River Ember
The River Ember is a short river in northern Surrey. It is in reality a branch of the River Mole, splitting off the Mole only to rejoin it just before the reunited river discharges its waters into the River Thames.
The Mole splits in two at the Island Barn Reservoir to the south of Molesey. The larger portion becomes the River Ember and flows in an easterly and then northerly direction around the Island Barn Reservoir. The River Mole flows in a northerly and then easterly direction around the reservoir. The two rivers then flow side by side in a north easterly direction, reuniting just 440 yards before the waters join the River Thames at Molesey, opposite Hampton Court Palace.
History
The River Ember was once a plain distributary of the Mole and entered the Thames separately. The River Mole once flowed into the River Thames slightly further upstream, at a point where the present Hampton Court Bridge now crosses the river. However, during the early 1930s, when Hampton Court Way and the bridge were built, the River Mole was redirected to flow into the River Ember and both rivers now enter the Thames in a single widened and straightened channel once occupied only by the River Ember. There have been further alterations to the courses of these two rivers in a major flood prevention scheme since serious flooding in the area in 1947 and 1968.[1]
Ember Mill stood on an island in the Ember near Hampton Court Way. This can be reached from a footbridge at the end of Orchard Lane. The mill was demolished in around 1837 and the sluices and waterfalls on either side are all that remain to indicate the site. The mill was originally a corn mill but was later used for manufacturing brass and iron wire. This part of the Ember is by-passed by the new channel of the flood prevention scheme, but a small flow runs into the old course to keep it looking as it used to.[2]
Fishing
There is a section of the river at Old Cow Common, East Molesey where there is free fishing for pike (to 15 lb), bream, carp, chub, dace, perch, roach, Catfish (to 22 lb), tench, bullhead (to 3 lb), ell, orfe, goldfish and rudd.[3]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about River Ember) |