1.
Richmond Park
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Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer park. The largest of Londons Royal Parks, it is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation and its landscapes have inspired many famous artists and it has been a location for several films and TV series. Richmond Park includes many buildings of architectural or historic interest, the Grade I-listed White Lodge was formerly a royal residence and is now home to the Royal Ballet School. Historically the preserve of the monarch, the park is now open for all to use and includes a course and other facilities for sport. It played an important role in world wars and in the 1948 and 2012 Olympics. Richmond Park is the largest of Londons Royal Parks and it is the second-largest park in London and is Britains second-largest urban walled park after Sutton Park, Birmingham. Measuring 3.69 square miles, it is comparable in size to Pariss Bois de Vincennes and it is almost half the size of Casa de Campo and around three times the size of Central Park in New York. Of national and international importance for conservation, most of Richmond Park is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The largest Site of Special Scientific Interest in London, it was designated as an SSSI in 1992, excluding the area of the course, Pembroke Lodge Gardens. In its citation, Natural England said, Richmond Park has been managed as a deer park since the seventeenth century. In particular, Richmond Park is of importance for its diverse deadwood beetle fauna associated with the ancient trees found throughout the parkland, in addition the park supports the most extensive area of dry acid grassland in Greater London. The park was designated as an SAC in April 2005 on account of its having a number of ancient trees with decaying timber. A public open space since the mid C19, Richmond Park is located in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is close to Richmond, Ham, Kingston upon Thames, Wimbledon, Roehampton, day-to-day management of the Royal Parks has been delegated to The Royal Parks, an executive agency of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The Royal Parks Board sets the direction for the agency. Appointments to the Board are made by the Mayor of London, the Friends of Richmond Park and the Friends of Bushy Park co-chair the Richmond and Bushy Parks Forum, comprising 38 local groups of local stakeholder organisations. Although welcoming the principles of the new arrangements, the forum. Richmond Park is enclosed by a wall with several gates
2.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
3.
Cannizaro Park
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Cannizaro Park is a public park in Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton. It is located to the south of Wimbledon Common and is known for its landscaped gardens with ponds. The park is the remnant of the gardens of the country house at its centre. The house, originally known as Warren House, was built in the 18th century and was owned by the Grosvenor and Drax families who, for most of its history, let it to a series of wealthy tenants. The adjacent Royal Wimbledon golf course and the parts of Wimbledon village were also once parts of the estate. Between 1785 and 1806, Home Secretary and Secretary of State for War, Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, at this time it was a major social centre for royalty and senior politicians. Dundas organised the landscaping of the gardens, the structure of which remains today. Lady Jane Wood in the gardens is a memorial to his wife, in 1817, Sicilian Francis Platamone, Count St. The Count left his wife and returned to Italy in 1832 when he inherited the title Duke of Cannizzaro, the Duchess remained at Warren House until she died in 1841. After her death the house came to be known by her husbands title, a major fire at the beginning of the 20th century destroyed much of the house but it was rebuilt and extended to its current arrangement. In the 1920s Cannizaro House was owned by Admiral Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax and he sold it to the Wilson family, its last private owners. During his exile from Ethiopia, Emperor Haile Selassie stayed in Wimbledon, the Wilsons owned the house until the late 1940s and made a series of improvements in the gardens with the planting of new trees, Rhododendrons, Azaleas and Camellias. In 1947, the house and gardens were sold to Wimbledon Borough Council, the gardens were opened to the public shortly afterwards and the house was for a time used as a nursing home. The London Borough of Merton sold the house in the 1980s, the surrounding gardens remain in council ownership and are open to the public. Most parts are maintained, keeping the character of a large private garden, with many distinct areas and small garden rooms. For a number of years the Italian Gardens saw opera performances in the summer as part of the Cannizaro Festival, Cannizzaro is a touristy locality on the Ionian shelvy coast of Eastern Sicily between Aci Castello and Catania. One of the main Etnean medical centres bears the name of Ospedale Cannizzaro since it has been built within its territorial bounds, in both cases the primeval scenery that inspired the local naming has been ravaged over the centuries by many changes due to frequent lava streams and blasting eruptions
4.
Pyl Brook
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Pyl Brook is a small stream in southwest London. It is a tributary of Beverley Brook, which is a tributary of the River Thames, the 5.3 kilometre main brook rises in Sutton Common in Sutton and flows through the London Borough of Merton to join Beverley Brook at Beverley Park in New Malden. The 3.9 kilometre East Pyl Brook also rises in Sutton and flows through Merton, two sections of the East Pyl are nature reserves. Pyl Brook Local Nature Reserve is an area of 1.3 hectares between the brook and the gardens of houses in Rutland Drive, Morden. It is also a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, in the mid-1980s the London Wildlife Trust adopted the site, but it is not on their list of reserves as of August 2015. It has mature hawthorn and elm scrub, with areas of crack-willow, elder, blackthorn, the entrance gate on a path which crosses the site is kept locked and there is no public access. The brook also passes through Morden Park Local Nature Reserve
5.
Worcester Park
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The area is 10.2 miles south-west of Charing Cross. The suburbs population was 16,031 at the time of the 2001 census, beverley Brook runs through Worcester Park, alongside Green Lane and past Green Lane Primary School, traversing up to Cuddington Recreation Ground. Green Lane appears in the Domesday Book, the Huntsmans Hall was situated on what was the far boundary of a hunting ground for Henry VIII. In 2011, around 78% of residents of Worcester Park ward were White, Worcester Park takes its name from the 4th Earl of Worcester, who was appointed Keeper of the Great Park in 1606. The area was part of the Great Park which covered around 1100 acres and was adjacent to the Little Park which contained Nonsuch Palace of Henry VIII. Both parks were used as deer parks. Henry VIII had obtained the land from Sir Richard de Codington, during the ownership by Sir Richard de Codington, there was a manor house on a site which was later replaced by Worcester House and is now the site of Worcester Close. There was also a church of St. Mary on roughly the site where the church of St Mary the Virgin, Cuddington. In 1809 Worcester Park was acquired by William Taylor and he used a mill on the banks of the Hogsmill Riverto continue the manufacture of gunpowder which had been carried out on and off in the area for several centuries. Manufacturing continued until the 1850s when the mill blew up, in 1890 Worcester Park Baptist Church was formed in Longfellow Road. It moved to its present location on The Avenue in the 1950s, Cheam Common Infants and Junior schools are pre-World War II school buildings. Air raid shelters were found underground during an extension to the building of the junior school. The school is located at the top of the high street, Blakesley School was a private primary school run by the Headmaster Eric Dudley. It closed in the summer of 1958, when the land was sold for housing. It occupied the land at grid reference TQ214654 bordered by the portion of Delta Road which was not surfaced, Delta Close. It occupied a plot of land and was a modern manor house style building referred to on local maps as Worcester Court. The surrounding wall is said to go back to Henry VIIIs reign and this headquarters was erected after the previous building was destroyed by arsonists and still serves the 2nd Cuddington Scout Group. In the 1950s, the ruins of an ornamental lake with a multi-arched bridge
6.
Greater London
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London, or Greater London, is a region of England which forms the administrative boundaries of London. It is organised into 33 local government districts, the 32 London boroughs, the Greater London Authority, based in Southwark, is responsible for strategic local government across the region and consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The county of Greater London was created on 1 April 1965 through the London Government Act 1963, administratively, Greater London was first established as a sui generis council area under the Greater London Council between 1963 and 1986. The area was re-established as a region in 1994, and the Greater London Authority formed in 2000, the region covers 1,572 km2 and had a population of 8,174,000 at the 2011 census. In 2012, it had the highest GVA per capita in the United Kingdom at £37,232, the Greater London Built-up Area—used in some national statistics—is a measure of the continuous urban area of London, and therefore includes areas outside of the administrative region. The term Greater London has been and still is used to different areas in governance, statistics, history. In terms of ceremonial counties, London is divided into the small City of London, outside the limited boundaries of the City, a variety of arrangements has governed the wider area since 1855, culminating in the creation of the Greater London administrative area in 1965. The Greater London Arterial Road Programme was devised between 1913 and 1916, one of the larger early forms was the Greater London Planning Region, devised in 1927, which occupied 1,856 square miles and included 9 million people. The LCC pressed for an alteration in its boundaries soon after the end of the First World War, noting that within the Metropolitan, a Royal Commission on London Government was set up to consider the issue. The LCC proposed a vast new area for Greater London, with a boundary somewhere between the Metropolitan Police District and the home counties, protests were made at the possibility of including Windsor, Slough and Eton in the authority. The Commission made its report in 1923, rejecting the LCCs scheme, two minority reports favoured change beyond the amalgamation of smaller urban districts, including both smaller borough councils and a central authority for strategic functions. The London Traffic Act 1924 was a result of the Commission, Greater London originally had a two-tier system of local government, with the Greater London Council sharing power with the City of London Corporation and the 32 London Borough councils. The GLC was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985 and its functions were devolved to the City Corporation and the London Boroughs, with some functions transferred to central government and joint boards. Greater London was used to form the London region of England in 1994, a referendum held in 1998 established a public will to recreate an upper tier of government to cover the region. The Greater London Authority, London Assembly and the directly elected Mayor of London were created in 2000 by the Greater London Authority Act 1999, in 2000, the outer boundary of the Metropolitan Police District was re-aligned to the Greater London boundary. The 2000 and 2004 mayoral elections were won by Ken Livingstone, the 2008 and 2012 elections were won by Boris Johnson. The 2016 election was won by Sadiq Khan, Greater London continues to include the most closely associated parts of the Greater London Urban Area and their historic buffers. Thus it includes, in five boroughs, significant parts of the Metropolitan Green Belt which protects designated greenfield land in a way to the citys parks
7.
Barn Elms
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Barn Elms is an open space in Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is located on the loop of the River Thames between Barnes and Fulham. The WWT London Wetland Centre lies to the north of the open space, the site is split in two, the Barn Elms Playing Fields and the Barn Elms Sports Centre which includes a boathouse as well as a sports centre. Beverley Brook flows across the part of the open space. There are facilities for amateur sport, such as football, rugby, tennis, softball and cricket. It is also the ground for Barnes Eagles FC, Stonewall FC. The facilities were under threat of development until the local community petitioned Richmond Council. To ensure the future of Barn Elms as playing fields the community has created the Barn Elms Sports Trust, in April 2013, Barn Elms Sports Trust were officially awarded the management contract of the Barn Elms Playing Fields following a 12-month interim management period. The oldest plane tree in London is located at Barn Elms and it is also the home ground for the semi-professional Barnes RFC. Its name is derived from the Georgian house and parkland, the manor house of Barnes. In earlier times the house of Barnes was in the ownership of the Archbishop of Canterbury and then of the Dean. The Georgian house replaced the one occupied by Sir Francis Walsingham. Queen Elizabeth I would visit Barn Elms to see her Spymaster, Barn Elms features in English literary history from the time the royalist poet Abraham Cowley moved to the house belonging to John Cartwright in 1663. In the 1660s Barn Elms became a destination for boating picnics. Here the Kit-Kat portraits hung, Tonsons extensions to the house, c1703, seem to have made under the general advice of John Vanbrugh. During Tonsons tenure, John Hughes wrote a description of sunrise in Barn-Elms, Let Phoebus his late happiness rehearse. Ye verdant Elms, that towering grace this grove Be sacred still to Beauty and to Love. John James Heidegger, the impresario, resided at Barn Elms, where he entertained George II
8.
River Thames
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The River Thames is a river that flows through southern England, most notably through London. At 215 miles, it is the longest river entirely in England and it also flows through Oxford, Reading, Henley-on-Thames and Windsor. The lower reaches of the river are called the Tideway, derived from its tidal reach up to Teddington Lock. It rises at Thames Head in Gloucestershire, and flows into the North Sea via the Thames Estuary, the Thames drains the whole of Greater London. Its tidal section, reaching up to Teddington Lock, includes most of its London stretch and has a rise, in Scotland, the Tay achieves more than double the average discharge from a drainage basin that is 60% smaller. Along its course are 45 navigation locks with accompanying weirs and its catchment area covers a large part of South Eastern and a small part of Western England and the river is fed by 38 named tributaries. The river contains over 80 islands, in 2010, the Thames won the largest environmental award in the world – the $350,000 International Riverprize. The Thames, from Middle English Temese, is derived from the Brittonic Celtic name for the river, Tamesas, recorded in Latin as Tamesis and yielding modern Welsh Tafwys Thames. It has also suggested that it is not of Celtic origin. A place by the river, rather than the river itself, indirect evidence for the antiquity of the name Thames is provided by a Roman potsherd found at Oxford, bearing the inscription Tamesubugus fecit. It is believed that Tamesubugus name was derived from that of the river, tamese was referred to as a place, not a river in the Ravenna Cosmography. The rivers name has always pronounced with a simple t /t/, the Middle English spelling was typically Temese. A similar spelling from 1210, Tamisiam, is found in the Magna Carta, the Thames through Oxford is sometimes called the Isis. Ordnance Survey maps still label the Thames as River Thames or Isis down to Dorchester, richard Coates suggests that while the river was as a whole called the Thames, part of it, where it was too wide to ford, was called *lowonida. An alternative, and simpler proposal, is that London may also be a Germanic word, for merchant seamen, the Thames has long been just the London River. Londoners often refer to it simply as the river in such as south of the river. Thames Valley Police is a body that takes its name from the river. The marks of human activity, in cases dating back to Pre-Roman Britain, are visible at various points along the river
9.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
10.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
11.
Putney
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Putney is a district in south-west London, England in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is centred 5.1 miles south-west of Charing Cross, the area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. And thus we take leave of Putney, one of the pleasantest of the London suburbs, Putney is an ancient parish which covered 9.11 square kilometres and was until 1889 in the Hundred of Brixton in the county of Surrey. Its area has reduced by the loss of Roehampton to the south-west. In 1855 the parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works and was grouped into the Wandsworth District, in 1889 the area was removed from Surrey and became part of the County of London. The Wandsworth District became the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth in 1900, since 1965 Putney has formed part of the London Borough of Wandsworth in Greater London. The benefice of the remains a perpetual curacy whose patron is the Dean. It has a small chantry chapel removed from the east end of the south aisle, a charitable almshouse for 12 men and women, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was erected by Sir Abraham Dawes, who provided it with an endowment. Putney was also birthplace of Thomas Cromwell, made Earl of Essex by Henry VIII and of Edward Gibbon, author of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, died at a house on Putney Heath. At that time Putney took on Londons premier role in civil engineering, Putney had a second place of worship, for Independents and Roehampton was in the process of achieving separate parish status. The proprietors of the bridge distributed £31 per annum to watermen, and watermens widows and children, Putney in 1887 covered 9 square kilometres. Putney appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Putelei and it was noted that it did not fall into the category of local jurisdictions known as a manor, but obtained 20 shillings from the ferry or market toll at Putney belonging to the manor of Mortlake. One famous crossing at Putney was that of Cardinal Wolsey in 1529 upon his disgrace in falling out of favour with Henry VIII and on ceasing to be the holder of the Great Seal of England. As he was riding up Putney Hill he was overtaken by one of the royal chamberlains who presented him with a ring as a token of the continuance of his majestys favour. The first permanent bridge between Fulham and Putney was completed in 1729, and was the bridge to be built across the Thames in London. The ferry boat was on the side, however and the waterman. Walpole vowed that a bridge would replace the ferry, the Prince of Wales apparently was often inconvenienced by the ferry when returning from hunting in Richmond park and asked Walpole to use his influence by supporting the bridge. The bridge was a structure and lasted for 150 years
12.
Culvert
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A culvert is a structure that allows water to flow under a road, railroad, trail, or similar obstruction from one side to the other side. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, in the United Kingdom the word can also be used for a longer artificially buried watercourse. A structure that carries water above land is known as an aqueduct, Culverts are commonly used both as cross-drains for ditch relief and to pass water under a road at natural drainage and stream crossings. A culvert may be a structure designed to allow vehicle or pedestrian traffic to cross over the waterway while allowing adequate passage for the water. Culverts come in sizes and shapes including round, elliptical, flat-bottomed, pear-shaped. The culvert type and shape selection is based on a number of factors including requirements for performance, limitation on upstream water surface elevation. The process of removing culverts, which is becoming increasingly prevalent, is known as daylighting, in the UK, the practice is also known as deculverting. Culverts can be constructed of a variety of materials including cast-in-place or precast concrete, galvanized steel, aluminum, or plastic, two or more materials may be combined to form composite structures. For example, open-bottom corrugated steel structures are built on concrete footings. Culverts must be sized and installed, and protected from erosion. Most agencies adhere to these standards when designing, engineering, if the failure is sudden and catastrophic, it can result in injury or loss of life. Sudden road collapses are often at poorly designed and engineered culvert crossing sites, water passing through undersized culverts will scour away the surrounding soil over time. This can cause a failure during medium-sized rain events. There are more than 5,000,000 culverts currently in use in the United States alone, continued inspection, maintenance, and replacement of these structures is crucial for infrastructure and safety. Accidents due to culvert failure can occur if a culvert has not been adequately sized. Improperly designed backfill support around aluminum or plastic culverts can result in material collapse or failure from inadequate load support. Soil and sand carried through a culvert can wear away the galvanizing of a culvert, allowing it to corrode and eventually collapse. This happened at a culvert near Gosford, New South Wales in 2007, safe and stable stream crossings can accommodate wildlife and protect stream health while reducing expensive erosion and structural damage
13.
A2043 road
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The A2043 is a non-primary A-road that runs from Cheam in the Borough of Sutton to Norbiton near Kingston via North Cheam, Worcester Park, Old Malden and New Malden. The A2043 starts at a crossroads in the centre of Cheam at a crossroads with the A232 and Station Way and it is named The Broadway for a short distance before changing name to Malden Road. After a mile, it comes to a crossroads with the A24 London Road in North Cheam and it changes name to Cheam Common Road. It runs into Worcester Park, and after an S-bend in the road, it becomes Central Road, as it goes under the railway line by Worcester Park railway station, it enters the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames. It enters Old Malden and runs for half a mile passing a T-Junction with the north-east terminus of the B284. It then goes under another railway line, about half a mile from Malden Manor railway station, the road then bends round to the right and passes a set of traffic lights with Sheephouse Way. The road then enters New Malden and arrives at Malden Junction with the A3 and it continues for a short distance before heading left at a roundabout with the B283 High Street and B283 Burlington Road. It changes name to Kingston Road and passes Kingsmeadow, home to Kingstonian F. C, AFC Wimbledon, as well as Kingston Athletic Club, the road then becomes Cambridge Road and after a short distance, it terminates at a T-Junction with the A308
14.
Worcester Park railway station
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Worcester Park railway station is a railway station in Worcester Park in south west London. It opened in 1859 when the London and South Western Railway completed the Epsom branch and it was originally known as Old Malden and was renamed Worcester Park in 1862. Following substantial local housing development, the station was refurbished in the 1930s, the station is in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in South London, just to the west of the boundary with the London Borough of Sutton. The station is served by South West Trains, and is in Travelcard Zone 4, the station has a small concession stand selling newspapers, magazines, coffee and pastries. There is an office on the station estate, bus stops served by various Transport for London routes, a 24-hour, 90-space car park, cycle parking. The car park is sited on the area formerly used as a goods yard. The station has no automated barriers, however, Oyster Pre-Pay has been available by National Rail at the station. Disabled access used to be poor, the London bound platform was accessible, however, in June 2014 a new passenger bridge was opened. The new bridge is equipped with lifts to permit disabled access between platforms, on 10 December 2007 there was a landslide on the line near the station which caused major disruptions and cancellations to all services passing through the station for one week. The typical off-peak service from the station is four trains per hour northbound to London Waterloo, during peak times in the mornings and evenings there are additional services. Although both platforms have been extended to allow the use of trains, no date has been announced by South West Trains for their introduction as at December 2014. Under Transport for Londons initial plans for Crossrail 2, it was proposed that those would stop only at certain hub stations, Worcester Park was not scheduled to be a hub station, the nearest being at Motspur Park, the next station to the north. A petition for Worcester Park to be a stop, signed by 1,129 signatories, was presented to the Mayor of London on 15 January 2014. The result is that Crossrail 2 trains should now stop at Worcester Park, London Buses routes 151,213, S3, X26 and E16 serve the station
15.
Motspur Park
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Motspur Park, also known locally as West Barnes, is a suburb in south-west London. It is located just south-east of New Malden, between the boroughs of Kingston upon Thames and Merton, Motspur Park owes its identity to the railway station of the same name, which has six trains an hour to London Waterloo, and to the adjacent parade of small shops. Two prominent gas holders, which are used to store the consumer gas supply for south-west London, stand just south of the shopping parade, Two of London’s minor natural water courses run through the area. The Beverley Brook runs south to north through its centre and its tributary the Pyl Brook runs parallel further to the east. These have in the past given rise to local flooding. The Motspur Park athletics stadium was built by the University of London in 1928 and it was sold to Fulham Football Club as their training ground in 1999. The name comes from Motspur Farm which was located in the area between the road called Motspur Park and Chilmark Gardens. The 1865 OS map shows the name as Mospur. The district was known as West Barnes and formed part of the traditional county of Surrey. It was rural right up to the end of the century when the railway station was built. Two local lanes, West Barnes Lane and Blakes Lane, represent remnants from this rural era, the barns referred to were those at the western end of Merton Abbeys estates and were just north of West Barnes Lanes junction with the modern Crossway. After the dissolution of the monasteries the land was granted to the Gresham family. They retained the estate for two generations, finally selling it to John Carpenter, a local farmer, the area, remained agricultural and was farmed by a number of families, probably the most well known being the Raynes who gave their name to Raynes Park. In the nineteenth century two local landowners were Charles Blake, the owner of Blue House Farm and Richard Garth Lord of the Manor of Morden, both were lawyers and Garth eventually became a judge. They joined forces to seek to procure a Parliamentary bill for a line to run across their properties. The railway itself was constructed through the locality in 1859 by the London and South Western Railway, large mansions and farms are the only habitation shown on the 1871 map of the district with no station or residential districts. The area east of the railway was part of Hobbalds Farm which was owned by Garth, the oakwood alongside the railway was planted around this time to screen it and remains today. The land was sold and then leased to J. J, bishop the founder of the Bishops Move removal company around 1873
16.
New Malden
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New Malden is a suburb in south-west London, in the boroughs of Kingston and Merton, and is 9.4 miles from Charing Cross. Neighbouring localities are Kingston upon Thames, Raynes Park, Surbiton, Tolworth, Wimbledon, New Malden was established entirely as a result of the arrival of the railway when what is now called New Malden railway station was opened on 1 December 1846 on the main line from Waterloo. However, when Queen Victoria visited distinguished residents in the Coombe Hill area, building started slowly in the area just to the north of the station, gathering pace in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with two- and three-bedroom terraced houses. Further out are larger detached and semi-detached houses from the 1930s, the name of the road up the hill to Coombe, Traps Lane, is thought to derive from a farm owned by a Mrs Trap. Following the opening of the Kingston bypass in 1927, the farms to its south progressively gave way to suburban development. Two miles to the south is the village of Old Malden whose origins go back to Anglo-Saxon times. Under the District Councils Act 1895, The Maldens & Coombe Urban District Council was created, in 1936 Malden and Coombe was granted full Borough status, with its own Mayor, and had the rare distinction of a civic mace bearing the royal insignia of King Edward VIII. In 1965, the London Government Act 1963 came into force merging the boroughs of Malden & Coombe, New Malden is home to the offices of many large organisations, including Nestle Purina and Northrop Grumman. New Malden is bounded to the north by the affluent Coombe Hill and to the south and east by Raynes Park, Worcester Park and Tolworth. New Malden includes Motspur Park, home to the ground of Fulham Football Club and also the Kings College London sports ground. A minor tributary of the River Thames, Beverley Brook, flows through the east of the town, while its boundary is along the Hogsmill. The first parking meters were made in New Malden at Venners Ltd, in the 2001 census, some small areas of New Malden had Other Asian populations of over 25%, though no whole ward reached over 20%. Many of the Koreans living in New Malden work for Korean companies, in 2015 Paul Fischer of The Independent wrote that the North Koreans were insular, and that there were tensions between the South Korean majority and the North Koreans in New Malden. The New Malden area has Korean-language churches and nursery schools as well as restaurants, New Malden functions as the shopping and cultural centre for a Korean population spread more widely across South-West London and the neighbouring counties. The area has Korean supermarkets, about 20 Korean restaurants and cafes and it also has a noraebang, and many other shops. The Korean language is visible on several shop signs, the original Embassy of South Korea to the United Kingdom was in New Malden, before moving to 60 Buckingham Gate in Westminster. Many Koreans settled the New Malden in the 1970s due to the ambassadors location, a high proportion of the community are expatriate workers for Korean companies, who remain in the UK for a number of years before returning to Korea. Many work in finance and banking in the City of London, there is a newspaper published in New Malden, Free NK, which is opposed to the government of North Korea
17.
Wimbledon Common
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Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, south-west London, totalling 460 hectares. There are three named areas, Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon, Putney Lower Common is separated from the rest of the Common by about 1.5 miles of built-up area of southwest Putney. Wimbledon Common, together with Putney Heath and Putney Lower Common, is protected by the Wimbledon, the common is for the benefit of the general public for informal recreation, and for the preservation of natural flora and fauna. It is the largest expanse of heathland in the London area, there is an area of bog with unique flora. The western slopes, which lie on London Clay, support mature mixed woodland, the Commons are also an important site for the stag beetle. Most of the Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, english Nature works with the Conservators on the management plan for the area. Wimbledon Common and Putney Heath are also a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, the Commons are administered by eight Conservators. Five of them are elected triennially and the three are appointed by three government departments, the Department of the Environment, Ministry of Defence and Home Office. The Commons are managed by the Clerk and Ranger, supported by a Deputy, a Wildlife & Conservation Officer, there are seven Mounted Keepers, two groundsmen, six maintenance workers and one property maintenance worker – some 23 employees in total. There are at least four horses which are used by the Keepers on mounted patrol, the Conservators are responsible for the annual budget of around £1m. Most of the revenue comes from a levy on houses within 3⁄4 mile of the Commons. The levy payers are entitled to vote for the five elected Conservators, the levy payers fall within three London boroughs, Merton, Wandsworth and Kingston. A windmill stands near the centre of Wimbledon Common as usually understood, here Robert Baden-Powell wrote parts of Scouting for Boys, which was published in 1908. In the 19th century the windmill was the headquarters of the National Rifle Association, eventually the headquarters were moved to ranges at Bisley. Two broad, shallow pools, Kingsmere and Rushmere, lie near roads on the parts of Wimbledon Common. The more remote Queensmere is somewhat deeper, being impounded in a small valley, Beverley Brook runs along the western edge of Wimbledon Common. The watercourse was the south west London boundary. Near Beverley Brook and Warren Farm are two Local Nature Reserves managed by the London Wildlife Trust, Farm Bog and Fishpond Wood and it may have been taken by the Legio II Augusta under Vespasian in their push westwards in AD44
18.
East Sheen
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East Sheen, also known as Sheen, is a suburb of London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. This commercial thoroughfare, well served by transport, is the Upper Richmond Road West which connects Richmond to Putney. Central to this street is The Triangle, an island with a war memorial. The main railway station serving the area, Mortlake, is centred 300m north of this, the earliest recorded use of the name is c.950 as Sceon and means shed or shelters. The area was designated separately from Sheen from the 13th century, manor and hamlet status East Sheen was a hamlet in the parish of Mortlake, East-Sheen is a pleasant hamlet in this parish, situated on a rising ground considerably above the level of the river. Here are several villas, the vicinity to Richmond-park. Earliest references specifically to the present area of land, rather than references to parts of Mortlake, emerge in the 13th century, generally under its early name of Westhall. Originally one carucate, it was sold in 1473 by Michael Gaynsford and Margaret his wife in the right of Margaret to William Welbeck, citizen and haberdasher, the Welbecks held it until selling in 1587. Later owners of what remained, the Whitfields, Juxons and Taylors were equally not titled, as with Mortlakes manorial owners, nor had an above average size or lavish manor house. Development of the Temple Grove, Palmerston country estate The southern estate of Temple Grove, East Sheen, first belonged to Sir Abraham Cullen and he died in 1668, and his first son Sir John in 1677. It belonged to the Temples until Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston and it was bought by Sir Thomas Bernard, who rebuilt the Jacobean style front of the house shown in a drawing hung in the house of 1611. Sir Thomas sold it about 1811 to Rev. William Pearson who founded the Temple Grove Preparatory School for boys, the school moved in 1907 to Eastbourne and the estate was given over to house and apartment builders. East Sheen was included in the Metropolitan Police District in 1840, before 1900, Mortlake developed a secular vestry to help administer poor relief, maintain roads, ditches and other affairs. From 1892 to 1894 Mortlake formed part of the expanded Municipal Borough of Richmond, in 1894 nearby North Sheen was created as a civil parish, being split off from Mortlake and remaining in the Municipal Borough of Richmond. The remainder of Mortlake was instead transferred to Barnes Urban District, in 1965 North Sheen was incorporated in Kew which, with the rest of the Municipal Borough of Richmond, joined Twickenham and Barnes M. B. s to form the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In the wards of the United Kingdom, Sheen has the largest share of Richmond Park of its surrounding five wards and this wide-footpath street with bus lanes is the Upper Richmond Road West which connects Richmond to Putney. Central to this street is The Triangle, a traffic island with a war memorial. The main railway station serving the area, Mortlake, is centred 300m north of this, East Sheen lies in the ecclesiastical parish of Mortlake with East Sheen
19.
Roehampton
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Roehampton is a suburban district in southwest London, forming the western end of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies between the town of Barnes to the north, Putney to the east, and Wimbledon Common to the south. The Richmond Park Golf Courses are west of the district, Roehampton is 6.3 miles southwest of Charing Cross. The Roe in Roehampton is thought to refer to the number of rooks that still inhabit the area. Roehampton House by Thomas Archer was built between 1710–12 and enlarged by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1910, parkstead House built in 1750 for William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough, now forms part of the University of Roehampton. Mount Clare built in 1772 for George Clive, cousin of Lord Clive, capability Brown is reputed to have laid out the grounds. The university also owns Downshire House, built in 1770 and once occupied by the Marquess of Downshire, the Society of Jesus founded St Joseph Church in Roehampton in 1869 from the novitiate that became Whitelands College. Dramatic change came to Roehampton when the London County Council built the Roehampton Estate in the 1920s and 1930s, Dover House Road Estate is one of a number of important London County Council cottage estates inspired by the Garden City Movement. The land was previously the estates of two houses, Dover House and Putney Park House, which were purchased by the LCC soon after World War I. Dover House was demolished for the new estate, but Putney Park House remains, the common characteristic of the LCC cottage estates is picturesque housing influenced by the Arts and Crafts style. Allotments were also provided in three backland areas behind houses, two of which remain, the third subsequently infilled by housing, the installation and construction of a pedestrian entrance to Richmond Park from the Alton Estate was secured by Justine Greening in 2007 although it has not yet materialised. The Alton Estate has featured as a film and television location, the estate is now part of a regeneration scheme with a number of government initiatives such as SureStart helping to tackle issues of poverty and social exclusion. Roehampton was originally a village which evolved as a residential area for the wealthy within easy reach of London. Roehampton House was built in 1710 and was until 2008 the administrative centre for Queen Marys Hospital and it is now being developed into private flats. Gerard Manley Hopkins, the Jesuit poet, lived there, many other 18th century aristocratic summer villas were set in parkland near Richmond Park and Putney Heath. Parkstead House, Downshire House, Grove House and Mount Clare are now all part of the University of Roehampton campus, much of the old village of Roehampton still remains dominated by large detached houses. An old watering trough for Victorian carriage-horses exists at the junction of Medfield Street, the university has campaigned to have nearby Barnes railway station renamed as Barnes & Roehampton given that the station is situated between the two areas. Apart from education other notable institutions based here include, The Priory Clinic, the Bank of England Sports Centre, Rosslyn Park Rugby Football Club, Roehampton has long been an exclusive London address
20.
Barnes, London
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Barnes is a suburban district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is located in the extreme northeast of the borough and it is centred 5.8 miles west south-west of Charing Cross in a bend of the River Thames. On the east riverside is the WWT London Wetland Centre adjoining several fields for the three national team sports. The Thames Path National Trail provides a promenade along the entire bend of the river which is on the Championship Course in rowing. Barnes has two stations and is served by bus routes towards central London and Richmond. Hammersmith Bridge at the north end links Barnes to the centre of Hammersmith, Barnes adjoins the South Circular Road and Putney, which forms a rival commercial hub to Hammersmith. Unlike Mortlake and Hammersmith, Barnes has no dual carriageways, the locality is one of a minority at its radius from the centre of London in the early 21st century to be defined by suburban by a Greater London Authority paper. Barnes has two railway stations, Barnes Bridge railway station Barnes railway station Its nearest tube station is Hammersmith. London Buses serving Barnes are, Historically part of Surrey, Barnes appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Berne. It was held by the Canons of St Paul of London when its assets were,8 hides and it rendered to its feudal system overlords £7 per year. The original Norman chapel of St Marys, Barnes village church, was built at some point between 1100 and 1150, and was extended in the early 13th century. In 1215, immediately after confirming the sealing of the Magna Carta, Stephen Langton, the church was added to in 1485 and in 1786. After a major fire in 1978 destroyed the Victorian and Edwardian additions to the building, some of the oldest riverside housing in London is to be found on the Terrace, a road lined with Georgian mansions which runs along the west bend of the river. Construction of these began as early as 1720. Gustav Holst and Ninette de Valois lived in houses on this stretch, the Terrace also has an original red brick police station, built in 1891. It has been remodelled as flats but still preserves the original features, the Grade II listed Barnes Railway Bridge, originally constructed in 1849 by Joseph Locke, dominates the view of the river from the Terrace. In 2009, a project began to re-paint the bridge, Castelnau, in north Barnes and on the banks of the river, has a small church, Holy Trinity. The area between Castelnau and Lonsdale Road contains a 1930s council estate, mostly consisting of Boot Houses, a 2014 survey found that Barnes had the highest proportion of independent shops of any area in Britain, at 96. 6%
21.
Putney Common
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Putney Lower Common is a part of Wimbledon and Putney Commons, lying about 1.5 miles north of the rest, between the Lower Richmond Road and the River Thames. Putney was probably settled during the Roman occupation, Lower Richmond Road was probably a Roman Road, and the Lower Common was probably an open pasture and farmland. Land was apparently lost in the 19th century when Elm Lodge was built, funded by legacies from Sir Henry Chester and Sir William Lancaster, Elm Lodge was rebuilt in 1912 as Putney Hospital. Putney Hospital, was closed to services to patients in 1998 and it has remained vacant ever since. Wandsworth council has now purchased the Hospital and its Childrens Services department is proposing to build a new school on the site since July 2010. 24 flats will be built at the end of the site to help fund the project. Planning permission for the development of the school and flats was quashed by the High Court in early 2013. The resident lost his case but has appealed, following the grant of the easement, a strip of common land is to be tarmacked with a new private road to provide access to the school and the luxury flats. In addition, new footpaths, bollards, a remotely controlled barrier and street lighting will be installed, as part of the same development, a more substantial portion of common land, currently tarmacked to provide parking for the old hospital, will be returned to grass. The dates for the Judicial Review are now set by the High Court, Wandsworth Council have confirmed to the Commons Conservators that they intend to Compulsorily Purchase the Common in the event that the Conservators lose the case. The community group, Friends of Putney Common http, //www. friendsofputneycommon. org/ continue to oppose the actions of Wandsworth Council, which are opposed by some local residents. On April 3,2014 Lord Justice Rimer granted an application for the case to proceed to the Court of Appeal, the common also includes Putney Lower Common Cemetery which was established in 1858. In 1871 the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Act was passed which prevented further building, in the south-east corner lies All Saints Church, built in 1874. The number 22 bus route begins at the Spencer Arms, at the North East corner of the common
22.
Drainage basin
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A drainage basin or catchment area is any area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet, such as into a river, bay, or other body of water. Drainage basins connect into other drainage basins at elevations in a hierarchical pattern, with smaller sub-drainage basins. Other terms used to describe drainage basins are catchment, catchment basin, drainage area, river basin and water basin. In closed drainage basins the water converges to a point inside the basin, known as a sink, which may be a permanent lake. The drainage basin acts as a funnel by collecting all the water within the covered by the basin. Each drainage basin is separated topographically from adjacent basins by a perimeter, drainage basins are similar but not identical to hydrologic units, which are drainage areas delineated so as to nest into a multi-level hierarchical drainage system. Hydrologic units are defined to allow multiple inlets, outlets, or sinks, in a strict sense, all drainage basins are hydrologic units but not all hydrologic units are drainage basins. Drainage basins of the oceans and seas of the world. Grey areas are endorheic basins that do not drain to the oceans, the following is a list of the major ocean basins, About 48. 7% of the worlds land drains to the Atlantic Ocean. The two major mediterranean seas of the world also flow to the Atlantic, The Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico basin includes most of the U. S. The Mediterranean Sea basin includes much of North Africa, east-central Africa, Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the areas of Israel, Lebanon. Just over 13% of the land in the world drains to the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Oceans drainage basin also comprises about 13% of Earths land. It drains the eastern coast of Africa, the coasts of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, Burma, antarctica comprises approximately eight percent of the Earths land. The five largest river basins, from largest to smallest, are the basins of the Amazon, the Río de la Plata, the Congo, the Nile, and the Mississippi. The three rivers that drain the most water, from most to least, are the Amazon, Ganga, endorheic drainage basins are inland basins that do not drain to an ocean. Around 18% of all land drains to endorheic lakes or seas or sinks, the largest of these consists of much of the interior of Asia, which drains into the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea, and numerous smaller lakes. Some of these, such as the Great Basin, are not single drainage basins but collections of separate, in endorheic bodies of standing water where evaporation is the primary means of water loss, the water is typically more saline than the oceans. An extreme example of this is the Dead Sea, drainage basins have been historically important for determining territorial boundaries, particularly in regions where trade by water has been important
23.
Nymphaeaceae
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Nymphaeaceae /ˌnɪmfiːˈeɪsiː/ is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates around the world, the family contains five genera with about 70 known species. Water lilies are rooted in soil in bodies of water, with leaves, the leaves are round, with a radial notch in Nymphaea and Nuphar, but fully circular in Victoria and Euryale. Genera with more parts, Nuphar, Nymphaea, Victoria, have a beetle pollination syndrome, while genera with fewer parts are pollinated by flies or bees. Thus, the number of relatively unspecialized floral organs in the Nymphaeaceae is not an ancestral condition for the clade. Water lilies do not have leaves in the winter time. The leftover of internal pressure is embodied by the constant streams of bubbles that outbreak when rising leaves are ruptured in the spring. Methane is still penetrating the roots and rhizome in the summer, moving fast up the petioles, the Nymphaeaceae are aquatic, rhizomatous herbs. The family is characterized by scattered vascular bundles in the stems. Hairs are simple, usually producing mucilage, stipules are either present or absent. Flowers are solitary, bisexual, radial, with a pedicel and usually floating or raised above the surface of the water. Sepals are 4-12, distinct to connate, imbricate, and often petal-like, petals lacks or 8 to numerous, inconspicuous to showy, often intergrading with stamens. Stamens are 3 to numerous, the innermost sometimes represented by staminodes, carpels are 3 to numerous, distinct or connate. Fruit is an aggregate of nuts, a berry, or an irregularly dehiscent fleshy capsule, seeds are often arillate, more or less lacking sperm. Nymphaeaceae has been investigated systematically for decades because botanists considered their floral morphology to represent one of the earliest groups of angiosperms, modern genetic analyses by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group researchers has confirmed its basal position among flowering plants. In addition, the Nymphaeaceae are more diverse and geographically dispersed than other basal angiosperms. Nymphaeaceae is placed in the order Nymphaeales, which is the second diverging group of angiosperms after Amborella in the most widely accepted flowering plant classification system, Nymphaeaceae is a small family of three to six genera, Barclaya, Euryale, Nuphar, Nymphaea, Ondinea, and Victoria. The genus Barclaya is sometimes given rank as its own family, Barclayaceae, on the basis of a perianth tube arising from the top of the ovary
24.
London Borough of Merton
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The London Borough of Merton /ˈmɜːrtən/ is a borough in south-west London, England. The main commercial centres in Merton are Mitcham, Morden and Wimbledon, other smaller centres include Raynes Park, Colliers Wood, South Wimbledon, Wimbledon Park and Pollards Hill. The borough is the host of the Wimbledon tournament, one of tenniss Grand Slam competitions, the borough derives its name from the historic parish of Merton which was centred on the area now known as South Wimbledon. Merton was chosen as a compromise, following a dispute between Wimbledon and Mitcham over the new boroughs name. The local authority is Merton London Borough Council, Colliers Wood Lower Morden Merton Park Mitcham Mitcham Common Morden Morden Park Motspur Park New Malden Norbury Pollards Hill Raynes Park St. This followed four years as a minority administration, at the same time, it elects a deputy mayor to serve alongside the mayor. Since 1978, each Mayor must also be an elected councillor, a lot of filming for former ITV police drama The Bill took place in Merton, particularly in the districts of Mitcham and Colliers Wood. The set of Sun Hill police station was located in the Borough. The main local newspaper in Merton is the Wimbledon Guardian with two editions, Wimbledon along with Mitcham and Morden, the main difference between the papers is the front page. The Wimbledon Post is another newspaper published weekly. Both newspapers are available free, though there is a charge if bought from a newsagent, Square Enix Europe has its head office in Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon. Eidos Interactive, a subsidiary of Square Enix, also shares the same head office, Merton is served by a wide range of National Rail stations across the borough, as well as the southern tip of London Undergrounds Northern line and the District line on the Wimbledon branch. The borough is served by several London Tramlink stops from Wimbledon. In 2001, the census recorded that 25% of the population of the borough was from an ethnic minority, the highest ethnic populations were recorded in wards in the east of the borough. The percentage of population from ethnic minorities is predicted to rise across the borough within the next decade, the most affluent wards were in the north and west of the borough. Comparative crime rates appear to be unrelated to the ranking of wards. Merton currently operates a Police Cadet scheme under the Metropolitan Police Service, the borough gained a football team in 1889 when Wimbledon Old Centrals were founded, and were soon a member of the local football leagues. The club later adopted the title Wimbledon FC and moved into a new stadium at Plough Lane in 1912, as the 20th century wore on, the club enjoyed considerable success in non league football
25.
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
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The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London, England. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, New Malden, Tolworth and it is the oldest of the four Royal Boroughs in England. The others are Kensington and Chelsea and Greenwich also in London, the local authority is Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council. Many Roman relics have been found in the surrounding areas, a church has stood on the site of All Saints Church, in the centre of Kingston, for more than a thousand years. An earlier church was sacked by the Vikings in 1009 AD, a coin from the reign of each of those kings is set into the base of the stone. The borough was formed in 1965 by the merger and the transfer from Surrey to Greater London of the Municipal boroughs of Kingston-upon-Thames, Malden and Coombe, the current name of the borough omits hyphens to distinguish it from the similarly named former municipal borough. The borough includes the whole of the Kingston and Surbiton Westminster Parliamentary Constituency and part of the Richmond Park Constituency, the previous constituencies re-arranged to form these two had been essentially Conservative. In 1997 the Liberal Democrats won both seats, goldsmith retained his seat at the 2015 general election, with a greatly increased majority of 23,015. Edward Davey overturned the previous Conservative majority of more than 10,000 in Kingston and Surbiton and he retained the seat in 2001 with a majority of 15,676 over the Conservative candidate David Shaw. In 2005 Daveys majority was 8,961 and in the May 2010 general election he retained the seat with a slightly reduced majority. In the 2015 general election, Daveys seat was taken by Conservative James Berry with a majority of 2,834, Daveys was one of six Liberal Democrat losses in London and 49 overall as the party suffered its worst election results since its formation in 1988. The Borough Council was controlled by the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1986 and it lost several by-elections due to its attempt to abolish the Boroughs grammar school system. The Conservatives regained control in 1987, the 1990 election gave no party a majority but the Conservatives kept power with the casting vote of the Mayor. In 1994 the Liberal Democrats took the Council for the first time, in 1998 the Liberal Democrats lost their majority on the Council and a minority Conservative Party administration was formed. This minority administration was weakened in 1999 by the expulsion of Tim Brown for expressing concerns about the leadership of the local Kingston & Surbiton Conservative Association, marks ward Councillors Dennis de Lord and Jan Jenner resigned in protest at hypocrisy within the Conservative group on the Council. With Tim Brown they formed a new Independent Group of Councillors with Dennis de Lord as leader and Tim Brown as deputy leader, to put People Before Politics. This was the first time that four parties were represented on the council, the group did not stand for re-election following the continuing ill-health of Dennis de Lord. At the 2002 elections, the Liberal Democrats took control of the Council with a majority of twelve seats and this was the first time any party had retained control of the Council since 1986
26.
A3 road
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The A3, known as the Portsmouth Road or London Road in sections, is a major road connecting London and Portsmouth passing close to Kingston upon Thames, Guildford, Haslemere and Petersfield. For much of its 67-mile length, it is classified as a trunk road, almost all of the road has been built to dual carriageway standards or wider. Apart from bypass sections in London the road travels in a southwest direction and, after Liss, the other section of such restriction is through Battersea, Clapham and Stockwell towards the northern end reflecting its urban setting and also accommodating bus lanes and parking meter bays. The construction of the Kingston and Guildford bypasses in the 1920s and 1930s made use of narrow gauge railways to move the construction materials. The Esher bypass, between Hook from the first mentioned bypass to the M25, is three lanes with a hard shoulder, from here to Guildford the road has three lanes. Lord Montagu of Beaulieu stressed the urgency of building a Kingston By-pass in 1911 however before the onset of World War I public funds were not secured and were not available in the aftermath. It was opened by the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Stanley Baldwin MP and it ran for 8.5 miles from the Robin Hood Gate of Richmond Park to the near outskirts of Esher. The opening ceremony concluded with refreshments for 800 guests in marquees near to the northern start/end and its construction immediately attracted developments of housing where access was easiest. The road was once the haunt of highwaymen such as Jerry Abershawe who terrorised the area around Kingston, another particularly dangerous location was in the vicinity of the wooded crest skirting the Devils Punch Bowl, Hindhead, about 8 miles south-west of Guildford. In 2011 the Hindhead Tunnel became the centre of the Hindhead Bypass around the road of the small town. Until 2011 the road through Hindhead was the last single carriageway section of the route, outside London and it continues along Newington Butts, and bounds then enters the London Borough of Lambeth on Kennington Park Road which becomes Clapham Road and Clapham High Street. The A3 then turns west as Clapham Common North Side, along this road it enters the London Borough of Wandsworth after which it runs concurrently with the A205 South Circular and goes through Wandsworth, then the A205 carries on west towards Richmond. The A3 then continues south-west between Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common before beginning to bypass Kingston upon Thames while going through Roehampton Vale. The A3 enters The Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames just before Kingston Vale where there is a junction with the A308 for Kingston upon Thames, the speed limit then increases to 50 mph before going under the Coombe Flyover. The A3 then goes on a flyover by Shannon Corner in Raynes Park, before having junctions for New Malden, Tolworth, brief features of a section of road contribute to a traffic pinch-point during peak hours around the Hook underpass. The road reduces from three lanes to two in the underpass, the speed limit at this point reduces from 70 miles per hour to 50 miles per hour, with the first of a handful of GATSO speed enforcement cameras. If returning to London traffic from the A309 also joins just before the underpass, after passing Claygate the motorway-standard section has junctions with the A244 between Esher and Oxshott, then the A245 between Cobham and Hersham. The roads Wisley Interchange with the M25 enables a flyover still with a 70 mph speed limit and it bypasses Wisley, Ockham, Ripley before cutting through the major town itself as a dual carriageway and changing to a 50 mph speed limit
27.
Site of Special Scientific Interest
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The acronym SSSI is often pronounced triple-S I. Sites notified for their biological interest are known as Biological SSSI/ASSIs, SSSI/ASSIs may be divided into management units, with some areas including units that are noted for both biological and geological interest. Biological SSSI/ASSIs may be selected for reasons, which for Great Britain is governed by published SSSI Selection Guidelines. Within each area, a series of the best examples of each significant natural habitat may be notified. Sites of particular significance for various groups may be selected —each of these groups has its own set of selection guidelines. In Scotland, the authority is Scottish Natural Heritage, the role in Wales is performed by Natural Resources Wales. In the Isle of Man the role is performed by the Department of Environment, Food, Geological SSSI/ASSIs are selected by a different mechanism to biological ones, with a minimalistic system selecting one site for each geological feature in Great Britain. Each of these sites is described, with most published in the Geological Conservation Review series, almost all GCR sites are subsequently notified as geological SSSIs, except some that coincide with designated biological SSSI management units. If the exposure becomes obscured, the feature could in principle be re-exposed elsewhere, Conservation of these sites usually concentrates on maintenance of access for future study. These are features which are limited in extent or physically delicate—for example, they include small lenses of sediment, mine tailings, caves, if such features become damaged they cannot be recreated, and conservation usually involves protecting the feature from erosion or other damage. Following devolution, legal arrangements for SSSIs and ASSIs differ between the countries of the UK, the Isle of Man ASSI system is a separate entity. Scottish Natural Heritage publishes a summary of the SSSI arrangements for SSSI owners and occupiers which can be downloaded from the SNH website, legal documents for all SSSIs in Scotland are available on the SSSI Register, hosted by The Registers of Scotland. Further information about SSSIs in Scotland is available on the SNH website, SSSIs are also covered under the Water Resources Act 1991 and related legislation. An SSSI may be made on any area of land which is considered to be of special interest by virtue of its fauna, flora, SSSI notification can cover any land within the area of the relevant nature conservation body, including dry land, land covered by freshwater. The extent to which an SSSI/ASSI may extend seawards differs between countries, in England, Natural England may notify an SSSI over estuarial waters and further adjacent waters in certain circumstances. Access on to SSSIs is the same as for the rest of the countryside of the relevant country, most SSSIs/ASSIs are in private ownership and form parts of working farms, forests and estates. In Scotland, people may use their rights of access to visit SSSIs. When creating a new SSSI/ASSI the designation hs legal effect from the date of notification. g, in Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage must also notify the relevant community councils and community group having registered an interest in the land. )
28.
Special Area of Conservation
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A Special Area of Conservation is defined in the European Unions Habitats Directive, also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora. They must be chosen from the Sites of Community Importance by the State Members, sACs complement Special Protection Areas and together form a network of protected sites across the European Union called Natura 2000. This, in turn, is part of the Emerald network of Areas of Special Conservation Interest under the Berne Convention, prior to being designated as a Special Area of Conservation, sites are assessed under a two-stage process set out by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. The value of the site is considered in relation to the whole national resource of each habitat type. Firstly, assessment of the importance of sites containing examples of the individual habitat types. This stage is often referred to as moderation. The criteria used in Stage 2 are intended to be used to assess the sites at the level of the nine biogeographical regions and the EU as a whole
29.
Fishpond Wood and Beverley Meads
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Fishpond Wood and Beverley Meads is a 5.8 hectare local nature reserve adjacent to Wimbledon Common in the London Borough of Merton. It is owned by Merton Council and managed by the London Wildlife Trust, in the Middle Ages Beverley Meads was owned by Merton Abbey, and it was later part of Warren Farm until it was acquired by Wimbledon Council in the 1950s. Fishpond Wood has two ponds which may date from medieval times and wetlands surrounded by oak and hazel woodlands. Beverley Meads is a mosaic of woodlands and acid grassland, which is a habitat in London. There is access to the site by footpaths from Wimbledon Common, from Barham Road, and from Robin Hood Way opposite Coombe Hill Road
30.
Eurasian beaver
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The Eurasian beaver or European beaver is a species of beaver which was once widespread in Eurasia. It was hunted to near-extinction for both its fur and castoreum, and by 1900, only 1200 beavers survived in eight relict populations in Europe and Asia. Reintroduced through much of its range, it now occurs from Great Britain to China and Mongolia, although it is absent from Italy, Portugal, the southern Balkans. The fur color of Eurasian beavers varies geographically, light, chestnut-rust is the dominant colour in Belarus. In Russia, the beavers of the Sozh River basin are predominantly blackish brown, Eurasian beavers are one of the largest living species of rodents and are the largest rodent native to Eurasia. They weigh around 11–30 kg, with an average of 18 kg, while the largest specimen confirmed on record weighed 31.7 kg, the Smithsonian has reported that this species can exceptionally exceed 40 kg. Typically, the length is 80–100 cm and the tail length is 25–50 cm. The Eurasian beaver also has nasal bones, with the widest point being at the end of the snout, in the case of the North American beaver. The Eurasian beaver has a triangular opening, unlike those of the North American beavers. Furthermore, the foramen magnum is rounded in the Eurasian beaver, the anal glands of the Eurasian beaver are larger, and thin-walled, with a large internal volume, relative to that of the North American beaver. The guard hairs of the Eurasian beaver have longer hollow medullae at their tips, the two species are not genetically compatible. The North American beaver has 40 chromosomes, while the Eurasian beaver has 48, after more than 27 attempts in Russia to hybridize the two species, the result was one stillborn kit that was bred from the pairing of a male North American beaver and a female Eurasian beaver. The aforementioned factor makes interspecific breeding unlikely in areas where the two species ranges overlap, historically, eight subspecies of Castor fiber were described, one for each of the eight 19th– to 20th-century refugia where the species never became extinct. The basis of the differentiation was morphological, largely based on small differences in cranial morphology. In 2005, Durka et al. showed that only two evolutionarily significant units exist based on mitochondrial DNA studies, a western phylogroup and an eastern phylogroup. Eurasian beavers have one litter per year, coming into estrus for only 12 to 24 hours, unlike most other rodents, beaver pairs are monogamous, staying together for multiple breeding seasons. Gestation averages 107 days and they average three kits per litter with a range of two to six kits, most beavers do not reproduce until they are three years of age, but about 20% of two-year-old females reproduce. The Eurasian beaver is recovering from near extinction, after depredation by humans for its fur and for castoreum, the estimated population was only 1,200 by the early 20th century
31.
Middle English
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This stage of the development of the English language roughly followed the High to the Late Middle Ages. Middle English developed out of Late Old English, seeing many dramatic changes in its grammar, pronunciation and this largely forms the basis for Modern English spelling, although pronunciation has changed considerably since that time. Middle English was succeeded in England by the era of Early Modern English, by that time, a variant of the Northumbrian dialect was developing into the Scots language. During the Middle English period many Old English grammatical features were simplified or disappeared, noun, adjective and verb inflections were simplified, a process that included the reduction of most grammatical case distinctions. Middle English also saw an adoption of Norman French vocabulary, especially in areas such as politics, law. Everyday English vocabulary remained mostly Germanic, with Old Norse influence becoming apparent, significant changes in pronunciation took place, especially for long vowels and diphthongs, which in the later Middle English period began to undergo the Great Vowel Shift. Little survives of early Middle English literature, most likely due to the Norman domination, poets wrote both in the vernacular and courtly English. It is popularly believed that William Shakespeare wrote in Middle English, the latter part of the 11th century was a period of transition from Late Old English to Early Middle English. The influence of Old Norse certainly helped move English from a synthetic language towards a more analytic or isolating word order and it was, after all, a salutary influence. The gain was greater than the loss, there was a gain in directness, in clarity, and in strength. The change to Old English from Old Norse was substantive, pervasive and it is most important to recognise that in many words the English and Scandinavian language differed chiefly in their inflectional elements. The body of the word was so nearly the same in the two languages only the endings would put obstacles in the way of mutual understanding. In the mixed population which existed in the Danelaw these endings must have led to confusion, tending gradually to become obscured. This blending of peoples and languages resulted in simplifying English grammar. There are also many Norman-derived terms relating to the cultures that arose in the 12th century. Sometimes, and particularly later, words were taken from Latin, giving such sets as kingly, later French borrowings came from standard rather than Norman French, this leads to such cognate pairs as warden, guardian. The end of Anglo-Saxon rule did not, of course, change the language immediately, the general population would have spoken the same dialects as before the Conquest, these changed slowly until written records of them became available for study, which varies in different regions. Once the writing of Old English came to an end, Middle English had no standard language, Early Middle English has a largely Anglo-Saxon vocabulary, but a greatly simplified inflectional system
32.
Cheam
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Cheam /ˈtʃiːm/ is a large suburban village in the London Borough of Sutton, England, at the southern boundary of Greater London where it meets Surrey. It is divided into two areas, North Cheam and Cheam Village, both of which are centred on retail districts. Cheam has a number of listed buildings, including Lumley Chapel and the 16th-century Whitehall Gallery, Nonsuch Park contains the listed Nonsuch Mansion. Parts of Cheam Park and Cheam Village are in a conservation area, Cheam is bordered by Worcester Park to the north-west, Morden to the north-east, Sutton to the east, Ewell to the west and Banstead and Belmont to the south. The Roman road of Stane Street forms part of the boundary of Cheam, the course of Stane Street through the area is now followed by the modern road London Road at North Cheam, and designated A24 on road maps. The village lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Wallington hundred, cheams roots date back to 1018, when Chertsey Abbey owned the area. In the Domesday Book, the Bishop was holding Cheam to cater for the monks, Cheam appears in Domesday Book as Ceiham. It was held by Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury and its Domesday assets were,4 hides,1 church,17 ploughs, 1-acre of meadow, woodland worth 25 hogs. In the Middle Ages, Cheam had potteries, and recent excavations have been carried out by archaeologists, in 1538, part of Cheam was handed over to Henry VIII. The same year, Henry began work on Nonsuch Palace, which he decorated elaborately and this was later sold and demolished. In 1801, the time of the first census, Cheam had a population of 616 Cheamonians, in 1259 Henry III of England made Cheam a town by charter. Records of Cheam Charter Fair date back to the 1800s when a fairground accompanied the market, Cheam was the original home of Cheam School which was formed in Whitehall in 1645 and later occupied Tabor Court from 1719 until 1934 when the school moved to Berkshire. Prince Philip attended the school in Cheam in the immediately preceding its move. Cheam Village is centred on the crossroads between Sutton, North Cheam, South Cheam and Ewell. As well as bus services, it is served by Cheam mainline station which is in London Travelcard Zone 5 and one stop from Sutton, about a mile away, services from Cheam to central London include direct trains to Victoria which take about 30 minutes. It has an area and a number of historic buildings dating back several centuries, including Nonsuch Mansion, the gabled Whitehall and Lumley Chapel. Cheam Village is a part of Cheam, Cheam Village Conservation Area was designated in 1970 – it covers historic parkland, housing of varying styles and age and a Tudor shopping area with timber detailing and leaded-lights. Its shops include Waitrose and Majestic Wine and its catering facilities include branches of Costa, Prezzo, and Pizza Express
33.
Tributary
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A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean, tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater, leading the water out into an ocean. A confluence, where two or more bodies of water together, usually refers to the joining of tributaries. The opposite to a tributary is a distributary, a river or stream that branches off from, distributaries are most often found in river deltas. Right tributary and left tributary are terms stating the orientation of the relative to the flow of the main stem river. These terms are defined from the perspective of looking downstream, where tributaries have the same name as the river into which they feed, they are called forks. These are typically designated by compass direction, for example, the American River receives flow from its North, Middle, and South forks. The Chicago Rivers North Branch has the East, West, and Middle Fork, the South Branch has its South Fork, forks are sometimes designated as right or left. Here, the handedness is from the point of view of an observer facing upstream, for instance, Steer Creek has a left tributary which is called Right Fork Steer Creek. Tributaries are sometimes listed starting with those nearest to the source of the river, the Strahler Stream Order examines the arrangement of tributaries in a hierarchy of first, second, third, and higher orders, with the first-order tributary being typically the least in size. For example, a second-order tributary would be the result of two or more first-order tributaries combining to form the second-order tributary, another method is to list tributaries from mouth to source, in the form of a tree structure, stored as a tree data structure
34.
London Borough of Sutton
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The London Borough of Sutton is a London borough in South West London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of 43 km2 and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population and it is one of the southernmost boroughs of London. It is south of the London Borough of Merton, west of the London Borough of Croydon, the local authority is Sutton London Borough Council. Its principal town is the eponymous Sutton, the Borough has some of the schools with the best results in the country. A Trust for London and New Policy Institute report noted that Sutton had the highest rate in London of pupils achieving 5 A* – C GCSEs, in December 2014 Sutton was described by a senior Government official as the most normal place in Britain. In connection with this, the leader of Sutton Council described the borough as quietly brilliant, low levels of recorded crime are a feature of the borough, being among the lowest in London. An Ipsos MORI poll in 2014 found that 97% of residents felt safe in the borough during the day, and 71% felt safe at night, a higher figure than in 2011. The 2014 Family Hotspots Report, on the best places in England and Wales for families to live, the areas were identified as postcodes SM1, SM2 and SM3. A Rightmove study in 2015 found that Sutton was the fourth happiest borough in which to live out of 33 in London and it achieved the same placing in the 2016 survey. In 2014, a survey by eMoov found Sutton to be the easiest place in the country in which to sell a property, the London Borough of Sutton was one of the four vanguard areas selected in 2010 for the Big Society initiative. The borough includes the areas, The London Borough of Sutton was once made up of rural villages, the village feel persists, and places in the borough such as Carshalton, Cheam and Belmont continue to be referred to as villages. The historic development of the borough is reflected in the number of areas designated as conservation areas and as areas of special local character. Descriptions of a selection of the cultural institutions and attractions are set out below. There were frequent productions at The Charles Cryer Studio Theatre, which is situated on the High Street in Carshalton Village and it was opened by His Royal Highness Prince Edward in 1991. As well as drama and musicals, productions included comedy and dance, with material ranging from Shakespeare to Chekov to panto and childrens favourites, the theatres aim was to balance popularity with quality. The theatre also served as a venue for local bands. The theatre is named after the man who led the campaign to open the Secombe Theatre, Sutton, in August 2016 Sutton Theatres Trust, which owned the theatre, went into administration and it closed permanently. The Secombe Theatre is in Cheam Road, adjacent to the Holiday Inn Hotel, the theatre was opened by Sir Harry, who lived in Sutton for over 30 years of his life
35.
Lower Morden
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Lower Morden is an area within the district of Morden in south west corner of the London Borough of Merton, to the west of Morden Park and south of Raynes Park. Lower Morden had grown up around the green and the Beverley. In the 1870s, the properties of Lower Morden were Morden Farm, Peacock Farm. Today nothing of the hamlet remains except perhaps a few ancient trees. The first major development was the establishment in 1891 of Battersea New Cemetery on land adjacent to Hobalds Farm to the north of Green Lane, the loss of Morden Common followed, its area now occupied by the Merton & Sutton Joint Cemetery and the Garth Road Industrial Estate. Garth Road is named after the Garth family, Lords of the Manor from the mid 16th century to the late 19th century, up to the Second World War the marshy land either side of the Pyl Brook now used as playing fields was cow pasture. Lower Morden has a King Georges Field in memorial to King George V. Hatfeild Primary School, ordnance Survey Map Lower Morden in 1871
36.
Environment Agency
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The Environment Agencys stated purpose is, to protect or enhance the environment, taken as a whole so as to promote the objective of achieving sustainable development. Protection of the environment relates to such as flood and pollution. The vision of the Agency is of a rich, healthy and diverse environment for present and it is organised into eight directorates that report to the chief executive. There are two policy and process directorates, one deals with Flood and Coastal Risk Management and the other with Environment and Business. These are backed up by the Evidence directorate, the fourth directorate is a single Operations delivery unit, responsible for national services, and line management of all the Regional and Area staff. The remaining directorates are central shared service groups for Finance, Legal Services, Resources, in support of its aims, the Agency acts as an operating authority, a regulatory authority and a licence authority. The agency is funded in part from the UK government Department for Environment, Food, funding for asset management and improvement and acquisition of flood risk management assets has traditionally come from local authorities via Flood Defence Committees. This was then effectively repaid by central Government in later years as part of the Formula Spending Share, in 2005 this was simplified by making a direct transfer from Treasury to the Environment Agency in the form of Flood Defence Grant in Aid. The Environment Agencys total funding in 2007–08 was £1,025 million, of that total, £628 million was provided in the form of flood defence grant-in-aid from government. In addition, £347 million was raised through statutory charging schemes and flood defence levies, in 2007–08 had an operational budget of £1.025 billion, of which £628m was grant from the Agencys sponsoring Government Departments. Approximately half the Agencys expenditure is on flood risk management, of the remainder, 12% goes to water resources, and 6% to other water functions including navigation and wildlife. Its chief executive is Sir James Bevan, Sir Philip Dilley resigned as chairman on 11 January 2016, with Emma Howard Boyd becoming acting chair. The Environment Agency was created by the Environment Act 1995, and it had responsibility for the whole of England and Wales but with specifically designated border arrangements with Scotland covering the catchment of the River Tweed. All of the bodies were disbanded and the local authorities relinquished their waste regulatory role. At the same time, the Agency took responsibility for issuing warnings to the public. On 1 April 2013, that part of the Environment Agency covering Wales was merged into Natural Resources Wales, the Environment Agency is the principal flood risk management operating authority. It has the power to flood risk from designated main rivers. These functions in relation to other rivers in England are undertaken by Local Authorities or internal drainage boards, the Environment Agency is also responsible for increasing public awareness of flood risk, flood forecasting and warning and has a general supervisory duty for flood risk management
37.
European water vole
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The European water vole or northern water vole, Arvicola amphibius, is a semiaquatic rodent. It is often called the water rat, although it only superficially resembles a true rat. Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep brown fur, chubby faces and short ears, unlike rats their tails, paws. In the wild, on average, water voles only live about five months, maximum longevity in captivity is two and a half years. Water voles reach 14–22 centimetres in length, plus a tail which is half the length of the body. Weights reported for adults are variable and it is possible for large, optimal adults to weigh as much as 225 to 386 g However, these are peak weights. Elsewhere the mean body mass has been reported as 60 to 140 g, the minimum weight to successfully breed as well as to survive winter is reportedly 112 g in females and 115 g in males. As a species the body mass is claimed as 140 g. Overall, European water voles are a dark brown colour. Their pelage is thick and they are furred over their entire body, including their tail. Their dark colour allows them to blend in well in the densely vegetated areas they inhabit, the binomial applied to the water vole is Arvicola amphibius, it was formerly known by the junior synonym A. terrestris. The confusion stems from the fact that Linnaeus described two species of water vole on the page of the same work. Those two forms are now considered the same species. It has been recognized as A. amphibius because the first source to unite the two forms, which Linnaeus had treated separately, into a single species chose A. amphibius as the valid name. The species is known by the synonym A. terrestris which for many decades was treated as the valid name. Some authorities consider the water vole to be the same species. The water vole Arvicola amphibius is found in most of Europe, Russia, West Asia, in Britain, water voles live in burrows excavated within the banks of rivers, ditches, ponds, and streams. Burrows are normally located adjacent to slow moving, calm water which they seem to prefer and they also live in reed beds where they will weave ball shaped nests above ground if no suitable banks exist in which to burrow
38.
Ben Aaronovitch
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Ben Denis Aaronovitch is a British author. He is best known for the best-selling Rivers of London series of novels, Aaronovitch wrote two Doctor Who serials Remembrance of the Daleks and Battlefield for BBC television, and also the novelization of the former. He wrote one episode for Casualty and was then a writer on science fiction series Jupiter Moon. He has also written a novel and several stories published by Big Finish Productions featuring the character of Bernice Summerfield. He also co-wrote a Doctor Who audio drama for Big Finish, Aaronovitch currently lives in Wimbledon and is working on a series of urban fantasy police procedurals
39.
Spirit
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The English word spirit, from Latin spiritus breath, has many different meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body. It can also refer to a subtle as opposed to gross material substance, the word spirit is often used metaphysically to refer to the consciousness or personality. e. A manifestation of the spirit of a deceased person, the term may also refer to any incorporeal or immaterial being, such as demons or deities. In the Bible, the Spirit, specifically denotes the Holy Spirit, the English word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus, meaning breath, but also spirit, soul, courage, vigor, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European *peis. It is distinguished from Latin anima, soul, in Greek, this distinction exists between pneuma, breath, motile air, spirit, and psykhē, soul. The word spirit came into Middle English via Old French, the distinction between soul and spirit also developed in the Abrahamic religions, Arabic nafs opposite rūħ, Hebrew neshama or nephesh נֶ֫פֶשׁ nép̄eš opposite ruach. In a lecture delivered to the literary Society of Augsburg, October 20,1926, on the theme of “Nature and Spirit, the mistrust of verbal concepts, inconvenient as it is, nevertheless seems to me to be very much in place in speaking of fundamentals. Spirit and Life are familiar enough words to us, very old acquaintances in fact, pawns that for thousands of years have pushed back. It can scarcely be an accident onomatopoeic words like ruach, ruch, roho mean ‘spirit’ no less clearly than the Greek πνεύμα and the Latin spiritus”. In spiritual and metaphysical terms, spirit has acquired a number of meanings, An incorporeal but ubiquitous, unlike the concept of souls a spirit develops and grows as an integral aspect of a living being. This concept of the individual spirit occurs commonly in animism, note the distinction between this concept of spirit and that of the pre-existing or eternal soul, belief in souls occurs specifically and far less commonly, particularly in traditional societies. One might more properly term this type/aspect of spirit life or aether rather than spirit, people usually conceive of a ghost as a wandering spirit from a being no longer living, having survived the death of the body yet maintaining at least vestiges of mind and consciousness. In religion and spirituality, the respiration of a human has for obvious reasons become seen as linked with the very occurrence of life. A similar significance has become attached to human blood, Spirit, in this sense, means the thing that separates a living body from a corpse—and usually implies intelligence, consciousness, and sentience. Latter-day Saint prophet Joseph Smith Jr. taught that the concept of spirit as incorporeal or without substance was incorrect, all spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes. In some Native American spiritual traditions the Great Spirit or Wakan Tanka is a term for the Supreme Being, individual spirits envisaged as interconnected with all other spirits and with The Spirit. This concept relates to theories of a unified spirituality, to universal consciousness, the experience of such a connection can become a primary basis for spiritual belief. Christian spiritual theology can use the term Spirit to describe God, or aspects of God — as in the Holy Spirit, Spirit forms a central concept in pneumatology
40.
Genius loci
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In classical Roman religion, a genius loci was the protective spirit of a place. It was often depicted in iconography as a figure holding attributes such as a cornucopia. Many Roman altars found throughout the Western Roman Empire were dedicated to a particular genius locus, the Roman imperial cults of the Emperor and the imperial house developed in part in connections with the sacrifices made by neighborhood associations to the local genius. These 265 local districts had their cult organised around the Lares Compitales, the Emperors genius is then regarded as the genius loci of the Roman Empire as a whole. The numinous spirits of places in Asia are still honored today in city pillar shrines, outdoor spirit houses and indoor household, in contemporary usage, genius loci usually refers to a locations distinctive atmosphere, or a spirit of place, rather than necessarily a guardian spirit. An example of usage might be along the lines of Light reveals the genius loci of a place. This is the principle that landscape designs should always be adapted to the context in which they are located, a priori, archetype, and genius loci are the primary principals of Neo-Rationalism or New Rationalism. Pioneered by the Italian architect Aldo Rossi, Neo-Rationalism developed in the light of a re-evaluation of the work of Giuseppe Terragni, characterized by elemental vernacular forms and an adaption to the existing environment, the Neo-Rationalist style has adherents beyond architecture in the greater world of art. In the context of architectural theory, genius loci has profound implications for place-making, falling within the philosophical branch of phenomenology. This field of discourse is explored most notably by the theorist Christian Norberg-Schulz in his book, Genius Loci. In modern works of fantasy, such as Dungeons and Dragons or The Dresden Files, very few genius loci of this form are able to move from their native area, either because they are part of the land or because they are bound to it. Genius loci are usually portrayed as being powerful and usually also very intelligent. Some versions are nearly omnipotent and omniscient inside the area they inhabit, while others are simply vast and this power almost never extends beyond the border of the genius loci. Different settings give different explanations for the existence of genius loci, in most cases, however, the intelligent, magical entity simply develops from the similarly named spirit of place over a great deal of time. In other settings, genius loci are formed by powerful magical events, Genius Jinn Landvættir Shekhinah Tutelary deity Tudigong, the Chinese equivalent Chenghuang, the Chinese urban equivalent Zashiki-warashi Zeitgeist Patterson, Barry. The Art of Conversation with the Genius Loci, essay on the Genius loci in landscape and garden design St. Giles, Tockenham, Wiltshire Relief in the wall
41.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
42.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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The department was created after the perceived failure of MAFF, to deal adequately with an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease. The Department had about 9,000 core personnel, as of January 2008, the Departments main building is Nobel House on Smith Square, SW1. The Defra Ministers are as follows, The Permanent Secretary is Clare Moriarty, the Secretary of State wrote in a letter to the Prime Minister that he saw Defra’s mission as enabling a move toward what the World Wide Fund for Nature has called one planet living. Under this overarching aim, Defra has five strategic priorities, Climate change, sustainable consumption and production, including responsibility for the National Waste Strategy. Protecting the countryside and natural resource protection, a sustainable farming and food sector including animal health and welfare
43.
Stamford Brook
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Stamford Brook was a tributary of the Tideway stretch of the River Thames in west London supplied by three headwaters. Historically used as a ditch or dyke the network of small watercourses had four lower courses. The name may be a corruption of stoney ford or sandy ford by which it was crossed by King Street, Stamford Brook has given its name to the surrounding area between Hammersmith and Chiswick and to local London Underground station, Stamford Brook tube station. The bridge gives its name to Chelsea Football Clubs adjoining ground, a western headwater, the Bollo Brook or Bollar Brook was the westernmost brook feeding the channels running through Chiswick and Hammersmith. To reach the main flow travelled east to the north of King Street, an eastern headwater rose on Old Oak Common in Acton. North east of the Old Acton Wells, also known as Acton Wells and flowed south down Old Oak Common Road and Old Oak Road then SSE down Askew Road. This course, now overtaken by segregation of surface water drainage, after this the brook split at The Brook public house on Stamford Brook Common. One branch from this point headed east past Ravenscourt Park and fed the moat there. This mouth, once providing high tide mooring was known as Hammersmith Creek, a ditch of the western channel was funnelled to the southern depression of parkland in Chiswick to augment the waters in the grounds of Chiswick House. Its main supply the Hazeldene ran from a lake near Sydney House to the west, city planners consider however that while extra water provides a few expensive views for residents, it does not provide recreational or air quality improving space. Tributaries of the River Thames Subterranean rivers of London List of rivers in England Notes References
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River Wandle
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The River Wandle is a river in south-east England. The names of the river and of Wandsworth are thought to have derived from the Old English Wendlesworth meaning Wendles Settlement, the river runs through southwest London and is about 9 miles long. It passes through the London Boroughs of Croydon, Sutton, Merton, much of the River is accessible using the Wandle Trail. Rain falls on the North Downs, filters through the chalk, at the top of the catchment the river is mostly culverted. A second main source, also at about 115 feet AOD is formed at Carshalton Ponds, other sources include the Norbury Brook/River Graveney tributary which rises near the Lower Addiscombe Road in Croydon and flows through the London Boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth and Merton. Two seasonal streams, the Coulsdon Bourne and the Caterham Bourne and they join together at Purley, run in a culvert north along the Brighton Road and join the River Wandle at the site of the, now defunct, Swan and Sugarloaf pub in South Croydon. In the late pleistocene, the river probably sprang from the north of the Vale of Holmesdale across the North Downs through the Merstham Gap, a wind gap. In more recent times, rainwater falling on the Down percolates through the chalk and reappears as springs in central Croydon, Beddington, and Carshalton. The occasional stream, known as the Bourne, which runs through the Caterham valley is a source of the River Wandle, a series of ditches and culverts channels the water from Purley to Croydon. For many centuries the River Wandle rose from a spring near the Swan and it ran northwards along Southbridge Road and upon reaching Old Town it was 20 ft across and began to divide into smaller channels. The grounds of the Old Palace and Scarbrook Hill had several springs, ponds, streams and canals where fish swam, the river then flowed through Pitlake and on through two marshy fields — Froggs Mead and Stubbs Mead — drained to form Wandle Park in 1890. Local springs were used to form a lake in the park, but frequent drying up problems led to the lake being filled in. In 2012, the Wandle was restored to the surface in Wandle Park, a tributary starts in Thornton Heath as the Norbury Brook. This flows north then west to become the River Graveney and joins the Wandle near Summerstown, shortly before reaching the Thames the navigable Bell Lane Creek splits from the river, rejoining close to the confluence. Carshalton Village is home to Honeywood Museum, which includes displays, the river has been well-used since Roman times and was heavily industrialised in the 17th and 18th centuries, and was declared one of the most polluted rivers in England. The main industries then were tobacco and textiles, the river was used to power 68 water wheels, of which only a few survive, such as at Merton Abbey Mills. The Liberty print works and Merton Board Mills once dominated the riverscape in what is now the London Borough of Merton. The concentration of industry in this area resulted in the stretch of the river running between Windsor Avenue and Colliers Wood High Street being diverted during the 18th century
45.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
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The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south-west London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London Government Act 1963 and it is governed by Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council. The borough is approximately half parkland – large areas of Londons open space fall within the boundaries, including Richmond Park, Kew Gardens, Bushy Park. A neighbouring authority in Surrey achieved the best quality of life in that report, demography is a diverse picture as in all of London, each district should be looked at separately and even those do not reflect all neighbourhoods. Whatever generalisations are used, the texture of London poverty by its minutely localised geography must always be taken into account according to an influential poverty report of 2010. Londons German business and expatriate community is centred on this borough, the above are arranged by post town Parks take up a great deal of the borough and include Richmond Park, Bushy Park, Kew Gardens, and Hampton Court Park. There are over 100 parks and open spaces within its boundary and 21 miles of river frontage,140 hectares within the borough are designated as part of the Metropolitan Green Belt. The name Richmond upon Thames was coined at that time, it is now commonly but inaccurately used to refer to Richmond only, the boroughs history is reflected in the coat of arms, which was officially granted on 7 May 1966. It is, Ermine a portcullis or within a bordure gules charged with eight fleurs-de-lis or. The crest is, On a wreath argent and gules out of a mural crown gules a swan rousant argent in beak a branch of climbing red roses leaved and entwined about the neck proper. The supporters are, On either side a griffin gules, armed and beaked azure, each supporting an oar proper, the blade of the dark blue. Red, gold and ermine are the royal colours, reflecting Richmonds royal history. The swan represents the River Thames, which flows through the borough, the oars are from the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, reflecting the fact that the Boat Race between the two universities ends at Mortlake in the borough. The borough currently has a Conservative-led council which has been the most common administration since its formation, the borough is served by many Transport for London bus routes. The borough is connected to central London and Reading by the National Rail services of South West Trains, the London Undergrounds District line serves Richmond and Kew Gardens stations, both are also served by London Overground trains on the North London Line. The other stations are, Barnes, Barnes Bridge, Fulwell, Hampton, Hampton Wick, Mortlake, North Sheen, St Margarets, Strawberry Hill, Teddington, Twickenham, Richmond upon Thames is the local education authority for the borough. The borough has a football club, Hampton & Richmond Borough F. C. who play at Beveree Stadium in Hampton. The Twickenham Stadium hosts rugby internationals and the Twickenham Stoop is home to the Harlequins Rugby Team, Richmond Rugby Club are also active and share their grounds with London Scottish F. C
