Longford River
Longford River | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | England |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | River Colne, Longford |
Hampton Court | |
Length | 12 mi (19 km) |
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The Longford River is an
Route
In its northern course, the Longford runs side by side with its older "twin", the
The Longford River then flows south east, through
- east of Hampton Gate of Bushy Park
- under the Water Gallery at Hampton Court Palace Gardens opposite the confluence of the River Mole
- One east of that expanse – becoming a mixture of golf course and farm – opposite Raven's Ait.
Ownership, which comes with an upkeep cost is with
History
Constructed in 1638–39 at the instigation of
At Longford, Bath Road crosses the Duke of Northumberland's River, the Longford River and the Colne. Once London's main route to much of the south-southwest, but has since been bypassed by the A4 road, which crosses the Colne above its outlet to the Longford River. Longford Bridge carries Bath Road over the Duke's river. Moor Bridge carries it over the Colne. The first bridge there for crossing the Longford River was from time of construction. It was demolished in 1648, and is known to have been reinstated by 1675. It was known as Stone Bridge in the nineteenth century, and the responsibility for keeping it in good order belonged to the Crown. A name change had taken hold by 1960 to (the) King's Bridge.[1]
Before the 20th century, the watercourse was known variously as the New River, the King's River, the Queen's River, the Cardinal's River, the Hampton Court Cut, and the Hampton Court Canal.
Before
Water features
At its eastern end, the river feeds water features in Bushy Park and Hampton Court. To celebrate his queen,
During the
At Hampton Court, the dominating feature of the grounds is the landscaping scheme constructed for the new palace by Sir
Water quality
The Environment Agency measure the water quality of the river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of
The water quality of the Longford River was as follows in 2019.
Section | Ecological Status | Chemical Status | Length | Channel |
---|---|---|---|---|
Longford River[12] | Moderate | Fail | 10.0 miles (16.1 km) | artificial |
Like many rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS), neither of which had previously been included in the assessment.
Points of interest
Point | Coordinates (Links to map resources) |
OS Grid Ref | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Offtake (source) from River Colne | 51°28′51″N 0°29′32″W / 51.4809°N 0.4923°W | TQ047768 | Start of channel |
Bridge for Terminal 5 access road | 51°27′46″N 0°29′20″W / 51.4629°N 0.4890°W | TQ050748 | Channel follows Heathrow Airport boundary |
Duke of Northumberland's River diverges | 51°27′12″N 0°25′45″W / 51.4532°N 0.4291°W | TQ092738 | |
Feltham Station bridge | 51°27′12″N 0°25′45″W / 51.4532°N 0.4291°W | TQ092738 | |
Culvert under school | 51°26′33″N 0°24′08″W / 51.4424°N 0.4021°W | TQ111727 | |
Culvert under Hanworth Park | 51°26′25″N 0°23′38″W / 51.4404°N 0.3938°W | TQ117724 | |
Aqueduct over Shepperton Branch Line | 51°25′24″N 0°21′40″W / 51.4232°N 0.3612°W | TQ140706 | |
Weir at entrance to Bushy Park | 51°25′17″N 0°21′15″W / 51.4214°N 0.3543°W | TQ145704 | |
Western cascade into Thames | 51°24′36″N 0°21′09″W / 51.4101°N 0.3526°W | TQ146691 | Opposite River Mole |
Diana Fountain in Bushy Park | 51°24′36″N 0°20′11″W / 51.4100°N 0.3364°W | TQ158691 | |
Main eastern sluice to Thames | 51°23′59″N 0°18′39″W / 51.3996°N 0.3109°W | TQ175680 | By Ravens Ait |
See also
Bibliography
- Baker, T F T; Cockburn, J S; Pugh, R B (1971). A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4. Victoria County History. British History Online. ISBN 978-0-19-722727-5.
- Dynes, Wayne (1968). Palaces of Europe. London: Hamlyn. ISBN 978-1-299-84804-7. OCLC 37658.
References
- ^ a b c Baker, Cockburn & Pugh 1971, pp. 1–7
- ^ Longford River – OpenStreetMap (Map). Cartography by OpenStreetMap contributors. OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ^ "History and Architecture". The Royal Parks. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- ^ "Sustainable Construction at Terminal 5" (PDF). IEMA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- ^ a b "Bushy Park - A patchwork of history". The Royal Parks. Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- ^ a b "The Upper Lodge Water Garden". The Royal Parks. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- ^ "Bushy Telegraph No. 8" (PDF). The Royal Parks. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- ^ "The Story of Water in Bushy Park". London Parks and Gardens Trust. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- ^ Dynes 1968.
- ^ "Hampton Court Palace" (PDF). Historic Royal Palaces. pp. 7–8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ "Catchment Data Explorer Glossary (see Biological quality element; Chemical status; and Ecological status)". Environment Agency. 17 February 2016.
- ^ "Longford River". Catchment Data Explorer. Environment Agency.
External links
Media related to Longford River at Wikimedia Commons