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United Kingdom and Ireland: Sample gazetteer articles
Belfast
Irish Béal Feirste 'the mouth of the Farset'
Capital city and industrial port of Northern Ireland, situated in County Antrim and County Down, at the mouth of the River Lagan on Belfast Lough; population (2001 est) 257,400. It is the county town of County Antrim, and has been the capital of Northern Ireland since 1920. Industries include shipbuilding, textiles, and engineering.
History
A castle was built in 1177 by the Anglo-Norman John de Courcy, but Belfast did not grow much until after 1603 when the land was
granted to Sir Arthur Chichester, who built a 'towne of good forme'; it received a charter in 1613. With the settlement of English and Scots, Belfast became a centre of Irish Protestantism in the 17th century. An influx of Huguenots after 1685 established the linen industry, and the 1801 Act of Union with England resulted in the promotion of Belfast as an industrial centre. During the 19th century, Belfast experienced significant immigration from surrounding rural counties, and the Catholic proportion of the population increased to about 30% by 1850. It was made a city in 1888, with a lord mayor from 1892. From 1968 onwards the city was heavily damaged by civil disturbances and terrorist activity until the first ceasefires in 1994. By 1991, the Catholic proportion had reached 39%, with the population belonging to Protestant denominations at 40%. Residential segregation of Catholics and Protestants continues to be marked.
Industries
Employment in Belfast is heavily geared towards the public sector, which has replaced jobs lost in more traditional local
industries such as shipbuilding (although the Harland and Wolff shipyard is still active). The Titanic was built here in 1912. The city is currently undergoing major redevelopment, both in terms of physical infrastructure (particularly along the River Lagan) and industrial investment, which is partly funded by the European Union (EU).
Features
Buildings of note include the Linen Hall Library (1788); Queen's University (1849); Belfast Castle (1870; former home of the
Donegall family); the Grand Opera House (1895); City Hall (1906); Stormont (1932; the former parliament buildings and from 1998 the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly); Waterfront Hall (1997); and the Ulster Museum.
Location and public buildings
On the landward side Belfast is dominated by the basalt hills of County Antrim. The city centre is built on marshy land (sleech), the larger buildings being supported on piles sunk deep into alluvial deposits, and the shipyards were built on reclaimed land.
Most of Belfast's major public buildings have been built since the late 19th century, including the Customs House (1857), the public library (1888), the harbour office (1896), St Anne's Cathedral (1904), the museum and art gallery (1929), and the royal courts of justice (1933).
Belfast has two universities: the University of Ulster at Jordanstown, and Queen's University, which was founded as Queen's
College in 1849, and was associated with the other Queen's Colleges at Cork and Galway until it received its royal charter as an independent university in 1909. The Linen Hall Library has an important collection of publications on the linen trade, and concerning the political life of Northern Ireland since 1966. The grounds of the 19th-century Belfast Castle, presented to the city by Lord Shaftesbury in 1934, lie on the slopes of Cave Hill, as do the public parks of Hazelwood and Bellevue, where there is a public zoo.
Transport
Belfast is 180 km/112 mi north of Dublin, and is the centre of Northern Ireland's road and rail network. There are ferries to Liverpool and Heysham in England, and the Isle of Man. The port of Larne, 32 km/20 mi to the north, is a terminus for ferries to Scotland. Belfast City airport was opened on reclaimed land in 1937, and there is an international airport at Aldergrove, 31 km/19 mi to the west
Belfast harbour
The harbour of Belfast is under the management of the Belfast Harbour Commissioners, established by the Belfast Harbour Act (1847). Extensive land reclamation was carried out; The harbour area covers 668 ha/1,650 acres and includes a shipyard and an aircraft components factory, as well as 102 ha/252 acres of commercial docks. The port also contains the world's largest dry dock.
Regeneration in the 1990s
Belfast city centre was extensively redeveloped in the 1990s, with the onset of the peace process and the resulting greater public accessibility of the city centre. The work focused on improving the environment of both the city centre and along the River Lagan, including the building of the Waterfront Hall and Conference Centre.
Architecture
City Hall, designed by the London architect Alfred Brumwell Thomas and completed in 1906, is one of Ireland's most impressive buildings and considered one of the finest examples of Baroque Revival architecture in the British Isles. It is quadrangular in form, with a copper dome, and is faced with Portland stone. The interior is lavishly decorated, with extensive use of Greek and Italian marble.
The Crown Bar public house in Great Victoria Street is considered by many the finest example of a bar of the late Victorian period in the British Isles. The building was originally the Ulster Railway Hotel, dating from 1839, but the bar was completed in two stages from 1885. It was designed by E & J Byrne and the interior is highly decorated, with brightly coloured glass, mosaic, art nouveau ceramics, and beautiful woodwork. The later faience front was built in 1898. The property is owned by the National Trust.
The Lanyon Building, Queen's University, in University Road, is the most significant High Victorian building in Ulster, built by Charles Lanyon between 1846 and 1849 as one of three Queen's Colleges established in Ireland. It is constructed in a red-brick Tudor style, reproducing parts of the 15th-century Founder's Tower at Magdalen College, Oxford, England. There are extensions by W H Lynn (1911–12), W A Forsyth (1933), and John MacGeagh (1951).
The Grand Opera House (1895), Great Victoria Street, and was designed by Frank Matcham of London, considered the foremost theatre architect of his day. It is one of Belfast's best-known buildings and its lavish interior includes elephant head brackets and other Indian motifs. It was restored between 1976 and 1980 by Robert McKinstry.
History
After the invasion of Ulster in 1177, de Courcy built his castle on the site of an earlier fort at the ford over the River Lagan as a stronghold to command the crossing-point. This was destroyed by the troops of Edward Bruce in 1316, but later rebuilt.
Throughout medieval times Belfast was a small settlement, the main Anglo-Norman stronghold in the north of Ireland being Carrickfergus. The castle and surrounding settlement were subject to frequent dispute between the Irish dynasty of the O'Neills and English forces. In 1574 the lands were captured by the Earl of Essex.
In 1603 Belfast came under the control of Arthur Chichester, as part of the Plantation of Ireland. Under Chichester, Belfast grew to be the market town for the Lagan valley. It also became an important trading port with Scotland.
The shipbuilding industry was established in Belfast by William Hugh Ritchie in 1791. The same year the Society of the United Irishmen was founded in Belfast to fight the repression of the Penal Laws. This united both Catholic and Presbyterian inhabitants of the city in a bid for independence. Henry Joy McCracken led the Irish troops at the Battle of Antrim as part of the Rebellion of 1798, and was later executed in the city.
The shipbuilding industry developed throughout the 19th century. Between 1831 and 1901 Belfast's population grew from 30,000 to 350,000.
Belfast was bombed during World War II. Since 1968 Belfast has been at the centre of 'the Troubles' in Northern Ireland.
The parliament of Northern Ireland
The first Northern Ireland parliament sat in the City Hall in Belfast, the state opening being performed in 1921 by King George V. The parliament buildings at Stormont were opened by the Prince of Wales in 1932, and were used until the parliament's suspension in 1972. The multi-party peace talks of 1997–98, leading up to the Good Friday agreement of 10 April 1998, were held at Stormont, which since June 1998 has been the official seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Cotswold Hills
or Cotswolds
Range of limestone hills in Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset, England, 80 km/50 mi long, between Bath and Chipping Camden. They rise to 333 m/1,086 ft at Cleeve Cloud, near Cheltenham, but average about 200 m/600 ft. The area is known for its picturesque villages, built with the local honey-coloured stone. Tourism is important.
History
Old tracks and evidence of early British forts and Roman camps indicate that the area was important in ancient times. It prospered in the 14th and 16th centuries when the woollen industry of Flemish weavers flourished. The decline of the area's wool industry was primarily triggered by the industrialization of the 1830s, which led to labour disputes, fluctuating markets, strikes, failing machinery, and mill closures.
The artist William Morris, founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement, spent his holidays in Broadway and lived at Kelmscott Manor, Lechlade, from 1871 until his death in 1876; he is buried in the churchyard with his wife Jane. Following his patronization of the town, Broadway quickly became a favourite venue for visiting artists; at one stage Broadway Green was so busy that easel space had to be rented.
Features
The oolitic limestone ridge forming the Cotswolds is about 48 km/30 mi wide in some parts, and the range is roughly divided into two portions by the valley of the River Churn. The hills provide good grazing, and large flocks of sheep are bred in the district.
Great parish churches, imposing houses, and solidly built inns are evidence of the wealth of the area in the Middle Ages. Chipping Campden, Northleach, and Cirencester contain fine examples of wool churches, built on the prosperity of the medieval wool trade and heavily adorned with gargoyles and story pictures.
The River Thames rises on the eastern slopes the hills, 5 km/3 mi southwest of Cirencester. The Cotswold Way is a long-distance path which runs along the top of the ridge, stretching about 160 km/100 mi from Chipping Campden to Bath.
Near Winchcombe is Belas Knap, a burial chamber dating from about 3000 BC, and there are traces of a Roman camp at Battledown Knoll. Oak trees in the grounds of Ashley Manor, near Charlton Kings, are reputed to be the biggest in the country.
Principal towns and villages
Among the chief towns in the region are Stroud, Cirencester, Chipping Norton, Chipping Campden, Stow-on-the-Wold, Malmesbury, Bourton-on-the-Water, Northleach, Lechlade, Burford, and Tetbury. Gloucester, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, and Evesham are on the periphery of the Cotswolds area. The main villages are Winchcombe, Cleeve-Hill, Upper and Lower Slaughter, Sherborne, Painswick, Bibury, Sapperton, Fairford, and Broadway, which is known as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds.
Hebrides
Group of more than 500 islands (fewer than 100 inhabited) off the west coast of mainland Scotland; total area 2,900 sq km/1,120 sq mi. The Hebrides were settled by Scandinavians during the 6th–9th centuries and passed under Norwegian rule from about 890 to 1266.
The Inner Hebrides are divided between Highland and Argyll and Bute authorities, and include Raasay, Rum, Muck, Eigg, Scalpay, Skye (Highland) and Mull, Jura, Islay, Iona, Coll, Tiree, Colonsay, and uninhabited Staffa (Argyll and Bute). The Outer Hebrides form the islands area of the Western Isles authority, separated from the Inner Hebrides by the Little Minch. They include Harris/Lewis, North Uist, South Uist, Benbecula, Barra, and St Kilda.
The island of Eigg, which has been in private ownership since 1308, was bought by its residents in April 1997 after an eight-month ownership battle. In December 1996, an initial bid by the islanders of £1.2 million was rejected by the then
owner, a German artist; a month later the Trustees of the Heritage Lottery Fund turned down their appeal for financial help. Finally, an English millionairess, who has remained anonymous, was believed to have given them around £900,000 – the bulk of the £1.5 million purchase price.
Oxford
University city and administrative centre of Oxfordshire in south central England, at the confluence of the rivers Thames (called the Isis around Oxford) and Cherwell, 84 km/52 mi northwest of London; population (1994 est) 121,000. Oxford University has 36 colleges, the oldest being University College (1249). Industries include steel products, electrical goods, car production, publishing (Oxford University Press, Blackwells), and English language schools. Tourism is important.
Features
These include Christ Church Cathedral (12th century); the Divinity School and Duke Humphrey's Library (1488); the Sheldonian Theatre, designed by Christopher Wren (1663–69); the Ashmolean Museum (1845); and the 17th-century Bodleian Library. Other museums include the University Museum (1855–60), designed by Benjamin Woodward, the Pitt-Rivers Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art. Features of the colleges include the 14th-century Mob Quad and library at Merton College; the Canterbury Quad (1636) and gardens laid out by 'Capability' Brown at St John's College; and Holman Hunt's The Light of the World in Keble College. The Bate Collection of Historical Instruments is housed in the Faculty of Music. The Botanic Gardens (laid out in 1621) are the oldest in Britain. On 1 May (May morning) madrigals are sung at the top of Magdalen College tower. St Giles Fair takes place every September.
History
The town was first occupied in Saxon times as a fording point, and is first mentioned in written records in the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle of 912. The University of Oxford, the oldest in England, is first mentioned in the 12th century, when its growth was encouraged by the influx of English students expelled from Paris in 1167. The fame of the university grew steadily, until by the 14th century it was the equal of any in Europe. As the university grew, there was increasing antagonism between it and the town. Most of the university's buildings were built during the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. Oxford's earliest colleges were University College (1249), Balliol (1263), and Merton (1264).
During the Civil War, the university supported the Royalist cause while the city declared for Parliament. Oxford became the headquarters of the king and court in 1642, but yielded to the Parliamentary commander-in-chief, Gen Fairfax, in 1646.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the city had experienced rapid expansion and industrialization, and printing and publishing industries had become firmly established. In the 1920s the English industrial magnate William Morris (1877–1963), later Lord Nuffield, began a motor-car industry at Cowley, just outside the city, which became the headquarters of the Austin-Rover group. The group was sold to German car manufacturer BMW in 1994; the plant received a £230 million investment to produce a new model Mini in 2001.
Early importance
Though the town is now famous chiefly for Oxford University, it was also of some importance prior to the founding of the university. It was situated between Mercia and Wessex, on one of the best of the fords across the Thames. Oxford's importance in early times is shown by the first mention of the city in recorded history, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 912, where it is recorded that in that year Edward, son of Ethelred, took possession 'of London and Oxford and all the lands obedient to those cities'. The town probably made a stubborn resistance to the Norman invaders, and the Domesday Book shows the reprisals which followed. To prevent further revolt the Norman governor, Robert D'Oilly, built huge works to keep the town in submission. The remains of these are to be seen in the castle tower and parts of the churches of St Michael, St Peter in the East, and St Cross. The city again figures prominently in the troubles of Stephen's reign, and in 1142 the Empress Matilda (or Maud) was besieged here, escaping over the river on the ice. But, with unimportant exceptions, the fortress was not again seriously attacked till the 17th century, after
which it ceased to rank as a place of strength and rapidly fell into decay, though D'Oilly's tower has successfully weathered the storms of 800 years, and even now is practically intact. In 1258 the Provisions of Oxford were drawn up here for the guidance of Henry III, and the Montfort rebellion was partly due to these. In the Civil War of Charles I's reign, Oxford figures as the chief royalist centre, enthusiastic in its support of the king.
20th century expansion
Before 1914 Oxford was regarded solely as a university city and market town, printing being then its only considerable industry. Between the two wars the Oxford motor industry expanded rapidly, and the city's population rose from 67,000 in 1921 to 94,000 in 1938. By 1945 Oxford itself contained a population of 100,000. In 1962 Donnington Bridge, linking east and south Oxford, was opened to motor traffic. The university franchise, whereby Oxford University returned two members to Parliament, was discontinued in 1948.
City layout and landmarks
The old town of Oxford is built almost entirely in the angle formed by the Cherwell and the Thames, here called the Isis. The four main roads of the town meet at the place known as Carfax (derived from Latin quadrifurcus, 'four-forked'). Carfax Tower, said to have been built in the reign of Edward III, may have been built at a much earlier date. It was renovated in 1896, and the curious 'Quarter Boys', relic of the past, restored to use. North from Carfax runs Cornmarket Street, continued further north as Magdalen Street. Where Cornmarket Street runs into Magdalen Street it is crossed by a single thoroughfare with several
names, which are (east to west) George Street, Broad Street, Holywell Street, and Longwall Street. It sweeps round in a large curve, and roughly marks the boundaries of the ancient city in that direction. Some fragments of the old wall still remain, notably as part of the wall of Merton Gardens. West from Carfax runs Queen Street, continued as New Road. In Cornmarket Street is St Michael's church, the tower of which dates to the late 11th-century. Not far from it is the church of St Mary Magdalene, an interesting building of various dates. Nearby is the Martyrs' Memorial, a monument commemorating the martyrdom of bishops Ridley, Latimer, and Cranmer (1556), designed by Sir Gilbert Scott. South runs St Aldate's as far as Folly Bridge. Until near the end of the 18th century, an ancient water-tower, known as Friar Bacon's Study, rose over the old bridge.
Eastwards from Carfax runs the High Street, off which is the university church of St Mary the Virgin, built between the 13th and 15th centuries, except for the baroque porch, erected by the Laud's chaplain, Dr Morgan Owen, in 1637. It was to St Mary's that the remains of Amy Robsart, wife of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, were brought from Cumnor in 1560 – Dudley was suspected of murdering her; and from St Mary's pulpit the Anglican priest and religious poet John Keble preached his sermon on national apostasy in 1833.
High Street passes over Magdalen Bridge, which commands fine views north and south, the former toward the wooded heights of Headington Hill, with St Clement's church (1828) in the middle distance, the latter toward Magdalen College School playing fields and a section of the botanic gardens. In High Street are the examination schools, used in the world wars as a military hospital, designed by Sir Thomas Graham Jackson, who also designed Oxford's 'Bridge of Sighs' (1913–14), connecting the two sections of Hertford College.
Opposite to Hertford is the Bodleian Library (1488), most of which was designed by Holt of York. Near it is the Clarendon Building which was for many years the home of the Oxford University Press. Designed by John Vanbrugh, both of its main elevations are stately; that on the south contains a figure of Lord Clarendon, from the proceeds of whose book, the History of the Rebellion, the building was erected. The New Bodleian, designed by Giles Gilbert Scott, was opened in 1947.
Christ Church cathedral, the smallest, but one of the most beautiful of English cathedrals, is a good example of English church architecture. The pier arches are early 12th-century work, as are the transepts and choir aisles. Originally the church of St Frideswide's Priory, it was incorporated by the English cleric and politician Thomas Wolsey into his collegiate foundation in the 16th century, and later designated the cathedral of Oxford by Henry VIII. Tom Tower contains the famous bell from which the tower gets its name; the upper part of the tower (1681–82) was designed by Christopher Wren.
Oxford has expanded to take in many suburbs: Osney to the west, Grandpont to the south, St Clement's, Cowley, Headington, and Iffley to the east, and St Giles's, Summertown, and Wolvercote, which form a popular residential district, to the north.
Schools
There are several well-known schools in Oxford. Magdalen College School was founded in 1480 by William of Waynflete for instruction in grammar; the college choristers, not originally members of the school, have since 1849 been boarded in the master's house at the expense of the college. St Edward's School, founded in 1863, was originally in New Inn Hall Street, being moved to Summertown in 1873. Other schools include Headington School, Milham Ford School, and Oxford High School for Girls.
Salisbury Plain
Undulating plateau between Salisbury and Devizes in Wiltshire, southwest England; area 775 sq km/300 sq mi. It rises to 235 m/770 ft in Westbury Down. Since the mid-19th century it has been a military training area. Stonehenge stands on Salisbury Plain.
Features
A tract of open chalk downs, Salisbury Plain is rich in prehistoric burial mounds and earthworks, particularly of the Bronze and
Early Iron Ages. There are extensive remains of Celtic field systems and of Roman settlements.
Military training
Salisbury Plain has been used as an army training area since the time of the Napoleonic Wars. A permanent camp was started at Tidworth in 1902. During World War I and World War II many training camps were established in the area, and soldiers were prepared for active service here. The airfields at Upavon and Netheravon have been in use since 1912 and are amongst the oldest in Britain. The main army establishments are the Royal Armoured Corps camp at Tidworth, the Royal Artillery camp at Larkhill, the School of Infantry at Warminster, and the Research Centre at Ponton Down, Britain's centre for chemical and biological warfare.
Sherwood Forest
Hilly stretch of parkland in west Nottinghamshire, central England; area about 520 sq km/200 sq mi. Formerly an ancient royal forest extending from Nottingham to Worksop, it is associated with the legendary outlaw Robin Hood. According to the Forestry
Commission, Sherwood Forest is over 1,000 years old.
It was once a vast royal forest of oak, birch, and bracken, covering all of west Nottinghamshire. The great 'Shire Wood' stretched 32 km/20 mi from Nottingham north to Worksop, and was up to 13 km/8 mi wide. Kings and queens of England used it as a hunting ground from medieval times. It was cleared in the 18th century.
Expansion of industry and population has severely reduced the forest, although parts of it remain from Nottingham to Mansfield and to Worksop. The northern part of Sherwood Forest, between Worksop and Ollerton, lies in the Dukeries area. Part of the parkland is protected within the Sherwood Forest Country Park, 1 km/0.5 mi north of Edwinstowe (32 km/20 mi north of Nottingham). The Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre is near Edwinstowe.
Trees
There are at least 182 ha/450 acres of oak and silver birch in the park. Sherwood Forest contains some of oldest and largest oaks in Britain and is home to the massive major oak, where – according to legend – Robin Hood hid from the Sheriff of Nottingham, and where Robin married Maid Marian.
South Yorkshire
Metropolitan county of northeast England, created in 1974; in 1986, most of the functions of the former county council were transferred to the metropolitan borough councils.
Area: 1,560 sq km/602 sq mi
Towns: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, Sheffield (all administrative centres for the districts of the same name)
Physical: River Don; part of Peak District National Park; the county contains a rich diversity of rural landscapes between the barren Pennine moors in the southwest and the very low, flat carr-lands (a mixture of marsh and copses) in the east
Features: the Earth Centre for Environmental Research
Agriculture: sheep; dairy and arable farming
Industries: metal-work, coal (in significant decline), engineering, iron, and steel Population: (2000 est) 1,302,000
Famous people: Ian Botham, Arthur Scargill
Population and industry
The population in the South Yorkshire area fell by 1.1% between 1981 and 1999 due to outward migration. Over 90% of the population resides in the urban areas, which are concentrated along the valley of the River Don, which runs from southwest to northeast, and along the valleys of the Don's main tributaries, the Dearne and the Rother. There is a high level of unemployment. Steel manufacturing and processing, sheet metal, and various engineering industries are important employers. Sheffield is especially noted for its high-quality alloy steels, machine tools, heavy engineering, and cutlery.
Thames
River in south England, flowing through London; length 338 km/210 mi. The longest river in England, it rises in the Cotswold Hills above Cirencester and is tidal as far as Teddington. Below London there is protection from flooding by means of the Thames Barrier (1982). The headstreams unite at Lechlade.
Tributaries from the north are the Windrush, Evenlode, Cherwell, Thame, Colne, Lea, and Roding; and from the south, the Kennet, Loddon, Wey, Mole, Darent, and Medway. Around Oxford the river is sometimes called the Isis.
Source, course, and estuary
The Thames rises near Cirencester in the Cotswold Hills and follows a course of 330 km/205 mi to the Nore, where it flows into the North Sea. At Gravesend, the head of the estuary, it has a width of 1 km/0.6 mi, gradually increasing to 16 km/10 mi at the Nore. Lying some 5 km/3 mi southwest of the Nore is the mouth of the Medway estuary, at the head of which lie Chatham with important naval dockyards, Gillingham, and Rochester. Gravesend on the south bank of the river, some 40 km/25 mi from the Nore, developed at a point where vessels used to await the turn of the tide. Tidal waters reach Teddington, 100 km/62 mi from its mouth, where the first lock from the sea (except for the tidal lock at Richmond) is located. There are in all 47 locks, St John's Lock, Lechlade, being nearest the source.
The London Thames
The normal rise and fall of the tide is from 4.5 m/15 ft to 7 m/23 ft at London Bridge and from 4 m/13 ft to 6 m/20 ft at Tilbury. Until Tower Bridge was built, London Bridge was the lowest in the course; the reach between these two bridges is known as the 'Pool of London'. Tilbury, Fort and Docks, important as the main London container terminal, lies opposite Gravesend on the northern bank. At Woolwich, some 30 km/19 mi above Tilbury, is the arsenal; Greenwich, a little farther upriver, has the Royal Naval College. Between Tilbury and London Bridge (some 40 km/25 mi upstream) stretches the London Dock System. The Thames has been frozen over at various times, the earliest recorded occasion being AD 1150.
The embankments of the Thames in London were the work of Joseph Bazalgette (1819–1891), chief engineer of the Metropolitan
Board of Works. The Albert Embankment on the south side was completed in 1869, the Victoria Embankment from Westminster to Blackfriars in 1870, and the Chelsea Embankment from the Royal Hospital to Battersea Bridge in 1874. In January 1949 work was started on a new embankment, designed by J Rawlinson, chief engineer of the former London County Council, on the south side from County Hall to Waterloo Bridge. These embankments were raised after 1974. There are walkways (formerly towpaths) from Teddington to
Cricklade. The south bank of the river now hosts a number of attractions including the London Eye, the South Bank Centre, Oxo Tower Wharf, the National Theatre, the Tate Modern, and the Globe Theatre. This stretch of the river bank is now largely pedestrianized and has been transformed into a thriving public space.
The Port of London Authority is responsible for the control and conservation of the river below Teddington. There are more than 26,000 commercial vessel movements per year handled by the authority. Above Teddington the the working group Thames Ahead, part of the Environment Agency, is the responsible authority; there is some barge traffic on this stretch of the river. The Thames is of great importance to the water supply of London, partly because the many springs in the chalk usually maintain a steady flow in summer. Salmon returned to the Thames in 1974, showing evidence of improved water quality. The biggest pollution threat is from sewage due to flooding. An 11-km/7-mi flood alleviation channel between Maidenhead and Eton was completed in 2002.
London bridges
Archaeological evidence of Bronze and Iron Age bridges has been unearthed. Today the river is spanned by 20 road and 9 rail bridges between Hampton Court and the Tower of London. These include Tower Bridge (which has a drawbridge mechanism to enable large vessels to pass)and a suspension bridge at Hammersmith. The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, opened in 1991, joins the counties of Essex and Kent. The Millennium Bridge, a footbridge linking St Paul's Cathedral to the new Tate Gallery on the south bank of the Thames, was opened on 10 June 2000; its designers were sculptor Anthony Caro and architect Norman Foster. However it was closed on 12 June 2000 due to greater than expected movement of the bridge while under heavy usage, and was reopened in February 2002 after dampers were fitted. A pedestrian footbridge was opened at Hungerford in May 2002.
London tunnels
The chief tunnels under the Thames are the Thames Tunnel, completed by Marc Isambard Brunel in 1843, now used by the East London Line of the London Underground; the Blackwall Tunnel (1897) from East India Dock Road to East Greenwich, the Rotherhithe Tunnel (1918) from Shadwell to Rotherhithe, and the Dartford tunnel completed in 1963.
Upstream
There are regular boats from Kingston to Folly Bridge, Oxford, during the summer. There is some beautiful scenery along this part of the river, for example at Cliveden, Cookham, Sonning, and Pangbourne. There are fine bridges at Richmond, Hampton Court,
Chertsey, Maidenhead, and Shillingford. Henley, Wallingford, Dorchester, Abingdon, Eton, and Windsor are attractive. Along the 80 km/50 mi from its source beneath a tree in 'Trewsbury Mead' to Oxford, the Thames glides through meadows, its course interrupted only by the small towns of Lechlade and Cricklade and the pretty stone-built hamlets of Kelmscott and Ashton Keynes. In these upper reaches there are two medieval bridges, New Bridge and Radcot Bridge. Motor launches can reach Lechlade; beyond that point it is possible to canoe up to Cricklade, but the final 16 km/10 mi to the source of the Thames is best done on foot. One particularly attractive section is the steep-sided valley through the chalk hills between Goring and Reading, known as the Goring Gap.
The Thames Barrier
The Thames Barrier at Woolwich was completed in 1982. It is 520 m/1,706 ft long, with steel gates 20 m/66 ft high. When closed, it would prevent the flooding of London.
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