River Mole on the future cleanliness of the Mole was had by the House of Lords involving a member of the South-East Strategic Committee, of the Thames Conservancy (succeeded by the Environment Agency) and four others. In this it was said "...I can see no future for [The Mole]. The Mole Valley has been polluted. The Mole where I used to tickle trout in my youth is a drain, and it will remain a drain." Rebuttals included that the Mole is a "charming Surrey steam" and "If Lord Lytton went to fish in the River Mole—and there are still angling clubs there—he
River Mole Ages and the river appears as "Amele" in Domesday Book and subsequently as "Emele" in 12th- and 13th-century Court Rolls. This name is probably derived from the Old English word "æmen" meaning "misty" or "causing mists", and the name of the River Ember probably has its origins in this name. The name "Mole" does not appear until the 16th century, first occurring as "Moule" in Harrison's "Description of Britain" of 1577. The antiquarian William Camden uses the Latinized form "Molis" in the 1586 edition of "Britannia" and Michael Drayton is the first to use "Mole" in his poem "Poly-Olbion" published