Downstream

compensation. By the 1500s
pupils at Eton, founded in
1440 by Henry VI, were
bathing at numerous places
along the river, while it was a
group of Old Etonians who
helped form an outdoor
bathing group, said to be the
first swimming society in
England. Less well
documented, however, is the
swimming tradition among
the townspeople, who were
keen river users as well, with