Thames River Profile
Many of the key players in the history of England have lived on or around the River Thames. In 1929 the MP John Burns once famously described the river as “liquid history” – the actual quote was “The St Lawrence is water, the Mississippi is muddy water, but the Thames is liquid history”. The following summary can only give a hint of the wealth of history that is out there for the curious visitor to explore.

Back to the Ice Age
The story of the Thames goes back to over 30 million years ago when the river was once a tributary of the River Rhine, because Britain was not an island. During the Great Ice Age 10,000 years ago, the Thames changed its course and pushed its way through the Chiltern Hills at the place now known as the Goring Gap. The Thames was then 10 times its present size, a high-energy fast flowing river, fuelled by the melting ice sheets. However, this rapid progress slowed down, and by 3,000 years ago the river had settled down into its familiar meandering pattern that – with a few exceptions – we know today.

The River Thames is Great Britain's second longest river. It stretches for 215 miles from its source in the Cotswold Hills to the open sea near Southend in Essex. For most of its length it is traversed by bridges both small and large, which carry motorised transport, walkers and cyclists over the Thames. This section of the River Thames Guide aims to pinpoint the locations of the various bridges over the Thames, and to describe their use or highlight their historical, architectural or other merits