River Cherwell

The Cherwell in Christchurch Meadows, Oxford

The River Cherwell is a river 40 miles long, primarily of Oxfordshire, which forms one of the major tributaries of the River Thames. It enters the Thames in Oxford.

The name "Cherwell" is generally pronounced Charwell in Oxford but Churwell particularly in north Oxfordshire.

The Cherwell rises at Hellidon near Arbury Hill in Northamptonshire, the source of several rivers, and flows south through that county, forming the border between Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire for some miles before the Cherwell has Oxfordshire on both banks.

Course

The general course of the River Cherwell is north to south and the 'straight-line' distance from its source to the Thames is about 32 miles. It flows from Hellidon through Northamptonshire for about ten miles before coming into Oxfordshire, then serving as county border before entering Oxfordshire fully for the remainder of its course to Oxford.

At Oxford the Cherwell serves as a river for punting before it falls into the Thames. It adds a significant discharge to the Thames; when entering Oxford, the Thames's discharge is 622 cu ft/s, but after leaving and consuming the Cherwell it has increased to 876 cu ft/s.

Watershed and upper course

The Cherwell near Edgcote

The River Cherwell rises in the ironstone hills at Hellidon, two miles west of Charwelton near Daventry. Helidon Hill immediately north of the source forms a watershed: on the south side, the Cherwell feeds the River Thames and thence the North Sea at the Thames Estuary; on the north side, the River Leam feeds the Warwickshire Warwickshire Avon and the River Severn and thence the Bristol Channel. A third river system on this watershed rises east of Charwelton and feeds tributary streams of the River Nene and thence the North Sea at The Wash.

South of Charwelton, the River Cherwell passes between the villages of Hinton and Woodford Halse. Two miles further down, the Cherwell swings westward for a few miles, passing below the village of Chipping Warden through Edgcote, below which it enters Oxfordshire. At Banbury and for some miles below it the river forms the border between Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire.

Cropredy and the Upper Oxford Canal

Half-a-mile north of the village of Cropredy, the River Cherwell turns southward again. The Oxford Canal enters the river valley here and more or less follows the Cherwell on its route to Oxford until it reaches Thrupp near Kidlington. The canal was projected to connect the Coventry Canal to the River Thames, and the Act of Parliament authorising it was passed in 1769. A few years earlier, Oxford merchants had proposed 'canal-ising' the River Cherwell upstream from their city to Banbury. Construction of the Oxford Canal began near Coventry but the canal didn't reach Banbury until 1778, and it was a further twelve years before it was completed, the first boats reaching Oxford in January 1790.

The River Cherwell skirts the east side of Cropredy itself and passes under Cropredy Bridge, site of a major battle of the English Civil War in 1644. The battle was a protracted encounter with riverside skirmishes concentrated along a three-mile stretch of the Cherwell between Hay's bridge and a ford at Slat Mill near Great Bourton. King Charles's forces beat the Parliamentarian army. On Cropredy Bridge is a plaque bearing the words "Site of the Battle of Cropredy Bridge 1644. From Civil War deliver us."

The bridge was rebuilt in 1780 and this plaque is a facsimile of the original one. Cropredy's church contains relics from the battle, and local tradition holds that local people hid the church's eagle lectern in the River Cherwell in case marauding soldiers damaged or stole it.

South of Cropredy Bridge the river passes the site of a former water mill. A sufficient head of water to power the mill was created by a weir system and a millpond. There may have been more rudimentary mill works upstream but this is the first major mill along the river's course.

South of Banbury

South of Banbury, the valley of the River Cherwell widens, and most of the villages in the Cherwell valley here are set back from the river on higher ground to avoid flooding.

After Bodicote, the river passes an industrial estate at Twyford Mill before reaching King's Sutton, a village noted for the splendid lofty spire on its church which overlooks the river. Two miles further on, the Cherwell reaches the settlement of Nell Bridge and passes under a main road leading to the village of Aynho which is a mile to the east on a low hill overlooking the river.

Shortly after Nell Bridge, the River Cherwell crosses the Oxford Canal at a right-angle, flowing in on the east side and out over a weir on the west side. Such level river crossings are fairly uncommon on English canals. A few yards below this crossing is Aynho Weir Lock. This lock is unusual in that instead of a rectangular chamber, it has a wide lozenge-shaped chamber. This is because the lock lowers the canal by only 12 inches and the extra width of the lock chamber compensates for the smaller amount of water which would otherwise be passed from the River Cherwell to feed the lower level of the canal.

Lower course, Somerton, Heyford, Rousham and Shipton

Upstream as the Cherwell is joined by the Oxford Canal (coming from the right)

Below Aynho, the Cherwell enters Oxfordshire on both banks. It meanders in its valley overlooked by hilltop villages. Somerton and Heyford are the only villages adjacent to the river itself and both once had water mills. The mill at Lower Heyford was last rebuilt in the early 19th century and worked as a mill as recently as 1946. However, there was a mill here before the Norman Conquest; a fact is recorded in the Domesday Book.

At Rousham, the River Cherwell passes a famous landscape garden designed by William Kent. It features many statues and a temple which overlooks the River Cherwell. The terrace by the river is named the Praeneste after the ancient temple in Palestrina near Rome.

Two miles south of Rousham the river is crossed by a mediæval packhorse bridge at Northbrook and a further mile south the course of Akeman Street, a Roman road, crosses the river. South of here, the Cherwell valley narrows and becomes more wooded.

The River 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 route. The canal and river pass a now-derelict cement works which was once supplied by canal narrowboats and which used water extracted from the river.

After sharing their course for about one mile, the Oxford Canal and River Cherwell diverge at Shipton Weir Lock (a similar lozenge-shaped structure to the lock at Aynho Weir). To the west of the lock is the village of Shipton on Cherwell.

East of Shipton, the deserted village of Hampton Gay stands on the bank of the River Cherwell. The most substantial remnant is the church which stands in lonely isolation in the watermeadows but there are ruins of a manor house too. Beyond here, the river reaches Thrupp where the Oxford Canal finally leaves the Cherwell valley.

There was a Romano-British settlement not far from the River Cherwell near Kidlington and a substantial Romano-British villa across the river at Islip. To the east of Islip is a wide plain called Otmoor drained by the River Ray and its small tributaries. The Ray flows into the River Cherwell at the weir in Islip, known as The Stank.

The city of Oxford

Punts on the river at Oxford

The punt rollers at "Mesopotamia" on the Cherwell in Oxford

The River Cherwell reaches the northern outskirts of Oxford and runs south on the eastern edge of north Oxford town centre. Near Summertown it passes the Victoria Arms (or "Vicky Arms"), a popular riverside pub at Marston and then under a modern bridge that is part of Marston Ferry Road. A little further south, the Cherwell passes Wolfson College, the Cherwell Boathouse (where punts can be hired) and the playing fields of the Dragon School. Next is Lady Margaret Hall, one of the previously all-women's Oxford colleges.

The river is then flanked by University Parks and passes under Rainbow Bridge. Parson's Pleasure and Dame's Delight used to provide nude bathing facilities for male and female bathers respectively, but both are now defunct.

Below the Parks, the river splits into up to three streams, with a series of islands. One is "Mesopotamia", a long thin island just south of the Parks with a path that provides a pleasant walk. (The name is a classical reference; it means "between the rivers".) At the northern end, there 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 streams close together to flow under Magdalen Bridge. Early on May Morning, students sometimes jump off the bridge into the river, but this is a dangerous pastime, especially if the river is low. The river splits again past the bridge. 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 River Thames in two branches. On the island in between these branches are many of the college boathouses for rowing on the Thames.

In summer, punting is very popular on the Oxford stretch of the Cherwell. (A punt is a long flat bottom boat which is propelled by means of 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 Thames north past the University Parks, and out beyond the Oxford Ring Road.

Navigation

The river has never been properly navigable. In the 17th century goods seem to have been carried between Oxford and Banbury in flat-bottomed boats, but the river was not made properly navigable. A boatload of coal was taken up the river in 1764 as a test. Since the opening of the Oxford Canal in 1790 the river has been used only by small pleasure craft.

Outside links

• Wise Use of Floodplains – River Cherwell