The Great Thames Barrage

The opening pages lay out a litany of grievances that have long haunted the River Thames: ships are outgrowing the channel’s depth, tide‑waiting snarls the docks, fees climb, and a maze of overlapping authorities makes navigation hazardous and costly. The author systematically records each complaint and then follows the trail of official responses—dredging plans, a proposed Port Trust, and a stalled 1903 Port of London Bill that sparked a flood of petitions and heated parliamentary debate.

From there the narrative turns to ambitious engineering alternatives, tracing historic “dockisation” projects on the Clyde, Avon, and Wear, and even a grand Russian dam that reshaped a sea into a freshwater lake. Against this backdrop, the book examines the unique challenges of the tidal Thames, mapping its existing dams and locks while weighing whether a massive barrage with locks could finally tame the river’s whims. Listeners are invited into a vivid exploration of technology, politics, and the quest to modernise one of the world’s most iconic waterways.