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43-687: The River Cherwell ( / ˈ tʃ ɑːr w ɛ l / CHAR -wel or / ˈ tʃ ɜːr w ɛ l / CHUR -wel ) is a tributary of the River Thames in central England. It rises near Hellidon , Northamptonshire and flows southwards for 40 miles (64 km) to meet the Thames at Oxford in Oxfordshire . The river gives its name to the Cherwell local government district and Cherwell , an Oxford student newspaper. Cherwell

86-632: A Romano-British villa , then entering Oxfordshire at Hay's Bridge on the A361 's Daventry to Banbury stretch. Half-a-mile north of the village of Cropredy , the Cherwell resumes south. The Oxford Canal enters the valley here, and roughly follows, on its route to Oxford until Thrupp near Kidlington . The canal connects the Coventry Canal to the Thames, and the Act of Parliament authorising it

129-499: A Viking sword from between 850 and 975AD was found in the river. The river itself has never been properly navigable. In the 17th century weirs were fewer and goods seem to have been laden up to Banbury in modest flat-bottomed boats. A load of coal was taken up the river in 1764 as a test. Since the opening of the Oxford Canal in 1790 only a few sections are navigable, mainly to canoes and punts of shallow draft . The Cherwell

172-527: A weir holding back a millpond and a mill race (leat); this is the highest major mill. Upstream simpler mills are suspected from the Domesday Book and similar land returns. After a few miles the Cherwell passes under the M40 motorway and the industrial hinterland of Banbury, a town centred on the river, passing another mill position. From here, a main line railway runs alongside on the west side. This line

215-566: A careful pencil and coloured pencil drawing of the character while he was writing the chapter "The Old Forest". Tolkien's son John suggests that the drawing was based on one of the few unpollarded willows on the Cherwell at Oxford. The Tolkien Society and the Mythopoeic Society have placed a Tolkien memorial bench beside the Cherwell in the University Parks . Tributary A tributary , or an affluent ,

258-462: A contemporary villa in a west-bank parish, Islip . To its east is a wide plain, Otmoor , drained by the multi-headwater Ray , the largest tributary, which joins at a weir in Islip, known as The Stank. Entering Oxford, the average flow rate of the Thames is 17.6 m/s (620 cu ft/s) then exiting after taking in the Cherwell it is 24.8 m/s (880 cu ft/s). The Cherwell reaches

301-675: A few yards below, has Aynho Weir Lock , unusual as instead of rectangular form, it has a wide, lozenge chamber – the lock lowers the canal by 12 inches (30 cm) – the form speedily tops up the water as often used up in the fall of locks below. By the weir the railway's older line continues down the valley to Oxford; east of it, a more direct route (opened in 1910 by the Great Western Railway) runs via Bicester and High Wycombe to London, originally connecting Paddington station , succeeded by London's newest main terminus, Marylebone . The Cherwell supplied water to

344-605: A major battle of the English Civil War in 1644, a long encounter with riverside skirmishes concentrated along 3 miles (4.8 km) of bank between Hay's bridge and a ford at Slat Mill near Great Bourton. King Charles's forces beat the Parliamentarian army. The bridge has a plaque with words: "Site of the Battle of Cropredy Bridge 1644. From Civil War deliver us." The bridge was rebuilt in 1780 and this plaque

387-400: A new river, to be given its own name, perhaps one already known to the people who live upon its banks. Conversely, explorers approaching a new land from the sea encounter its rivers at their mouths, where they name them on their charts, then, following a river upstream, encounter each tributary as a forking of the stream to the right and to the left, which then appear on their charts as such; or

430-400: A river or stream that branches off from and flows away from the main stream. Distributaries are most often found in river deltas . Right tributary , or right-bank tributary , and left tributary , or left-bank tributary , describe the orientation of the tributary relative to the flow of the main stem river. These terms are defined from the perspective of looking downstream, that is, facing

473-462: Is Mesopotamia , which is a long thin island just south of the Parks with a scenic, tree-lined path. At the northern end are punt rollers next to a weir. St Catherine's College is on the largest island formed by the split of the river. It also flows past Magdalen College . The river conjoins again into two close streams to flow under Magdalen Bridge . Early on May Morning , students used to jump off

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516-449: Is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ( main stem or "parent" ), river, or a lake . A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean . Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they flow, drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater , leading the water out into an ocean. The Irtysh is a chief tributary of the Ob river and

559-417: Is a facsimile of the original one. Cropredy's church holds battle relics. Local tradition holds that locals hid the church's eagle lectern in the Cherwell in case marauding soldiers damaged or stole it. South of the bridge, the river runs through fields used for the annual Cropredy Festival , a three-day music event run by the band Fairport Convention . It then passes an ex- water mill as usual created by

602-411: Is also the longest tributary river in the world with a length of 4,248 km (2,640 mi). The Madeira River is the largest tributary river by volume in the world with an average discharge of 31,200 m /s (1.1 million cu ft/s). A confluence , where two or more bodies of water meet, usually refers to the joining of tributaries. The opposite to a tributary is a distributary ,

645-463: Is another notable medieval eagle lectern, made in Scotland, but taken as a trophy to and fro between Scotland and England. Medieval lecterns sometimes depict the eagle grasping a snake in its beak, and sometimes the bird has two heads. There are several theories regarding the symbolism of the eagle lectern. It is sometimes said to have derived from the belief that the bird was capable of staring into

688-528: Is known as the divide of the Dobunni to the west and the Catuvellauni to the east ( Celtic tribes documented at the time of Romanisation). At Oxney, Oxford a Romano-British settlement grew up, being naturally protected from raids by the large rivers. This settlement dominated the pottery trade in what is now central southern England, distributing it by boats on the Thames and its tributaries. In 2023,

731-684: Is popular on the Oxford stretch. (A punt is a long, flat-bottom, low-topsides, boat propelled by a pole pushed against the river bed.) Punts are typically hired from a punt station by Magdalen Bridge , or the Cherwell Boathouse (just to the north of the University Parks ). It is possible to punt all the way from the Isis , north past the University Parks, and out beyond the ring road . The lowest point saw early settlement. The river

774-489: Is pronounced / ˈ tʃ ɑːr w ɛ l / , particularly near Oxford, and / ˈ tʃ ɜːr w ɛ l / in north Oxfordshire. The village of Charwelton uses the river name. It lies upriver in Northamptonshire, suggesting that the pronunciation / ˈ tʃ ɑːr w ɛ l / has long vied for use. The river drains an area of 943 square kilometres (364 sq mi). The Cherwell is the second largest tributary of

817-555: The Pulpit in the Pisa Baptistery by Nicola Pisano (1260) is a famous example, and they also feature on his Siena Cathedral Pulpit (1268), and his son's at Sant' Andrea, Pistoia ( Giovanni Pisano , 1301). These are projections from the stone ledge or the pulpit, but wood and brass examples usually top a stand that brings them to the appropriate height. Medieval examples survive in a number of English churches, including

860-682: The Severn , the head of the Bristol Channel. Another source rises east of Charwelton and feeds headwaters of the Nene , an inflow of the North Sea at The Wash and the source of the similar River Great Ouse is nearby. South of Charwelton, the Cherwell passes between the villages of Hinton and Woodford Halse . Two miles further on, the river swings westward a few miles, passing below the village of Chipping Warden through Edgcote , site of

903-603: The Thames by average discharge (after the River Kennet ). The Cherwell is the northernmost Thames tributary. It rises in the ironstone hills at Hellidon , 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Charwelton near Daventry . Helidon Hill, immediately north, forms a watershed : on the south side, the Cherwell feeds the Thames, in turn the North Sea; opposite, the Leam feeds the Warwickshire 's Avon through Worcestershire into

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946-588: The bridge, a dangerous tradition if the river is low, so more recently the bridge has been closed on May Day. The river splits again. To the west is the Oxford Botanic Garden . To the east are Magdalen College School and St Hilda's College . The river then skirts Christ Church Meadow before flowing into the Thames (or Isis ) through two branches; the island in between has the main shared college boathouses for rowing . Easter and Summer punting

989-787: The church of St Margaret in Kings Lynn and the parish church in Ottery St Mary ; they appear to have been often regarded as harmless by the iconoclasts of the English Reformation and English Commonwealth , surviving when most church art was destroyed. In the later Middle Ages, they became a common showpiece for the developing brassworking industry, initially mainly in the Low Countries and in Mosan art , but then spreading elsewhere. The brass Dunkeld Lectern

1032-421: The direction the water current of the main stem is going. In a navigational context, if one were floating on a raft or other vessel in the main stream, this would be the side the tributary enters from as one floats past; alternately, if one were floating down the tributary, the main stream meets it on the opposite bank of the tributary. This information may be used to avoid turbulent water by moving towards

1075-455: The engines on the Oxford route, feeding long troughs on top of the sleepers between rails for scooping up water at stations or at low speed. From Aynho, the Cherwell meanders, overlooked by hilltop villages. Somerton and Heyford, the only villages adjacent, once had water mills. That at Lower Heyford (noted as pre- Conquest and in 1086 there in the Domesday Book ) was last rebuilt in the early 19th century, milling until 1946. At Rousham ,

1118-540: The first-order tributary being typically the least in size. For example, a second-order tributary would be the result of two or more first-order tributaries combining to form the second-order tributary. Another method is to list tributaries from mouth to source, in the form of a tree structure , stored as a tree data structure . Eagle lectern Eagle lecterns in stone were a well-established feature of large Romanesque pulpits in Italy. The carved marble eagle on

1161-451: The handedness is from the point of view of an observer facing upstream. For instance, Steer Creek has a left tributary which is called Right Fork Steer Creek. These naming conventions are reflective of the circumstances of a particular river's identification and charting: people living along the banks of a river, with a name known to them, may then float down the river in exploration, and each tributary joining it as they pass by appears as

1204-546: The northern outskirts of Oxford and runs south on the eastern edge of North Oxford to the city centre. Near Summertown it passes the Victoria Arms riverside public house/restaurant at Marston and then under a modern bridge, part of Marston Ferry Road . A little further south, it passes Wolfson College (a graduate college of the University of Oxford ), the Cherwell Boathouse (where punts can be hired) and

1247-469: The opposite bank before approaching the confluence. An early tributary is a tributary that joins the main stem river closer to its source than its mouth, that is, before the river's midpoint ; a late tributary joins the main stem further downstream, closer to its mouth than to its source, that is, after the midpoint. In the United States, where tributaries sometimes have the same name as

1290-484: The playing fields of the Dragon School . Next is Lady Margaret Hall , the first of the previously all-women's colleges. The river is then flanked by Oxford University Parks and passes under Rainbow Bridge . Parson's Pleasure and Dame's Delight were for typically nude bathing for men and women respectively, now defunct. Below the Parks, the river splits into up to three streams, with a series of islands. One

1333-595: The river and valley. The castle was extended and rebuilt many times. In the civil war it became a Royalist stronghold and was besieged during the winter of 1644–1645. A second siege began in January 1646 and lasted until April when a surrender was negotiated. After petition to the much-empowered House of Commons in 1648, it was demolished. A great water mill ground grain near the castle. The brick-built building and miller's cottage have been modernised and extended as Banbury's main theatre and arts centre. South of Banbury,

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1376-666: The river into which they feed, they are called forks . These are typically designated by compass direction. For example, the American River in California receives flow from its North, Middle, and South forks. The Chicago River 's North Branch has the East, West, and Middle Fork; the South Branch has its South Fork, and used to have a West Fork as well (now filled in). Forks are sometimes designated as right or left. Here,

1419-520: The river passes a famous landscape garden designed by William Kent . It features many statues and a near-replica Roman pagan "temple" which overlooks. The river terrace is named the Praeneste after the temple in Palestrina near Rome. Two miles south, the river is crossed by a medieval packhorse bridge at Northbrook and a further mile south the course of Akeman Street , a Roman road . South,

1462-463: The river. At Kings Sutton the Sor and Mill Lane brooks join. Two miles further, the Cherwell reaches a neighbourhood Nell Bridge and passes under a main road leading to Aynho , a village a mile east on a low hill, overlooking. Shortly after this comes a crossing of the Oxford Canal at a right-angle , flowing in on the east and out over a weir. Such level river crossings are rare nationally. The canal,

1505-418: The smaller stream designated the little fork, the larger either retaining its name unmodified, or receives the designation big . Tributaries are sometimes listed starting with those nearest to the source of the river and ending with those nearest to the mouth of the river . The Strahler stream order examines the arrangement of tributaries in a hierarchy of first, second, third and higher orders, with

1548-432: The streams are seen to diverge by the cardinal direction (north, south, east, or west) in which they proceed upstream, sometimes a third stream entering between two others is designated the middle fork; or the streams are distinguished by the relative height of one to the other, as one stream descending over a cataract into another becomes the upper fork, and the one it descends into, the lower ; or by relative volume:

1591-467: The sun and that Christians similarly were able to gaze unflinchingly at the revelation of the divine word. Alternatively, the eagle was believed to be the bird that flew highest in the sky and was therefore closest to heaven , and symbolised the carrying of the word of God to the four corners of the world. The eagle is also the symbol of John the Apostle , and for this reason may have come to represent

1634-459: The valley narrows and becomes more wooded. The Cherwell passes under the Woodstock to Bicester road and shortly after the Oxford Canal flows into it from the east. The next mile of the river is used by boats as part of the canal, passing a now-demolished cement works once supplied by canal narrowboats and which used river water. After sharing their course for about 1 mile (1.6 kilometres),

1677-442: The valley widens. On the west bank is a large housing estate built in the 1970s, Cherwell Heights, and a mile south the ancient village of Bodicote on high ground west of the river. Downstream, most of the valley's villages are similarly set back to enable flood-meadows . After Bodicote, the river passes an industrial estate at Twyford Mill before reaching King's Sutton , a village noted for its rare, high spire which overlooks

1720-442: The watercourses diverge at Shipton Weir Lock (in larger, lozenge form) west of which is Shipton on Cherwell . East of Shipton, the deserted village of Hampton Gay fronted the river, main remnants being its disused church in the watermeadows and ruins of a manor house. Below, the river reaches Thrupp where the Oxford Canal finally leaves the valley. In hills to the east, a Romano-British settlement stood near Kidlington and

1763-627: Was built by the Great Western Railway and links London and Oxford with Birmingham and the north. South, the railway closely follows the valley. A Roman villa at nearby Wykham Park dates from around the year 250. Much later the Saxons built the first settlement: west of the flow. On the opposite bank is the Saxon-established Grimsbury , now absorbed into Banbury. Banbury Castle was built in 1135 to command

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1806-550: Was mentioned by John Betjeman (1906–1984) in his poetry: The Cherwell carried under Magdalen Bridge Its leisure puntfuls of the fortunate Who next term and the next would still come back. The Withywindle river in J. R. R. Tolkien 's fantasy The Lord of the Rings has been identified with the Cherwell near Tolkien's home in Oxford. Growing beside the Withywindle was the evil character Old Man Willow ; Tolkien made

1849-427: Was passed in 1769. A few years earlier, Oxford merchants had proposed canalising the river as far as Banbury. Construction of the canal began near Coventry . The canal reached Banbury in 1778, however it was a further 12 years before the southernmost section was completed and the first boats reached Oxford in January 1790. The Cherwell skirts the east side of Cropredy itself and passes under Cropredy Bridge , site of

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