19 Facts About River Mole

River Mole is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England.

River Mole has captured the imagination of several authors and poets, particularly since in very hot summers the river channel can become dry between Dorking and Leatherhead, most recently in 2022.

However the river's name is unlikely to have derived from this behaviour: The Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names suggests that Mole either comes from the Latin or is a back-formation from Molesey .

River Mole enters Surrey to the south of Horley, where it meets the Gatwick Stream, a tributary draining Worth Forest to the southeast of Crawley.

The River Mole passes Horley to the west, flowing north towards Sidlow and entering a largely rural area.

Related searches

At Pixham the River Mole meets the Pipp Brook, a tributary draining the northeastern slopes of Leith Hill.

In 1972 a sub-debate on the future cleanliness of the River Mole was had by the House of Lords, involving a member of the South-East Strategic Committee of the Thames Conservancy and four others.

The River Mole where I used to tickle trout in my youth is a drain, and it will remain a drain.

River Mole has the most diverse fish population of any river in England.

The Mole is one of only three locations in England where the river shingle beetle is found.

Upper River Mole catchment is dominated by a single broad terrace, which runs continuously from Tilgate Forest to the entry to the River Mole Gap.

River Mole is first recorded in the Red Book of Thorney in AD 983 as Emen and in the AD 1005 Cartulary of the Abbey of Eynsham as both Emen and Æmen.

However the river's name is unlikely to have derived from this behaviour: The Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names suggests that Mole either comes from the Latin mola or is a back-formation from Molesey .

Between Betchworth and Box Hill, the north bank of the River Mole was stabilised and made steeper to prevent wheeled vehicles from crossing.

River Mole crossing at Sidlow Bridge was heavily defended and a line of pill boxes was constructed on the north bank of the river.

River Mole originally flowed into the River Thames at the point where the present Hampton Court bridge now crosses the Thames .

However, during the early 1930s, when Hampton Court Way and the bridge were built, the River Mole was redirected to flow into the River Ember and both rivers now enter the Thames in a single widened and straightened channel once occupied only by the River Ember.

River Mole has captured the imagination of several authors and poets, particularly since in very hot summers the river channel can become dry between Dorking and Leatherhead .

Major tributaries of the River Mole are the Ifield Brook, Gatwick Stream, Earlswood Brook, Pipp Brook and The Rye, which drains Ashtead.