The River Enborne 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 wate ...
that rises near the villages of
Inkpen
Inkpen is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire southeast of Hungerford, most of the land of which is cultivated fields with scattered woodland was once part of a former forest of Savernake. Inkpen has boundaries with Wiltshire and Ha ...
and
West Woodhay
West Woodhay () is a rural scattered village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. At the 2011 census it had 59 households.
Geography
The area is more elevated compared to the rest of the county of Berkshire and the district. It is und ...
, to the West of
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a market town in the county of Berkshire, England, and is home to the administrative headquarters of West Berkshire Council. The town centre around its large market square retains a rare medieval Cloth Hall, an adjoining half timbere ...
and flows into the
River Kennet
The Kennet is a tributary of the River Thames in Southern England. Most of the river is straddled by the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The lower reaches have been made navigable as the Kennet Navigation, which � ...
. Its source is in the county of
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
, and part of its course forms the border between Berkshire and Hampshire. Despite the name, the river does not run through the village of
Enborne
Enborne is a village and civil parish, in West Berkshire, England that bounds to the east, across a road from Newbury. The River Enborne shares its name, although it does not run through the village; rather, it runs through and rises near the ne ...
, although it does run through
Enborne Row.
Geography
From its source near the villages of Inkpen and Woodhay, the Enborne flows Eastwards towards Newbury. At Smith's Bridge, near Holtwood the river is also now the boundary between Berkshire and Hampshire. Continuing East the river is crossed by the
A34 (
Newbury bypass
The Newbury bypass, officially known as The Winchester-Preston Trunk Road (A34) (Newbury Bypass), is a stretch of dual carriageway road which bypasses the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It is located to the west of the town and forms ...
) at
Enborne Row to the South of
Newbury. Near here to the South is "The Chase" and "Great Pen Wood," woodland managed by the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
. It flows due east touching part of
Wash Common
Wash Common is a small suburb to the south of Newbury. It is built on the former Newbury Wash, which was flat open heathland overlooking Newbury, and until the 19th century there was just a small group of houses separated from Newbury by open c ...
and then along the boundary of
Sandleford
Sandleford is a hamlet and former parish in the English county of Berkshire. Since at least 1924, the settlement has been within the civil parish of Greenham, and is located approximately south of the town of Newbury.
Landscape
Sandleford c ...
and
Highclere
Highclere (pronounced ) is a village and civil parish situated in the North Wessex Downs (an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. It lies in the northern part of the county, near the B ...
, reaching
Newtown, Hampshire
Newtown is a village and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire, about south of Newbury, Berkshire.
History
In the early 13th century, the Bishops of Winchester created six new towns: Newtown, Overton and New Alresford in Hampshire; ...
. At Sandleford and Newtown, near the Newbury to Whitchurch road, there was a mill, and here too, circa 1780,
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English la ...
gave
Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu, of
Sandleford
Sandleford is a hamlet and former parish in the English county of Berkshire. Since at least 1924, the settlement has been within the civil parish of Greenham, and is located approximately south of the town of Newbury.
Landscape
Sandleford c ...
, plans to ornament the river. Forty years earlier in 1743 Mrs Montagu described the river, then also known as the Alder stream, to her friend the
Duchess of Portland: 'A silver stream washes the foot of the village
ewtown health, pleasure, and refreshment are the ingredients that qualify this spring; no debauch, or intoxication, arises from its source'. It then passes to the South of
Greenham Common
Royal Air Force Greenham Common or RAF Greenham Common is a former Royal Air Force station in the civil parishes of Greenham and Thatcham in the English county of Berkshire. The airfield was southeast of Newbury, about west of London.
Opened ...
, and here, near
Headley Headley may refer to:
Places
* Headley, Basingstoke and Deane in the civil parish of Ashford Hill with Headley
* Headley, East Hampshire
** Headley Grange, Hampshire
* Headley, Surrey
Other uses
* Headley (surname)
* Baron Headley, a title in t ...
, the river is joined by a tributary from the South, from
Ecchinswell
Ecchinswell is a village in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England.
Geography
Watership Down, location of Richard Adams' novel of the same name, is just south of Ecchinswell. Ladle Hill on Great Litchfield Down, also lies to t ...
and
Watership Down Hill.
The river continues meandering its way across open farmland towards
Brimpton Common
Brimpton Common is a village in Berkshire, England. It is part of Brimpton Parish, and part of the Benefice of Aldermaston and Woolhampton in the Diocese of Oxford. It is in the Aldermaston Ward of West Berkshire Council.
Housing
It has a populat ...
. At Inwood Copse a change in the landscape sends the river to the northeast, and it no longer forms the border between Hampshire and Berkshire. It joins the
River Kennet
The Kennet is a tributary of the River Thames in Southern England. Most of the river is straddled by the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The lower reaches have been made navigable as the Kennet Navigation, which � ...
between the villages of
Aldermaston
Aldermaston is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. In the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1015. The village is in the Kennet Valley and bounds Hampshire to the south. It is approximately from Newbury, Basingstoke ...
and
Aldermaston Wharf
Aldermaston Wharf is a small multi-parish settlement centred north-northwest of Aldermaston (where according to the Post Office the majority of the population taken at the 2011 Census was included) in West Berkshire, England. The Kennet and Avo ...
.
The river in fiction
The river plays a significant part in
Richard Adams
Richard George Adams (9 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist and writer of the books ''Watership Down'', ''Maia'', ''Shardik'' and ''The Plague Dogs''. He studied modern history at university before serving in the British Army ...
' novel, ''
Watership Down
''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Berkshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natural ...
''. Early in the book, the rabbits from
Sandleford
Sandleford is a hamlet and former parish in the English county of Berkshire. Since at least 1924, the settlement has been within the civil parish of Greenham, and is located approximately south of the town of Newbury.
Landscape
Sandleford c ...
are threatened by a dog.
Blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
realises that they can float across on a wooden board, and thus they make their escape.
Watership Down
/ref>
Picture gallery
image:Watership Down River Enborne.jpg, River Enborne
image:Headley ford looking south - geograph.org.uk - 82101.jpg, River Enborne at Headley Ford, near Crookham Common
image:Shalford Bridge, Near Woolhampton - geograph.org.uk - 1418.jpg, River Enborne at Shalford bridge, near Brimpton
Brimpton is a mostly rural village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Berkshire, England. Brimpton is centred boxing the compass, ESE of the town of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury.
Toponymy
One suggested origin of the name of ...
image:Oxford Bridge near Inwood Copse - geograph.org.uk - 4839.jpg, Oxford Bridge over a small tributary of the River Enborne, near Inwood Copse
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enborne
1Enborne
Rivers of Berkshire