page_title: River Wandle
section_title: Use
hierarchical_section_title: River Wandle / Use
caption_attribution_description: UK London - River Wandle, Carshalton
context_page_description: The River Wandle is a tributary of the River Thames in south London, England. With a total length of about 9 miles, the river passes through the London boroughs of Croydon, Sutton, Merton and Wandsworth, where it reaches the Thames. A short headwater – the Caterham Bourne – is in Surrey, the historic county of the river's catchment. Tributaries of the Wandle include the River Wrythe and the Norbury Brook.
  The name Wandle is thought to derive from a back-formation of Wandsworth.
  The Wandle Trail follows the course of the river from Croydon to Wandsworth.
context_section_description: The river has been well-used since Roman times; in the 17th  century Huguenots were attracted by the cloth and textile mills which lined the banks of the river. It was heavily industrialised in the 18th and 19th centuries (the industrial revolution), and was declared one of the most polluted rivers in England. The main industries then were tobacco and textiles.  The river was used to power 68 water wheels, of which only a few survive, such as at Merton Abbey Mills for paper, print and tapestries.
  The Liberty print works and Merton Board Mills before early 20th century demolition dominated the riverscape (replaced by a two-retailer clothes and food megastore in Merton). Local concentration of heavy industry resulted in multiple leats being cut during the 18th century; a remnant of the old courses, the Pickle, is two ditches, one runs beneath Liberty Avenue.  The former leat has become the main river next to Merton Abbey Mills craft village.
  Clean-ups of the Wandle have improved the water quality dramatically, leading to a return of the river's brown trout. This improvement in water quality has also seen other fish thrive with stocks of chub, roach and dace all flourishing once again with the most popular angling spots being in Hackbridge and Colliers Wood.
caption: River Wandle in Carshalton
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