Eagley Brook (also known during the formative part of its course as Belmont Brook) is a small
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
and
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Rising at the
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
of several smaller streams at Old Man's Hill in the
West Pennine Moors
The West Pennine Moors is an area of the Pennines covering approximately of moorland and Reservoir (water), reservoirs in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The West Pennine Moors are separat ...
, the brook almost immediately feeds
Belmont Reservoir, after which it moves south and south east, passing the village of
Belmont and collecting several tributaries and traversing the Longworth Clough, emerging close to
Egerton.
From there, the river goes south, through
Eagley near
Bromley Cross
Bromley Cross is a residential area of South Turton in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It gives its name to a larger electoral ward, which includes Eagley, Egerton, and Cox Green. Historically part of Lancashir ...
, towards Astley Bridge, after which it joins
Astley Brook
Astley Brook is a river in Greater Manchester, England.
Rising at the confluence of Dean Brook and Raveden Brook near Halliwell in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, it travels eastward to "Meeting of the Waters", where it meets Eagley Brook ...
at Meeting of the Waters to form the
River Tonge
The River Tonge is a short river, splitting Bolton from contiguous Tonge, both in Greater Manchester, England.
The Tonge is formed at the ''Meeting of the Waters'', where Astley Brook, from Smithills in the west, meets the Eagley Brook draw ...
.
Eagley Brook was historically important to the industrial and economic life of the north Bolton area. Its fast-flowing streams provided power to the water-wheels of the early industrial period, steam power at a later date, and soft water for bleaching and paper making.
Tributaries
* Barley Brook (R)
* Gale Brook (R)
** Three Nooked Shaw Brook (L)
* Delph Brook (L)
** Slate Brook (R)
** Stones Bank Brook
*** Rushton's Brook (Ls)
*** Holden's Brook (Rs)
* Hordern/Ward's Brook (R)
** Grange Brook (R)
** Great Gutte (R)
References
Rivers of Lancashire
West Pennine Moors
2
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