Castle Mill Stream
Castle Mill Stream is a backwater of the River Thames in the west of Oxford. It is three miles long, coming off the Thames and rejoining it.[1]
Course
The stream leaves the main course of the Thames at the south end of Port Meadow, immediately upstream of Medley Footbridge. It then flows under the Cherwell Valley railway line and turns south, parallel to the southern end of the Oxford Canal. Fiddler's Island is on the right (west) bank of the stream. At the southern end of the island the Isis Lock gives access to the canal from the stream, and the short Sheepwash Channel leads to the main stream of the Thames. The stream then flows under Hythe Bridge on Hythe Bridge Street, and under a series of bridges: Pacey's Bridge on Park End Street, Quaking Bridge and Swan Bridge (once known as Castle Bridge),[2] outside the original mediæval city walls of Oxford, near Oxford Castle.[3] It then flows under Oxpens Road and rejoins the Thames immediately upstream of the Gasworks Bridge.
History
The stream was considerably altered in Saxon and early Norman times. There was a mill here even before the castle existed. In the winter of 1142 there was a siege at the Castle.[4] Empress Matilda (aka Queen Maud, 1102–1167), the daughter and dispossessed heir of Henry I, was there during her power struggle with King Stephen (1096–1154). The Empress escaped from the castle after her guards lowered her over the walls. She was dressed in a white dress that camouflaged her against the snow. Matilda crept through the enemy lines and across the Castle Mill Stream to escape to freedom.
In the Middle Ages the stream was used for navigation, at least above Hythe Bridge. In the 16th century hay, wood, stone, and slate were unloaded at a wharf at Hythe Bridge.[5] When the Oxford Canal was built it provided an easier route into the centre of Oxford, and in 1795-96 Daniel Harris built Isis Lock to allow Thames river traffic to access the canal wharves. The stream then fell out of use for navigation.
Outside links
References
- ↑ Oxford Area Flood Information Guidance Booklet page 37
- ↑ Crossley, Alan; Elrington, C.R. (eds.); Chance, Eleanor; Colvin, Christina; Cooper, Janet; Day, C.J.; Hassall, T.G.; Selwyn, Nesta (1979). A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 4: Communications: Bridges. Victoria County History. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22808#s3.
- ↑ Crossley, Alan; Elrington, C.R. (eds.); Chance, Eleanor; Colvin, Christina; Cooper, Janet; Day, C.J.; Hassall, T.G.; Selwyn, Nesta (1979). A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 4: City Walls, Gates, and Posterns. Victoria County History. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22810.
- ↑ City of Oxford, "Oxford Castle"
- ↑ Crossley, Alan; Elrington, C.R. (eds.); Chance, Eleanor; Colvin, Christina; Cooper, Janet; Day, C.J.; Hassall, T.G.; Selwyn, Nesta (1979). A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 4: Communications: Rivers and River Navigation. Victoria County History. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22808#s5.