reading ), extended back into south Wales during the Early and Middle Pleistocene periods. During the Early and Middle Pleistocene, prior to the Anglian glaciation, the Thames in the Chilterns and in East Anglia moved progressively south-eastwards. In the Chilterns, it moved south-eastwards to
9324-401: The headwaters of the River Thames extended north-westwards as far as north Wales . Pebbles from formations of that area have been found in deposits laid down by the Thames in East Anglia. It has also been established that, during that time, the Thames, after entering the London Basin somewhere around the Goring Gap , then followed a course north-eastwards and northwards into North Norfolk , on
9435-454: The ice melt nearly concluded over the past 4,000 years. Since the beginning of the 20th century, rates of sea level rise range from 1.22 mm per year to 2.14 mm per year. The Thames River Basin District, including the Medway catchment, covers an area of 6,229 sq mi (16,130 km ). The entire river basin is a mixture of urban and rural, with rural landscape predominating in
9546-565: The impresario Fred Karno and Eel Pie Island at Twickenham was the birthplace of the South East's R&B music scene. Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster (commonly known today as the Houses of Parliament ) were built on Thorney Island , which used to be an eyot . Researchers have identified the River Thames as a discrete drainage line flowing as early as 58 million years ago, in
9657-409: The main turnpike routes which coursed through the navigable valleys. The development of canals in the 18th century and railways in the 19th century encouraged settlement and the growth of High Wycombe , Tring , and Luton . Significant housing and industrial development took place in the first half of the 20th century and continued throughout the 20th century. In 1965 almost half of the Chiltern Hills
9768-442: The most recent (Devensian) glaciation, are found in lower stretches of the Thames and Lea valleys. Such deposits are often shown as " brickearth " on geological maps. Some of those Thames deposits - especially sands, gravels and brickearth - have proved to be of considerable commercial value and have been extensively worked in quarries and pits. Some of them have also been dated, and, through often minute scientific investigation of
9879-426: The non-tidal river, which is a drinking water source before treatment, sanitary sewer overflow from the many sewage treatment plants covering the upper Thames basin should be rare in the non-tidal Thames. However, storm sewage overflows are still common in almost all the main tributaries of the Thames despite claims by Thames Water to the contrary. Below Teddington Lock (about 55 mi or 89 km upstream of
9990-527: The proto-Thames towards the North Sea basin, and it did not form a confluence with the Thames until later on, in the Pleistocene period. There were periodic marine transgressions towards the London Basin during the Miocene period (around 10-20 million years ago), but it is thought that these did not significantly alter pre-existing drainage systems. At times during the Pliocene period (around 5-3 million years ago),
10101-788: The reduction of sheep grazing , action has been taken to maintain open downland by suppressing the natural growth of scrub and birch woodland. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Youth Hostels Association established several youth hostels for people visiting the hills. The hills have been used as a location for telecommunication relay stations such as Stokenchurch BT Tower and that at Zouches Farm . The Chilterns are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and so enjoys special protection from major developments, which should not take place in such areas except in exceptional circumstances. This protection applies to major development proposals that raise issues of national significance. In 2000
10212-581: The river passes Pimlico and Vauxhall , and then forms one of the principal axes of the city, from the Palace of Westminster to the Tower of London . At this point, it historically formed the southern boundary of the medieval city, with Southwark , on the opposite bank, then being part of Surrey . Beyond central London, the river passes Bermondsey , Wapping , Shadwell , Limehouse , Rotherhithe , Millwall , Deptford , Greenwich , Cubitt Town , Blackwall , New Charlton and Silvertown , before flowing through
10323-466: The river to divert onto its present course through the area of present-day London. The ice lobe which stopped at present-day Finchley deposited about 14 metres of boulder clay there. Its torrent of meltwater gushed through the Finchley Gap and south towards the new course of the Thames, and proceeded to carve out the Brent Valley in the process. Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills or
10434-439: The river was tidal at peak spring tides as far as Staines upon Thames . In descending order, non-related tributaries of the non-tidal Thames, with river status, are the Churn , Leach , Cole , Ray , Coln , Windrush , Evenlode , Cherwell , Ock , Thame , Pang , Kennet , Loddon , Colne , Wey and Mole . In addition, there are occasional backwaters and artificial cuts that form islands, distributaries (most numerous in
10545-588: The river, covering three counties . In non-administrative use, the river's name is used in those of Thames Valley University , Thames Water , Thames Television , publishing company Thames & Hudson , Thameslink (north–south rail service passing through central London ) and South Thames College . An example of its use in the names of historic entities is the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company . Marks of human activity, in some cases dating back to Pre-Roman Britain , are visible at various points along
10656-451: The river, while some islands, e.g. Thorney Island , formed over the ages. The northern tip of the ancient parish of Lambeth , for example, was marshland known as Lambeth Marshe , but it was drained in the 18th century; the street names Lower Marsh and Upper Marsh preserve a memory. Until the middle of the Victorian era, malaria was commonplace beside the River Thames, even in London, and
10767-515: The river. These include a variety of structures connected with use of the river, such as navigations, bridges and watermills , as well as prehistoric burial mounds . The lower Thames in the Roman era was a shallow waterway winding through marshes. But centuries of human intervention have transformed it into a deep tidal canal flowing between 200 miles of solid walls; these defend a floodplain where 1.5 million people work and live. A major maritime route
10878-646: The sandbank was a major hazard for shipping coming in and out of London, in 1732 it received the world's first lightship . This became a major landmark, and was used as an assembly point for shipping. Today it is marked by Sea Reach No. 1 Buoy. The River Thames contains over 80 islands ranging from the large estuarial marshlands of the Isle of Sheppey and Canvey Island to small tree-covered islets like Rose Isle in Oxfordshire and Headpile Eyot in Berkshire. They are found all
10989-528: The south coast), and the Wilts & Berks Canal . Rowing and sailing clubs are common along the Thames, which is navigable to such vessels. Kayaking and canoeing also take place. Major annual events include the Henley Royal Regatta and the Boat Race , while the Thames has been used during two Summer Olympic Games : 1908 ( rowing ) and 1948 ( rowing and canoeing ). Safe headwaters and reaches are
11100-496: The south of the London Basin, was uplifted as a result of the Alpine orogeny . Rivers which were draining from the northern flank of that anticline - precursors of watercourses like today's Mole , Wey and Darent rivers - would have begun feeding into the Thames from the south. Further east, a proto- Medway river also flowed northwards from the Weald. But that watercourse flowed parallel to
11211-509: The southern part of the North Sea basin, East Anglia, London, the Cotswolds and South Wales. One result of this was that the Thames lost those of its headwaters which had previously extended back into the Midlands and Wales. The Anglian glaciation had the effect of causing a breach of the land bridge between Britain and north-west Europe, across the Weald-Artois anticline. This was because of
11322-576: The southernmost extent of the ice sheet during the Anglian glacial maximum . The Chilterns are part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England, formed between 65 and 95 million years ago, comprising rocks of the Chalk Group ; this also includes Salisbury Plain , Cranborne Chase , the Isle of Wight and the South Downs in the south. In the north, the chalk formations continue northeastwards across Hertfordshire , Norfolk and
11433-748: The way from Fiddler's Island in Oxfordshire to the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. Some of the largest inland islands, for example Formosa Island near Cookham and Andersey Island at Abingdon, were created naturally when the course of the river divided into separate streams. In the Oxford area the river splits into several streams across the floodplain ( Seacourt Stream , Castle Mill Stream , Bulstake Stream and others), creating several islands ( Fiddler's Island , Osney and others). Desborough Island , Ham Island at Old Windsor and Penton Hook Island were artificially created by lock cuts and navigation channels. Chiswick Eyot
11544-412: The western part. The area is among the driest in the United Kingdom. Water resources consist of groundwater from aquifers and water taken from the Thames and its tributaries, much of it stored in large bank-side reservoirs . The Thames itself provides two-thirds of London's drinking water, while groundwater supplies about 40 per cent of public water supplies in the overall catchment area. Groundwater
11655-566: The year, while those at Thames Head are seasonal (a winterbourne ). With a length of 215 mi (346 km), the Thames is the longest river entirely in England. (The longest river in the United Kingdom, the Severn , flows partly in Wales .) However, as the River Churn, sourced at Seven Springs, is 14 mi (23 km) longer than the section of the Thames from its traditional source at Thames Head to
11766-479: 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 . 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 ". Tide tables are published by the Port of London Authority and are available online. Times of high and low tides are also posted on Twitter. The principal tributaries of
11877-522: Was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The western edge of the Chilterns is notable for ancient strip parishes , elongated parishes with villages in the flatter land below the escarpment, and woodland and summer pastures in the higher land. The hills have been used for their natural resources for millennia . The chalk has been quarried for the manufacture of cement, and flint for local building material. Beechwoods supplied furniture makers with quality hardwood . The area
11988-446: Was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The northwest boundary is clearly defined by the escarpment . The dip slope is by definition more gradual, and merges with the landscape to the southeast. The southwest endpoint is the River Thames . The hills decline slowly in prominence in northeast Bedfordshire. The chalk escarpment of the Chiltern Hills overlooks the Vale of Aylesbury and roughly coincides with
12099-458: Was frequently lethal. Some cases continued to occur into the early 20th century. Draining of the marshes helped with its eradication, but the causes are complex and unclear. The East End of London , also known simply as the East End , was the area of London east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames, although it is not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries;
12210-507: Was once (and still is to a lesser degree) renowned for its chair-making industry, centred on the towns of Chesham and High Wycombe (the nickname of Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is the Chairboys). Water was and remains a scarce resource in the Chilterns. Historically it was drawn from the aquifer via ponds , deep wells , occasional springs or bournes and chalk streams and rivers. The River Chess directly supplies watercress beds. Today
12321-610: Was subject to minor redefining and widening of the main channel around Oxford, Abingdon and Marlow before 1850, when further cuts to ease navigation reduced distances further. Molesey faces Hampton , and in Greater London the Thames passes Hampton Court Palace , Surbiton , Kingston upon Thames , Teddington , Twickenham , Richmond (with a famous view of the Thames from Richmond Hill), Syon House , Kew , Brentford , Chiswick , Barnes , Hammersmith , Fulham , Putney , Wandsworth , Battersea and Chelsea . In central London ,
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