Annual Swan Upping on River Thames: Uppers for the Dyers (blue) and the Queen (red) grab hold of swans and Vintners men watch
The annual census of swans and cygnets on the River Thames which began in the 12th century started today, when the Swan Uppers covered the river from Sunbury to Windsor. London, UK. 19/07/2010 The swans on the River Thames are shared between the Queen and two London guilds, the Dyers and the Vintners. Although swans are no longer eaten, the Queen’s Swan Marker David Barber still makes a count of the number of cygnets on the river each year. It is probably the longest continuing environmental survey in the world, and its detailed records were important in getting legislation to ban the use of lead weights by anglers. A small flotilla of boats crewed by skilled waterman, all of whom have been winners of the annual Doggett's Coat and Badge race for watermen, makes its way upriver from Sunbury taking five days to cover the Thames as far as Abingdon. There are two boats crewed by the Queen's men, and two each from the Dyers and Vintners guild. As as well as the Queen's Swan Marker, each guild has its own marker. The Queen's men wear red, the Dyers are in blue and the Vintners in white (woad and white wine help me to remember which is which) and the boats with their swan flags make a colourful spectacle as they go up the river. Several motor cruisers also flying flags with swans on them come along behind them, and at times give the rowers a rest by towing the boats. Leading the flotilla, sometimes quite a distance ahead is a rather more ordinary boat with an outboard motor containing the Queen’s Swan Warden, Professor Christopher Perrins of the University of Oxford and his assistants, who spot the swans with cygnets and occasionally also look at other swans to check their rings.
Size: 4256px × 2831px
Location: River Thames, Old WIndsor, Berkshire, England, UK
Photo credit: © Peter Marshall / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ancient, city, company, dyers, english, englishness, environmental, flotilla, guilds, livery, london, ringing, river, rowing, royal, runnemede, runnymede, survey, swan, swans, thames, tradition, upping, vintners, watermen
