River Bride, Dorset

Last updated

River Bride
Waterfall at the Bridehead Outflow - geograph.org.uk - 402374.jpg
Source of the River Bride at Bridehead House, Littlebredy
Dorset UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location within Dorset
Etymology Celtic
Location
Country England
County Dorset
District Dorset
Towns and villages Littlebredy, Burton Bradstock
Physical characteristics
Source 
  location Littlebredy, Dorset, England
  elevation300 ft (91 m)
Mouth  
  location
Burton Bradstock, Dorset, England
  coordinates
50°42′09″N2°44′26″W / 50.7026°N 2.7405°W / 50.7026; -2.7405
Length10.5 km (6.5 mi)
Discharge 
  location Burton Bradstock

The River Bride is a river in Dorset, England, situated between the towns of Dorchester and Bridport. It is approximately 6.5 miles (10.5 km) long and has a catchment area of 15 square miles (39 km2). [1] It rises at an altitude of 90 metres (300 ft) [2] beneath an artificial lake at Bridehead House, Littlebredy, then flows west to its mouth on the English Channel near Burton Bradstock. It has nine tributaries and descends more than 60 metres (200 ft) in its first three miles. [1] It reaches the coast just west of Burton Bradstock through a break in coastal cliffs at Burton Freshwater; here it meets the western end of Chesil Beach where it "forms itself into a pool and fights to get to the sea intact before sinking into the shingle." [3]

The river's name is of Celtic origin. It is derived from Old Welsh Brydi, related to Cornish bredion "to boil", so means "boiling or gushing" stream. The river gives its name to Long Bredy, Littlebredy, Burton Bradstock and probably Bridport. [4]

Mouth of the River Bride at Burton Bradstock River Bride Mouth.jpg
Mouth of the River Bride at Burton Bradstock

Notes

  1. 1 2 C. J. Bailey (1982). "Extracts from C.J. Bailey's Book "The Bride Valley"". www.burtonbradstock.org.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  2. Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Pathfinder Series of Great Britain, Sheet SY 49/59 Bridport, published 1977
  3. Roland Gant (1980). Dorset Villages. Robert Hale Ltd. p. 152. ISBN   0 7091 8135 3.
  4. Watts, Victor, ed. (2010), "Bredy", The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Cambridge University Press, ISBN   9780521168557


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jurassic Coast</span> World Heritage Site on the coast of southern England

The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about 96 miles (154 km), and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in mid-December 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesil Beach</span> Shingle beach in Dorset, England

Chesil Beach in Dorset, England is one of three major shingle beach structures in Britain. Its name is derived from the Old English ceosel or cisel, meaning "gravel" or "shingle". It runs for a length of 29 kilometres (18 mi) from West Bay to the Isle of Portland and in places is up to 15 metres (50 ft) high and 200 metres (660 ft) wide. Behind the beach is the Fleet, a shallow tidal lagoon. Both are part of the Jurassic Coast and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and together form an SSSI and Ramsar Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbotsbury</span> Village in Dorset, England

Abbotsbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. The settlement is in the unitary authority of Dorset about 1 mile (1.6 km) inland from the English Channel coast. The village, including Chesil Beach, the swannery and subtropical gardens, is owned by the Ilchester Estate, which owns 61 square kilometres of land in Dorset. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 481.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridport</span> Town in Dorset, England

Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the Asker. Its origins are Saxon and it has a long history as a rope-making centre. On the coast and within the town's boundary is West Bay, a small fishing harbour also known as Bridport Harbour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Dorset</span> Former non-metropolitan district in England

West Dorset was a local government district in Dorset, England. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and was a merger of the boroughs of Bridport, Dorchester and Lyme Regis, along with Sherborne urban district and the rural districts of Beaminster, Bridport, Dorchester and Sherborne. Its council was based in Dorchester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Bay, Dorset</span> English resort and harbour

West Bay, originally known as Bridport Harbour, is a small harbour settlement and resort on the English Channel coast in Dorset, England, sited at the mouth of the River Brit approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Bridport. The area is part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burton Bradstock</span> Human settlement in England

Burton Bradstock is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England, approximately 2+12 miles (4 km) southeast of Bridport and 12 mile (0.8 km) inland from the English Channel at Chesil Beach. In the 2011 Census the parish had a population of 948. The village lies in the Bride Valley, close to the mouth of the small River Bride. It comprises 16th- and 17th-century thatched cottages, a parish church, two pubs, a primary school, shop, post office stores, beach café, hotel, garage, village hall, reading room a library. The parish has a National Coastwatch Institution Station, Lyme Bay Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Bredy</span> Human settlement in England

Long Bredy is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in south-west England, situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) west of the county town Dorchester. It is sited in the valley of the small River Bride, beneath chalk hills of the Dorset Downs. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 208.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shipton Gorge</span> Human settlement in England

Shipton Gorge is a village and civil parish in southwest Dorset, England, 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Bridport. Dorset County Council's 2013 mid-year estimate of the population of Shipton Gorge parish is 350. In the 2011 national census, results have been published for the parish of Shipton Gorge combined with the small neighbouring parish of Chilcombe to the east; the population of these areas was 381.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Littlebredy</span> Village in Dorset, England

Littlebredy is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset, situated approximately 6.5 miles (10.5 km) west of the county town Dorchester. It is sited at the head of the valley of the small River Bride, surrounded by wooded chalk hills of the Dorset Downs. The parish contains the Valley of Stones National Nature Reserve and is in an area rich with evidence of early human occupation. In the 2011 census it had a population of 121.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Askerswell</span> Village in Dorset, England

Askerswell is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southwest England. It is sited on the small River Asker. It lies 11 miles (18 km) west of the county town Dorchester. The parish has an area of 1,724 acres and in the northeast includes the western slopes of Eggardon Hill, including part of the Iron Age hill fort close to its summit. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 154.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uploders</span> Village in England

Uploders is a small village in Dorset, England. It consists mainly of houses, and has a pub, the Crown, a Grade II listed Methodist chapel and a playing field. The River Asker runs through the village. It is a linear village, surrounding the minor road between Bridport and Askerswell. It is around 0.5 mi (0.80 km) from Loders, and around 3 mi (4.8 km) from Bridport, the nearest town. The A35 trunk road also passes by around 0.5 mi (0.80 km) south of the village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Brit</span> River in west Dorset, England

The River Brit is a river in west Dorset in south-west England, which rises just to the north of Beaminster. It then flows south to Netherbury and Bridport, where it is joined by tributaries: the River Simene and River Asker. South of Bridport, it reaches Lyme Bay on the English Channel coast, at West Bay. The Brit has a length of 9.43 miles (15.17 km).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Dorset</span>

Dorset is a county located in the middle of the south coast of England. It lies between the latitudes 50.512°N and 51.081°N and the longitudes 1.682°W and 2.958°W, and occupies an area of 2,653 km2. It spans 90 kilometres (56 mi) from east to west and 63 kilometres (39 mi) from north to south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weymouth Lowlands</span>

The Weymouth Lowlands form a natural region on the south coast of England in the county of Dorset. Much of the area lies with the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingston Russell</span> Human settlement in England

Kingston Russell is a settlement and civil parish 7 miles (11 km) west of Dorchester, in the Dorset district, in the county of Dorset, England. In 2001 the parish had a population of 35. The parish touches Compton Valence, Littlebredy, Long Bredy and Winterbourne Abbas. Kingston Russell shares a parish council with Long Bredy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Lym</span> River in Dorset, England

The River Lym or River Lim is a short river, some 5 km in length, that flows through the Devon-Dorset border. It rises from multiple springs at Raymond's Hill, near the village of Uplyme in East Devon, and flows southeasterly through Dorset, into the English Channel via Lyme Bay in the town of Lyme Regis, Dorset. The river falls over 200 metres from its source.