The River Lod is a short river draining about of north west

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. The main source is on the

Greensand Ridge The Greensand Ridge, also known as the Wealden Greensand, is an extensive, prominent, often wooded, mixed greensand/sandstone escarpment in south-east England. Forming part of the Weald, a former dense forest in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, it ...

at Marley Heights near

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south-west Surrey, England, around south-west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill (Hindhead, Surrey), Beacon Hill, they comprise ...

, about above sea level. From here it flows west past Lynchmere, then south to Furnace Pond, where iron cannon were cast during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. It then turns south east, flowing south of

Fernhurst Fernhurst is a village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England, on the A286 Milford, Surrey, to Chichester road, south of Haslemere and north of Midhurst. The parish includes the settlements of Henley Common, Kin ...

to Lickfold and

Lurgashall Lurgashall is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, 6.5 km (4 ml) north west of Petworth, just inside the South Downs National Park. The population at the 2011 Census was 609. History The church has ...

where it formerly powered Lurgashall Mill, now moved to the

Weald and Downland Open Air Museum The Weald and Downland Living Museum (known as the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum until January 2017) is an open-air museum in Singleton, West Sussex, Singleton, West Sussex. The museum is a Charitable organization, registered charity. The ...

. From Mill Farm it heads south between high banks, which it only overflows after the heaviest of rainfalls, passing between the hills of

Lodsworth Lodsworth is a small village, ecclesiastical parish and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester Districts of England, district of West Sussex, England. It is situated between Midhurst and Petworth, half a mile north of the A272 road, ...

and River to Halfway Bridge on the

A272 road The A272 is a road in southeast England. It follows an approximate east–west route from near Heathfield, East Sussex to the city of Winchester, Hampshire. Route The eastern end of the A272 starts at a junction with the A267, north-west ...

then joining the River Rother at Lods Bridge.

North Park Furnace

Iron was produced by a blast furnace on the boundary of Fernhurst and Lynchmere parishes. Water to power the bellows was provided by an artificial lake covering about created by a dam on the river. There was also a higher pond north-west of the furnace to provide a reserve supply as continuity of production is vital for a blast furnace.

Lurgashall Mill

Another artificial lake between Lurgashall and Lodsworth supplied water to power Lurgashall Mill, producing flour. The mill is now operated at the

Singleton Singleton may refer to: Sciences, technology Mathematics * Singleton (mathematics), a set with exactly one element * Singleton field, used in conformal field theory Computing * Singleton pattern, a design pattern that allows only one instance ...

, also in West Sussex.

Lords Wood Barns

Formerly named Lodge Farm the old barns on the east bank of the river by Lords Wood were converted into offices for

Sofa Workshop DFS Furniture plc, trading as dfs, is a furniture retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland specialising in sofas and soft furnishings. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. History Northern Upholstery In 1969, aged 22, Graham Kirkha ...

Company in 1996, saving the older barn from imminent collapse. The east pier of the bridge had sunk several centimetres before the bridge was underpinned and repaired at that time to carry the newly built road through the wood from the Lodsworth to Lickfold road.

The Serpent Trail The Serpent Trail is a long distance footpath. It runs from Haslemere to Petersfield, which are 11 miles apart in a straight line, by a route which is designed to join up the many heathland areas on greensand in the western Weald. The path ...

long distance path crosses the river here.

Water quality

The Environment Agency measure the water quality of the river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of

invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

angiosperm Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed within a fruit ...

s and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail. The water quality of the River Lod was as follows in 2016. The reasons for the quality being less than good include sewage discharge and runoff of nutrients as a result of agriculture and land management.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lod Rivers of West Sussex

North Park Furnace

Lurgashall Mill

Lords Wood Barns

Water quality

Further reading

References