The River Marden is a small

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 Avon in England. It flows from the hills surrounding

Calne Calne () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, southwestern England,OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs h ...

and meets the Avon about a mile upstream of

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...

. The river has a mean flow of .

Course

The Marden rises just north of the valley of Ranscombe Bottom near

Calstone Wellington Calstone Wellington is a small village and former parish in Wiltshire, England, about south-east of Calne and now part of the civil parish of Calne Without. The village has a 15th-century church. Geography Anciently, there was a distinction b ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. It then flows in a north-west direction through the Blackland area, where it forms a small ornamental lake at Blackland House, and on to Quemerford, where it is joined on the right bank by the Rivers Brook. In Calne, the Abberd Brook joins on the right. The river turns in a westerly direction and is joined by the overspill from Bowood Lake, part of the

Bowood House Bowood is a Grade I listed Georgian country house in Wiltshire, England, that has been owned for more than 250 years by the Fitzmaurice family. The house, with interiors by Robert Adam, stands in extensive grounds which include a garden designe ...

estate, on the left at Studleybrook Farm. The river is then joined by the combined Fisher's and Cowage brooks before turning to the north-west, past the village of

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

. later it joins the Bristol Avon to the north-east of

History

The

Domesday survey 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 ...

of England in 1086 records four

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

s on the Marden at Calne. In the 18th century four

fulling Fulling, also known as felting, tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelled waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven or knitted cloth (particularly wool) to elimin ...

mills are recorded and one of these, Upper Mill, became a paper mill in 1768 and continued in operation until 1860. Hassell's Mill at Studley remained in operation until 1960. A branch of the

Wilts & Berks Canal The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Abingdon. ...

, opened in 1810, paralleled the course of the Marden west of Calne. The canal was closed in 1914 following the collapse into the river of the Stanley aqueduct in 1901. Traces of the canal and its towpath survive.

Hydrology

The

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

gauging station at Stanley has measured the mean flow of the river as , with a maximum recorded flow of on 30 October 2000 and a minimum of on 21 August 1976.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marden, River Rivers of Wiltshire 1Marden