St Patrick's Stream or Patrick Stream is a backwater of the

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

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, which flows into the

River Loddon The River Loddon is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises at Basingstoke in Hampshire and flows northwards for to meet the Thames at Wargrave in Berkshire. Together, the Loddon and its tributaries drain an area of . Th ...

near

Wargrave Wargrave () is a historic village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The village is primarily on the River Thames but also along the confluence of the River Loddon and lies on the border with southern Oxfordshire. The village has many o ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Be ...

. It leaves the Thames on the reach above Shiplake Lock near Buck Ait, downstream of

Sonning Sonning is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book ''Three Men in a Boat'' as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river". Geog ...

. It is believed that the stream was originally a branch of the River Loddon that flowed into the Thames. However, when Shiplake Lock was built, the water level was raised to such an extent that it became an outfall. Evidence to support this includes a 13th-century charter stating, "''Where the Lodone falls into the Thames under the park of Suninges''", the contention that the stream is private and not public Thames water and the shape of the junction point which suggests a tributary rather than an outflow.Fred. S. Thacker, ''The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs'', 1920. Republished 1968 David & Charles.

References

Rivers of Berkshire Sonning 1StPatricks {{England-river-stub

See also

References