The River Wey is a main
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
in south east
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 ...
. Its two branches, one of which rises near
Alton
Alton may refer to:
People
*Alton (given name)
*Alton (surname)
Places Australia
*Alton National Park, Queensland
* Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne
Canada
* Alton, Ontario
*Alton, Nova Scotia
New Zealand
* Alton, New Zealand, ...
in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
and the other in
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
to the south of
Haslemere
The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere i ...
, join at
Tilford
Tilford is a village and civil parish centred at the point where the two branches of the River Wey merge in Surrey, England, south-east of Farnham. It has half of Charleshill, Elstead in its east, a steep northern outcrop of the Greensand Rid ...
in
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
. Once combined the flow is eastwards then northwards via
Godalming
Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settleme ...
and
Guildford
Guildford ()
is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
to meet the Thames at
Weybridge
Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...
. Downstream the river forms the backdrop to
Newark Priory
Newark Priory is a ruined priory on an island surrounded by the River Wey and its former leat (the Abbey Stream) near the boundary of the village (parish lands) of Ripley and Pyrford in Surrey, England. Ruins of Newark Priory Grade I List Entr ...
and
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...
. The
Wey and Godalming Navigations
The River Wey Navigation and Godalming Navigation together provide a continuous navigable route from the River Thames near Weybridge via Guildford to Godalming (commonly called the Wey Navigation). Both waterways are in Surrey and are owned b ...
were built in the 17th and 18th centuries, to create a navigable route from Godalming to the Thames.
The Wey drains much of south west Surrey (as well as parts of east Hampshire and the north of West Sussex) and has a total
catchment area
In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...
of . Although it is the longest tributary of the Thames (if the
Medway
Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to for ...
is excluded), its
total average discharge is lower than that of the
Kennet Kennet may refer to:
Places in the United Kingdom
*Kennet, Clackmannanshire, Scotland
People
*Baron Kennet, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
* D. Mark Kennet (born 1957), American economist
*Josh Kennet (born 1987), English-Israel ...
and
Cherwell. The
river morphology
The terms river morphology and its synonym stream morphology are used to describe the shapes of river channels and how they change in shape and direction over time. The morphology of a river channel is a function of a number of processes and enviro ...
and biodiversity of the Wey are well studied, with many places to take samples and record data. The main tributary is the
Tillingbourne, which rises on the western slopes of
Leith Hill
Leith Hill in southern England is the highest summit of the Greensand Ridge, approximately southwest of Dorking, Surrey and southwest of Charing Cross, central London. It reaches above mean sea level, above sea level, and is the second highe ...
and flows westwards to join the Wey to the south of Guildford, between
Shalford and
Peasmarsh
Peasmarsh is a village and civil parish in the Rother district, in the county of East Sussex in England. It is located on the A268 road between Rye and Beckley, some north-west of Rye.
The village church, dedicated to St Peter and Paul, lie ...
.
The name Wey is of unknown origin and meaning.
Course
Wey North
![Source of the River Wey - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Source_of_the_River_Wey_-_geograph.org.uk_-_370191.jpg)
The Wey north branch, sometimes referred to as the Alton Wey,
has its official nomenclature source in
Alton
Alton may refer to:
People
*Alton (given name)
*Alton (surname)
Places Australia
*Alton National Park, Queensland
* Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne
Canada
* Alton, Ontario
*Alton, Nova Scotia
New Zealand
* Alton, New Zealand, ...
in Hampshire; however is exceeded by length and, in wet weather, in flow by the nearby Caker Stream rising in
dendritic drainage
In geomorphology, drainage systems, also known as river systems, are the patterns formed by the streams, rivers, and lakes in a particular drainage basin. They are governed by the topography of land, whether a particular region is dominated by har ...
spanning fields of
Upper Farringdon and
Hartley Mauditt
Hartley Mauditt is an abandoned village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is south of the village of East Worldham, and southeast of Alton, just east of the B3006 road. It is in the civil parish of Worldham. The nearest r ...
, passing
Chawton
Chawton is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. The village lies within the South Downs National Park and is famous as the home of Jane Austen for the last eight years of her life.
History
Chawton's re ...
between these places. After the union in Alton the brook runs quite straight, east north-east through
Upper Froyle
Froyle is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 3.6 miles (5.8 km) northeast of Alton, Hampshire, Alton. The nearest railway station is 2 miles (3.3 km) east of the village, at Bentley ( ...
and
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...
, turning southeast after Farnham's centre to Tilford.
The steep-sided valley accentuates entering Surrey, between vast masses termed the
Lower Greensand Group
The Lower Greensand Group is a geological unit present across large areas of Southern England. It was deposited during the Aptian and Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous. It predominantly consists of sandstone and unconsolidated sand that were ...
(south), then down the more easterly valley on both sides (east and west). Reflecting the crumbly nature of this material which has readily eroded, the valley falls from about entering
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
west of Farnham to 60 feet lower at
Tilford
Tilford is a village and civil parish centred at the point where the two branches of the River Wey merge in Surrey, England, south-east of Farnham. It has half of Charleshill, Elstead in its east, a steep northern outcrop of the Greensand Rid ...
south-east of Farnham and changes from almost v-shaped to a more u-shaped alluvial plain.
The upper parts of the branch were the start of the upper
River Blackwater's catchment.
[''Geology for Engineers'', F.G.H. Blyth, published by Arnold, third edition, 1952. cited with approval by http://weyriver.co.uk/theriver/wey_north_B.htm and Surrey Nature Partnership in its ''2018'' Wey Catchment Plan] The Wey
captured this following cumulative flooding and deposition right up to around
Aldershot
Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...
. A vestige of this is that the upper Blackwater valley proper, north of today's
wind gap
A wind gap (or air gap) is a gap through which a waterway once flowed that is now dry as a result of stream capture. A water gap is a similar feature, but one in which a waterway still flows. Water gaps and wind gaps often provide routes which ...
, is not lower than (Tongham Pool) and of very low gradient. This transported distinctive gravels containing chert, to deposit them north of the gap in the chalky ridge at Farnham.
[ The source rocks of the gravels prove the former extent of the river.][ Great erosion has occurred in the Wey down to Tilford, along the sinuous, multiple-anabranch ]Waverley Abbey
Waverley Abbey was the first Cistercian abbey in England, founded in 1128 by William Giffard, the Bishop of Winchester.
Located about southeast of Farnham, Surrey, it is situated on a flood-plain; surrounded by current and previous channels o ...
stretch, through, what Blyth notes as, the "soft strata",[ of that landscape.
]
Wey South
The Wey South branch stems from two main westward brooks, one now followed by the Portsmouth Direct Line, the other – with longer source brooks – following the Surrey/Sussex boundary, which combine at a point, heading west, where the line first comes as close as 97 metres to the boundary – in the east end of a park, next to one of its three river footbridges. These brooks are fed by six main streams. The farthest are the southern streams. These drain parallel
Parallel is a geometric term of location which may refer to:
Computing
* Parallel algorithm
* Parallel computing
* Parallel metaheuristic
* Parallel (software), a UNIX utility for running programs in parallel
* Parallel Sysplex, a cluster of ...
, north, narrow vales between the northerly "fingers" or "ribs" of:
* Blackdown, the third-highest hill in Southeastern England
*Ridge Hill
*Fridays Hill
*Marley Heights (formerly Moseshill), called Marley Common
The northern streams drain fingers of a single east–west ridge of Greensand
Greensand or green sand is a sand or sandstone which has a greenish color. This term is specifically applied to shallow marine sediment that contains noticeable quantities of rounded greenish grains. These grains are called ''glauconies'' and c ...
, their common names, again from east to west, are:
*Wey Down (High Lane Estate)
*Inval(l)
*Stoatley Rise
*Brownscombe
Of varying size, these are long, sandy hills south-east of the upper tip of the Devil's Punch Bowl
The Devil's Punch Bowl is a visitor attraction and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest situated just to the east of the village of Hindhead in the English county of Surrey. It is part of the Wealden Heaths Phase II Special Protecti ...
: Gibbet Hill, Hindhead
Gibbet Hill, at Hindhead, Surrey, is the apex of the scarp surrounding the Devil's Punch Bowl, not far from the A3 London to Portsmouth road in England.
Geography
Gibbet Hill stands above sea level. It is the second highest hill in Surrey. ...
. One of the northern streams adjoins strips of woodland named Weydown Common and Weycombe.
The south sources are specifically: a wood-surrounded neighbourhood, Kingsley Green (formerly Marsh) in Fernhurst
Fernhurst is a village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England, on the A286 Milford, Surrey, to Chichester road, south of Haslemere. The parish includes the settlements of Henley Common, Kingsley Green and Bell Vale, ...
; Chase Farm marking the furthest point south in Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
; and upper fishponds at Wades Marsh marking the Fernhurst/Lurgashall
Lurgashall is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, 6.5 km (4 ml) north west of Petworth, just inside the South Downs National Park. The population at the 2011 Census was 609.
History
The church has ...
boundary (both in West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
), next to the summit of Ridge Hill (which is the furthest source).
The Wey drains and passes Haslemere's western suburbs then Liphook
Liphook is a large village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 4.1 miles (6.6 km) west of Haslemere, bypassed by the A3 road, and lies on the Hampshire/West Sussex/Surrey borders. It is in the civil parish of Brams ...
, Bramshott
Bramshott is a village with mediaeval origins in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It lies 0.9 miles (1.4 km) north of Liphook.
The nearest railway station, Liphook railway station, Liphook, is south of the village.
Histor ...
(including Passfield), Standford and Lindford, and the large parish of Frensham
Frensham is a village in Surrey, England, next to the A287 road, WSW of Guildford, the county town. Frensham lies on the right bank of the River Wey (south branch), only navigable to canoes, shortly before its convergence with the north bran ...
. It combines with the north branch at Tilford, in which parish all three flows have large meander
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...
s.
Notable tributaries of the south branch are Cooper's Stream and the River Slea
The River Slea is a tributary of the River Witham, in Lincolnshire, England. In 1872 the river was described as "a never-ending source of pure water", and was a trout river renowned throughout the East coast of England. But in the late 1960s, t ...
.
Combined river
From Tilford the river runs through Elstead, Eashing
Shackleford is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Guildford, Surrey, England centred to the west of the A3 between Guildford and Petersfield southwest of London and southwest of Guildford. Shackleford includes the localities of ...
, Godalming, Peasmarsh/Shalford, Guildford, Send, Old Woking
Old Woking is a wards of the United Kingdom, ward and the original settlement of the town and borough of Borough of Woking, Woking, Surrey, about southeast of the modern town centre. It is bounded by the Hoe Stream to the north and the River We ...
, Pyrford
Pyrford is a village in the borough of Woking in Surrey, England. It is on the left bank of the River Wey, around east of the town of Woking and just south of West Byfleet; the M25 motorway is northeast of the edge of the former parish.
The ...
, Byfleet
Byfleet is a village in Surrey, England. It is located in the far east of the borough of Woking, around east of West Byfleet, from which it is separated by the M25 motorway and the Wey Navigation.
The village is of medieval origin. Its win ...
, New Haw
New Haw is a village which is part of the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England. It is located approximately south of Addlestone and southwest by west of London.
Geography
New Haw borders Byfleet, Addlestone, Weybridge, Ottershaw, West Byf ...
and forms the historically much more meandering border between Addlestone
Addlestone ( or ) is a town in Surrey, England. It is located approximately southwest of London. The town is the administrative centre of the Runnymede (borough), Borough of Runnymede, of which it is the largest settlement.
History
The town is ...
/Weybridge
Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...
, today doing so most accurately between Hamm Court and Whittet's Ait respectively. From Godalming the river is intertwined with the Wey and Godalming Navigations. The of the navigations' towpath is open to pedestrians. The river joins the Thames at a cascading channel off its Navigation Canal (above Thames Lock) between Hamm Court and Whittet's Ait and a weir-fed navigation east of the ait facing the main weir stream of Shepperton Lock
Shepperton Lock is a lock on the River Thames, in England by the left bank at Shepperton, Surrey. It is across the river from Weybridge which is nearby linked by a passenger ferry.
In 1813, the City of London Corporation built the pound lock ...
.
Tributaries
The River Ock
The River Ock is a small English river which is a tributary of the River Thames. It has as its catchment area the Vale of White Horse, a low-lying and wide valley in south Oxfordshire, and flows into the River Thames, at Abingdon on the reach ...
joins at Godalming, Cranleigh Waters
The Cranleigh Waters or Bramley Wey is a tributary of the River Wey in Surrey.
Course
The Cranleigh Waters or Bramley Wey rises at a source close to the sources of two tributaries, the Thornhurst Brook and Coneyhurst Gill in the rural north of ...
and the River Tillingbourne
The River Tillingbourne (also known as the Tilling Bourne) runs along the south side of the North Downs and joins the River Wey at Guildford. Its source is a mile south of Tilling Springs to the north of Leith Hill at and it runs through Frid ...
at Shalford and the Hoe Stream at Woking.
History
The river has long been used as a source of power for mills, and many are recorded in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
. Between the 17th and 19th centuries there were over 40 mills on the river and more on its tributaries. At various times they have been used for grinding grain, fulling wool, rolling oats, crushing cattle cake, leather dressing, paper production and gunpowder manufacture. Willey Mill, at Farnham, was still in use in 1953. Headley Mill is still in commercial operation. Guildford Town Mill, though no longer used for milling, still harnesses the power of the river to generate electricity.
During the seventeenth century, the river was made navigable to Guildford and extended in the eighteenth century to Godalming. The Basingstoke Canal
The Basingstoke Canal is an English canal, completed in 1794, built to connect Basingstoke with the River Thames at Weybridge via the Wey Navigation.
From Basingstoke, the canal passes through or near Greywell, North Warnborough, Odiham, Dogm ...
and Wey and Arun Junction Canal were later connected to the river. The navigable sections are now owned by the National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
.
Natural environment
Wey Valley is a term for the narrowing basin of the River Wey before it empties into the River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
.
Much of the upper reaches of the river are within the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The river passes through a variety of habitats including heathland, woodland and watermeadow, resulting in a diversity of wildlife. There are Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Nature Reserves
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
along the river.
A broad basin of aquifer
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...
s drain steeply to the river so, as with the Mole, in its natural state, much of the flood plain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
s were prone to regular flooding. This has been greatly reduced by flood alleviation measures, upstream lakes such as Frensham Great Pond
Frensham Common is a large Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) heathland of which includes two lakes; it is owned by the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, National Trust.
Terrain, plants and animals
Fr ...
and, inadvertently, the Wey navigations. The lowest urban areas of Godalming
Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settleme ...
, Byfleet
Byfleet is a village in Surrey, England. It is located in the far east of the borough of Woking, around east of West Byfleet, from which it is separated by the M25 motorway and the Wey Navigation.
The village is of medieval origin. Its win ...
and Weybridge
Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...
saw extensive flooding in the exceptional winter storms of 2013–14.
Water quality
The Environment Agency measure water quality of the river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of invertebrate
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
s, angiosperm
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail.[ Text was copied from this source, which is available under a]
Open Government Licence v3.0
© Crown copyright.
Water quality of the River Wey in 2019:
Further reading
* Inland Waterways Association (South-East Region) ''The River Wey and Godalming Navigation: Weybridge to Godalming'' Inland Waterways Association 1976
See also
*Tributaries of the River Thames
This article lists the tributaries of the River Thames from the sea to the source, in England. There are also secondary lists of backwaters of the river itself and the waterways branching off.
Note: the River Medway shares the saline lower Tha ...
*Canals of the United Kingdom
The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a varied history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's ro ...
*List of rivers of England
This is a list of rivers of England, organised geographically and taken anti-clockwise around the English coast where the various rivers discharge into the surrounding seas, from the Solway Firth on the Scottish border to the Welsh Dee on the Wel ...
*Perseverance IV
''Perseverance IV'' is a preserved Wey barge, moored at Dapdune Wharf on the River Wey in Surrey, England. She was the final barge to leave that surviving main boatyard on the river. She did so in 1966 and is on the National Register of Hist ...
, last floating River Wey barge.
* Mills on the River Wey and its tributaries
Notes and references
;Notes
;References
External links
The River Wey Trust
River Wey and Godalming Navigations and Dapdune Wharf
River Wey Catchment Flood Warnings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wey
Rivers of Hampshire
Rivers of Surrey
River navigations in the United Kingdom
Wey