—
THAMES UNCOVERED U N I Q U E FAC T S P E O P L E A N D L A N D S C A P E S
—
R A M B L I N G S F R O M T H E F O O T P AT H
It has, as they say, been a journey. I was commissioned some ten years ago to photograph The Thames; to produce a coffee table book of the river in celebration of a company’s 50 years of involvement with the Thames and its work on the then new footbridge at Caversham. Soon I was happily ambling along the Thames photographing anything and everything that took my fancy using a new Leica camera that I had been asked to field test - a bonus! I was feeling very happy about the world. Discovering the upper and lower reaches of the river were a revelation as I came to realise that the Thames is so much more than just a stretch of river between Hammersmith Bridge and the Thames Barrier. As can often happen in life, things changed. New personnel in the commissioning company decided to shelve the book and I could not stall handing back the camera any longer as it had been more than six months - well it was a Leica and a joy to use! So though the loss of an interesting project was disappointing. I was aware I had benefited from the simple act of walking and picture-taking along the banks of the Thames. During that time I had been able to reflect and come to terms with a major change in my life moving out of London. Though I still had a hankering to be in London, probably caused by fear-of-missing out - FOMO - on the life that living in London offers; it turned out what I missed most of all was access to the Thames itself. For much of my working life I lived in ‘Sarf’ London and had to cross the river to get to town - Westminster or London - and often found myself gazing out over the water whilst stuck in traffic crossing Putney Bridge. I frequently travelled along the Embankment, commuting between photoshoots, always aware of, but never really considering the river at my side. It was only when on foot that I would idly marvel at the height of high-tide or the breath of the river at lowtide and, of course, there was the sound of the lapping of the water on an ebbing tide whilst sipping a beer at a riverside pub after work, it was these simple things that I missed. Well, that and the bustle, my mates, the city work, the pubs and restaurants and, however as strange as it sounds, I found I missed the Thames. My initial photography had given me an itch, a very large itch, to complete what I had started. As an instinctive photographer I do not like to over-research projects or people I have to photograph. I like to make my own unclouded judgements about what is really the story, on what is interesting and to chat to people and get their take on things. However my journey along the Thames prompted a different approach; steeped in history - a true appreciation required a degree of study.
Although there are many very helpful snippets of information to be gleaned from the numerous information display boards stationed along the route of my walk which start as far up stream as Kemble, they barely scratch the surface of what the Thames has born witness to. For that reason I started to undertake some research not something I’m keen on - to gain a better insight as to the history of the Thames. Several books were well worth a look. I came across the work of Henry Taut, a Victorian photographer who not only photographed the whole length of the Thames but also mapped and measured it. His imagery is beautiful and surprisingly those pictures taken along the Upper Thames show scenes that are very similar to what can still be seen today. Peter Ackroyd’s ‘Thames Sacred River’, probably the thickest book I have read (I’m not a big book reader) was fascinating, but it was Robert Gibbings truly enchanting narrative in his book, 'Sweet Thames Run Softly’ that rekindled my inspiration to photograph this great river from its source to the Crow Stone at All Hollows some 215 miles down stream. At the time I was reading these books ‘Brexit’ was unfolding with its soul destroying negativity. It wasn’t a great time with business confidence waning and commissions in short supply. Exploring the Thames Path once again gave me an excuse to do something creative. The walking also helped calm my worries, gave time to think and plan and at the same time I was taking photographs. The thing I love to do most. In trying times it felt like a win. Walking is just a wonderful way to re-set the mind and body and the Thames and her waters flow oblivious to everything, its continuity life-affirming - it had seen it all before and prevailed. It is an extraordinary thought that at the height of Britain’s Empire its power and wealth flowed, from the Thames throughout the world, directly affecting a quarter of its population. Ironically, in pre-history the Thames had been but a mere tributary to the mighty Rhine. A fact that is difficult to believe, since now it can be argued, that The Thames is the more iconic river. The river is considered to be the people’s river opento-all and in 1948 a proposal to create the Thames Path was muted, though it took until 1998 for that to be actioned, slow even by government standards. The walk created, mainly using the existing towpath along it length, is now the single, longest, river footpath in Europe. This photographic essay is my attempt at showing the beauty that is the River Thames, the joy of walking it and the benefits it promotes, especially during those trying times we all periodically find ourselves in.
Although we cannot simply walk away from our responsibilities, bills, relationships, fears, anxieties, I have finally come to understand the wisdom of my father when he said “the best manure a farmer can put on his fields is his boots,� It now makes complete sense - To put one foot in front of the other, to walk, is one of the most holistically worthwhile things we can do for ourselves.
Ideally this book will inspire you to go for a walk along the Thames Path, it really is worth the effort. Please do not use it as a definitive guide since the sections have been structured to suit this book rather than show carefully considered, comfortable, walking distances. The good news is that once on the path it is fairly easy to follow as you will have the river to guide you.
I hope the edited images within these chapters highlights what to expect along the river; whether it is the bucolic pastures, pretty villages and historic buildings of the upper and lower Thames, the urban industrial mid-section of Oxford, Reading and Slough or the best known stretch of the Thames that ribbons its way through London on its journey to the sea.
Happy walking. Charlie Birchmore
SOURCE TO
- 24 MILES | 110M A
O LECHLADE
ABOVE SEA LEVEL -
“ THERE ARE TWO THINGS SCARCE MATCHED IN THE UNIVERSE; THE SUN IN HEAVEN AND THE THAMES ON EARTH ” S I R WA LT E R R AY L E I G H
THE SOURCE
At Trewsbury Mead, a meadow some 3 miles SouthWest of Cirencester, there stands a stone obelisk inscribed: ‘The Conservatives of the River Thames 1857 to 1974. This stone was placed here to mark the source of the River Thames.’ However, this simple object not only marks the official source of the Thames but also the start of the Thames Path - 184 miles of walking from the the river’s source, or head, to where it meets the North Sea. Back in 1939, on the eve of war, Robert Gibbings’ undertook a boat trip along its length, documenting what he saw in his book ‘Sweet Thames Run Softly’, starting with how he found the source of the Thames, with a little help. “Follow along the edge of the meadow the old lady said till you come to some straggly bushes but pay no attention to them. Follow along then she said until you come to a dead tree but pay no attention to that either. Follow along again she continued, I don’t know if it isn’t an ash and on that you’ll see the letters TH. There is a well alongside the tree an old Roman well they say and that’s where the Thames rises you can’t miss it TH that means Thames Head. I suppose I’ll see the water, anyway I queried even if I miss the tree? There‘s no water in the well, she said, it’s filled in with stones this long time passed nor’s there water in the meadows neither not this time o’ year. Plenty in the winter though’ she added.” The path from the obelisk meanders on through a beautiful meadow, a row of ancient oaks marking the route towards an old Roman road - The Fosse Way. Cross the road and a rather barren meadow awaits. In the summer months, the route of the river is tracedout as a dry and stony river bed with an odd trickle of water as a marker to its intent. Heavy rain will quickly transform the bed into a swiftly flowing stream with the hidden springs bubbling-up with cold fresh water.
8
9
About a mile to the south-east you will reach a small walled enclosure for an ancient spring known as Lyd Well where there is always a constant flow of water. In summer the river’s course presents as a deep carpet of lush green Forget-Me-Nots and Watercress heading-off towards Kemble, where the most westerly found Pagan Anglo-Saxon cemetery in Britain is located.
10
11
12
The path skirts around the village of Ewen to the south, a section ideally suited to walking on a hot summer’s day as it is shaded by the trees along the riverbank. Although steeped in history, as you walk out into open farmland between the hamlets of Somerford Keynes and Poole Keynes it is hard to imagine that this is the oldest settlement site on the upper-reaches of the Thames people have lived here since Palaeolithic times probably more than 10,000 years.
13
The first village on the Thames is Ashton Keynes where the river divides, the main channel flows along the High Street where some twenty individual bridges are needed to gain access to the resident’s houses. The name Keynes reflects the favoured status of the Keynes family, Guillaume Cahaignes was gifted the lands, villages and manors by virtue of William the Conqueror and his sons inherited from him. Over the years there were many variant spellings of the family name with eventually Keynes became the accepted form, hence the villages baring the family name.
14
15
16
Though multiple paths lead through the southern section of the Cotswold Water Park, the Thames Path is well signposted through this area of lakes and skirts around Hailstone Hill and into the North Meadow just to the north of Cricklade, the first town on the Thames. The North Meadow, preserved as common land inperpetuity, is now a site of special scientific interest and lies on the floodplain between the tributary the River Churn and the Thames and is home to the intriguingly named rare flower the Snakes Head Fritillaries.
17
18
Cricklade sat on Ermine Street, another Roman road, where it crossed the Thames floodplain. It was fortified against the Danes by Alfred the Great, but was sacked by Cnut, a Danish Warrior King, in around 1016. Strolling through the town today it is hard to imagine that learned monks established a university here in 1180 or that where the Red Lion coaching Inn now stands use to be home to the Cricklade Mint.
19
CRICKLADE TO LECHLADE
Leaving North Meadow, you duck underneath the A419 following a path that meanders through opened farmland until you reach Castle Eaton. Here there is yet another Red Lion, this time a public house, the first with a beer garden that sloped down into the river. Kempsford, or Kynemereforde “The Ford of the Great Marsh,� has a rich ancient history in part due to the Thames acting as a natural boundary; the positioning of the ford favoured those on the northern bank. Records dating back to 800A.D are some of the earliest records showing its geographical and strategic importance, describing a brutal battle between the Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex, on the 16th January of that year. The Thames is still the boundary between the counties of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.
Kempsford has had many royal links mostly forged by marriage: Maud de Chaworth an English noblewoman and wealthy heiress inherited the local manor, wed Henry Plantagenet in 1298 and their grandaughter Blanche De Chaworth married John of Gaunt - in 1399 their son Henry became Henry IV.
20
21
C IR E NCESTER
P A4
33
17
A4
SOURCE O F T HE RIVER TH AME S A4
19
FO S S E WAY
EWEN
A42
9
LY D W E L L
KEMBLE
COTS WO L D WAT E R PA R K
S O M E R FO R D K EY N E S
AS HTON KEYNES
MAIN ROAD MIN OR ROAD RIVE R T HAMES PATH P OINT OF INTER EST
22
B4 69 6
B4
04
0
FAIRFORD
POULTON
L ECHL ADE ON THAM ES
A 4 17
S T J O H N ’ S LO C K
INGLESHAM
KEMPS FO RD
THE RED LION PUB
A36
1
CASTLE EATON
HIGHWORTH CRI CKLADE
A4
19
N
23
Looking west the perpendicular tower of St Mary’s can be clearly seen, it is renown for its extraordinary ceiling. First carved in the 15th century and renovated and embellished in 1862 by the Rev H.F. St.John and his friend Vernon Benbow who added the extra heraldry and colour, it has recently been cleaned and restored again and looks truly magnificent. A very brief over view of The Heraldry of the Ceiling ; The Lancastrian Rose circle commemorates the birth of the First Duke of Lancaster 1351 and abutting this the four sets of Religious Arms that of the See of Canterbury, that is thecathedral, parishes and other communities and institutions that make up the Diocese namely: Gloucester, Worcester and Gloucester and Bristol. There are eight coats of arms interlinked represent the families whose wealth and influence built Kempsford as they are not carved, or mention in any texts, it is assumed that they were added during renovations in 1862. Beneath this are another sixteen symbols representing rites, nature’s fertility and mediaeval animals. The church is bound up with history a list of illustrious families including Edward the Confessor, John of Gaunt and Henry IV being represented in the decorations.
24
25
26
INGLESHAM TO LECHLADE
Unfortunately, the next section of the Thames Path is best avoided as access to the river from Castle Eaton to Inglesham is difficult with a lot of road-walking. However, the route can be rejoined at the beautiful Church of St. John the Baptist at Inglesham. It is an 11th century gem at the most any time saved by avoiding a road walk would be well spent just sitting and contemplating a truly beautiful and exquisite building. We have William Morris to thank for his work in preserving this church, with its layers of English history. It has a Norman nave, bare wood Georgian box pews, faded walled paintings of Bible texts plus a remarkable Saxon carving of the Madonna and Child. It was one of the first buildings to be saved by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings founded by Morris in 1877; further downstream the Thames Path passes his beautiful home Kelmscott Manor. The next building of note is the Inglesham Roundhouse, a lock-keepers house, as this is the start of, and the first lock, on the Thames and Seven Canal; the wooden footbridge marks the Head of Navigation on the River Thames.
27
LECHLADE TO HALFPENNY BRIDGE
The spire of St. Lawrence church can be clearly seen above the tree line and the approach into Lechlade is a beautiful unspoilt panorama. A bustling Cotswold market town today but imagine how even busier it would have been as a port when its wharf was laden with bales of the Cotswold Lion wool ready for export to Europe. It was also from here that stone was loaded onto 70 ton barges destined for London to build St. Paul’s Cathedral. The Thames is crossed here by a stone bridge commonly referred to as the Halfpenny Bridge, there was the toll for pedestrians to cross though churchgoers were exempt. A little under three quarters of a mile downriver is the site of St John’s Lock the first lock on the Thames itself and now home to the statue of Father Thames having been moved from his original position in Trewsbury Mead.
28
29