The Abbey River is a backwater of the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

 in England, near Chertsey

Chertsey

Chertsey is a town in Surrey, England, on the River Thames and its tributary rivers such as the River Bourne. It can be accessed by road from junction 11 of the M25 London orbital motorway. It shares borders with Staines, Laleham, Shepperton, Addlestone, Woking, Thorpe and Egham...

, Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

. It runs from behind Penton Hook Island

Penton Hook Island

Penton Hook Island is an island in the River Thames in England adjacent to Penton Hook Lock, near Laleham, Surrey. At this point the natural course of the river makes a large loop or "hook" round the island, although this is now closed off by the weir...

 to below Chertsey Lock

Chertsey Lock

Chertsey Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England, on the northern Middlesex bank near Chertsey in north-west Surrey. The lock is about 200 yards upstream of the picturesque Chertsey Bridge...

.

The river, which was also known as Oxley Mill River was probably cut by the monks of Chertsey Abbey

Chertsey Abbey

Chertsey Abbey, dedicated to St Peter, was a Benedictine monastery located at Chertsey in the English county of Surrey.It was founded by Saint Erkenwald, later Bishop of London, in 666 AD and he became the first abbot. In the 9th century it was sacked by the Danes and refounded from Abingdon Abbey...

 in the eleventh century to supply their mill. In 1608 there were two watermill

Watermill

A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...

s on the river known as the Oaklake Mylles. In 1809 the millers offered the stream as the main navigation channel but the City of London Corporation had already decided to build the lock at Chertsey.