The River Cary is a river in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lor ...
, England. It is sourced from the Park Pond in
Castle Cary
Castle Cary () is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett.
History
The word Cary derives fr ...
and flows towards the southwest.
Etymology
The origin of the name ''Cary'' is uncertain. It may be derived from
pre-Celtic ''kar-'', meaning "stony, hard",
[Victor Watts, 'Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names', Cambridge University Press, 2004] or the
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foo ...
element ''car'' meaning ''dear, pleasant'' (c.f.
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
''cari'', "love").
[ from Hanks P. 'Dictionary of American Family Names' (O.U.P.) 2003]
Course
The River Cary has its source at Park Pond in
Castle Cary
Castle Cary () is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett.
History
The word Cary derives fr ...
, and then flows southwest through
Cary Moor
Cary may refer to:
Places
;United States
* Cary, Illinois, part of the Chicago metropolitan area
* Cary, Indiana, part of the Indianapolis metropolitan area
* Cary, Miami County, Indiana
* Cary, Maine
* Cary, Mississippi
* Cary, North Caroli ...
to
Babcary, where there is a
biological Site of Special Scientific Interest at
Babcary Meadows and
Cary Fitzpaine
Charlton Mackrell is a village in civil parish of The Charltons, in the county of Somerset, England, situated east of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 1,020.
The parish consists of two villages, Charlto ...
. It then flows northwest through
Charlton Mackrell to the north of
Somerton, passing under the
Somerton Viaduct
The Somerton Viaduct is a historic railway viaduct in the town of Somerton in Somerset, England. It is situated on the Langport and Castle Cary Railway, known as the Castle Cary Cut-off, on the Reading to Taunton Line. It carries the railway over ...
. Here the river channel has been straightened and drains the surrounding wetland as it heads north to Kings Sedge Moor. The Cary passes through
King's Sedgemoor
King's Sedgemoor is a piece of rich animal habitat and farming land, that forms part of the Somerset Levels and Moors in South West England.
The area of King's Sedgemoor fell within the Whitley Hundred,
It is a Site of Special Scientific Inter ...
continuing west across the moors south of the
Polden Hills. At
Henley
Henley may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Henley, Dorset, a location
* Henley, Gloucestershire, a location
* Henley-on-Thames, a town in South Oxfordshire, England
** Henley (UK Parliament constituency)
** Henley Rural District, a former ru ...
it joins the artificial channels of the Sutton Moor Rhyne and the
King's Sedgemoor Drain, both of which drain the wetland. Much of the water is now diverted into King's Sedgemoor Drain, which continues across the moors to join the estuary of the
River Parrett at
Dunball
Dunball is a small hamlet west of the village of Puriton and close to the town of Bridgwater, Somerset, England.
Just north of Dunball is Down End which is the site of Down End Castle a motte-and-bailey castle, which has been designated as a Sch ...
.
Pollution
In 1995 a major pollution incident occurred when
lindane
Lindane, also known as ''gamma''-hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH), gammaxene, Gammallin and benzene hexachloride (BHC), is an organochlorine chemical and an isomer of hexachlorocyclohexane that has been used both as an agricultural insecticide and ...
and
mercury seed dressing
In agriculture and horticulture, a seed treatment is any additional material added to the seed. By the amount of material added, it can be divided into:
* A seed dressing, typically containing a "protectant" (pesticide) applied to the seed and pos ...
were poured down a drain which leads into the river near Somerton.
References
{{authority control
Cary
Somerset Levels
2Cary