The River Roding () is a river that rises at Molehill Green,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England, then flows south through Essex and London and forms

Barking Creek Barking Creek joins the River Roding to the River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entir ...

as it reaches the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

Course

The river leaves Molehill Green and passes through or near a group of eight or nine villages in Essex known collectively as the Rodings, as their names are 'Roding' prefixed with various different specific names (High, Margaret, Aythorpe, etc.). After

Chipping Ongar Chipping Ongar () is a market town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ongar, in the Epping Forest District of the county of Essex, England. It is located east of Epping, southeast of Harlow and northwest of Brentwood. In 2020 ...

, the river flows under the

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major ring road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 th ...

by Passingford Bridge and Abridge. The river then runs between

Loughton Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...

and

Chigwell Chigwell is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is part of the urban and metropolitan area of London, and is adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London. It is on the Central line of the Londo ...

, where the Roding Valley Meadows make up the largest surviving area of traditionally managed river-valley habitat in Essex. This

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

consists of unimproved wet and dry hay meadows, rich with flora and fauna and bounded by thick hedgerows, scrubland, secondary woodland and

tree plantation A tree plantation, forest plantation, plantation forest, timber plantation, or tree farm is a forest planted for high volume production of wood, usually by planting one type of tree as a monoculture forest. The term ''tree farm'' also is used to ...

. The meadows stretch down to the

M11 motorway The M11 is a motorway that runs north from the A406 road, North Circular Road (A406) in South Woodford to the A14 road (Great Britain), A14, northwest of Cambridge, England. Originally proposed as a trunk road as early as 1915, various plans ...

and the Roding Valley tube station is situated close to the area, although

Buckhurst Hill Buckhurst Hill is an affluent suburban town in Epping Forest District, Epping Forest, Essex, within the Greater London Urban Area and adjacent to the northern boundary of the London Borough of Redbridge. The area developed following the opening ...

are better placed for a visit. The river then enters Woodford. River_roding_barking_london

Redbridge takes its name from a crossing of the river which then passes through

Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...

and Barking near the A406

North Circular Road The North Circular Road (officially the A406 and sometimes known as simply the North Circular) is a ring road around Central London. It runs from Chiswick in the west to North Woolwich in the east via suburban north London, connecting var ...

. The River Roding through Ilford project is a government-backed scheme to improve amenities along this stretch of the river. After Barking, the tidal section is known as Barking Creek, which flows into the Thames at Creekmouth, where the Barking Barrier acts as a flood defence.

As a boundary

In Essex the river forms part of the boundary between the district of

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the Lond ...

and borough of Brentwood. The river marks the southernmost part of the boundary between the

London Borough of Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by ...

and the

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham () is a London boroughs, London borough in East London. The borough was created in 1965 as the London Borough of Barking; the name was changed in 1980. It is an Outer London borough and the south is wi ...

Former name

Ilford takes its name from ''Ilefort'', "ford on the River Hyle", which was the ancient name for the lower part of the Roding, based on an earlier Celtic word.A. D. Mills (2010):
Ilford
'. In: A. D. Mills: ''The Dictionqry of London Place-Names.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191726743.

References

External links

River Roding at Passingford Bridge

The River Roding Trust
Rivers of London Rivers of Essex Geography of the London Borough of Newham Geography of the London Borough of Redbridge Geography of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Epping Forest District 1Roding {{England-river-stub

Course

As a boundary

Former name

See also

References

External links