River of Death

"The Thames runs through Southern England along a wide low lying valley – its flood plain. Throughout the centuries the Thames has burst its bank, swamping riverside settlements causing death and destruction. Because properties beside the river have always been popular people have often ignored the lessons of the past, and they continue to build on the highly desirable land of the Thames flood plain. High embankments and flood alleviation schemes are all part of man’s constant fight against Nature. The great threat to London comes from the sea. Throughout history high tides and strong winds have pushed the sea up the estuary, flooding low-lying areas. It is recorded that AD 1816 people rowed through the Great Hall of the Palace of Westminster, whose floor was covered in dead and dying fish. As the flood waters receded the Victorians considered that the building of the Embankments would protect against flooding. However, as stated before, this resulted in the narrowing of the river, and increased its depth, thus making it necessary over the years to raise the walls still higher. The Thames is now 3 metres deeper than it was 300 years ago."


- from http://www.riverthames.co.uk/cms/shared/display.php?path=3274#liquid

not massively interesting but i enjoyed the bit about the fish.