Beaulieu River

Coordinates: 50°46′N 1°24′W / 50.767°N 1.400°W / 50.767; -1.400
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Beaulieu.

Beaulieu River
The Beaulieu River at Longwater Lawn, near Lyndhurst
Location
CountryEngland
RegionHampshire
DistrictNew Forest
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationLyndhurst, Hampshire
 • coordinates50°52′47″N 1°34′55″W / 50.879746°N 1.582054°W / 50.879746; -1.582054
Mouth 
 • location
Needs Ore Point, Hampshire
 • coordinates
50°46′16″N 1°23′30″W / 50.770997°N 1.391578°W / 50.770997; -1.391578
Length20 km (12 mi)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftBeaulieu Abbey Stream
 • rightHatchet Stream

The Beaulieu River (

Lord Montagu of Beaulieu
.

Etymology

The current name, Beaulieu is

Brythonic, deriving from the Ancient British word *Iska meaning "fishes" or "fish-place" and cognate with the modern Welsh word Pysg (fishes).This derivation applies to many similarly named rivers throughout Britain including the Axe, Exe and Usk
, with the names evolving local distinctions over the centuries.

Course

The Beaulieu River rises near

Solent at Needs Ore. For its final kilometre, it is separated from The Solent by a raised salt marsh known as Gull Island
.

Below Beaulieu village the river is navigable to small craft. Bucklers Hard was once a significant shipbuilding centre, building many wooden sailing ships, both merchant and naval, including Nelson's Agamemnon. Since 2000 the navigable channel at the entrance to the river has been marked by a lighthouse known as the Millennium Lighthouse or the Beaulieu River Beacon.[3][4]

Tributaries

The river has two main tributaries, the Beaulieu Abbey Stream to the left and the Hatchet Stream to the right. In addition there are a series of artificial lakes near the mouth of the river, known as the Black Lagoons.

Water quality

The Environment Agency measures 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

angiosperms and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail.[5]

The water quality of the Beaulieu River was as follows in 2019:

Section Ecological
Status		 Chemical
Status		 Overall
Status		 Length Catchment Channel
Beaulieu River[6] Good Fail Moderate 20.0 km (12.4 mi) 3.075 km2 (1.187 sq mi) Heavily modified
Hatchet Stream[7] Moderate Fail Moderate 7.916 km (4.919 mi) 9.523 km2 (3.677 sq mi) Heavily modified
Beaulieu Abbey Stream[8] Moderate Fail Moderate 2.535 km (1.575 mi) 2.253 km2 (0.870 sq mi) Heavily modified
Black Lagoons[9] Good Fail Moderate 0.119 km2 (0.046 sq mi) Artificial

Film appearances

The river was used as a backdrop for some scenes of the 1966 film A Man for All Seasons – the tree-lined waters were used to portray the 16th century River Thames.[10]

Gallery

  • The infant river upstream from Dunces Arch
    The infant river upstream from Dunces Arch
  • The river passes beneath the railway, north of Fulliford Passage
    The river passes beneath the railway, north of Fulliford Passage
  • Bend in the river near Pottern Ford
    Bend in the river near Pottern Ford
  • Alder trees in the river north of Fawley Ford
    Alder trees in the river north of Fawley Ford
  • The Mill Dam at Beaulieu
    The Mill Dam at Beaulieu
  • The upper tidal limit of the river
    The upper tidal limit of the river
  • The river between Beaulieu and Bucklers Hard
    The river between Beaulieu and Bucklers Hard
  • The river at Bucklers Hard
    The river at Bucklers Hard
  • A yacht entering the river from the Solent
    A yacht entering the river from the Solent
  • Millennium Lighthouse at the mouth of the river
    Millennium Lighthouse at the mouth of the river

References

  1. ^ Lewis, S. (1848) A Topographical Dictionary of England: Southampton County in British History Online
  2. ^ Plunkett, David (2014). "Eling and Beaulieu Tide Mills: Restoring and Learning from the Past" (PDF). Hampshire Industrial Archaeology Society. 22: 26–29. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  3. ISBN 9781849657075
    .
  4. ^ "60 years in the New Forest". New Forest National Park Authority. Archived from the original on 8 September 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Glossary (see Biological quality element; Chemical status; and Ecological status)". Catchment Data Explorer. Environment Agency. 17 February 2016. Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
  6. ^ "Beaulieu River". Catchment Data Explorer. Environment Agency.
  7. ^ "Hatchet Stream". Catchment Data Explorer. Environment Agency.
  8. ^ "Beaulieu Abbey Stream". Catchment Data Explorer. Environment Agency.
  9. ^ "Black Lagoons". Catchment Data Explorer. Environment Agency.
  10. ISBN 0812910532

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beaulieu River.

50°46′N 1°24′W / 50.767°N 1.400°W / 50.767; -1.400

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