Thames
Thames - pack
The River Thames and the other Rivers of the World are explored in six themes. A resource pack for each theme is available to download:
Thames - River of Life pack.pdf 840.0 kb
Thames - Resourceful River pack.pdf 701.5 kb
Thames - Working River pack.pdf 843.0 kb
Thames - River City pack.pdf 1.9 MB
Thames - facts
- Name
- The River Thames (the name comes from the Celtic word Tamesa meaning 'the dark one') is one of the major waterways in England. The Thames has been so central to London’s development it is sometimes called Liquid History.
- Length
- The River Thames is 346 km long and its elevation at source is 110 m.
- Source, cities and mouth
- The source is about a mile north of the village of Kemble in Gloucestershire. From there, the Thames flows through Oxford, Reading, Henley-on-Thames, Marlow, Maidenhead, Windsor, Staines and Weybridge before entering the Greater London area. The mouth is at Yantlet Creek by Sheerness. The area to the west of London is normally called Thames Valley, while that to the east is called Thames Gateway.
- Catchment area
- The river drains a catchment area of some 12,935 square km and is navigable from the estuary as far as Lechlade in Gloucestershire.
- Tide
- The river is tidal up as far as Teddington in west London, about 90 km from its mouth. This tidal stretch of the river is known as "the Tideway". The tide rises and falls twice daily. The water level can vary by up to 8m between low water and high water at London Bridge. Tidal current at London Bridge can reach 4 knots.
Thames- weblinks
thamespilot.org.uk is a comprehensive source of over 5,000 images of historical photographs, maps, documents and artworks that chart the history of the river.
thames.me.uk has a wide range of historical photographs and text extracts relating to landmarks along the River Thames
wikipedia.org (search for “River Thames”). This site has good background information
londononline.co.uk has a lot of history material.
portcities.org.uk has information about London’s history as a port.
Thames - books and articles
The River Thames Ideas Pack by Steve Hollingshead (2007)
The Thames, England’s River by Jonathan Schneer (2005)
Liquid History, the Thames Through Time by Stephen Croad (2003)
London’s River, Westminster to Woolwich by Chris Thurman (2002)
The Thames from Source to the Sea by P Atterbury & A Haines (1998)
Rivers of Meaning, Getting in Touch with the Thames by London Rivers Association (1996)
