The Beal is a small river in

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and is 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 Todmorden in the Pennines), the river flows south through Littleborough towards Rochdale where ...

. It rises in the Beal Valley in green space between

Sholver Sholver is an area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. An elevated, residential area, it lies near the middle of the Oldham part of the valley of the River Beal, northeast of Oldham's commercial centre, nearly at the northeasternmost ext ...

and

Royton Royton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 21,284 in 2011. Close to the source of the River Irk, near undulating land at the foothills of the South Pennines, it is northwest of Old ...

, before continuing northwards through

Shaw and Crompton Shaw and Crompton is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which contains the town of Shaw and lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the South Pennines. It is located north of Oldham, south ...

Newhey Newhey (archaically New Hey) is a suburban village in the Milnrow area of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale,Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (N.D.), p. 32. in Greater Manchester, England. It lies at the foot of the South Pennines, b ...

Milnrow Milnrow is a suburban town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the South Pennines, and forms a continuous urban area with Rochdale. It is east of Rochdale to ...

and Belfield.

Course

From its source at Beal Valley, it flows north through

in the

Metropolitan Borough of Oldham The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Oldham, The borough had a population of 237,628 making it the seventh-largest district by population ...

, where Old Brook and Pencil Brook are tributaries. It continues north through

and

in the

Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale The Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, The borough covers other outlying towns and villages with a population of 206,500 at the ...

, before joining the

at Belfield. In part, the river forms a boundary between

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

on one side and

and Shaw and Crompton on the other. A small part of the course runs perpendicular to the Metrolink line, between

and

Derker Derker is an area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in north-central Oldham, close to the boundary with Royton. History Historically a part of Lancashire, Derker was recorded as a place of residence in 1604 with the name ''Di ...

History

1212: The Beal valley was recorded as part of the

thegn In Anglo-Saxon England, thegns were aristocratic landowners of the second rank, below the ealdormen who governed large areas of England. The term was also used in early medieval Scandinavia for a class of retainers. In medieval Scotland, there w ...

age estate of Kaskenmoor, held on behalf of King John by Roger de Montbegon and William de Nevill. 1892: Ellenroad Cotton Mill was built on the bank of the Beal, and made fine cotton yarn by

mule spinning The spinning mule is a machine used to spin cotton and other fibres. They were used extensively from the late 18th to the early 20th century in the mills of Lancashire and elsewhere. Mules were worked in pairs by a minder, with the help of two ...

. During operation of a bleaching and dying works, discharge to the river of used dyes and waste would cause it to change colour from one day to another. 1997: Littlewoods PLC changed the course of the river slightly to allow development of their Shaw National Distribution Warehouse Centre. 2005: Raw sewage was discharged to the river, killing thousands of fish and raising health fears among local residents.

Tributaries

* Butterworth Hall Brook * Piethorne Brook *Jubilee Brook * Old Brook **Leornardin Brook * Pencil Brook *Besom Hill Brook **Fullwood Brook *Hodge Brook

Gallery

Image:Beal Valley.jpg, The River Beal is sourced from the Beal Valley, between

and

Image:River Beal Meek Street.JPG, Infancy in Higginshaw Image:RiverBeal001.jpg, Jubilee, Shaw Image:Bentgate Downstream.jpg, Looking downstream from Bentgate, Newhey Image:18 River Beal at M62.JPG, Between the M62 and A640 culverts Image:River_Beal_from_Milnrow_Bridge.jpg, Downstream from Bridge Street Image:Ashes Lane View.jpg, View from Ashes Lane, Milnrow Image:Firgrove View.JPG, Upstream from Firgrove Image:Beal and Roch Confluence.JPG, Confluence with River Roch

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beal Rivers of Greater Manchester Rivers of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham Rivers of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale Rivers of Milnrow and Newhey 1Beal