LYCOS RETRIEVER 
River Thames: London Dungeon
built 269 days ago
Overlooking one of the most picturesque parts of the River Thames in Richmond upon Thames, the Bingham Hotel has recently completed a bedroom refurbishment. Situated in two Georgian town houses dating back to the 1700s, the hotel has 15 bedrooms individually designed in a tranquil and luxurious style. Richmond is south west of London, just 20 minutes by train from central London and 25 minutes drive from Heathrow. Rooms from £180, tel: 020 8940 0902. Website: www.thebingham.co.uk.
Source:
The River Thames has played a central role in the history of London since the town was first established approximately 2,000 years ago. Its life-giving waters, strategic significance for invaders and defenders, commercial and transportation importance have long been a source of prosperity and relaxation for Londoners and visitors alike.
Source:
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 [1]. 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.
Source:
Below Teddington Lock (about 55 miles/89 kilometres upstream of 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. 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.[2] A river crossing was built at the site of London Bridge. London Bridge is now used as the basis for published tide tables giving the times of high tide. High tide reaches Putney about 30 minutes later than London Bridge, and Teddington about an hour later.
Source:
The Thames Barrier was constructed to counter the continued threat of flooding along the river in London, the city having suffered from destructive flooding for centuries. Many of these floods have resulted from the combined effect of floodwater flowing down the river and peak tides flowing up the Thames estuary meeting and resulting in a surge of water back up the river. The barrier is raised to prevent these extraordinarily high tides reaching the river proper. The futuristic barrier was opened in 1982, its cost of £535 million becoming immediately worthwhile as major flooding in the city has since been prevented. London’s flood defences combine the barrier with over 36 other barriers and gates together with over 115 miles of defensive embankments.
Source:
The Thames is the second longest river in England. It covers over 215 miles (344 km) and stretches from its source in Trewsbury Mead in the Cotswolds, to the Thames Estuary near Southend-on-Sea. It borders nine English counties and links London to the cities of Oxford, Reading, Maidenhead, and Windsor.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
London Dungeon