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The River Stour is a
river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
which flows through
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
and
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
in southern
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, and drains into the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
. The catchment area for the river and its tributaries is listed as .


Toponymy

It is sometimes called the Dorset Stour to distinguish it from other rivers of the same name in Kent, Suffolk and the Midlands. According to Brewer's ''Dictionary of Britain & Ireland'', the name Stour rhymes with ''hour'' and derives from Old English meaning "violent", "fierce" or the "fierce one".


History

The river burst its banks at Christchurch during the 2013–14 winter floods and 100 residents were evacuated.


Prehistoric archaeology

The Stour valley has produced rich evidence for early human (Palaeolithic) activity. Gravel pits in the lower reaches of the river (many underlying modern day Bournemouth) produced hundreds of
Lower Palaeolithic The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 3.3 million years ago when the first evidence for stone tool production and use by hominins appears ...
handaxes A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history. It is made from stone, usually flint or chert that has been "reduced" and shaped from a larger piece by kn ...
when they were quarried, particular during the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Archaeological investigations around 2010 near Corfe Mullen suggested that some of the artefacts from those quarries may be around 400,000 to 500,000 years old.


Literary associations

In
Medieval Welsh literature Medieval Welsh literature is the literature written in the Welsh language during the Middle Ages. This includes material starting from the 5th century AD, when Welsh was in the process of becoming distinct from Common Brittonic, and continuing t ...
, the river was said to be the site of an important battle and the dividing line between ancient
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
and Loegria (England). According to
Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...
's ''
Historia Regum Britanniae (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a fictitious account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the List of legendary kings o ...
'', King
Locrinus Locrinus was a legendary king of the Britons (historic), Britons, as recounted by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth in his ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. He came to power in 1125BC. According to Geoffrey, Locrinus was the oldest so ...
divorces Queen
Gwendolen Gwendolen () is a feminine given name, in general use only since the 19th century. It has come to be the standard English form of Latin '' Guendoloena'', which was first used by Geoffrey of Monmouth as the name of a legendary British queen in hi ...
in favour of his secret lover,
Estrildis Estrildis was the beloved Mistress (lover), mistress of King Locrinus of the Britons (Celtic people), Britons and the mother of his daughter Hafren, Habren, according to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth. Medieval literature In Ge ...
. Returning to her native Cornwall, Gwendolen assembles all the forces of that kingdom against Locrinus. The two armies fight a battle at the river Stour where Locrinus is slain and Gwendolen becomes the ruler of both kingdoms, becoming the first
queen regnant A queen regnant (: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigning ...
of the Kings of the Britons. The Stour also appears in more occasional fashion in
The Faerie Queene ''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...
.
Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...
wrote about ''Overlooking the River Stour'', while William Barnes similarly referenced the "darksome pools o' stwoneless Stour" in his ''The Water Crowvoot''.


Course

The source of the river is fed from greensand springs at
Stourhead Stourhead () is a 1,072-hectare (2,650-acre) estate at the source of the River Stour in the southwest of the English county of Wiltshire, extending into Somerset. The estate is about northwest of the town of Mere and includes a Grade I list ...
, in Wiltshire, where it forms a series of artificial
lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
s which are part of the Stourhead estate owned by the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
. It flows south into Dorset through the Blackmore Vale and the towns of Gillingham and
Sturminster Newton Sturminster Newton is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish situated on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour in the north of Dorset, England. The town is at the centre of the Blackmore Vale, a large dairy agriculture region around w ...
. At Marnhull the Stour is joined by the River Cale and then (two miles downstream) by the River Lydden. At
Blandford Forum Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour, north-west of Poole. It had a population of 10,355 at the United Kingdom 2021 census, 2021 census. The town is notable for its Georgian archit ...
the river breaks through the
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. Ch ...
ridge of the
Dorset Downs The Dorset Downs are an area of chalk downland in the centre of the county Dorset in south west England. The downs are the most western part of a larger chalk formation which also includes (from west to east) Cranborne Chase, Salisbury Plain, ...
, and from there flows south east into the heathlands of south east Dorset. At
Wimborne Minster Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Pool ...
it is joined by the River Allen, and at its
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...
at
Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
it is joined by the River Avon before it flows through the
harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...
into the English Channel. From source to estuary, the river falls approximately over its length. For many miles the river is followed by the route of the now disused
Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR, also known as the S&D, S&DR or SDJR), was an English railway line Joint railway, jointly owned by the Midland Railway (MR) and the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) that grew to connect Bat ...
, which bridged the river four times in a section between Sturminster Newton and Blandford Forum. Because much of the river's course is across
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
soil, the river's waterlevel varies greatly. In summer, low water level makes the river a diverse and important
habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
, supporting many rare
plants Plants are the eukaryotes that form the kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria to produce sugars f ...
. In winter, the river often
flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...
s, and is therefore bordered by wide and fertile
flood plain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...
s. A number of towns and villages in Dorset are named after the river, including East Stour, West Stour,
Stourpaine Stourpaine () is a village and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Dorset in southern England. It is situated in the valley of the River Stour in the Dorset administrative district, northwest of Blandford Forum. The A350 road, which connec ...
,
Stourton Caundle Stourton Caundle is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southwest England. It lies within the Blackmore Vale, about east of Sherborne. In the 2011 census the parish had 181 households and a population of 439. Stourton Caundl ...
,
Stour Row Stour Row is a village in north Dorset, England, situated beside Duncliffe Hill southwest of Shaftesbury. It lies within the parish of the neighbouring village of Stour Provost. Stour Row has approximately 150 houses and 300 residents. It has ...
,
Stour Provost Stour Provost is a village and civil parish in the Blackmore Vale area of north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour between Sturminster Newton and Gillingham. In old writings it is usually spelled Stower Provost. Stour Provost once ...
,
Sturminster Newton Sturminster Newton is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish situated on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour in the north of Dorset, England. The town is at the centre of the Blackmore Vale, a large dairy agriculture region around w ...
, and
Sturminster Marshall Sturminster Marshall is a village and civil parish in the east of Dorset in England, situated on the River Stour between Blandford Forum and Poole. The parish had a population of 1,895 at the 2001 census, increasing to 1,969 at the 2011 Census a ...
. Sturminster Newton is famous for its
water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...
and town bridge, which still bears the notice warning potential vandals that damaging the bridge is punishable by
penal transportation Penal transportation (or simply transportation) was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies bec ...
.


Ecology

The river flows through a myriad of differing settings and scenery (
reed bed A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As ...
, open water, coastal, estuarine, river, streams, lowland heath) and as such is host to species such as the
pipistrelle bat ''Pipistrellus'' is a genus of bats in the family Vespertilionidae and subfamily Vespertilioninae. The name of the genus is derived from the Italian language, Italian word , meaning "bat" (from Latin "bird of evening, bat"). The size of the ge ...
,
harbour porpoise The harbour porpoise (''Phocoena phocoena'') is one of eight extant species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest species of cetacean. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar ...
,
great crested newt The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt (''Triturus cristatus'') is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to ...
, medicinal leech,
Desmoulin's whorl snail Desmoulin's whorl snail (''Vertigo moulinsiana'') is a species of small air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk, mollusc or micromollusk, micromollusc in the family Vertiginidae, the whorl snails ...
and the
starlet sea anemone The starlet sea anemone (''Nematostella vectensis'') is a species of small sea anemone in the family Edwardsiidae native to the east coast of the United States, with introduced populations along the coast of southeast England and the west coast ...
. There are many fish that live and use the river, which include; barbel, bream, chub, dace, grayling, perch, pike, roach, rudd, salmon, tench & trout. The harbour at Christchurch has also been used to land oysters, crab, lobster and cuttlefish, all of which were fished from the harbour itself. Bass and mullet are known to use the estuary for feeding and as a nursery. Downstream of Blandford Forum, the Stour is host to an insect known as the ''Blandford Fly'' ''( Simulium posticatum)'' which is known for leaving painful bites on humans. Attempts have been made to rid the fly from the area with a special spray used on the larval habitats of the fly.


Recreation and amenity

The harbour at Christchurch and the lower reaches of the Stour and the Avon are host to a multitude of marinas, boat clubs and landing stages. The Stour is navigable as far upstream as Tuckton (the tidal limit) and whilst there is a low bridge at Iford, it is possible to navigate as far as the rapids which are upstream of Iford Bridge. Spring tides have been known to penetrate a further upstream, as far as Blackwater Bridge (the
A338 road The A338 is a major primary route in southern England, that runs from the junction with the A35 at Poole in Dorset to the junction with the A420 at Besselsleigh in Oxfordshire, a distance of . In Bournemouth and Poole the road is known as ...
). Boats can be hired from several yards and landings in the harbour and estuary area with kayaking and canoeing being popular on the river too. The
Stour Valley Way The Stour Valley Way is a long-distance footpath in southern England. From Stourton, Wiltshire, the path travels southeast through Dorset to Hengistbury Head near Christchurch. The path uses public rights of way and permissive paths to fo ...
is a designated
long-distance footpath A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway (landscape), greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking (wilderness), backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-co ...
that follows almost all of the course of the river. White Mill, an 18th-century
watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...
on the river near
Sturminster Marshall Sturminster Marshall is a village and civil parish in the east of Dorset in England, situated on the River Stour between Blandford Forum and Poole. The parish had a population of 1,895 at the 2001 census, increasing to 1,969 at the 2011 Census a ...
, is owned by the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
and open to the public.


See also

*
List of rivers of the United Kingdom For details of rivers of the United Kingdom, see * List of rivers of England * List of rivers of Scotland * List of rivers of Wales * Northern Ireland: see List of rivers of Ireland and Rivers of Ireland * Longest rivers of the United Kingdom Ov ...


References


Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stour Rivers of Dorset Rivers of Wiltshire Rivers of Bournemouth Rivers of Christchurch, Dorset Wimborne Minster