River Ock, Surrey

Last updated

Ock
Millpond near Great Enton - geograph.org.uk - 1571498.jpg
Millpond on the Ock near Great Enton
Location
Country England
County Surrey
District Waverley
Physical characteristics
Source 
  locationvarious in Waverley (borough), Surrey
Mouth River Wey
  location
Godalming
Length7.5 km (4.7 mi)
Basin size26.4 km2 (10.2 sq mi)
Basin features
River system Wey catchment
Tributaries 
  leftindistinct (long headwaters in local terms being unnamed)
  rightBusbridge stream and indistinct number (long headwaters in local terms being unnamed)

The River Ock is a tributary of the River Wey in Surrey, England. [1]

Contents

A Spring view of Sweetwater Pond Witley A Spring view of Sweetwater Pond Witley.jpg
A Spring view of Sweetwater Pond Witley

Course

The river has two great sources in the west of Hambledon and two similar sources in the east of the parish of Witley. [2] [3] The coalescence is north of a zone of gently north-sloping land forming Wheelerstreet, Enton Green and the little manor of Tuesley. For centuries the latter comprised a very modest house and farmstead, dwarfed by the adjacent Busbridge Park, the stream of which drains Busbridge Lakes, the former mid and lower fish ponds, the upper one having been drained on becoming part of that stream.

The resulting Ock passes through Ockford, sometimes considered the east of Ockford Ridge, [4] then parts of Godalming, before joining the Wey in the town centre.

The Portsmouth Main Line railway follows much of the course.

Watermills

The Old Mill in Godalming, originally known as Hatch Mill, made use of the force and speed of the multi-hill-draining river. Rake Mill at Witley, a former fulling mill, was used by the artist Neville Lytton as a studio. The building, along with most of Lytton's sketches and paintings, was destroyed by a fire in 1902. [5] Other mills on the Ock were a tannery in Godalming, a corn mill at Enton and a flour mill at Ockford.

Water quality

The Environment Agency measure water quality of the rivers 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 invertebrates, angiosperms and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail. [6]

The water quality of the Ock was as follows in 2019:

SectionEcological
Status
Chemical
Status
Overall
Status
LengthCatchmentChannel
River Ock [7] Bad Fail Bad 7.51 km (4.67 mi)26.394 km2 (10.191 sq mi)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Glen, Lincolnshire</span> River in Lincolnshire and Rutland, England

The River Glen is a river in Lincolnshire, England with a short stretch passing through Rutland near Essendine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godalming</span> Market town and Civil parish in England

Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around 30 mi (48 km) southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers 3.74 sq mi (9.7 km2) and includes the settlements of Farncombe, Binscombe and Holloway Hill. Much of the area lies on the strata of the Lower Greensand Group and Bargate stone was quarried locally until the Second World War.

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

The River Itchen in Hampshire, England, rises to the south of New Alresford and flows 26 miles (42 km) to meet Southampton Water below the Itchen Bridge. The Itchen Navigation was constructed in the late 17th and early 18th centuries to enable barges to reach Winchester from Southampton Docks, but ceased to operate in the mid-19th century and is largely abandoned today.

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

Witley is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Waverley in Surrey, England centred 2.6 miles (4 km) south west of the town of Godalming and 6.6 miles (11 km) southwest of Guildford. The land is a mixture of rural contrasting with elements more closely resembling a suburban satellite village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hambledon, Surrey</span> Human settlement in England

Hambledon is a rural scattered village in the Waverley borough of Surrey, situated south of Guildford. It is dominated by a buffer zone of fields and woodland, mostly south of the Greensand Ridge escarpment between Witley and Chiddingfold, having no dual carriageways or railways; however, it is bordered to the west by the Portsmouth Direct Line, and many of its small population are London commuters or retirees. Its main amenities are a church, a village pub, and the village shop and post office.

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

The River Meon is a chalk stream in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises at East Meon then flows 34 km (21 mi) in a generally southerly direction to empty into the Solent at Hill Head near Stubbington. Above Wickham, the river runs through the South Downs National Park.

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

The Lymington River drains part of the New Forest in Hampshire in southern England. Numerous headwaters to the west of Lyndhurst give rise to the river, including Highland Water, Bratley Water and Fletchers Water. From Brockenhurst the river runs southwards to the Solent at Lymington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Itchen, Warwickshire</span> River in east Warwickshire, England

The River Itchen flows through east Warwickshire in England. It is a small river, about 18 miles (29 km) long, and its general course is from south to north.

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

The River Anton is a chalk stream in Hampshire in south east England. It rises in Andover and flows southwards for approximately 8 miles (13 km) to meet the River Test near Chilbolton. The principal tributary of the Anton, the Pillhill Brook, joins the river at Upper Clatford.

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

The River Dever is a chalk stream in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises at West Stratton near Micheldever and flows westwards for 11 mi (18 km) to meet the River Test at Wherwell.

The River Nadder is a tributary of the River Avon, flowing in south Wiltshire, England.

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

The River Tillingbourne runs along the south side of the North Downs and joins the River Wey at Guildford. Its source is a mile south of Tilling Springs to the north of Leith Hill at grid reference TQ143437 and it runs through Friday Street, Abinger Hammer, Gomshall, Shere, Albury, Chilworth and Shalford. The source is a semi-natural uninhabited area. The catchment is situated on sandstone which has a low rate of weathering. The Tillingbourne is 24 km (15 mi) in length.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Wey</span> River in southern England

The River Wey is a main tributary of the River Thames in south east England. Its two branches, one of which rises near Alton in Hampshire and the other in West Sussex to the south of Haslemere, join at Tilford in Surrey. Once combined the flow is eastwards then northwards via Godalming and Guildford to meet the Thames at Weybridge. Downstream the river forms the backdrop to Newark Priory and Brooklands. The Wey and Godalming Navigations were built in the 17th and 18th centuries, to create a navigable route from Godalming to the Thames.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rythe</span> River in north Surrey, England

The Rythe is a river or stream in north Surrey, England which is generally open and which is a natural woodland feature for approximately half of its course before being variously culverted and a suburban garden feature, passing between Thames Ditton and Long Ditton, then discharging into the Thames. Its longest branch is the Arbrook which drains Arbrook Common, a woodland of the mainly wooded Esher Commons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Dove, Barnsley</span> River in South Yorkshire, England

The River Dove is a river that extends through the Low Valley in Barnsley, England. It flows from Worsbrough Reservoir to its confluence with the River Dearne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cranleigh Waters</span> River in Surrey, England

The Cranleigh Waters or Bramley Wey is a tributary of the River Wey in Surrey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pipp Brook</span> River in Surrey, England

The Pipp Brook is a left-bank tributary of the River Mole, Surrey, England. It rises at two main springs north of Leith Hill on the Greensand Ridge, then descends steeply in a northward direction, before flowing eastwards along the Vale of Holmesdale. It runs to the north of Dorking High Street, before discharging into the Mole at Pixham.

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

The River Slea is a tributary of the south branch of the River Wey in Hampshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bow Brook, Hampshire</span> River in Hampshire, England

Bow Brook is a small river in the English county of Hampshire, which is a tributary of the River Loddon. Contributary streams rise near Ramsdell and Sherborne St John, and after flowing through rural countryside, it joins the Loddon near Sherfield on Loddon. Historically it has powered at least two watermills.

References

  1. "Ock". Catchment Data Explorer. Environment Agency . Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  2. Traditional (Ecclesiastical Parish) maps Church of England, A Church Near You
  3. 6-inch to mile and 25-inch to mile Ordnance Survey maps of 1890s and 1900s, with modern reference map interactivity, National Library of Scotland, retrieved 2020
  4. https://www.achurchnearyou.com/search/?lat=51.19&lon=-0.63 Parish of Godalming map including Ockford Ridge church. The Church of England
  5. Apin, John (ed.). The Letters of Philip Webb, Volume 3. ISBN   978-1-315-64256-7.
  6. "Glossary (see Biological quality element; Chemical status; and Ecological status)". Catchment Data Explorer. Environment Agency. 17 February 2016. UKOpenGovernmentLicence.svg Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
  7. "River Ock". Catchment Data Explorer. Environment Agency.

Coordinates: 51°11′18″N0°37′02″W / 51.18839°N 0.61735°W / 51.18839; -0.61735