St Patrick's Stream or Patrick Stream is a backwater of 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, se ...

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 b ...

, 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 . T ...

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 old ...

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 Berk ...

. It leaves the Thames on the reach above

Shiplake Lock Shiplake Lock is a lock and weir situated on the River Thames in England between the villages of Shiplake and Lower Shiplake, Oxfordshire. It is just above the points where the River Loddon joins the Thames and Shiplake Railway Bridge cro ...

near

Buck Ait Buck Ait is an island in the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England. It is on the reach above Shiplake Lock near Sonning. The island is uninhabited and tree-covered. It lies low, acting as a water-meadow in times of flood, opposite houses with l ...

, 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". Geogr ...

. 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 A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

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