River Roddlesworth
The River Roddlesworth (also known as Rocky Brook) is a river in Lancashire, England, a tributary of the River Darwen.
Course
The source of the river is on the slopes of Great Hill, just above the ruins known as Pimm's, where the infant river is known as Calf Hey Brook. Calf Hey Brook is joined by another stream occasionally termed Roddlesworth - which rises beneath Cartridge Hill and runs past the ruins of Hollinshead Hall - beneath Slipper Lowe.
From there, it follows a northerly course through Roddlesworth Plantations, around the two reservoirs fed by the river and past Red Lees. The river continues through the Stanworth Valley in
Soon after this, the Roddlesworth enters a culvert close to the Star Paper Mill.
The Roddlesworth flows into the River Darwen at Moulden Brow. Between the confluence with Stockclough Brook and the Darwen, the river is known locally as Moulden (or Moulding) Water.
For virtually its entire course, the Roddlesworth marks the boundary between
This border was preceded by that between the
The river also demarcated the eastern edge of the region of Gunolfesmores in the Middle Ages and, later, the Manor of Hoghton.[1]
The name is first recorded in about 1160 as Rodtholfeswrtha, suggesting a derivation meaning "the homestead of
Settlements
The Roddlesworth runs through a wooded valley close to the settlements of Tockholes, Roddlesworth, Abbey Village and Stanworth before joining the River Darwen close to Feniscowles.
Reservoirs
- Abbey Village Reservoir
- Lower Roddlesworth Reservoir
- Upper Roddlesworth Reservoir
- Rake Brook Reservoir is fed by Rake Brook close to its confluence with the Roddlesworth.
Tributaries
Finnington Brook joins close to where the Roddlesworth itself falls into the River Darwen. Rising from the confluence of several small brooks, draining
Stockclough Brook flows into the Roddlesworth in the Stanworth Valley, opposite the site of what was probably once a small
Rake Brook rises at Brown Hill on Withnell Moor and flows northward, draining the west side of Cold Within Hill before pouring through Birch Clough, separating Twist Moor and Roddlesworth Moor and feeding Rake Brook Reservoir, formerly populated by Rake Wood. The confluence of Rake Brook and the River Roddlesworth is in Benson's Wood, just after the end of the overflow from the Roddlesworth Reservoirs. Rake Brook Reservoir is also fed by another stream rising on Withnell Moor. This unnamed brook flows north, separating Withnell Moor from Wheelton Moor (as well as the two civil parishes) before passing the ruins of New Temple (just south of Solomon's Temple), Summer House (formerly known as Botany Bay) and Pope's, running east of Millstone Edge, before meeting Rake Brook.
References
External links
- Media related to River Roddlesworth at Wikimedia Commons