Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Thames shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Thames offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Thames at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Thames? Wrong! If the Thames is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Thames then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Thames? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Thames and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Thames wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Thames then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Thames site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Thames, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Thames, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{Geobox River| name = Thames| map = Thames map.png| map_size =| map_caption =| other_name =| other_name1 =| country = England| country1 =| region = Gloucestershire| region1 = Oxfordshire| region2 = Berkshire| region3 = Buckinghamshire| region4 = Surrey| region5 = Greater London| region5 = Essex| region6 = Kent| city = Oxford| city1 = Reading, Berkshire| city2 = Windsor, Berkshire| city3 = Maidenhead| city4 = London| length = 346| length_imperial =| watershed = 12935| watershed_imperial =| discharge_location = London| discharge_average = 65.8| discharge_average_imperial =| discharge_max_month =| discharge_max =| discharge_max_imperial =| discharge_min_month =| discharge_min =| discharge_min_imperial =| discharge1_location = entering Oxford| discharge2_average = 24.8| discharge2_average_imperial =| discharge3_location = [Reading, Berkshire| discharge3_average = 39.7| discharge3_average_imperial =| discharge4_location = Windsor, Berkshire| discharge4_average = 59.3| discharge4_average_imperial =

| source_name =| source_location = Kemble, Gloucestershire| source_region =| source_country =| source_country1 =| source_elevation = 110| source_elevation_imperial =| source_lat_d =| source_lat_m =| source_lat_s =| source_lat_NS =| source_long_d =| source_long_m =| source_long_s =| source_long_EW =| mouth_name = Thames Estuary, North Sea [England flowing through southern [England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading, Berkshire and Windsor, Berkshire. Kaizoku is the KING of the SEA.

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.
History 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 . 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 Great Britain and France. Subsequent development led to the continuation of the course which the river follows at the present day .

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. 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 River Meuse and the River Scheldt flowing from what are now The Netherlands and Belgium. 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.

Human history The River Thames has frozen over in cold weather throughout history. One of the earliest accounts of the Thames freezing over comes from A.D. 250 when it was frozen hard for nine weeks. Hubert Lamb and other historians have found that the Thames froze in the years AD 923, AD 998, and for seven weeks in 1061. It has also completely frozen over during these severe winters of (paradoxically) the Medieval Warm Period: 1149 - 1150, 1204 - 1205, 1269 - 1270, 1281 - 1282, 1309 - 1310, 1407 - 1408, 1409 - 1410, 1434 - 1435, early 1506, 1513 - 1514, 1516 - 1517, and 1536 - 1537. (12 times in total)

Between 1400 and the nineteenth century there were a total of 23 documented winters in which the Thames froze over at London during a period that became known as the Little Ice Age. This led to the first Thames frost fairs in 1607, complete with a tent city set up on the river itself and offering a number of amusements, including ice bowling. After temperatures began to rise again, starting in 1814, the river has never frozen over completely. The building of a new London Bridge in 1825 may also have been a factor; the new bridge had fewer pillars than the old, so allowing the river to flow more freely, thus preventing it from flowing slowly enough to freeze in cold winters.

. Click on the picture for a longer descriptionThe Thames provided the major highway between London and Westminster in the 16th and 17th centuries. The clannish guild of watermen ferried Londoners from landing to landing and tolerated no outside interference.

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. In the 'Great Stink' of 1858, pollution in the river reached such proportions that sittings at the British House of Commons at Westminster had to be abandoned. 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. 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.

The coming of rail transport and road transportation and the decline of the Empire, in the years following 1914, have reduced the prominence of the river. In the late 20th and early 21st century, London itself is no longer a port of any note and the Port of London has moved downstream to Tilbury. In return, the river has undergone 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.

In the early 1980s a massive flood-control device, the Thames Barrier, was opened. 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). In the late 1990s, the long Jubilee River was built, which acts as a flood channel for the Thames around Maidenhead and Windsor.Environment Agency (2005). Jubilee River. Retrieved November 1, 2005.

Origin of the name The Thames, from Middle English Temese, is derived from the Celtic name for the river, Tamesas (from Proto-Celtic *tamēssa)Mallory, J.P. and D.Q. Adams. The Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. London: Fitzroy and Dearborn, 1997: 147., recorded in Latin as Tamesis and underlying modern Welsh language Tafwys "Thames". The name meant "dark" and can be compared to other cognates such as Irish language teimheal and Welsh tywyll "darkness" (PC *temeslos) and Middle Irish teimen "dark gray"ibid..

The river's name has always been pronounced with a simple t; the Middle English spelling was typically Temese and Celtic languages Tamesis. The th lends an air of Ancient 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) region of Greece, whence early Celtic tribes were erroneously thought to have migrated.

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. Henig M. & Booth P. 2000, Roman Oxfordshire, pgs.118-9

The part of the Thames running through Oxford is often given the name the River The Isis, although historically, and especially in Victorian era times, gazetteers and cartographers insisted that the entire river was correctly named the River Isis from its source until Dorchester, Oxfordshire. 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; current Ordnance Survey maps still label the Thames as "River Thames or Isis" until Dorchester. 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 mythology goddess of Isis—is nothing more than a contraction of Tamesis, the Latin (or pre-Roman Celtic)name for the Thames.

Richard Coates has recently suggested that the river was called the Thames upstream of modern London, where it was narrower and *(p)lowonida down river, where it was too wide to ford. 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).

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'.Culteral Heritage Resources (2005). Legendary Origins and the Origin of London's place name. Retrieved November 1, 2005.

Geography Course of the river The Thames has a length of 215 miles (346 Kilometre) . Its usually quoted source (river) is at Thames Head (at ), about a mile north of the village of Kemble, Gloucestershire and near the town of Cirencester, in the Cotswolds. However, Seven Springs near Cheltenham, where the river Churn (river) 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. The Spring (hydrosphere)s at Seven Springs also flow throughout the year, while those at Thames Head are only seasonal.

The Thames flows through Ashton Keynes, Cricklade, Lechlade, Oxford, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Wallingford, Goring-On-Thames, Reading, Berkshire, Henley-on-Thames, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Maidenhead, Windsor, Berkshire, Eton, Berkshire, Staines and Weybridge, before entering the Greater London area.

From the outskirts of Greater London, the river passes Hampton Court, Kingston upon Thames, Teddington, Twickenham, Richmond upon Thames (with a famous view of the Thames from Richmond Hill), Syon House and Kew before flowing through central London. 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.

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. Below the barrier, the river passes Dartford, Tilbury and Gravesend before entering the Thames Estuary near Southend-on-Sea.

Catchment area and discharge The river drains a catchment area of 4,994 square miles (12,935 km²) or 5,924 square miles (15,343 km²) if the River Medway is included as a tributary.Dot & Ian Hart (2001–5). The River Thames — Its geology, geography and vital statistics from source to sea. Retrieved November 1, 2005.

The non-tidal section Innumerable brooks, canals and rivers, within an area of 3,841 square miles (9,948 square km), combine to form 38 main tributaries feeding the Thames between its source and Teddington. These include the rivers River Churn, River Leach, River Cole, Wiltshire, River Coln, River Windrush, River Evenlode, River Cherwell, River Ock, River Thame, River Pang, River Kennet, River Loddon, River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Wey and River Mole, Surrey.

Between Maidenhead and Windsor, the Thames supports an artificial secondary channel, known as the Jubilee River, for flood relief.

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 and the community needs for water supplies to homes, industry and agriculture.

During heavy rainfall the Thames occasionally receives raw sewage discharge due to sanitary sewer overflow.

The tidal section Lane South in London's W4 postal district.About from the sea, at Teddington, the river begins to exhibit tide from the North Sea. This tidal stretch of the river is known as "the Tideway". London was reputedly made capital of Roman Britain at the spot where the tides reached in 43 but this spot has moved up river, in the 2000 years since then, because of the post-glacial rebound. At London, the water is slightly brackish water with sea salt. Below Teddington, the principal tributary include the rivers River Brent, River Wandle, River Effra, River Westbourne, River Fleet, River Ravensbourne (the final part of which is called Deptford Creek), River Lea, Roding, River Darent and River Ingrebourne.

The average discharge of the Thames grows up to approximately 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.g., the River Severn and the River Tay). Indeed, if the Thames were not a tidal river, its average discharge in the centre of London would be somewhere between 80 and 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 City of London.

Some low-lying areas beside the tidal section of the Thames regularly flood at spring tides. However, in recent years, the flooding has been occurring more frequently at unusual times. One such example exists at Chiswick Lane South in London's W4 postal district, where the river now bursts its banks almost daily between March and September.

Navigation The Thames is navigable from the estuary as far as Lechlade in Gloucestershire. 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. From Teddington Lock to the head of navigation, the navigation authority is the Environment Agency.

The river is navigable to large ocean-going ships as far as the Pool of London and London Bridge. Today little commercial traffic passes above the docks at Tilbury and central London sees only the occasional visiting cruise ship or naval ship, moored alongside HMS Belfast and a few smaller Construction aggregate or waste vessels, operating from wharf in the west of London. Both the tidal river through London and the non-tidal river upstream are intensively used for leisure navigation.

The non-tidal River Thames is divided into reaches by the 45 lock (water transport). Each reach is associated with the lock below it. See Locks on the River Thames for a full list of all locks, each of which has an article containing a description of its respective reach.

Crossings Famous crossings over the Thames include:

Islands Famous islands in the Thames include:

The river as a boundary The river itself rises in Gloucestershire, traditionally forming the county boundary, firstly between Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, between Berkshire on the south bank and Oxfordshire on the north, between Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, between Berkshire and Surrey, between Surrey and Middlesex and between Essex, England and Kent.

Before the 1974 boundary changes, the current boundary between Berkshire and Surrey was between Buckinghamshire and Surrey. The boundary between Oxfordshire and Berkshire was also moved at that time.

Culture Literature The Thames is a motif in many books. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome describes a boat trip up the Thames; published in 1889, it has never been out of print, proof of the continuing influence of the Thames on the literary imagination. Other authors took inspiration from this best-selling comic novel (with its side-nods to social commentary). Examples include poet Kim Taplin's 1993 travelogue Three Women in a Boat and Connie Willis's To Say Nothing of the Dog. Somewhere near the Oxford stretch is where the Liddells were rowing in the poem at the start of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The river is almost a character in its own right in Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows and its derivatives. The utopian News from Nowhere by William Morris is mainly the account of a journey through the Thames valley in a socialist future. Another is featured in The Amulet of Samarkand from The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud, when Nathaniel plans to toss a can of tobacco into the Thames in order to imprison Bartimaeus. 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.

In books set in London there is Sherlock Holmes looking for a boat in The Sign of Four. Many of Charles Dickens's novels feature the Thames. Oliver Twist finishes in the slums and Rookery (slum) along its south bank. Our Mutual Friend begins with a scavenger and his daughter pulling a dead man from the river, to legally salvage what the body might have in its pockets. 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.In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the old sailor Marlow begins his yarn while sitting on a boat in the Thames. 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. Conrad also gives a memorable description of the approach to London from the Thames Estuary in his essays q:Joseph Conrad#On the River Thames (1906).

In poetry, T.S. Eliot references the Thames at the beginning of The Fire Sermon, Section III of "The Waste Land". It could be said that the references make for a spiritual reverence of the river, as the river is referred to as "sweet". However he also refers to the area as "brown" and throughout this poem the semantic field evokes feelings of decay with its references to detritus. William Blake makes reference to the Thames in his famous poem London:

I wander thro' each charter'd street,/Near where the charter'd Thames does flowIn this instance, it could be said that the Thames is a boundless and free notion; but Blake seems to be showing here a disdain for its apparent 'chartered' nature. Joseph Brodsky wrote a poem entitled "The Thames at Chelsea".

Other arts John Kaufman's sculpture The Diver:Regeneration can be found sited in the Thames near Rainham.

A boat chase on the Thames forms the long opening scene of the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. The offices of MI6, Britain's external spy agency, are right on the river in a building known as Vauxhall Cross.

Tourism The river is popular with tourists. There are many sightseeing tours in tourist boats, especially in the lower reaches past the more famous riverside attractions such as the Houses of Parliament and the Tower of London.

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

Rowing The Thames is the historic heartland of sport rowing in the United Kingdom. There are over 200 clubs on the river, and over 8,000 members of the Amateur Rowing Association (over 40% of its membership). 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.

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 The Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake in the west of London.

Henley Royal Regatta takes place over five days at the start of July in the upstream town of Henley-on-Thames. Besides its sporting significance the regatta is an important date on the English Season (society) alongside events like Ascot Racecourse and Wimbledon Championships.

Other significant or historic rowing events on the Thames include:



Innumerable other regattas, head races and bumping races are held along the Thames.

Sailing Sailing is practiced on both the tidal and non-tidal reaches of the river. Clubs in and near the London section of the Thames include: Clubs Upstream of London Include: Clubs in the Lower Thames Include: See also:

Skiffing Skiffing remains popular, particularly in the summer months. Several clubs and regattas may be found in the outer suburbs of west London.

Punting Unlike the "pleasure punting" common on the River Cherwell in Oxford and the River Cam in Cambridge, punting on the Thames is competitive and uses narrower craft.

Kayaking and Canoeing Kayaking and canoeing are popular, with sea kayakers using the tidal stretch for touring. Sheltered water kayakers and canoeists use the non-tidal section for training, racing and trips. Whitewater playboating and Slalom canoeing paddlers are catered for at weirs like Hurley Weir, Sunbury Weir and Boulter's Weir. 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.

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. It is often carried out as an athletic challenge in a competition or for a record attempt.

Miscellanea

Religion When a Roman Catholic Church converts to Anglicanism, that person is said to have "swum the Thames". The reverse is referred to as "swimming the Tiber".

See also

References Further reading

External links

{{Geobox River| name = Thames| map = Thames map.png| map_size =| map_caption =| other_name =| other_name1 =| country = England| country1 =| region = Gloucestershire| region1 = Oxfordshire| region2 = Berkshire| region3 = Buckinghamshire| region4 = Surrey| region5 = Greater London| region5 = Essex| region6 = Kent| city = Oxford| city1 = Reading, Berkshire| city2 = Windsor, Berkshire| city3 = Maidenhead| city4 = London| length = 346| length_imperial =| watershed = 12935| watershed_imperial =| discharge_location = London| discharge_average = 65.8| discharge_average_imperial =| discharge_max_month =| discharge_max =| discharge_max_imperial =| discharge_min_month =| discharge_min =| discharge_min_imperial =| discharge1_location = entering Oxford| discharge2_average = 24.8| discharge2_average_imperial =| discharge3_location = [Reading, Berkshire| discharge3_average = 39.7| discharge3_average_imperial =| discharge4_location = Windsor, Berkshire| discharge4_average = 59.3| discharge4_average_imperial =

| source_name =| source_location = Kemble, Gloucestershire| source_region =| source_country =| source_country1 =| source_elevation = 110| source_elevation_imperial =| source_lat_d =| source_lat_m =| source_lat_s =| source_lat_NS =| source_long_d =| source_long_m =| source_long_s =| source_long_EW =| mouth_name = Thames Estuary, North Sea [England flowing through southern [England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading, Berkshire and Windsor, Berkshire. Kaizoku is the KING of the SEA.

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.
History 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 . 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 Great Britain and France. Subsequent development led to the continuation of the course which the river follows at the present day .

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. 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 River Meuse and the River Scheldt flowing from what are now The Netherlands and Belgium. 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.

Human history The River Thames has frozen over in cold weather throughout history. One of the earliest accounts of the Thames freezing over comes from A.D. 250 when it was frozen hard for nine weeks. Hubert Lamb and other historians have found that the Thames froze in the years AD 923, AD 998, and for seven weeks in 1061. It has also completely frozen over during these severe winters of (paradoxically) the Medieval Warm Period: 1149 - 1150, 1204 - 1205, 1269 - 1270, 1281 - 1282, 1309 - 1310, 1407 - 1408, 1409 - 1410, 1434 - 1435, early 1506, 1513 - 1514, 1516 - 1517, and 1536 - 1537. (12 times in total)

Between 1400 and the nineteenth century there were a total of 23 documented winters in which the Thames froze over at London during a period that became known as the Little Ice Age. This led to the first Thames frost fairs in 1607, complete with a tent city set up on the river itself and offering a number of amusements, including ice bowling. After temperatures began to rise again, starting in 1814, the river has never frozen over completely. The building of a new London Bridge in 1825 may also have been a factor; the new bridge had fewer pillars than the old, so allowing the river to flow more freely, thus preventing it from flowing slowly enough to freeze in cold winters.

. Click on the picture for a longer descriptionThe Thames provided the major highway between London and Westminster in the 16th and 17th centuries. The clannish guild of watermen ferried Londoners from landing to landing and tolerated no outside interference.

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. In the 'Great Stink' of 1858, pollution in the river reached such proportions that sittings at the British House of Commons at Westminster had to be abandoned. 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. 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.

The coming of rail transport and road transportation and the decline of the Empire, in the years following 1914, have reduced the prominence of the river. In the late 20th and early 21st century, London itself is no longer a port of any note and the Port of London has moved downstream to Tilbury. In return, the river has undergone 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.

In the early 1980s a massive flood-control device, the Thames Barrier, was opened. 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). In the late 1990s, the long Jubilee River was built, which acts as a flood channel for the Thames around Maidenhead and Windsor.Environment Agency (2005). Jubilee River. Retrieved November 1, 2005.

Origin of the name The Thames, from Middle English Temese, is derived from the Celtic name for the river, Tamesas (from Proto-Celtic *tamēssa)Mallory, J.P. and D.Q. Adams. The Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. London: Fitzroy and Dearborn, 1997: 147., recorded in Latin as Tamesis and underlying modern Welsh language Tafwys "Thames". The name meant "dark" and can be compared to other cognates such as Irish language teimheal and Welsh tywyll "darkness" (PC *temeslos) and Middle Irish teimen "dark gray"ibid..

The river's name has always been pronounced with a simple t; the Middle English spelling was typically Temese and Celtic languages Tamesis. The th lends an air of Ancient 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) region of Greece, whence early Celtic tribes were erroneously thought to have migrated.

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. Henig M. & Booth P. 2000, Roman Oxfordshire, pgs.118-9

The part of the Thames running through Oxford is often given the name the River The Isis, although historically, and especially in Victorian era times, gazetteers and cartographers insisted that the entire river was correctly named the River Isis from its source until Dorchester, Oxfordshire. 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; current Ordnance Survey maps still label the Thames as "River Thames or Isis" until Dorchester. 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 mythology goddess of Isis—is nothing more than a contraction of Tamesis, the Latin (or pre-Roman Celtic)name for the Thames.

Richard Coates has recently suggested that the river was called the Thames upstream of modern London, where it was narrower and *(p)lowonida down river, where it was too wide to ford. 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).

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'.Culteral Heritage Resources (2005). Legendary Origins and the Origin of London's place name. Retrieved November 1, 2005.

Geography Course of the river The Thames has a length of 215 miles (346 Kilometre) . Its usually quoted source (river) is at Thames Head (at ), about a mile north of the village of Kemble, Gloucestershire and near the town of Cirencester, in the Cotswolds. However, Seven Springs near Cheltenham, where the river Churn (river) 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. The Spring (hydrosphere)s at Seven Springs also flow throughout the year, while those at Thames Head are only seasonal.

The Thames flows through Ashton Keynes, Cricklade, Lechlade, Oxford, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Wallingford, Goring-On-Thames, Reading, Berkshire, Henley-on-Thames, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Maidenhead, Windsor, Berkshire, Eton, Berkshire, Staines and Weybridge, before entering the Greater London area.

From the outskirts of Greater London, the river passes Hampton Court, Kingston upon Thames, Teddington, Twickenham, Richmond upon Thames (with a famous view of the Thames from Richmond Hill), Syon House and Kew before flowing through central London. 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.

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. Below the barrier, the river passes Dartford, Tilbury and Gravesend before entering the Thames Estuary near Southend-on-Sea.

Catchment area and discharge The river drains a catchment area of 4,994 square miles (12,935 km²) or 5,924 square miles (15,343 km²) if the River Medway is included as a tributary.Dot & Ian Hart (2001–5). The River Thames — Its geology, geography and vital statistics from source to sea. Retrieved November 1, 2005.

The non-tidal section Innumerable brooks, canals and rivers, within an area of 3,841 square miles (9,948 square km), combine to form 38 main tributaries feeding the Thames between its source and Teddington. These include the rivers River Churn, River Leach, River Cole, Wiltshire, River Coln, River Windrush, River Evenlode, River Cherwell, River Ock, River Thame, River Pang, River Kennet, River Loddon, River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Wey and River Mole, Surrey.

Between Maidenhead and Windsor, the Thames supports an artificial secondary channel, known as the Jubilee River, for flood relief.

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 and the community needs for water supplies to homes, industry and agriculture.

During heavy rainfall the Thames occasionally receives raw sewage discharge due to sanitary sewer overflow.

The tidal section Lane South in London's W4 postal district.About from the sea, at Teddington, the river begins to exhibit tide from the North Sea. This tidal stretch of the river is known as "the Tideway". London was reputedly made capital of Roman Britain at the spot where the tides reached in 43 but this spot has moved up river, in the 2000 years since then, because of the post-glacial rebound. At London, the water is slightly brackish water with sea salt. Below Teddington, the principal tributary include the rivers River Brent, River Wandle, River Effra, River Westbourne, River Fleet, River Ravensbourne (the final part of which is called Deptford Creek), River Lea, Roding, River Darent and River Ingrebourne.

The average discharge of the Thames grows up to approximately 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.g., the River Severn and the River Tay). Indeed, if the Thames were not a tidal river, its average discharge in the centre of London would be somewhere between 80 and 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 City of London.

Some low-lying areas beside the tidal section of the Thames regularly flood at spring tides. However, in recent years, the flooding has been occurring more frequently at unusual times. One such example exists at Chiswick Lane South in London's W4 postal district, where the river now bursts its banks almost daily between March and September.

Navigation The Thames is navigable from the estuary as far as Lechlade in Gloucestershire. 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. From Teddington Lock to the head of navigation, the navigation authority is the Environment Agency.

The river is navigable to large ocean-going ships as far as the Pool of London and London Bridge. Today little commercial traffic passes above the docks at Tilbury and central London sees only the occasional visiting cruise ship or naval ship, moored alongside HMS Belfast and a few smaller Construction aggregate or waste vessels, operating from wharf in the west of London. Both the tidal river through London and the non-tidal river upstream are intensively used for leisure navigation.

The non-tidal River Thames is divided into reaches by the 45 lock (water transport). Each reach is associated with the lock below it. See Locks on the River Thames for a full list of all locks, each of which has an article containing a description of its respective reach.

Crossings Famous crossings over the Thames include:

Islands Famous islands in the Thames include:

The river as a boundary The river itself rises in Gloucestershire, traditionally forming the county boundary, firstly between Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, between Berkshire on the south bank and Oxfordshire on the north, between Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, between Berkshire and Surrey, between Surrey and Middlesex and between Essex, England and Kent.

Before the 1974 boundary changes, the current boundary between Berkshire and Surrey was between Buckinghamshire and Surrey. The boundary between Oxfordshire and Berkshire was also moved at that time.

Culture Literature The Thames is a motif in many books. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome describes a boat trip up the Thames; published in 1889, it has never been out of print, proof of the continuing influence of the Thames on the literary imagination. Other authors took inspiration from this best-selling comic novel (with its side-nods to social commentary). Examples include poet Kim Taplin's 1993 travelogue Three Women in a Boat and Connie Willis's To Say Nothing of the Dog. Somewhere near the Oxford stretch is where the Liddells were rowing in the poem at the start of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The river is almost a character in its own right in Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows and its derivatives. The utopian News from Nowhere by William Morris is mainly the account of a journey through the Thames valley in a socialist future. Another is featured in The Amulet of Samarkand from The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud, when Nathaniel plans to toss a can of tobacco into the Thames in order to imprison Bartimaeus. 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.

In books set in London there is Sherlock Holmes looking for a boat in The Sign of Four. Many of Charles Dickens's novels feature the Thames. Oliver Twist finishes in the slums and Rookery (slum) along its south bank. Our Mutual Friend begins with a scavenger and his daughter pulling a dead man from the river, to legally salvage what the body might have in its pockets. 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.In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the old sailor Marlow begins his yarn while sitting on a boat in the Thames. 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. Conrad also gives a memorable description of the approach to London from the Thames Estuary in his essays q:Joseph Conrad#On the River Thames (1906).

In poetry, T.S. Eliot references the Thames at the beginning of The Fire Sermon, Section III of "The Waste Land". It could be said that the references make for a spiritual reverence of the river, as the river is referred to as "sweet". However he also refers to the area as "brown" and throughout this poem the semantic field evokes feelings of decay with its references to detritus. William Blake makes reference to the Thames in his famous poem London:

I wander thro' each charter'd street,/Near where the charter'd Thames does flowIn this instance, it could be said that the Thames is a boundless and free notion; but Blake seems to be showing here a disdain for its apparent 'chartered' nature. Joseph Brodsky wrote a poem entitled "The Thames at Chelsea".

Other arts John Kaufman's sculpture The Diver:Regeneration can be found sited in the Thames near Rainham.

A boat chase on the Thames forms the long opening scene of the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. The offices of MI6, Britain's external spy agency, are right on the river in a building known as Vauxhall Cross.

Tourism The river is popular with tourists. There are many sightseeing tours in tourist boats, especially in the lower reaches past the more famous riverside attractions such as the Houses of Parliament and the Tower of London.

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

Rowing The Thames is the historic heartland of sport rowing in the United Kingdom. There are over 200 clubs on the river, and over 8,000 members of the Amateur Rowing Association (over 40% of its membership). 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.

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 The Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake in the west of London.

Henley Royal Regatta takes place over five days at the start of July in the upstream town of Henley-on-Thames. Besides its sporting significance the regatta is an important date on the English Season (society) alongside events like Ascot Racecourse and Wimbledon Championships.

Other significant or historic rowing events on the Thames include:



Innumerable other regattas, head races and bumping races are held along the Thames.

Sailing Sailing is practiced on both the tidal and non-tidal reaches of the river. Clubs in and near the London section of the Thames include: Clubs Upstream of London Include: Clubs in the Lower Thames Include: See also:

Skiffing Skiffing remains popular, particularly in the summer months. Several clubs and regattas may be found in the outer suburbs of west London.

Punting Unlike the "pleasure punting" common on the River Cherwell in Oxford and the River Cam in Cambridge, punting on the Thames is competitive and uses narrower craft.

Kayaking and Canoeing Kayaking and canoeing are popular, with sea kayakers using the tidal stretch for touring. Sheltered water kayakers and canoeists use the non-tidal section for training, racing and trips. Whitewater playboating and Slalom canoeing paddlers are catered for at weirs like Hurley Weir, Sunbury Weir and Boulter's Weir. 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.

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. It is often carried out as an athletic challenge in a competition or for a record attempt.

Miscellanea

Religion When a Roman Catholic Church converts to Anglicanism, that person is said to have "swum the Thames". The reverse is referred to as "swimming the Tiber".

See also

References Further reading

External links



The River Thames Guide - Thames Cruises, Thames Restaurants, Riverside ...
The many attractions of the River Thames including cruises, boating, restaurants, hotels, museums, theatres, galleries even properties and more, interestingly and helpfully ...

The River Thames Guide - About the Thames: River Thames History, Facts ...
The River Thames Guide - A user friendly guide to what the Thames and its surrounding areas have to offer in the way of boats and boating, entertainment, food and drink, and ...

The Official Guide to the River Thames
The Environment Agency's guide to the river with information on events, fishing, boating, walking, accommodation, eating out and the places along its course.

THAMES COMPUTER SERVICES
Thames Computer Services Limited 2004

Thames Reach: homelessness charity helping homeless and vulnerable ...
Thames Reach is a London charity helping homeless and vulnerable people to find decent homes, build supportive relationships and lead fulfilling lives. Our vision is to end street ...

Thames Introduction - WHERE THAMES SMOOTH WATERS GLIDE
Introduction to - a Punter's Guide to the River Thames. Up the Thames and Isis and Cherwell by punt with historical references. Victorian writers, poems pictures and prints ...

Thames Valley Police - Home Page
One of the largest forces in Britain, covering Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. Publications, children's section and online recruitment information.

The Swiftstone Trust,. Past, present, future, on the Thames.
The Swftstone Trust Thames heritage. We inform and educate about the environment, history and heritage of the river Thames and the people who work on it. The Swiftstone Trust ...

River Thames London
Source (origin) Kemble, near Cirencester in Gloucestershire. Mouth: North Sea : Length: 346 km (215 miles) Source elevation : 110 m (360 ft) Avg. discharge: Entering Oxford: 17.6 ...

Thames Turbo :: Home
Club profile, with information about local events, training, race participation and results.

 

Thames



 
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