The River Croal 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 w ...

located in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

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 ...

. It is 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 drai ...

of the River Irwell. Rising at the confluence of Middle Brook and Deane Church Brook, it flows eastwards through

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

, collecting ''Gilnow Brook'' and the larger ''

River Tonge The River Tonge is a short river, splitting Bolton from contiguous Tonge, both in Greater Manchester, England. The Tonge is formed at the ''Meeting of the Waters'', where Astley Brook, from Smithills in the west, meets the Eagley Brook draw ...

'' at

Darcy Lever Darcy Lever is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, the area lies on the B6209 (Radcliffe Road), between Bolton and Little Lever. Its history dates to the time of William ...

. Most of the river is culverted through Bolton town centre, running under Knowsley Street, Market Place and Bridge Street. Before 1836, the River Croal formed the boundary between the townships of

Great Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

and

Little Bolton Little Bolton was a township of the civil and ecclesiastical parish of Bolton le Moors in the Salford hundred of Lancashire, England. Besides the main part of Little Bolton, it had three detached parts which were separated by areas of Lower Sha ...

. The name of the river is derived from the

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 settlers in the mid-5th c ...

''croh'' and ''wella'', the winding stream. It was possibly originally called the Middlebrook along its entire length as early references mention the ''Mikelbrok'', (''mycel'' and ''broc''), the great stream but not the Croal. It meets the Irwell at

Nob End Nob End is the site of a former waste tip which is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Local Nature Reserve near Little Lever and Kearsley, in Greater Manchester, England. History Standing at the confluence of the River Irwell and Ri ...

Kearsley Kearsley ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 14,212. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies northwest of Manchester, southwest of Bury and south of ...

after a total course of around ten miles.

Tributaries

* Doe Hey Brook (R) ** Will Hill Brook * Blackshaw Brook (L) *

** Bradshaw Brook ** Astley Brook ** Eagley Brook * Middle Brook (Ls) ** Bessy Brook ** Knutshaw Brook (R) * Deane Church Brook (Rs)

References

Notes Bibliography *

External links

River Croal Photographs

Snake Oil UE, River Croal Culverts
Croal Croal Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton 1Croal Croal catchment {{England-river-stub