River Axe (Bristol Channel)
River Axe | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | England |
County | Somerset |
District | Somerset Levels |
Cities | Wookey, Henton |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Mendip Hills |
• location | Wookey Hole Caves, Mendip, Somerset, England |
• coordinates | 51°13′41″N 2°40′17″W / 51.22806°N 2.67139°W |
Lox Yeo River, Cheddar Yeo |
The River Axe is a river in
The river was navigable from the Middle Ages until 1915, during early centuries of which seeing some European trade.
Geography
The River Axe is formed by the water entering the cave systems and flows through the third and first chambers, from which it flows to the resurgence, through two sumps 40 metres (130 ft) and 30 metres (98 ft) long, where it leaves the cave and enters the open air. [1][2] It is the second largest resurgence on Mendip, with an estimated catchment area of 46.2 square kilometres (17.8 sq mi),[3] and an average discharge of 789 litres (174 imp gal; 208 US gal) per second.[4] Some of the water is allogenic in origin i.e. drained off non-limestone rocks, collecting as streams on the surface before sinking at or near the Lower Limestone Shale — Black Rock Limestone boundary, often through swallets. One such is Plantation Swallet near St Cuthbert's lead works, between the Hunter's Lodge Inn and Priddy Pools.[5] It then passes through major cave systems such as Swildon's Hole, Eastwater Cavern and St Cuthbert's Swallet, around Priddy,[6][7] but 95% is water that has percolated directly into the limestone.[7]
From Wookey Hole village the river flows through a ravine and then west through the village of Wookey. There the river bifurcates: the ‘Lower River Axe’ runs more southerly, towards Henton onto Panborough Moor where it joins a series of rhynes and drains supplying water to local seasonal and perennial wetland, afterwards running north along the westernmost edge of Knowle Moor whilst the Axe proper continues west through the same moor. The two meet, to reunite, where Knowle and Panborough Moors meet.
The river then continues northwest past
Tributaries of the Axe include three rivers called Yeo: the Cheddar Yeo, the Mark Yeo and the Lox Yeo.
History
The name derives from a Common Brittonic word meaning "abounding in fish", which is also the root for the River Axe in Lyme Bay as well as the Exe, Esk, Usk and other variants. The name is cognate with pysg (plural of pysgod), the Welsh word for fish.[8]
The lower reaches of the Axe have a history of navigation from the harbour at Uphill through to the settlement of Weare. The current tidal limit of the Axe is the sluice gates at Bleadon and Brean Cross.
In the Middle Ages overseas trade was carried out from the port of
A series of 11
See also
References
- ^ Irwin 1977, p. 162.
- ^ Barrington & Stanton 1977, p. 179.
- ^ Drew 1975, p. 200.
- ^ Drew 1975, p. 191.
- ^ "River Axe's main source discovered through mining". Weston, Worle & Somerset Mercury. 2 November 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- ^ Waltham 1997, p. 199.
- ^ a b Drew 1975, p. 209.
- ^ Witcombe 2009, p. 202.
- ^ Toulson 1984.
- ^ Farr 1954, p. 65.
Bibliography
- Barrington, Nicholas; Stanton, William (1977). Mendip: The Complete Caves and a View of the Hills. Cheddar: Cheddar Valley Press. ISBN 0-9501459-2-0.
- Irwin, Dave (1977). Mendip Underground. A Caver's Guide. Wells: Mendip Publishing. ISBN 0-905903-08-0.
- Drew, Dave (1975). D.I. Smith (ed.). Limestone and Caves of the Mendip Hills. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-6572-4.
- Farr, Grahame (1954). Somerset Harbours. London: Christopher Johnson.
- Toulson, Shirley (1984). The Mendip Hills: A Threatened Landscape. London: Victor Gollancz. ISBN 0-575-03453-X.
- Waltham, A.C. (1997). Karst and Caves of Great Britain. Chapman & Hall. ISBN 0-412-78860-8.
- Witcombe, Richard (2009). Who was Aveline anyway?: Mendip's Cave Names Explained (2nd ed.). Priddy: Wessex Cave Club. ISBN 978-0-9500433-6-4.