River Parrett
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| River Parrett | |
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 River Parrett near Burrowbridge
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| Name origin: "The barge river" from Latin paradie barse | |
| Country | England |
| Counties | Dorset, Somerset |
| District | Somerset Levels |
| Major cities | Bridgwater, Langport, Cannington, Combwich |
| Landmarks | Burrow Hill Cider Farm, Muchelney Abbey, West Sedgemoor, Admiral Blake Museum, Westonzoyland Pumping Station Museum, Bridgwater Bay, Battle of Sedgemoor |
| Length | 50 mi (80 km) |
| Watershed | 1,690 sq mi (4,377 km²) |
| Source | Chedington |
| - coordinates | |
| Mouth | Bridgwater Bay |
| - location | Burnham on Sea, Sedgemoor, Somerset, England |
| - coordinates | |
| Major tributaries | |
| - left | River Brue, River Isle |
| - right | Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, River Tone |
The River Parrett has its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset in England and flows west through the Somerset Levels. The mouth is a Nature Reserve at Burnham on Sea where it flows into Bridgwater Bay on the Bristol Channel. The river is tidal for 27 miles (43 km) miles up to Oath, and, because the fall of the river, between Langport and Bridgwater is only 1 foot per mile, or 20cm per km,[1] it is prone to frequent flooding, in winter and high tides.
The River Parrett is 59 kilometres (37 mi) long and its main tributaries include the Rivers Tone, Isle, Yeo and Cary. It drains an area of over 1,690 km² (652.5 sq mi), comprising around 50% of the land area of Somerset.[2]
The River Parrett trail has been established along the banks of the river.
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[edit] Etymology
The name means 'The barge river' from the Latin paradie 'barse'.[3]
[edit] History
The River Parrett was established as the border between Wessex and Dumnonia in 658AD following the defeat of the West Welsh (Dumnonia) at the Battle of Peonnum at Penselwood in the same year. This natural border endured for almost a century until further fighting between Anglo-Saxons and the West Welsh in the mid 8th century when the current borders of Devon (West Welsh) and Somerset (Anglo-Saxon) were established.
A ferry has been thought to operate across the mouth of the river at Combwich since Roman times.
In the medieval period the river was used to transport Hamstone from the quarry at Ham Hill.[4]
Historically, the main port on the river was at Bridgwater, although by trans-shipping into barges at the town bridge it was navigable as far as Langport and (via the River Yeo) to Ilchester. After 1827, it was also possible to transfer goods to Taunton via the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal.[5] Nowadays, the wharf at Dunball is the only part of the Port of Bridgwater still handling bulk cargoes, mainly sand and gravel.
[edit] Flood prevention
The tidal reaches of the Parrett and River Tone experience large volumes of silt entering them from the Severn Estuary on each tide. This silt can rapidly gather on the banks of the rivers reducing the capacity and performance of the channel, increasing the risk of flooding of surrounding land.[6]
In the 1960s the Somerset River Authority was established at the Parrett They undertook engineering works for drainage, including pump and river works, King's Sedgemoor Drain and River Brue systems. They tried to maintain retained agricultural lands water supply of potable state in the groundwaters from the Quantock Hills to the coastline. However as Bridgwater blocks the Parrett the actions on flood prevention have always been a little difficult to implement, with an M5 motorway 1971 cut through the west Polden Hills adding to the flows.[7] Various measures including sluice gates, known locally as Clyce, have been deployed to try to control the risk of flooding.
In the 1970s a study was commissioned by Wessex Water to investigate the likely effects of construction of a tide-excluding barrier, aimed at stopping the silt, just upriver of Dunball Wharf on the hydraulic, sedimentary and pollutant regime of the estuary. Results showed that a site further upriver could be viable.[8]
The area around the estuary, known as Parrett Reach, around the Steart Peninsula has flooded many times during the last millennium. The most severe recent floods occurred in 1981. By 1997, a combination of coastal erosion, sea level rise and wave action had made some of the defences distinctly fragile and at risk from failure. As a result in 2002 The Environment Agency produced the Stolford to Combwich Coastal Defence Strategy Study to examine options for the future.[9]
Following summer floods of 1997 and the prolonged flooding of 1999/2000 the Parrett Catchment Project was formed, partly funded by the European Union Regional Development Fund, by 30 organisations, including; British Waterways, Campaign to Protect Rural England, The Countryside Agency, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Environment Agency, Kings Sedgemoor and Cary Vale Internal Drainage Board (now part of Parrett Internal Drainage Board), Levels and Moors Partnership, National Farmers Union, Sedgemoor, Somerset County Council, South Somerset District Council, Taunton Deane and Wessex Water. They aim to tackle twelve areas, which, when combined, will make a significant contribution to reducing the adverse effects of flooding. These include the conversion of arable land, adoption of the Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) approach to controlling rainwater runoff from developed areas, dredging, raising riverbanks and improving pumping facilities.[10] Further studies of the possible beneficial effects of woodland inm reducing flooding have also been undertaken.[11]
[edit] Eels
During January through to May, the Parrett provides a source of eels (Anguilla anguilla) and the young elvers, caught by hand netting - the only legal means of catching them[citation needed]. The 2003 BBC Radio 4 play Glass Eels by Nell Leyshon was set on a river in the Levels, very probably the Parrett.
[edit] Tourism
The 47 mile (75 km) Parrett Trail long-distance footpath follows the Parrett from its source to the sea. Passing many landmarks and places of interest including; Burrow Hill Cider Farm, Muchelney Abbey, West Sedgemoor (a Site of Special Scientific Interest(SSSI), the Admiral Blake Museum, Westonzoyland Pumping Station Museum, the site of the Battle of Sedgemoor and finally discharging into Bridgwater Bay (another SSSI).
The Langport & River Parrett Visitor Centre located at Langport details local life, history and wildlife.
[edit] Tidal Bore
In common with the lower reaches of the River Severn, the Parrett exhibits a tidal phenomenon known as the bore. At certain combinations of the tides, the rising water is funnelled up the river into a wave that travels rapidly upstream against the river current. The bore is a natural example of a self-reinforcing solitary wave or soliton[citation needed].
The tidal wave passes under the Town Bridge at Bridgwater approximately 1 hour 40 minutes before High Tide. Meteorological factors may vary this time by up to 5 minutes either way.
The predicted times for the best bores (at spring tides) for 2008, derived from information on the plaque at the Town Bridge, are as below:-
7/4/08 0743 2002
8/4/08 0824 2024
6/5/08 0720 1935
4/6/08 0704 1924
2/6/08 0754 2012
4/7/08 0747 2006
5/7/08 0836 2052
6/7/08 0921 2134
3/8/08 0820 2037
4/8/08 0900 2116
31/8/08 0720 1936
1/9/08 0757 2022
2/9/08 0832 2046
17/9/08 0804 2023
18/9/08 0840 2100
29/9/08 0656 1910
30/9/8 0730 1944
1/10/08 0801 2015
15/10/08 0706 1919
16/10/08 0738 1959
18/10/08 0817 2040
14/11/08 0516 1742
15/11/08 0600 1827
14/12/08 0558 1821
15/12/08 0640 1911
[edit] Linked waterways
- Bridgwater and Taunton Canal
- Ivelchester and Langport Navigation
- River Brue
- River Isle and Westport Canal
- River Tone
- River Yeo
[edit] References
- ^ River Parrett Trail (PDF). Langport & River Parrett Visitor Centre. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
- ^ Thomas, H; T. R. Nisbet (2007). "An assessment of the impact of floodplain woodland on flood flows". Water and Environment Journal 21 (2): 114-126. doi:. doi:10.1111/j.1747-6593.2006.00056.x.
- ^ Robinson, Stephen (1992). Somerset Place Names. Dovecote Press. ISBN 1874336032.
- ^ Gerrard, Christopher M. (1985). "Ham Hill Stone: A medieval distribution pattern from Somerset". Oxford Journal of Archaeology 4 (1): 105-116. doi:. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0092.1985.tb00234.x.
- ^ Hawkins, Desmond (1982). Avalon and Sedgemoor. Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0862990165.
- ^ Dredging of the river Parrett and Tone. (PDF). Environment Agency Fact Sheet. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
- ^ (M.D. Stagg, Hydrology 2007, Clare L.(nee Jarvis)Stagg, bio systems water resources assistant hydrologist Somerset Rivers 1970).
- ^ Maskell, J.M. (1980). "River Parrett tidal barrier: hydraulic investigation". Public Health Engineer 8 (1): 11-19.
- ^ Stolford to Combwich Coastal Defence Strategy Study (PDF). Environment Agency. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
- ^ Parrett Catchment Project. Somerset County Council. Retrieved on 2007-11-05.
- ^ Interactions between floodplain woodland and the freshwater environment. Forest Research: Annual Report and Accounts2004–2005. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
- Rivers of the United Kingdom
- Taunton Stop Line
- North Petherton and South Petherton (named after the river)
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