The Lapford Yeo, also known as the River Yeo, is a tributary of the

River Taw The River Taw () rises at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of Dartmoor, crosses North Devon and at the town of Barnstaple, formerly a significant port, empties into Bideford Bay in the Bristol Channel, having formed a large ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England. It is one of several rivers of the same name, including another tributary of the Taw, the Barnstaple Yeo. The Lapford Yeo also flows within 2 miles of the headwaters of another River Yeo, which is a tributary of the

River Creedy The River Creedy is a small river in Devon, England. It gives its name to the local town or ''ton'' of Crediton, which is on its west bank, and to several local historic estates, namely ''Creedy Hilion'', ''Creedy Peitevin'' (later called ''Creed ...

. The Lapford Yeo rises near

South Tawton South Tawton is a village, parish and former manor on the north edge of Dartmoor, Devon, England. An electoral ward bearing the same name exists. At the 2011 census the population was 1,683. Historic estates Located in the parish of South Tawt ...

. It flows north through Bow and

Zeal Monachorum Zeal Monachorum (; Latin translation ''Cell of the Monks'') is a village and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England, about north-west of Exeter, situated on the River Yeo. According to the 2001 census it had a population of ...

Lapford Lapford is a village and civil parish in Mid Devon in the English county of Devon. It had a population of 993 in 2001, reducing to 867 at the 2011 census. Lapford is part of Taw Valley ward whose population at the above census was 1,629. Chu ...

. It joins the Taw 1.5 miles below Lapford, just below Nymet Bridge. Its largest tributary is the

River Dalch The River Dalch, is the largest tributary of the Lapford Yeo in Devon, England. It rises to the east of Nomansland and flows in a south-westerly direction for 18.7 kilometres until its confluence with the Lapford Yeo at Lapford Lapford is a ...

, which joins the Yeo near Lapford. The river's catchment area is almost twice the size of the Taw's catchment area above the confluence, but has significantly lower rainfall than the upper Taw valley. The river was earlier called the Nymet, thought to be a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

word meaning 'shrine'. Several Nymet place-names remain in the area, including Nymet Tracey and

Nymet Rowland Nymet Rowland is a small village, and civil parish of the same name, in central Devon, England, north of Dartmoor. It takes part of its name from "Nymet", the old name for the nearby River Yeo. It is located just to the west of Lapford and sout ...

, and it seems that the area may have been sacred in Celtic times.Gelling M. (1997) ''Signposts to the Past (3rd ed.)'' Phillimore , p.243

References

Rivers of Devon 1YeoLapford {{England-river-stub