River Evenlode

{{Short description|River in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, England}}

{{use British English|date=April 2018}}

{{use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}

{{Infobox river

| name = Evenlode

| native_name =

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| name_other = River Blade (archaic)

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| image = River Evenlode.jpg

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| image_caption = The Evenlode at Ascott-under-Wychwood

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| subdivision_type1 = Country

| subdivision_name1 = England

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| subdivision_type3 = Counties

| subdivision_name3 = Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire

| subdivision_type4 = Districts / Boroughs

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| subdivision_type5 = Towns/Villages

| subdivision_name5 = Stow-on-the-Wold, Ascott-under-Wychwood, Charlbury, Cassington

| length_km = 72

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| discharge1_location= Cassington Mill

| discharge1_min = {{convert|0.12|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}25 August 1976

| discharge1_avg = {{convert|3.70|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}

| discharge1_max = {{convert|26.7|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}28 December 1979

| source1 =

| source1_location = Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, Cotswold Hills

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| mouth = River Thames

| mouth_location = Above King's Lock

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| tributaries_left = River Glyme

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The River Evenlode is a tributary of the Thames in Oxfordshire. It rises near Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, in the Cotswold Hills and flows south-east to the Thames, its valley providing the route of the southern part of the Cotswold Line. The river flows for {{convert|45|mi}} from source to the River Thames.{{cite web|title=Evenlode (Source to Four Shires S) and Longborough Stream|url=http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB106039037420|website=environment.data.gov.uk|access-date=1 April 2018}}{{cite web|title=Evenlode (Compton Bk to Bledington Bk) and 4 Shires|url=http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB106039037410|website=environment.data.gov.uk|access-date=1 April 2018}}{{cite web|title=Evenlode (Bledington to Glyme confluence)|url=http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB106039029960|website=environment.data.gov.uk|access-date=1 April 2018}}{{cite web|title=Evenlode (Glyme to Thames)|url=http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB106039029880|website=environment.data.gov.uk|access-date=1 April 2018}}

The name Evenlode is modern; until the late 1890s the river was called the River Blade, hence the name of Bladon, even though strictly Bladon is on the River Glyme, a tributary;{{cite book|last1=Mills|first1=A.D.|title=A dictionary of British place-names|date=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-960908-6|page=61}}{{cite book|last1=Mills|first1=Caroline|title=Slow Cotswolds: including Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford.|date=2011|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|location=Chalfont St. Peter|isbn=978-1-84162-344-3|page=132|edition=1}} the Ordnance Survey map of 1884 already uses the name Evenlode.{{cite map |publisher=Ordnance Survey |title=Oxfordshire Sheet XXV |date=1884 |url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/102346798 |scale=1:10560 |series=OS Six-inch England and Wales }}

The River Evenlode passes through Evenlode, Bledington, Shipton-under-Wychwood, Ascott-under-Wychwood and Charlbury. The river joins the Thames approximately {{convert|1|mi|km|1}} down river from Cassington on the reach above King's Lock, {{convert|3|mi|km|1}} north-west of Oxford. Between Cassington and Eynsham, the Cassington Canal is fed by the river and joins the Thames {{convert|1/3|mi|km|1}} upstream of the Evenlode.{{cite web|last1=Hughes|first1=Simon|last2=Killingbeck|first2=Andy|title=Oxford Structures Fisheries Survey|url=http://www.environmentdata.org/archive/ealit:3510/OBJ/20002191.pdf|website=environmentdata.org|publisher=Environment Agency|access-date=1 April 2018|page=53|format=PDF|date=1992}}

The river is largely privately owned, used for fishing and other leisure activities. The Environment Agency has undertaken restoration work, as of 2008, to recover from the effects of excessive dredging.{{cite web|url=http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/regions/thames/1366613/1370524/1370692/?version=1&lang=_e |title=Environment Agency Fish and their environment |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070111010607/http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/regions/thames/1366613/1370524/1370692/?version=1&lang=_e |archive-date=January 11, 2007 }} Powered craft are not allowed on the river. Hilaire Belloc commemorated the river in some of his poetry.{{cite book|last1=Bingham|first1=Jane|title=The Cotswolds : a cultural history|date=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-539875-5|page=160}}