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Clifton Hampden Bridge
Clifton Hampden Bridge is a road bridge crossing the River Thames in Clifton Hampden, Oxfordshire, England, situated on the reach below Clifton Lock. Originally it joined Oxfordshire on the north bank with Berkshire on the south but in 1974 the area on the south bank was transferred from Berkshire to Oxfordshire. It is a Grade II* listed building. Clifton Hampden Bridge was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and opened in 1867. The bridge replaced a ferry service which had operated on the site since at least the early 14th century. From its opening a toll was payable but this ceased in 1946 when the County Councils of Berkshire and Oxfordshire joined to buy the bridge from its private owners. Background The reach at Clifton Hampden was rocky and shallow, with water levels often dropping to barely so it was usually fordable by cattle and horses. The earliest record of a ferry is a mention of John Broun being ferryman in the early 14th century. The archives of Exeter C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thames Path
The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from its source near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it only opened in 1996. The Thames Path's entire length can be walked, and a few parts can be cycled. Some parts of the Thames Path, particularly west of Oxford, are subject to flooding during the winter. The river is also tidal downstream from Teddington Lock and the lower parts of these paths may be underwater if there is a particularly high tide, although the Thames Barrier protects London from catastrophic flooding. The Thames Path uses the river towpath between Inglesham and Putney and available paths elsewhere. Historically, towpath traffic crossed the river using many ferries, but few of these crossings exist now and some diversion from the towpath is necessary. Description and access to the river The general aim of the path is to provide walkers with a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford-Burcot Commission
The Oxford-Burcot Commission was the first Commission concerned with the management of the River Thames, appointed by an Act of Parliament of 1605 by James I to make the stretch of river from Burcot to Oxford navigable. The Commission took responsibility for the management of the River Thames between Oxford and Burcot. It consisted of 18 members, including a representative each from Oxford city and from the University. However its work was irregular and by 1611 it had ceased altogether. A second strengthened Act of Parliament in 1623 allowed for the appointment of eight commissioners of sewers. This was also known as the ''Oxford-Burcot Commission''. It had the power to tax Oxford city and the University, to clean the river and to install locks and weirs. Iffley Lock, Sandford Lock and a lock on the Swift Ditch near the present Abingdon Lock were built in 1631. However, its work was slow and costly and the first barge did not reach Oxford until 1635. Consequently Thames Navi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cutwater
In architecture, a starling (or sterling) is a defensive bulwark, usually built with pilings or bricks, surrounding the supports (or piers) of a bridge or similar construction. Starlings may be shaped to ease the flow of the water around the bridge, reducing the damage caused by erosion or collisions with flood-borne debris, and may also form an important part of the structure of the bridge, spreading the weight of the piers. The term cutwater is used for such a structure shaped with water flow in mind, as a pier or starling with a diamond point. A starkwater is a bulwark against ice floes. Depending on their shape and location, some starlings may accumulate river debris, mud and other objects, potentially creating navigational hazards or hindering downstream water flow. Shape Starlings may form part of a buttress for the vertical load of the bridge piers, and for that purpose would typically be symmetrical. Examples such as at the Old Wye Bridge, Chepstow are on lower stretc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apocrypha
Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered too profound or too sacred to be disclosed to anyone other than the initiated. ''Apocrypha'' was later applied to writings that were hidden not because of their divinity but because of their questionable value to the church. In general use, the word ''apocrypha'' has come to mean "false, spurious, bad, or heretical". Biblical apocrypha are a set of texts included in the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, but not in the Hebrew Bible. While Catholic tradition considers some of these texts to be deuterocanonical, and the Orthodox Churches consider them all to be canonical, Protestants consider them apocryphal, that is, non-canonical books that are useful for instruction. Luther's Bible placed them in a separate section in between the Old Tes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long Wittenham
Long Wittenham is a village and small civil parish about north of Didcot, and southeast of Abingdon. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it from Berkshire to Oxfordshire, and from the former Wallingford Rural District to the new district of South Oxfordshire. Geography The village is on the outside of a meander in the River Thames, on slightly higher ground than the flood plain around it. The river navigation follows Clifton cut, not the meander. About to the east, across the river, is the Roman town of ''Dorcic'' – now Dorchester-on-Thames. To the south-east are neighbouring Little Wittenham which has a much smaller population but a much larger area and within this parish is Wittenham Clumps, also called the Sinodun Hills. History The village is supposedly named after a Saxon chieftain, named Witta, but there is evidence of an earlier settlement. Bronze Age double-ditch enclosures and middle Bronze Age pottery were identified in the 196 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Act Of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament begin as a Bill (law), bill, which the legislature votes on. Depending on the structure of government, this text may then be subject to assent or approval from the Executive (government), executive branch. Bills A draft act of parliament is known as a Bill (proposed law), bill. In other words, a bill is a proposed law that needs to be discussed in the parliament before it can become a law. In territories with a Westminster system, most bills that have any possibility of becoming law are introduced into parliament by the government. This will usually happen following the publication of a "white paper", setting out the issues and the way in which the proposed new law is intended to deal with them. A bill may also be introduced in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victorian Restoration
The Victorian restoration was the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. It was not the same process as is understood today by the term building restoration. Against a background of poorly maintained church buildings, a reaction against the Puritan ethic manifested in the Gothic Revival, and a shortage of churches where they were needed in cities, the Cambridge Camden Society and the Oxford Movement advocated a return to a more medieval attitude to churchgoing. The change was embraced by the Church of England which saw it as a means of reversing the decline in church attendance. The principle was to "restore" a church to how it might have looked during the " Decorated" style of architecture which existed between 1260 and 1360, and many famous architects such as George Gilbert Scott and Ewan Christian enthusiastically accepted comm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manor House
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals with manorial tenants and great banquets. The term is today loosely applied to various country houses, frequently dating from the Late Middle Ages, which formerly housed the landed gentry. Manor houses were sometimes fortified, albeit not as fortified as castles, and were intended more for show than for defencibility. They existed in most European countries where feudalism was present. Function The lord of the manor may have held several properties within a county or, for example in the case of a feudal baron, spread across a kingdom, which he occupied only on occasional visits. Even so, the business of the manor was directed and controlled by regular manorial courts, which appointed manorial officials such as the bailiff, granted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Governor Of The Bank Of England
The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent grooming their successor. The governor of the Bank of England is also chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee, with a major role in guiding national economic and monetary policy, and is therefore one of the most important public officials in the United Kingdom. According to the original charter of 27 July 1694 the bank's affairs would be supervised by a governor, a deputy governor, and 24 directors. In its current incarnation, the bank's Court of Directors has 12 (or up to 14) members, of whom five are various designated executives of the bank. The 121st and current governor is Andrew Bailey, who began his term in March 2020. Governors of the Bank of England (1694–present) See also * Chief Cashier of the Bank of England * Deputy Governor of the Bank of England References ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham
Henry Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham MA BA FGS FSA (31 August 1819 – 13 September 1907) was a British banker, businessman and Conservative Party politician. Life Aldenham was the son of George Henry Gibbs, whose father Antony Gibbs was a brother of Sir Vicary Gibbs, a Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford in 1837, graduating B.A. in 1841, M.A. in 1844. Gibbs was a senior partner in the family firm of Antony Gibbs & Sons, and was a director of the Bank of England from 1853 to 1901, its deputy governor, and finally its Governor from 1875 to 1877. He was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the City of London at an unopposed by-election in April 1891, and held the seat until the general election in July 1892, when his oldest son Alban was elected in his place. He also held the office of High Sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1884. In 1896 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Aldenham, of Aldenham in the County of Hertford. A memb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
