A winterbourne is a stream or river that is dry through the summer months, a special case of an

intermittent stream Intermittent, temporary or seasonal rivers or streams cease to flow every year or at least twice every five years.(Tzoraki et al., 2007) Such rivers drain large arid and semi-arid areas, covering approximately a third of the earth's surface. ...

. Winterbourne is a British term derived from the Old English winterburna, which is equivalent to winter + burna. A winterbourne is sometimes simply called a

bourne Bourne may refer to: Places UK * Bourne, Lincolnshire, a town ** Bourne Abbey ** Bourne railway station * Bourne (electoral division), West Sussex * Bourne SSSI, Avon, a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Burrington, North Somerset * Bourne ...

, from the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

word for a stream flowing from a spring, although this term can also be used for all-year water courses. Winterbournes generally form in areas where there is

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...

(or other porous rock)

downland Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...

bordering

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

s or

vale A vale is a type of valley. Vale may also refer to: Places Georgia * Vale, Georgia, a town in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region Norway * Våle, a historic municipality Portugal * Vale (Santa Maria da Feira), a former civil parish in the municipali ...

s. When it rains, the porous chalk holds water in its

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 ...

, releasing the water at a steady rate. During dry seasons the

water table The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated. T ...

may fall below the level of the stream's bed, causing it to dry out. Exploitation of chalk aquifers as a domestic water source in Britain has had the effect of converting many streams and rivers into artificial winterbournes. This effect is controversial, and local campaigns have often been successful in reducing aquifer abstraction and reversing the effect. For an example, see the

River Pang The River Pang is a small chalk stream river in the west of the English county of Berkshire, and a tributary of the River Thames. It runs for approximately from its source near the village of Compton to its confluence with the Thames in the ...

in Berkshire.

Examples

Winterbournes occasionally give their names to settlements. Many of the United Kingdom's 'Winterbournes' are villages in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, such as

Winterbourne Abbas Winterborne Abbas is a village and civil parish in south west Dorset, England, situated in a valley on the A35 road west of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 355. The village Winterbourne Abbas is a pleasant rural ...

Winterborne Monkton Winterborne Monkton is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It lies close to the A354 road between the county town Dorchester, to the north, and the coastal resort Weymouth, to the south. Dorset Coun ...

Winterborne St Martin Winterborne St Martin, commonly known as Martinstown, is a village and civil parish in southwest Dorset, England, situated southwest of Dorchester, beside Maiden Castle. In 2013 the estimated population of the civil parish was 780. In the cen ...

Winterborne Zelston Winterborne Zelston is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England. It is situated in a winterbourne valley on the A31 road south of Blandford Forum and northwest of Poole. The parish had a population of 141 in 2001. In 2013 the estim ...

Winterborne Houghton Winterborne Houghton is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England. It is situated in a winterbourne valley on the Dorset Downs, southwest of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the parish had 82 households and a population of 183. I ...

and

Winterborne Whitechurch Winterborne Whitechurch, also Winterborne Whitchurch, is a village and civil parish in central Dorset, England, situated in a winterbourne valley on the A354 road on the Dorset Downs southwest of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the civi ...

. In north

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 ...

, north of

Avebury Avebury () is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in t ...

, there are the villages of

Winterbourne Monkton Winterbourne Monkton is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about north of Avebury Stone Circle and northwest of Marlborough. The village lies immediately west of the A4361 road between Swindon and Devizes. History T ...

and

Winterbourne Bassett __NOTOC__ Winterbourne Bassett is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about southwest of Swindon and northwest of Marlborough. The village lies just west of the A4361 road between Swindon and Devizes, about north of Avebu ...

, and in south Wiltshire, north-east of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

Winterbourne Dauntsey Winterbourne Dauntsey is a village in Wiltshire, England, in the Bourne valley on the A338 road about northeast of Salisbury. The village adjoins Winterbourne Earls and Winterbourne Gunner. It is part of the civil parish of Winterbourne, for ...

Winterbourne Earls Winterbourne Earls is a village in Wiltshire, England. The village is in the Bourne valley on the A338 road, about northeast of Salisbury. The village adjoins Winterbourne Dauntsey. It is part of the civil parish of Winterbourne, formed in 1 ...

and

Winterbourne Gunner Winterbourne Gunner is a village in Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Salisbury. The village is near the River Bourne, Wiltshire, River Bourne and the A338 road and is close to Winterbourne Dauntsey. It is part of the Civil parishes in Eng ...

. In

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming part ...

there are the villages of Winterbourne and Winterbourne Down. There is a winterbourne stream in a suburban area of

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

, East Sussex. The area is also called Winterbourne. The stream runs from the foot of the South Downs through a park, a housing estate and a public garden, ending at the Railway Land Nature Reserve where it meets the River Ouse. It is a clear and verdant stream, much frequented by ducks. Another winterbourne stream is the River Lavant found In Chichester, West Sussex.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winterbourne (Stream) Bodies of water Rivers Rivers of England Dry or seasonal streams

Examples

See also

References