The River Yarrow is in
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 ...
, with its source at an area called ''Will Narr'' at ''Hordern Stoops'', along
Spitlers Edge - the
Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...
/
Blackburn
Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...
boundary - on 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 river feeds the
Yarrow Reservoir
Yarrow Reservoir - named after the River Yarrow - is a reservoir in the Rivington chain in Anglezarke, Lancashire, England, and has a storage capacity second to Anglezarke Reservoir. Construction of the reservoir, designed by Liverpool Borough E ...
, which in turn feeds the
Anglezarke
Anglezarke is a sparsely populated Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. It is an agricultural area used for sheep farming, also site of reservoirs that were built to supply water to Liverpool. T ...
and
Upper and
Lower Rivington Reservoir
Lower Rivington Reservoir is at the end of the Rivington chain of reservoirs in Lancashire, England, with Upper Rivington Reservoir to the north, and Rivington Water Treatment Works to the south. The Rivington chain primarily supplies 70,000 hou ...
s. Upon leaving the reservoirs via a
pumping station
Pumping stations, also called pumphouses in situations such as well drilling, drilled wells and drinking water, are facilities containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastru ...
, the river passes through an area that was formerly known as ''Abyssinia''. Currently, this area is within the boundaries of
Heath Charnock
Heath Charnock is a small village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001 it has a population of 2,065, reducing to 2,026 at the 2011 Census.
Location
Heath Charnock is next ...
and Limbrick, but the original name was given because it was a route frequented by coal
miner
A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...
s, and the workers were said to look like natives of Abyssinia (modern day
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
): until the mid 20th century it was usual for miners to return from work covered in coal dust.
From here, the river flows underneath the
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool.
Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...
, joining
Black Brook at
Yarrow Bridge
Yarrow Bridge is a small road bridge which crosses the River Yarrow in Chorley, Lancashire, England. The bridge carries the A6 road over the river. There is also a pub and garage next door to bridge which carries the same name.
The bridge ha ...
, then continuing through the ancient woodland of
Duxbury
Duxbury (alternative older spelling: "Duxborough") is a historic seaside town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore approximately to the southeast of Boston, the population was 16,090 at the 20 ...
into
Yarrow Valley Park
Yarrow Valley Country Park is a country park managed by Chorley Borough Council in Lancashire, England. It follows the River Yarrow for about . It contains much woodland and includes nature reserves, the best known being Birkacre and Duxbur ...
forming a boundary of
Euxton
Euxton ( ) is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 census was 9,993, however, the population is now estimated to be around 14,000 due to the incre ...
and on through
Eccleston and
Croston
Croston is a village and civil parish near Chorley in Lancashire, England. The River Yarrow flows through the village. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 2,917.
History
Croston was founded in the 7th century when ...
, where it feeds the
River Douglas at
Sollom
Sollom is a hamlet in the parish of Tarleton, in Lancashire, England. It lies south of Tarleton and north of Rufford on the A59 road, giving the village good links to Preston, Southport and Liverpool.
Historically, the village was primarily an ...
just before its inlet into the
River Ribble
The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...
's
brackish
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...
final stretch. The entire course of the River Yarrow falls within
Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...
and its villages. Parts of the river are a County Biological Heritage Site.
Croston Flood Risk Management Scheme
The Croston Flood Risk Management Scheme involved the construction of a dam on the River just east of
Eccleston. The dam was constructed to protect over 300 properties in
Croston
Croston is a village and civil parish near Chorley in Lancashire, England. The River Yarrow flows through the village. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 2,917.
History
Croston was founded in the 7th century when ...
and Eccleston from flooding. The dam was proposed after the 2012 floods which flooded over 200 properties in Croston. Construction had already commenced when the
2015 boxing day floods caused over 300 properties in Croston and Eccleston to flood. This consequently meant that the construction suffered a major delay due to unworkable ground conditions as a result of the floods. The dam was finally completed in July 2017 at a cost of £7 million, £5.4 million in Government Grant in Aid funding, £1 million from Chorley Council, £181,000 from
Lancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control.
Prior to the 2009 La ...
and £667,000 was received from local levy. The dam works by monitoring the river level in croston and either lowers or raises gates to control the flow of water. A Large bank was constructed to hold excess water back. The scheme has so far proved successful at protecting Croston and Eccleston from flooding.
Etymology
The name ''Yarrow'' is obscure,
and there are multiple explanations as to the origin of the name. It may have the same origin as the
River Yarrow in
Selkirkshire
Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk ( gd, Siorrachd Shalcraig) is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. ...
in Scotland,
and therefore be derived from the
Brittonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
element ''garw'', meaning "rough, harsh, rugged, uncultivated".
However, it may also be related to the
River Arrow in Warwickshire (Brittonic ''*ar-w-ā-''),
and derived either from Brittonic ''*ar'', an ancient
river-name element implying either horizontal motion, "flowing", or else "rising" or "springing up",
or ''*arβ, *arw'', found in the
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages ( usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward ...
as
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
''irfin'' and
Breton
Breton most often refers to:
*anything associated with Brittany, and generally
** Breton people
** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany
** Breton (horse), a breed
**Ga ...
''irvin'', both meaning "a wild turnip".
A relationship with the
River Arrow in the
Welsh marches
The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods.
The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...
is also possible,
deriving therefore from a form of Brittonic ''arɣant'', meaning "silver, white, bright".
Wildlife
After suffering many years of pollution due to
effluent
Effluent is wastewater from sewers or industrial outfalls that flows directly into surface waters either untreated or after being treated at a facility. The term has slightly different meanings in certain contexts, and may contain various pollut ...
discharge from Whitter's factory and Stanley's factory, the river is now much cleaner, and as such has attracted birds such as
dipper
Dippers are members of the genus ''Cinclus'' in the bird family Cinclidae, so-called because of their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Cinclus'' ...
s,
grey wagtail
The grey wagtail (''Motacilla cinerea'') is a member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae, measuring around 18–19 cm overall length. The species looks somewhat similar to the yellow wagtail but has the yellow on its underside restricted t ...
s and
kingfisher
Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...
s, and fish including
trout
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...
,
chub,
Dace
A dace is a small fish that can be one of many different species. The unmodified name is usually a reference to the common dace (''Leuciscus leuciscus''). This, like most fish called "daces", belongs to the family Cyprinidae, mostly in subfamily ...
and
barbel Barbel may refer to:
*Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles
*Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish
**''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprinid ...
.
Fish passes have been installed at Pincock, Birkacre and Duxbury, to enable upstream spawning of fish which would be unable to navigate the
weir
A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
s.
Salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
have been recorded at Duxbury for the first time in over 100 years.
Removal of
Himalayan Balsam
''Impatiens glandulifera'', Himalayan balsam, is a large annual plant native to the Himalayas. Via human introduction it is now present across much of the Northern Hemisphere and is considered an invasive species in many areas. Uprooting or cutt ...
,
Japanese Knotweed
''Reynoutria japonica'', synonyms ''Fallopia japonica'' and ''Polygonum cuspidatum'', is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Common names include Japanese knotweed and Asian knotweed. It is ...
and
Rhododendron
''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...
plants is undertaken to allow low-growing native species to flourish.
Tributaries
Locations that are listed on Ordnance Survey
, nativename_a =
, nativename_r =
, logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg
, logo_width = 240px
, logo_caption =
, seal =
, seal_width =
, seal_caption =
, picture =
, picture_width =
, picture_caption =
, formed =
, preceding1 =
, di ...
maps are ''italicised'':
Green Withins Brook — near to the ruins of ''Simm's Farm''. It starts at ''Standing Stones Hill''.
Limestone Brook — has its source near to ''Devils Ditch'', and flows via ''Shooting Huts'' on
Anglezarke
Anglezarke is a sparsely populated Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. It is an agricultural area used for sheep farming, also site of reservoirs that were built to supply water to Liverpool. T ...
Moor where it joins at the ''Meeting of the Waters''.
Black Brook — flows from
Great Hill
Great Hill is a hill in Lancashire, England, on Anglezarke Moor, between the towns of Chorley and Darwen. It is part of the West Pennine Moors and lies approximately 3 miles north of Winter Hill, which is the highest point in the area at 456& ...
through
White Coppice
White Coppice is a hamlet near Chorley, Lancashire, England. It was the most populated part of the township of Anglezarke in the 19th century. Close to the settlement in the early 19th century were quarries and small coal mines. The hamlet lies ...
(where it is known as ''Warth Brook''), and lesserly from ''Eagle Tower'' at
Heapey
Heapey is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. The village is two miles from Chorley and on the western fringe of the West Pennine Moors. In 2001 the population was 955, increasing to 1,001 at the 2011 c ...
. The brook joins the river at the
Yarrow Bridge
Yarrow Bridge is a small road bridge which crosses the River Yarrow in Chorley, Lancashire, England. The bridge carries the A6 road over the river. There is also a pub and garage next door to bridge which carries the same name.
The bridge ha ...
prior to entering
Duxbury Woods
Duxbury Woods is an area of woodland and parkland situated in Chorley, Lancashire, at the foot of the West Pennine Moors. The area originally existed as a township with the council meeting at the Yarrow Bridge pub; this was absorbed into Chorl ...
. The brook has today more flow than the Yarrow, due to the large amount of water removed from the Yarrow for consumption. In fact, the Yarrow flooded when
Anglezarke Reservoir
Anglezarke Reservoir is the largest reservoir in the Rivington chain to the west of Anglezarke in Lancashire, England. Anglezarke Reservoir has three embankments: the Charnock Embankment, the longest, is long and high, the Knowsley Embankment ...
was drained in 2002, waterlogging the fields at Nick Hilton's Bridge.
Eller Brook — ''partial offtake'', between Duxbury Woods and ''Drybones'' (off Burgh Lane) from
Adlington
Clancutt Brook — flows away from the sea, and feeds in at Birkacre near
Coppull
Coppull is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England. It is part of the Borough of Chorley, lies around above sea level. Its population is around 8,000, having been counted at 7,959 in the 2011 Census. It is bounded by Whittle Brook, Cl ...
.
River Chor
The River Chor is a largely culverted stream in the Lancashire town of Chorley. Its name was back-formed from "Chorley".
The source of the river is in the hills near Heapey
Heapey is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, i ...
— at the Common Bank area of
Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...
, near to
Euxton
Euxton ( ) is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 census was 9,993, however, the population is now estimated to be around 14,000 due to the incre ...
.
German Brook — shortly after.
Culbeck Brook — at Euxton.
Syd Brook — at
Croston
Croston is a village and civil parish near Chorley in Lancashire, England. The River Yarrow flows through the village. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 2,917.
History
Croston was founded in the 7th century when ...
.
River Lostock
The River Lostock is a river in Lancashire, England.
The source of the Lostock is at the confluence of Slack Brook and Whave's Brook at the entrance to Miller Wood near Withnell Fold.
Slack Brook drains an area around Brindle, having its sour ...
— at
Bretherton
Bretherton is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England, situated to the south west of Leyland and east of Tarleton. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 669. Its name suggests pre-con ...
near its confluence with the Douglas.
Tributaries continued
Water quality
The Environment Agency measure the 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, and chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations. Chemical status is rated good or fail.
The water quality of the River Yarrow system was as follows in 2016. Reasons for the quality being less than good include sewage discharge, physical modification of the channel and poor nutrient management of agricultural land.
References
External links
Friends of the River Yarrow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yarrow
Rivers of Chorley
Rivers of Lancashire
West Pennine Moors