The River Spen or Spen Beck, in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England is a tributary of the River Calder. It rises north of

Cleckheaton Cleckheaton is a town in the Metropolitan borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Bradford, east of Brighouse, west of Batley and south-west of Leeds. It is a ...

, runs through

Liversedge Liversedge is a town and former parish of Birstall, in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Liversedge lies between Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike. The Kirklees ward ...

and flows into the Calder to the south of

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

at Ravensthorpe. The average rainfall for the river valley of between 600–1000mm per annum when combined with the steep narrow river channel, makes the Spen susceptible to regular flooding. It is referred to in the name of the local parliamentary constituency, Batley and Spen, to account for the villages and suburbs of Batley in the Spen Valley, such as

and

Gomersal Gomersal is a town in Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is south of Bradford, east of Cleckheaton and north of Heckmondwike. It is close to the River Spen and forms part of the Heavy Woollen District. History Gomersal was attested i ...

Course

The River Spen is formed at the confluence of Hunsworth Beck and Nann Hall Beck in

. The river flows south past industrial premises parallel to a dismantled railway line before turning south east on the outskirts of

. It continues south east through the industrial centre of the town before returning southwards along the edge of

Heckmondwike Heckmondwike is a town in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, south west of Leeds. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is close to Cleckheaton and Liversedge. It is mostly in the Batley and Spen pa ...

. On the outskirts of Ravensthorpe, the river turns south east again before joining the River Calder.

Natural history

The Spen is mainly an urban waterway and has been polluted by sewage effluent and industrial waste, though levels of pollutants and

mine water Pit water, mine water or mining water is water that collects in a mine and which has to be brought to the surface by water management methods in order to enable the mine to continue working. Origin Although all water that enters pit workings ori ...

discharges have decreased since 1999. Heavy rain can cause pollutant levels to rise and the river suffers from tipping and urban litter. Several non-native species of plant are found along the river including

giant hogweed ''Heracleum mantegazzianum'', commonly known as giant hogweed, is a monocarpic perennial herbaceous plant in the carrot family Apiaceae. ''H. mantegazzianum'' is also known as cartwheel-flower, giant cow parsley, giant cow parsnip, or hogsb ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Bistort, wild

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

, nettles and

dandelion ''Taraxacum'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus is native to Eurasia and Nor ...

s are found in abundance in the meadows between the conurbations.

Leisure

The disused railway line adjacent to the riverbank is part of the Spen Valley Greenway (

National Cycle Route 66 National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 66 is a Sustrans National Route that runs from Kingston upon Hull to Manchester via Beverley, York and Leeds. Between Pocklington and York it forms part of the Way of the Roses challenge route. In 1998 the secti ...

) from

to Oakenshaw near

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

. The greenway is home to a collection of artworks, including ''A Flock of Swaledale Sheep'', constructed from recycled industrial scrap by Sally Matthews, and ''Rotate'' by Trudi Entwistle which comprises 40 giant steel hoops set in a circle.

Lists

Tributaries

* Finching Dike * Canker Dyke

Settlements

Ravensthorpe Ravensthorpe may refer to any of the following places. England *Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury in West Yorkshire **Ravensthorpe railway station, Dewsbury *Ravensthorpe, Northamptonshire *Ravensthorpe, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire *Ravensthorpe, an histor ...

Crossings

* A643, Cleckheaton * Thornton Street, Cleckheaton * A638, Rawfolds Bridge, Cleckheaton * Cartwright Street, Cleckheaton * Primrose Lane, Cleckheaton * Radulf Gardens, Liversedge * Knowler Hill, Liversedge * Valley Road, Liversedge * A62, Liversedge * A649, Wakefiled Road, Liversedge * Wormald Street, Liversedge * Union Street, Liversedge * Beck Lane, Liversedge * Smithies Bridge, Station Lane, Liversedge * A644, Huddersfield Road, Ravensthorpe

Sources

Ordnance Survey Open Data https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-government/tools-support/open-data-support

References

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Spen Msx2-interacting protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''SPEN'' gene. This gene encodes a hormone inducible transcriptional repressor. Repression of transcription by this gene product can occur through interactions with other rep ...