The River Roch is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

, a

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 Irwell The River Irwell ( ) is a tributary of the River Mersey in north west England. It rises at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup and flows southwards for to meet the Mersey near Irlam. The Irwell marks the boundary be ...

Course

Rising on Chelburn Moor (south of

Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Hal ...

in the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...

), the river flows south through Littleborough towards

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

where it is joined by the

River Beal The Beal is a small river in Greater Manchester, England, and is a tributary of the River Roch. It rises in the Beal Valley in green space between Sholver and Royton, before continuing northwards through Shaw and Crompton, Newhey, Milnrow and ...

at Belfield, and the

River Spodden The River Spodden is a watercourse in North West England, one of two major tributaries of the River Roch. It rises in the Lancashire South Pennine hills north of Whitworth and flows south through what is now known as the Whitworth Valley to ...

from Whitworth. Turning west it runs past Heywood and

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

before meeting the

just to the east of

Radcliffe Radcliffe or Radcliff may refer to: Places * Radcliffe Line, a border between India and Pakistan United Kingdom * Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town ** Radcliffe tram stop * ...

Etymology

The town of

is recorded as ''Recedham'' 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 ...

and ''Rachetham'' in 1193, with variations of ''Rechedham'' continuing into the thirteenth century.Mills, A.D.: ''A Dictionary of English Place Names'', 2nd Edition, page 289, s.n. Rochdale. Oxford University Press, 1998 It is thought that these names represent a pre-existing

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 ...

name for the river Roch, borrowed into

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

for the name of the settlement. The early forms of ''Rachet-ham'' and ''Reched-ham'' suggest a compound of two elements, ''ro-ced'' or ''ro-cet''. The first element is either from the common intensive prefix ''rö-'' (

Modern Welsh The history of the Welsh language (Welsh: ''Hanes yr iaith Gymraeg'') spans over 1400 years, encompassing the stages of the language known as Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. Origins Welsh evolved from British, the Cel ...

''rhy-'', Cornish re-) meaning "great" and found in other river names such as the Ribble and the

Rother Rother may refer to: General *Rother (surname) (also sometimes spelled Röther) *Rother District, a local government district in East Sussex, England *Rother FM, an independent local radio station for Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England *Rother Kup ...

or ''rag-'', (

''ar-'') meaning "opposite" or "adjacent to". The second element would then almost certainly be ''cę:d'' or ''cet'', (

''coed'') meaning "wood". This would give the name a meaning of "River of the great wood" or "River opposite the wood". Another etymology focused on the early forms similarities to ''

Rheged Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ''Hen Ogledd'' ("Old North"), the Brittonic-speaking region of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, during the post-Roman era and Early Middle Ages. It is recorded in several poetic and ba ...

'', the Cumbric-speaking kingdom in North West England during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. Although this etymology is used to support the theory that the Roch may have been the centre of a separate kingdom known in

Medieval Welsh literature Medieval Welsh literature is the literature written in the Welsh language during the Middle Ages. This includes material starting from the 5th century AD, when Welsh was in the process of becoming distinct from Common Brittonic, and continuing t ...

as "South Rheged" or "Argoed" (opposite the wood), it remains unproven as the kingdom of Rheged's boundaries have not been identified. A further suggestion is that the name "rheged" simply means "area" in the Cumbric language (related to ''Regio'' in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and ''Region'' in Modern English) and that the kingdom of Rheged and the river merely shared a common Celtic name. Although Rochdale is pronounced (with a shorter ''o'' sound), the name of the river is still pronounced (with a long vowel sound).

Later history

The river has been

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom ...

ed in

town centre since the early 20th century. This was built by the joining together of seven bridges to form one large bridge, making it one of the widest bridges in the world. Maintenance work was carried out on the bridge in the 1990s and the river was uncovered temporarily. In 2015 work began on opening the bridge again in a multimillion-pound project. On Boxing Day 2015, following heavy rain, the Roch burst its banks causing flooding in the town centre.

Tributaries

Moving upstream from the Irwell

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

, the tributaries include the following: *

Parr Brook Parr Brook is a watercourse in Greater Manchester and a tributary of the River Roch. It originates in Unsworth and flows through Bury Golf Club Bury Golf Club, is a private golf course and country club, club in Unsworth, Bury, Greater Manches ...

Hollins Brook Hollins Brook is a watercourse in Greater Manchester and a tributary of the River Roch. It originates in Unsworth and is one of the habitats that makes up Hollins Vale Nature Reserve. Tributaries * Brightley Brook *Whittle Brook **Castle Brook ...

Whittle Brook Whittle Brook is a watercourse in Greater Manchester and a tributary of the River Roch, classified as a main river. It originates in the outskirts of Middleton, and extends to Hollins Vale Nature Reserve in Unsworth, flowing South East to North ...

*Gigg Brook *Barn Brook **Green Brook **Gipsy Brook *

Tack Lee Brook Tack Lee Brook is a watercourse in Greater Manchester and a tributary of the River Roch The River Roch is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England, a tributary of the River Irwell. Course Rising on Chelburn Moor (south of Todmo ...

* Wrigley Brook *

Naden Brook Naden Brook is a watercourse in north west England. It rises in the hills above Norden, near the boundary of Lancashire and Greater Manchester. From here it flows south to Heywood, where it merges with the River Roch The River Roch is a ri ...

*Plumpton Wood Brook *

Millers Brook Millers Brook is a watercourse in Greater Manchester and tributary of the River Roch. It originates in Heywood and flows through Queens Park to join the River Roch The River Roch is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England, a tr ...

*Primrose Hill Brook *

Sudden Brook Sudden Brook is a watercourse in Greater Manchester and a tributary of the River Roch. It originates in to the north of Royton, Oldham and flows Northwards through Kirkholt and Sandbrook Park to join the River Roch The River Roch is a ri ...

Moss Brook Moss Brook is a watercourse in Rochdale, Greater Manchester and a tributary of the River Roch The River Roch is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England, a tributary of the River Irwell. Course Rising on Chelburn Moor (south of ...

* Hey Brook * Stanney Brook *

* Ash Brook *Clegg Hall Brook *Wuerdle Brook *Stubley Brook * Featherstall Brook *

Ealees Brook Ealees Brook is a water course in Greater Manchester named after the Ealees area of Littleborough. It flows northwards from the Ealees Valley to the River Roch in Littleborough. Tributaries * Shore Lane Brook * Hollingworth Brook ** Brearley ...

Town House Brook Town House Brook is a watercourse in Greater Manchester and a tributary of the River Roch The River Roch is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England, a tributary of the River Irwell. Course Rising on Chelburn Moor (south of Todm ...

Greenvale Brook Greenvale Brook is a watercourse in Greater Manchester and a tributary of the River Roch. Tributaries *Lydgate Brook *Castle Brook * Red Brook *Lead Mine Brook Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Lati ...

*Chelburn Brook

Gallery

File:Source of the Roch 1.JPG, The source on Chelburn Moor File:Roch Aqueduct.jpg, Aqueduct across the Caldervale Railway File:Looking downsteam from Smallbridge.jpg, Looking downstream from Smallbridge File:Beal and Roch Confluence.JPG, Confluence of River Beal File:River Roch after heavy rain 2.jpg, Flowing under one of the world's widest bridges File:River Roch Town Centre.JPG, Rochdale town centre section uncovered during bridge works in the 1990s File:Spodden Roch Confluence 3.jpg, Confluence of River Spodden File:River Roch Bottom o th brow.JPG, Upstream from Bottom o' th' Brow, Heywood File:Roch_Irwell_confluence_Keith_Williamson.jpg, Confluence with River Irwell

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roch Rivers of Greater Manchester Rivers of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale Rivers of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury 1Roch Roch catchment