Pessato Marco 1BSA

THE RIVER THAMES AND ITS HISTORY

The Thames, 346 km long, is England’s longest river and the second in the UK. It rises in
Gloucestershire and flows into the North Sea. A long time ago, during glacial times, it was a
tributary to the Rhine. 7,000 years ago the English Channel was formed. The Thames has been
important for trade and transport since prehistoric times. The fortune of London is connected
to this river. During the Middle Ages goods and people were carried through it. In the 18 th
century ships full of spices came to London via the Thames, carrying various types of goods,
such as sugar from the Caribbean, timber from Norway and iron from Sweden. There was a lot
of traffic, and boats sometimes had to wait for days to be unloaded. Along the Thames we can
find lots of palaces and nice buildings: Windsor, Westminster, the Tower of London and
Greenwich.

The Thames is subject to tidal activity from the North Sea. When strong winds blow, the water
level of the Thames rises quickly, a high tide is blown up the estuary and water spills over the
banks. Because of this they have built a lot of locks and barriers to avoid flooding. The most
important barrier is in Woolwich.

The period of time between 1550 and 1750 was called Little Ice Age because the climate was
extremely cold. The Thames froze nearly every year, sometimes for over 3 months. So people
started to organise events on the Thames, the so-called Frost Fairs. During a Frost Fair there
were tents, food stalls and games on the river. In the 16 th century Henry VIII travelled from
London to Greenwich in a sleigh on the Thames, and Elizabeth I took walks on the ice in 1564.
In 1814, during the last Frost Fair, an elephant walked across the river below Blackfriars
Bridge.