Landmarks
Landmark #9: Hampton Court Palace
Thursday, January 24th, 2008Hampton Court Palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is located 11.7 miles south west of Charing Cross. Dating back to the 14th century, it was built and rebuilt continuously by such well-known architects as Sir Christopher Wren, William Talman and Nicholas Hawksmoor.
Henry VIII is likely to be Hampton Court’s most notable resident. With so much history built into and around the walls of Hampton Court, it is no wonder that many ghosts haunt the palace. Queen Catherine Howard was arrested at Hampton Court in 1542 and is said to have run along the Long Gallery screaming for King Henry VIII to save her, before his guards caught her and dragged her away. Her ghost is said to haunt the palace, sometimes screaming in the same hallway. Others report seeing King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
In October 2003, a closed-circuit security camera at Hampton Court had recorded an indistinct image of a mysterious figure in a long coat closing the fire doors. According to one report, a ghostly-looking figure in period dress suddenly appeared on the screen and closed the doors. A female palace visitor wrote in the visitor book that she may have seen a ghost in that area during this time, also. “We’re baffled too - it’s not a joke, we haven’t manufactured it,” said Vikki Wood, a Hampton Court spokeswoman, when asked if the photo the palace released was a Christmas hoax. “We genuinely don’t know who it is or what it is”. So when you pass the Hampton Court Palace area at night during the Thames Meander, beware of the ghosts that haunt the place!
Landmark #8: Walton-on-Thames
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008Walton-on-Thames, a town of approximately 23,000 residents is located just a few miles upstream from Hampton Court Palace.
The name Walton is Anglo-Saxon in origin and is believed to mean ‘farm of the Britons’ or ‘Saxon settlement’. Even before the Romans and the Saxons were present, there was a Celtic settlement here. Walton is believed to be the place where Caesar forded the Thames on his second invasion of Britain.
Walton is the birth place of Julie Andrews, world-famous actress and singer. Unforgettable her appearances in “Mary Poppins” and “The Sound of Music”, two hugely successful Hollywood productions, both with a similar message that if you try to live your life like running a bank or commanding an army, you miss out on lifes beauty and inevitably fail in one way or another.
Having made it to Walton-on-Thames at the Thames Meander, you are almost home. Just a few more miles along the dark Thames Path and you are in the Hampton Court area with its Surbiton School in Hinchley Wood - “that’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!”. So enjoy those last few miles and keep in mind that “just a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down!”
No Comments »Landmark #7 of the TM: Magna Carta Island
Tuesday, January 8th, 2008Magna Carta Island is located about one mile and a half from Old Windsor Lock, near the Middlesex bank. It is one of the most charming islands on the River Thames and of historical interest as the scene of the arrangement between King John and his Barons, when Magna Carta was signed, which became the foundation of the freedom of England.
It is only fair to say that, as the tradition assigns to the island the honour of being the scene of the signature, in the Charter itself it is said to have been given at Runnymede; so it seems to be doubtful whether the finishing stroke was given on the island or at Runnymede on the Surrey bank. It was signed in June 1215.
Magna Carta was the most significant early influence on the extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law today. Magna Carta influenced the development of the common law and many constitutional documents, such as the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights, and is considered one of the most important legal documents in the history of democracy.
A rare copy of the Magna Carta has been sold for $21.3m (£10.6m) in an auction at Sotheby’s in New York in early December 2007.
Magna Carta from ‘The Genius of the Thames’
And sweetly, on the mead below,
The fragrant gales of summer blow:
While flowers shall spring, while Thames shall flow,
That mead shall live in memory,
Where valour, on the tented field,
Triumphant raised his patriot shield,
The voice of truth to kings revealed,
And broke the chains of tyranny.
(Thomas Love Peacock)
No Comments »Landmark #6 of the TM: Windsor Castle
Tuesday, December 25th, 2007Approaching Windsor Castle from upstream on the Thames Meander is a breathtaking sight, inspiring and giving new strength for the second part of the race, the night stage.
Windsor Castle was originally built by William the Conqueror, who reigned from 1066 until his death in 1087. His original castle stood on the site of the present Round Tower. The castle formed part of his defensive ring of castles surrounding London, the site chosen in part because of its easily defensible position.
The oldest existing parts of the castle include the curfew tower, constructed in 1227. The interior of the tower contains the former castle prison, and also the remnants of a “Sally port”, a secret exit for the occupants in a time of siege. The upper storey contains the castle bells placed there in 1478, and the castle clock of 1689.
It was during the reign of King George IV between 1820–1830 that the castle was to undergo the greatest single transformation in its history. George IV persuaded Parliament to vote him £300,000 for restoration. The architect Jeffry Wyatville was selected, and work commenced in 1824.
The work took twelve years to complete and included a complete remodelling of the Upper Ward, private apartments, Round Tower and the exterior facade of the South Wing which gave the castle its near symmetrical facade seen from the Long Walk.
Today, Windsor Castle is a mayor tourist site, attracting visitors from all over the world and hosting sports events like the Windsor Castle half marathon. For the Thames Meander, Windsor Castle is the absolute highlight, an ideal place for a short rest to adjust one’s clothes for the approaching night and being inspired by the stunning architecture.
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Landmark #5 of the TM: Maidenhead
Saturday, December 15th, 2007Maidenhead’s name refers to the riverside area where the ‘New wharf’ (’Maiden Hythe’) has been built at Saxon times. It was suggested that the closely located hill of Taplow had been called the ‘Mai Dun’ during the Iron Age.
In 1280, a bridge was built across the river to replace the ferry and the Great Western Road was diverted to use it. This led to the growth of Maidenhead: a stopping point for coaches between London and Bath and the High Street became populated with inns. The current Maidenhead Bridge, a local landmark, dates from 1777 and was built at a cost of £19,000.
Maidenhead’s beautiful riverside location has attracted a number of celebrities to move there, including television presenter Rolf Harris, journalist Michael Parkinson and Red Dwarf actor Chris Barrie. The five Spice Girls have shared a house in Maidenhead for a year and Maidenhead’s Redroofs Stage School has produced Hollywood star Kate Winslet. 
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Landmark #4 of the TM: Marlow
Friday, November 23rd, 2007Marlow is a charming historic town surrounded by beautiful countryside, with the Chiltern Hills to the north. A short run downstream from Henley, Marlow is at the southern tip of Buckinghamshire, just four miles north west of Maidenhead. Its famous suspension bridge, designed by William Clark in 1832 served as prototype for a larger bridge across the river Danube in Budapest.
The Hotel “The Compleat Angler”, next to the Thames at Marlow was formerly known as the “Riverside Inn”, which boasted some six rooms. Izaak Walton is believed to have written his world famous book on angling and fly fishing in and around Marlow in 1653 and it is from his book that the name of the Inn was later taken.
Marlow is the home town of 5-times Olympic gold medallist rower Steve Redgrave. Winning gold at Sydney in 2000, he became Britain’s one and only Olympic champion to win gold medals at five consecutive Olympic games. Whether aware of it or not, he would certainly be proud of the endurance athletes competing at the Thames Meander, covering more than twice the Olympic marathon distance and crossing his home town along their route downstream.
No Comments »Landmark #3 of the TM: Temple Island
Monday, November 5th, 2007Temple Island is situated a mile and a half downstream of Henley on one of the most beautiful reaches of the River Thames. Located amidst meadows and surrounded by wooded hills, it marks the Start of the Henley Royal Regatta Course. The Temple itself is a delightful folly, designed by James Wyatt as a fishing lodge for Fawley Court, the Christopher Wren mansion on the Henley Reach, from which the Temple completed a charming prospect through an avenue of trees.The Temple was built in 1771, its interior being based on designs which had just been discovered at Pompeii. This work, now beautifully restored, is the first example in England of the form of ornamentation which came to be known as the Etruscan Style.The Etruscan Room is of fine proportions and commands magnificent views of the Thames. During the heyday of the Summer Season in Victorian times, the Island and the Temple were used as a vantage point from which members of the Leander Club watched the Regatta. Today members of the Leander Club could watch the Thames Meander ultra-marathon, sipping on their champagne and nibbling those salmon and caviar sandwiches.
Landmark #2 of the TM: Marsh Lock
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007Marsh Lock, located a few miles away from Henley, has a surprisingly long walkway over which one reaches the lock side from the mainland. It is believed that this bridge was used in the past by horses towing barges along the river. There are records of a lock there from the early 1400s. The original bridge, however, has long gone and the current bridge is constructed of steel.
Running over the long walkway during the Thames Meander is one of the unforgettable parts of the race; all of the sudden you feel like floating over the water, rather than pounding along the path - delightful!
Marsh Lock attracts a range of wildlife. Buzzards, kingfishers and Egyptian geese are among the frequent visitors. Anglers report an abundance of species such as brown trout from the river here.
Landmark #1 of the TM: Reading Abbey
Friday, October 5th, 2007
Built “on a gravel spur between the rivers Kennet and Thames, on a spot calculated for the reception of almost all who might have occasion to travel to the more populous cities of England” (William of Malmesbury, born 1080), the remains of Reading Abbey give their blessing to every runner lining up on King’s Meadow, Napier Road, on race day. The prophetic words of Sir William couldn’t be more appropriate nine centuries later, when over one hundred athletes set off next to the Abbey, to travel on foot “towards the more populous cities” over a path of gravel, stone, dirt and mud.
The Abbey was founded in 1121 by Henry I “for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, my brother, and Queen Maud, my wife, and all my ancestors and successors”.
When Henry I died in 1135 his body was returned to Reading, and was buried in front of the altar of the then incomplete abbey. While the abbey was one of the pilgrimage centres of medieval England, it was destroyed in 1538 during Henry VIIIs dissolution of the monasteries. However, the inner rubble cores of the walls still stand and the inner gateway of the abbey survives intact. The grave of Henry I is marked with a plaque near its original location. Considering the eventful centuries this abbey has witnessed, Henry I could be pleased by its longevity.
Wouldn’t it be remarkable if in a few centuries time, a hundred or so athletes would line up again on the banks of the Thames to run “towards the more populous cities” along the Thames Path? Steve, time to pick a spot for that TM-commemoration plaque on King’s Meadow!
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