Water is therefore able to flow out of the river through swallow holes in the bed and banks, decreasing the volume of water carried in the main channel. [43], The West End Common forms part of the Esher Commons, owned and managed by Elmbridge Borough Council. [81][82] The only Surrey river to have been made fully navigable is the combined lower section of the River Wey. In the 18th century and until 1802 at least, the estate, then known as 'the manor of Southwood and Silksmore,' appears to have been held by the Frederick family. The band's biggest hit was Hersham Boys. River Mole, West End Recreation Ground NO FISHING. [68][69][70][note 7], The name Mole does not appear until the 16th century, first occurring as Moule in Harrison's Description of Britain of 1577. [71], In common with much of the rest of the Weald, the earliest evidence of human settlement along the Upper Mole is from the Mesolithic Period (20,0007000BC). [11] It has been used for many purposes including the processing of corn, paper, iron, tinplate and flock and the generation of electricity. In more recent times the punk group Sham 69 with lead singer Jimmy Pursey, had its roots in Hersham. Hersham began as a strip of woodland beside the River Mole. These date mostly from the mesolithic period. [citation needed]. Esher RFC is a multi-pitch rugby union club in Hersham since approximately 1939 (see notes). vGc+R~g^Dq|( The antiquarian William Camden uses the Latinized form Molis in the 1586 edition of Britannia and Michael Drayton is the first to use Mole in his poem Poly-Olbion published in 1613. Between Dorking and Leatherhead the Mole cuts a steep-sided valley (the Mole Gap) though the North Downs, carving a 170-metre-high (560ft) river cliff on the western flank of Box Hill and a smaller 50-metre (160ft) cliff at Ham Bank in Norbury Park. [1] At the confluence of the Mole and the River Thames at Hampton Court Palace it is possible to catch a wide variety of coarse fish species. % Enjoy this 5.3-mile out-and-back trail near Tonawanda, New York. Up to date as of 9:36pm on 27 February 2023. [20] The meander was reinstated in 1997, in an attempt to enhance this area of the Park, although it has since become blocked by silt. Queen Victoria wrote in her diary how she saw her first steam train in Hersham when she was a young girl. The Thames was lapping the edge of Hurst road, but fortunately that major river had reached its peak. Both barbel and brown trout are extremely sensitive to water quality and pollution. TV presenter John Inverdale has long been associated with the club, albeit the 2010s saw his involvement diminish. The woodland, river and ponds are attractive at any time of the year. 0.7km (0.4mi) south of Sidlow the mean flow is measured as 2.21m3/s (78cuft/s) at Kinnersley Manor gauging station (48m[157ft] above OD). The journey to Waterloo takes about 50 minutes. The bridge is largely composed of flint and has a large inverted scallop shell in the place of the keystone and similar shells in the spandrels at each side. However this proved to be impractical and they were instead covered by concrete domes, up to 18 m in diameter, each fully supported by the surrounding chalk and provided with a manhole and access shaft to allow periodic inspection. Mole (Horley to Hersham) is 60.133 km long River Mole | Canoe | Kayak | SUP | Routes and Launches The bridge was rebuilt in 1991. Built in 1990 to replace an existing ford. Extract from The River Mole or Emlyn Stream by Mary Drinkwater Bethune, which was published in 1839. The airport was fined 30,000 by Lewes Crown Court. ), Prior to the last ice age, the River Thames followed a more northerly route to the North Sea, from Reading via Marlow, Chorleywood, St Albans, Hertford and along the present SuffolkEssex border. North of Esher the old river channel is dominated by floating pennywort, a highly invasive weed, which cuts off all light to the river bed, reducing oxygen levels and resulting in a poor habitat for fish. [12] The Mole runs under the airport runway in a culvert completed in 1985. [85] The river may be paddled all year by canoe between Brockham and Fetcham with an appropriate licence from the British Canoe Union. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. This trail is great for road biking, running, and walking, and it's unlikely you'll encounter many other people while exploring. Frederick Loring Vaux (1842-1933), local resident and a significant village benefactor. [55] When the Dorking to Leatherhead railway was constructed in 1859, a fossilised swallow hole was discovered in the cutting at the south end of Box Hill & Westhumble railway station, suggesting that even in its early history, the river had swallow holes.[53]. Hersham contained one manor alone known as Morehall alias Sylkesmore or Southwood. There are around 3,500 measuring stations, and most are along main rivers and the coast. Designed by Anthony Fletcher and fitted with an ABC Scorpion aero engine, this was test flown from nearby Brooklands and had could have been built in quantity but became a victim of the economic depression of 1929-32. Flood alert area: River Mole and its tributaries from Kinnersley Manor to South Hersham, including Sidlow, Leigh, Betchworth, Brockham, Pixham, Dorking, Mickleham, Leatherhead, Fetcham, Stoke D'Abernon and Cobham. Opened as part of the A3 Esher Bypass in December 1976. The river flows initially southwards for 1 km (0.6 mi) to a small lake at Baldhorns Park, before running eastwards through a largely rural area towards Crawley. The River Mole originally flowed into the River Thames at the point where the present Hampton Court bridge now crosses the Thames (approximately 500 m upstream of the present confluence, on the reach above Teddington Lock). We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. This website is a guide and cannot guarantee full coverage of venues, nor accuracy of the information provided. The only contiguous settlement is Walton-on-Thames, its post town. [43] Although much of the surrounding land has been taken by residential and commercial development, this section of the Mole supports 20 different mammal species, 20 butterfly species and 15 species of dragonfly. Mesolithic sites at Wonham, Flanchford and Sidlow. The proportion of households in the settlement who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The water table rises at this point and much of the water which drained out of the channel through the chalk returns through springs in the riverbed. Mole (Horley to Hersham) takes in water from an area around 151.017 km2 in size and is part of the Mole Lower and Rythe catchment area. [10][11], The drainage area of the River Mole is 477km2 (184sqmi) and forms 5% of the River Thames's catchment area above Teddington. [36], The Mole catchment area includes twelve Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) that include wetland habitats,[6] The Mole Gap forms part of a Special Area of Conservation and is an SSSI of European importance. [10] The bridge has nine low arches and is primarily built of red brick with stone coping. ?Pp9sJA_s^quN9&tx\R8Mx5s_u`:{,;.$0c )]}6>w~ByK_~_ Vj>&5HSQvPu|w_?~M6 /q$|;3Lq8SqN)?=LHI}sAZ]uesS6z3E i!+=yj}1z%H#4H:M[Wj\#\gDG/`ujzpa:yO(K+:3`~~j?u{?-@%qExtKste_/EX:n[xv[?8w{~fo?2,W`)_(rF z~~6VGS8_];qssWSn_n*,o lDu>>X\$=vlP[~gCLp? There were a series of fires over a century and after the last in 1978 the buildings were demolished. [30], Highly polluting discharges have become less common but have taken place since 2000. River Mole rises in Baldhorns Copse 700m (0.4mi) to the south of the village of Rusper in West Sussex. There are three listed bridges in Leatherhead of which the 14 arch Leatherhead Town Bridge is the oldest. [12] There is only one aquifer in the drainage basin, at Fetcham, which means that the majority of the water in the river is from surface drainage, particularly from Gatwick Airport and the urban areas of Horley and Crawley, and that the flow rate responds rapidly to rainfall.[1]. [13] The first tributaries to join the young river drain the northernmost part of St Leonard's Forest, between Horsham and Crawley, although much of the forest is in the catchment area of the River Arun. The Mole descends 15m[49ft] in the 10km[6mi] stretch between Brockham and Leatherhead, compared to 3m[9.8ft] in 19km[12mi] between Horley and Brockham. Downside Mill, Cobham was the mill of the manor of Downe. A police spokesperson said: "Officers were called to the riverside at Esher Road in Walton-on-Thames by Surrey Fire and Rescue Service, after a report of what was believed to be a body part in the water this morning. Hersham is a charming little station in Surrey, with views over fields, the River Mole and a local golf course. This site, like many others, uses small files called cookies to help us improve and customize your experience. Their first men's team is notable in the region and saw 2012-14 among the upper 50% of clubs in RFU National League 1 (the third level of the sport in England), having been relegated in the previous season. [42], A nationally scarce species which is locally common on the River Mole is the greater dodder (Cuscuta europaea), a parasitic plant. The undershot wheel at Painshill Park was restored in 1987 and is located at the end of an artificial, Mary Drinkwater Bethune was the daughter of the English army officer and military historian, Shepperd R (1982) The Manor of Wistomble in the Parish of Mickleham, WE Foster WB Harris (1988) Flood Alleviation Scheme for the Lower River Mole, Wooldridge SW (1938) The glaciation of the London Basin and the evolution of the lower Thames drainage system, Bridgland and Gibbard (1997) Quaternary River Diversions in the London Basin and the Eastern English Channel, Ruse LP (1996) Multivariate techniques relating macroinvertebrate and environmental data from a river catchment, P. Follett (1996) Mole Valley Natural History Audit: Survey of, JW Grover (1887) Chalk springs in the London basin, illustrated by the Newbury, Wokingham, Leatherhead and Rickmansworth Water Works, The Fairie Queen, book 4, canto 11, verse 32, Poly-Olbion, Song XVII lines 47-50, 53-57, 59-64, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, heavy flooding of East Molesey and Thames Ditton in September 1968, A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain, "The Mole Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy", "Our nations' fisheries: The migratory and freshwater fisheries of England and Wales a snapshot", "Urgent fish rescue in River Mole near Dorking after heatwave causes dramatic fall in water levels", "A guide to the industrial archaeology of the borough of elmbridge", "Small hydroelectric power: Betchworth Park", "Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty", "Gatwick Airport Corporate Responsibility Report", HL Deb, 11 September 1972 vol 335 cc138-165, "Water firms 'abusing' sewage law loophole", "Mole (Hersham to R. Thames conf at East Molesey)", "Photograph of swallow-hole in bed of River Mole", "Environment Agency rescue fish from River Mole in Surrey as water levels drop", "In pictures: Environment Agency workers rescue fish from dried-out River Mole", "Excursions to the Farnham Gravel Pits on April 23rd and to the Brickfields and Gravel Pits at Dawley, between Hayes and West Drayton on April 30th 1904", "On a recent Section through Walton Common exposing the London Clay, Bagshot Beds, and Plateau-gravel", "Detail from Rocque's Map of Surrey, c1768", "A late Bronze Age hoard from Norbury Park, Mickleham", "Political Institutions and the Emergence of Regulatory Commitment in England: Evidence from Road and River Improvement Authorities, 1600-1750", "Leatherhead Bridge, Bridge Street (1028646)", "Railway viaduct approximately 15 metres west of road bridge over River Mole (1028596)", "Ornamental bridge approximately 70 metres north of Thorncroft Bridge (1293520)", "Railway bridge and platform over the River Ember", "River Ember: Hampton Court railway station bridge", "A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of Elmbridge", "Stepping Stones Footbridge over the River Mole, at the foot of Box Hill, near Dorking Surrey", "Flanchford Bridge rebuilding project delayed again", "Bridge over the River Mole, Sidlow Bridge, Surrey", "River Mole, west of Horley from the Lee Street Bridge", "TQ2137: The River Mole gushes out from under Lambs Green Bridge", "The Great Fire At Burns And Co, Lower Green Esher", "Molesey Mills: A history of the mills and milling", Environment Agency: River Mole information, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=River_Mole&oldid=1138898427, Articles with dead external links from July 2021, Articles with permanently dead external links, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from November 2012, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Mole (Hersham to R. Thames conf at East Molesey). River Mole and its tributaries from Kinnersley Manor to South Hersham Early in World War II, Barnes Wallis and several hundred staff were evacuated to Burhill Golf Club from the nearby Vickers-Armstrongs aircraft factory at Brooklands and designed the legendary Dambusters 'bouncing bomb' there. Today the Mole is navigable for the 400m (440yd) from the confluence with the River Thames to Molember Weir at East Molesey where there is a private mooring facility. However, a search of the scene uncovered no evidence of any body parts and the fire service handed over control of the incident to Surrey Police. During the Second World War several sites along the course of the Mole were fortified for the defence of London against invasion from the south. It also takes in all six ponds of this part of Esher Common, some hidden deep in the woods. Get flood warnings by phone, text or email. The Heath is an area of rough scrubland and, despite its name, is a reclaimed landfill site hence its large but artificial mound and small plateau. [11], Castle Mill at Pixham is a Grade II listed building. In this manner it goes away, lessening the stream for above a mile, near two, and these they call the Swallows. Tonawanda to Buffalo via Shoreline Trail Riverwalk. [1][3] Twelve Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) that include wetland habitats are located within the Mole catchment area, and the stretch of river through Leatherhead has been designated a Local Nature Reserve. [40] The white-legged damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) is also found along the river, and the downy emerald (Cordulia aenea) is found between Box Hill and Leatherhead. Mole Valley - Walking London's Waterways large bittercress (Cardamine amara) and the non-native Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera).