River Thames reign was the completion of the multi-piered London Bridge, which acted as a barricade and barrage on the river, affecting the tidal flow upstream and increasing the likelihood of the river freezing over. In Tudor and Stuart times, various kings and queens built magnificent riverside palaces at Hampton Court, Kew, Richmond on Thames, Whitehall and Greenwich. As early as the 1300s, the Thames was used to dispose of waste matter produced in the city of London, thus turning the river into an open sewer. In 1357, Edward III described the state of the river in a proclamation: "... dung and
River Thames song 'Old Father Thames' was recorded by Peter Dawson at Abbey Road Studios in 1933 and by Gracie Fields five years later. Jessie Matthews sings "My river" in the 1938 film "Sailing Along", and the tune is the centrepiece of a major dance number near the end of the film. The Sex Pistols played a concert on the "Queen Elizabeth Riverboat" on 7 June 1977, the Queen's Silver Jubilee year, while sailing down the river. The choral line "(I) "(liaised)" live by the river" in the song "London Calling" by the Clash refers to the River Thames. Two songs by