The River Chew is a small river in England that flows for some through the

North Somerset North Somerset is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The council is based in Weston-super-Mare, the area's largest town. The district also contains the towns of Clevedon, Nailsea ...

countryside to form the Chew Valley before merging with the River Avon. The spring from which the Chew rises is just upstream from Chewton Mendip. Strode Brook and Winford Brook are the main tributaries, both joining the Chew from the left. The river flows northwest from Chewton Mendip through Litton, Chew Valley Lake, Chew Stoke, Chew Magna, and Stanton Drew. The river passes under the A37 at Pensford; flows through the villages of Publow, Woollard, Compton Dando, and Chewton Keynsham; and joins the River Avon at

Keynsham Keynsham ( ) is a town and civil parish located on the outskirts of the city of Bristol on the A4 that links the cities of Bristol and Bath, Somerset, Bath in Somerset, England. It had a population of 19,603 at the 2021 Census. It was listed i ...

. The Two Rivers Way runs alongside the Chew for much of its distance, forming part of the Monarch's Way.

The name "Chew"

The name "Chew" may have Celtic origins, cognate with the River Chwefru, ''cliwyf-ffrenwy'', "the moving, gushing water"; ancient forms are ''Estoca'' ( Chew Stoke), ''Chiu'' ( Chew Magna), and ''Ciwetune'' ( Chewton Mendip). Its exact meaning admits of several possible explanations, including "winding water", the ''ew'' being a variant of the French ''eau'', "water". The word ''chewer'' is western dialect for "narrow passage" and ''chare'' is

Old English Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

for "turning." Another theory is that the name derives from the Welsh ''cyw'', "the young of an animal, or chicken", such that ''Afon Cyw'' would have meant "the river of the chickens". Other possible explanations are it comes from the Old English word ''cēo'' ("fish gill"), used in the transferred sense of a ravine, in a similar way to

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

''gil'', or possibly a derogatory nickname from

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

''chowe'', "chough", Old English ''cēo'', a bird closely related to the

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

and the jackdaw, notorious for its chattering and thieving. Still another suggestion is that the river is named after the

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

war god Tiw.

Course

The current course of the river was likely established after the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

, before which the river had probably followed the course of the Congresbury Yeo to the Bristol Channel. Ice blocking the Bristol Channel would have diverted the Chew such that it flowed north rather than west through Compton Martin to join the Avon.

Roman use

"Pigs" (ingots) of lead from the Charterhouse Roman Town on Mendip were brought to the river to be transported to Sea Mills on the Avon for shipment overseas.

Flood of 1968

The Chew Stoke flood of 1968 caused serious damage to towns and villages along its path, sweeping away the bridge at Pensford.

Fishing

Fish ladders have been installed at three

weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

s in Keynsham and Chewton Keynsham to allow fish to travel upstream. Fishing rights for the Millground and Chewton sections of the river are owned by Keynsham Angling Club. The Mill Ground stretch of the River Chew consists of the six left-bank fields (looking downstream) from Chewton Place at Chewton Keynsham to the Albert Mill,

. The water is home to numerous species of fish, including chub, roach, European perch, rudd, gudgeon, dace, grayling, trout, and eel.

References

External links

For further information, visit the dedicated River Chew website a
www.riverchew.co.uk

Gallery

File:Pensford bridge.JPG, Bridge at Pensford. File:Publow bridge.JPG, Bridge at Publow. File:Bridge at stanton drew.JPG, Bridge at Stanton Drew. {{authority control Bath and North East Somerset Chew Mendip Hills 1Chew