The River Cherwell is a river which flows through the Midlands of England. It is a major tributary of the River Thames.
The general course of the River Cherwell is north to south and the 'straight-line' distance from its source to the Thames is about 40 miles. It flows from Hellidon through Northamptonshire for about ten miles before passing into Oxfordshire for the remainder of its journey to Oxford, where it joins the Thames. It adds a significant discharge to the Thames - when entering Oxford it is at 17.6 m³/s (622 cu ft/s), but after leaving and consuming the Cherwell it has increased to 24.8 m³/s (876 cu ft/s).
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 River 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. Woodford Halse was much expanded by the building of the Great Central Railway in 1900.
Two miles further on, the River Cherwell swings westward for a few miles, passing below the village of Chipping Warden through Edgcote, site of a Romano-British villa. The river passes from Northamptonshire into Oxfordshire at Hay's Bridge on the A361 Daventry to Banbury road.
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 run 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 12 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 in the English Civil War in 1644. This was a protracted encounter with riverside skirmishes concentrated along a three-mile stretch of the River 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 it is said 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 skirts the fields used for the annual Cropredy Festival, a three-day music event run by the band Fairport Convention. It then passes the site of a former water mill. A sufficient head of water to power the mill was assured by a weir system to create a millpond. There may have been more rudimentary mill works upstream but this is the first major mill along the river's course.
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 (a graduate college of Oxford University), 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, which is a long thin island just south of the Parks with a path that provides a pleasant walk. 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 (pronounced 'maudlin').
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 or Magdalen College School and St Hilda's College. The river then skirts Christ Church Meadow before flowing into the River Thames (or Isis) through 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 Isis, north past the University Parks, and out beyond the ring road.
The confluence of the Thames and Cherwell was the site of early settlements and the River Cherwell marked the boundary between the Dobunni tribe to the west and the Catuvellauni tribe to the east (these were pre-Roman Celtic tribes).
A Romano-British settlement grew up north of the confluence, partly because the site was naturally protected from attack on the east by the River Cherwell and on the west by the River Thames. This settlement dominated the pottery trade in what is now central southern England and pottery was distributed by boats on the Thames and its tributaries.
