Thames Conservancy

The Thames Conservancy was a historical body responsible for the management of the River Thames in England. It was founded in 1857, initially replacing the jurisdiction of the City of London up to Staines and later taking responsibility for the whole river from Cricklade in Wiltshire to the sea at Yantlet Creek on the Isle of Grain. Responsibilities were reduced when the Tideway was transferred to the Port of London Authority in 1909 and in 1974 the Conservancy was taken into the Thames Water Authority.

The stretch of river between the town of Staines, just to the west of London, and Yantlet Creek had been claimed by the City of London since 1197 under a charter of Richard the Lionheart. In 1771 the Thames Navigation Commission was established from a body created twenty years earlier to handle navigation on the river. Although the Commissioners were active in establishing locks and weirs above Staines, they did not interfere with the jurisdiction of the City of London.

The City of London built a series of locks from Teddington to Penton Hook at the beginning of the nineteenth century. They also used material from the demolished Old London Bridge to support the embankments between Sunbury and Shepperton.

However trouble arose around 1840 when the government proposed building the Victoria Embankment and the Crown claimed title to the river bed. The dispute simmered on for 17 years.

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