| Most of the important figures in England's history lived | | | | Tower of London, and was built by Edward I-known |
| and died by the River Thames. London's historic river | | | | as "Longshanks"-in 1279. Its original purpose was to |
| served as a highway, an enduring landmark, and a long | | | | allow the king to get to St. Thomas' Tower, where he |
| thread connecting contemporary England with its | | | | and his family lived, by water. But over the years |
| ancient past. | | | | royals began to use the Tower of London less as |
| The Thames is old-far older than Stonehenge, | | | | royal accommodations and more as a place to house |
| Glastonbury, or the most ancient Irish passage graves. | | | | prisoners. |
| Thirty million years ago, before Britain was an island, | | | | Beginning in the early 1700's, prisoners were |
| the Thames was a tributary to the Rhine. Ten | | | | transported by barge along the Thames to the Tower, |
| thousand years ago, during the end of the last Ice Age, | | | | entering through Edward I's old gate. High-profile |
| it was fed by a torrent of glacial meltwater and grew | | | | prisoners who entered the Tower through Traitor's |
| to ten times its present size. An immense, fast-moving | | | | Gate included Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Sir |
| juggernaut, the Thames shifted position and forced its | | | | Thomas More, and Elizabeth I. |
| way through the Chiltern Hills. | | | | The Mayflower. In 1620, Captain Christopher Jones |
| Eventually the torrent slowed, and the Thames settled | | | | moored his ship, the Mayflower, off the docks by a |
| into its familiar, meandering bed. Geologists believe that | | | | pub called the Shippe before setting sail for America. |
| it has followed its present route for over three | | | | A year later, he and his crew returned to the area, and |
| thousand years. | | | | he was buried nearby. The Shippe was rebuilt and |
| Scientists believe that the Thames Valley has been | | | | renamed the Mayflower in the years afterward, in |
| inhabited for a staggering 400,000 years. There were | | | | recognition of its connection with the historic ship. |
| certainly settlements along the Thames around the | | | | Westminster Abbey. Built by Edward the Confessor |
| time Stonehenge was built. During the Bronze Age, | | | | and consecrated in 1065, this church is one of the |
| people began using the river as a way to access the | | | | most significant in England. It soon became the |
| continent for trade, and the Thames Valley became | | | | coronation site for nearly every monarch in English |
| an important trade center. | | | | history, beginning with William the Conqueror. Most |
| The Romans founded the town of Londinium along the | | | | Kings and Queens of England were buried here as |
| Thames in the year 43 AD, and it grew to become | | | | well. Other luminaries buried in Westminster Abbey |
| the city of London-the heart of England's history. | | | | include Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Dr. Samuel |
| Today, if you travel the Thames in the London area, | | | | Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Sir Isaac Newton. |
| you can still see traces of earlier times. Here are some | | | | Magna Carta Island. A hundred years or more after |
| of the fascinating sights you'll see along the River | | | | the reign of William the Conqueror, feudal lords felt that |
| Thames. | | | | the king had too much power-and taxed them too |
| London Bridge. Today, London Bridge doesn't look | | | | heavily. In 1215, a group of nobles forced King John to |
| particularly historic. But there has been a bridge on this | | | | sign the Magna Carta protecting their rights under the |
| site for about two thousand years-the Romans built | | | | law. The spot they chose for the signing was an island |
| the first one out of wood around AD 60. In the | | | | in the Thames by Runnymede. |
| following centuries, London Bridge was destroyed by | | | | Signing agreements and treaties on small islands is an |
| neglect, fire, tornadoes, and kings-and rebuilt each time. | | | | ancient practice in Britain. An island location made it |
| In the Middle Ages, shops, homes, and even a church | | | | impossible for one side or the other to stage an |
| were built on the bridge. It was the only bridge spanning | | | | ambush during the signing, as everyone present could |
| the Thames until 1750. | | | | see any approaching armies from a long ways off. |
| Traitor's Gate. This gate provides river access to the | | | | |