Peter Berthoud
- Feb 19, 2023

An Edwardian Map of the River Thames

"Map of the River Thames" was published for Joseph Mears Launches & Motors Ltd. of 5 Hill Street, Richmond around 1914. The cartography is by George Philip & Son Ltd. and the mapping was carried out between 1904 and 1914.

Joseph Mears ran a large fleet of motor launches on the Thames from the early 1900s up until World War II. He was also the co-founder of Chelsea Football Club, you can read a little more about him and his fleet of vessels here.

The guide appears to have been produced by George Philip for sale to operators of various Thames services. A very similar guide, The Mex Motor Spirit Map of The River Thames, was produced for Bowring Petroleum Co. at around the same time, the major differences between the two guides are the covers, title pages and the company emblems printed on each spread. It is clear from the standard index that 2 pages were reserved for each company to use for advertising. Bowring used their two pages to provide a company history. Mears left their two pages completely unused, not even a picture of Montmorency, what a shame.

Table of Contents

Together there are twenty-nine different overlapping maps, each spread oriented in a slightly different direction, presenting the Thames in strip map fashion from Westminster Bridge to the river's source. The Key to the map and all its sections are below, following those are two pages of Bye-Laws and Rules of the River.

General Map & Key to Sections

Travelling from Westminster to Kemble the guide provided a heads-up view of the river ahead but we will begin our journey in Gloucestershire and head downstream for 164 miles to Westminster Bridge. Click on any map for a larger view.