River Axe (Bristol Channel)
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The River Axe is a river in
South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...
. The river is formed by water entering swallets in the limestone and rises from the ground at
Wookey Hole Caves Wookey is a village and civil parish west of Wells, on the River Axe in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Henton and the nearby hamlets of Yarley and Bleadney where the River Axe travels the length of ...
in the
Mendip Hills The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills ...
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 , lord_ ...
, and runs through a V-shaped valley. The geology of the area is
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
and the water reaches Wookey Hole in a series of underground channels that have eroded through the
soluble In chemistry, solubility is the ability of a substance, the solute, to form a solution with another substance, the solvent. Insolubility is the opposite property, the inability of the solute to form such a solution. The extent of the solubil ...
limestone. The river mouth is in
Weston Bay Weston Bay is an inlet of the Bristol Channel in North Somerset, England. It lies between Brean Down, which is now owned by the National Trust, is rich in wildlife, history and archaeology, and has been designated a Site of Special Scientific In ...
on the
Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...
. The river was navigable from the
middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
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 and long, where it leaves the cave and enters the open air. It is the second largest resurgence on Mendip, with an estimated
catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...
of , and an average discharge of per second. 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 Priddy Pools () is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Priddy in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, notified in 1972. The pools provided the water supply for the Priddy Mineries which is now a Nature Reserve. Biological This si ...
. It then passes through major cave systems such as
Swildon's Hole Swildon's Hole is an extensive cave in Priddy, Somerset. At in length, it is the longest cave on the Mendip Hills. It has been found to be connected to Priddy Green Sink and forms part of the Priddy Caves Site of Special Scientific Interest ( ...
,
Eastwater Cavern Eastwater Cavern is a cave near Priddy in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It is also known as Eastwater Swallet. It was first excavated in April 1902 by a team led by Herbert E. Balch composed of paid labourers and v ...
and
St Cuthbert's Swallet St Cuthbert's Swallet is the second longest, and most complex, cave on the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It forms a major part of the Priddy Caves system and water entering this swallet re-emerges at Wookey Hole. – which also con ...
, around
Priddy Priddy is a village in Somerset, England in the Mendip Hills, close to East Harptree and north-west of Wells. It is in the local government district of Mendip. The village lies in a small hollow near the summit of the Mendip range of hills, ...
, but 95% is water that has percolated directly into the limestone. From
Wookey Hole Wookey Hole is a village in Somerset, England. It is the location of the Wookey Hole show caves. Location Wookey Hole is located in the civil parish of St Cuthbert Out, in Mendip District. It is one mile north-west of the city of Wells, and l ...
village the river flows through a
ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.Wookey Wookey is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish west of Wells, Somerset, Wells, on the River Axe (Bristol Channel), River Axe in the Mendip District, Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Henton ...
. 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 Knowle may refer to: Places in England *Knowle, Bristol, a district and council ward of Bristol *Knowle West, a neighbourhood in the south of Bristol, adjacent to Knowle *Knowle, Devon, a village in Braunton parish *Knowle, Budleigh Salterton, a Li ...
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
Wedmore Moor Wedmore is a large village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England. It is situated on raised ground, in the Somerset Levels between the River Axe and River Brue, often called the Isle of Wedmore. It forms part of Sedgemoor district. ...
and through Oxmoor,
Stoke Moor Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * St ...
and
Monk Moor A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicat ...
. The river passes through the settlement of Lower Weare and on to the south of Loxton. From this point until it passes between
Uphill Cliff Uphill Cliff () is a 19.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Uphill, North Somerset, although it is in the Avon Area of Search used by English Nature which is based on the 1974-1996 county system. The s ...
and
Brean Down Brean Down is a promontory off the coast of Somerset, England, standing high and extending into the Bristol Channel at the eastern end of Bridgwater Bay between Weston-super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea. Made of Carboniferous Limestone, it is a ...
, then reaches the coast at
Weston Bay Weston Bay is an inlet of the Bristol Channel in North Somerset, England. It lies between Brean Down, which is now owned by the National Trust, is rich in wildlife, history and archaeology, and has been designated a Site of Special Scientific In ...
, the river demarcates
Sedgemoor Sedgemoor is a low-lying area of land in Somerset, England. It lies close to sea level south of the Polden Hills, historically largely marsh (or "moor" in its older sense). The eastern part is known as King's Sedgemoor, and the western part Wes ...
from
North Somerset North Somerset is a unitary authorities of England, unitary district in Somerset, South West England. Whilst its area covers part of the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Somerset, it is administered independently of the non ...
. Tributaries of the Axe include three rivers called Yeo: the
Cheddar Yeo The Cheddar Yeo is a small river in Somerset, England. Beneath the limestone of the Mendip Hills it forms the largest underground river system in Britain. After emerging into Cheddar Gorge it flows through the village of Cheddar, where it has ...
, the Mark Yeo and the Lox Yeo.


History

The name derives from a
Common Brittonic Common Brittonic ( cy, Brythoneg; kw, Brythonek; br, Predeneg), also known as British, Common Brythonic, or Proto-Brittonic, was a Celtic language spoken in Britain and Brittany. It is a form of Insular Celtic, descended from Proto-Celtic, a ...
word meaning "abounding in fish", which is also the root for the River Axe in
Lyme Bay Lyme Bay is an area of the English Channel off the south coast of England. The south western counties of Devon and Dorset front onto the bay. The exact definitions of the bay vary. The eastern boundary is usually taken to be Portland Bill on the ...
as well as the
Exe Exe or EXE may refer to: * .exe, a file extension * exe., abbreviation for executive Places * River Exe, in England * Exe Estuary, in England * Exe Island, in Exeter, England Transportation and vehicles * Exe (locomotive), a British locomotive ...
, Esk,
Usk Usk ( cy, Brynbuga) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks th ...
and other variants. The name is
cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
with '' pysg'' (plural of '' pysgod''), the Welsh word for fish. The lower reaches of the Axe have a history of
navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
from the harbour at
Uphill Uphill is a village in the civil parish of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England, at the southern edge of the town, on the Bristol Channel coast. History Bone and stone tools found in caves at Uphill provide evidence of human activity i ...
through to the settlement of Weare. The current tidal limit of the Axe is the sluice gates at
Bleadon Bleadon is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is about south of Weston-super-Mare and, according to the 2011 census, has a population of 1,079. History Bleadon was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Bledone'', meaning 'c ...
and
Brean Cross Brean is a village and civil parish between Weston-super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset, England. The name is derived from "Bryn" Brythonic and Modern Welsh for a hill and it has a population of 635. Close to the village is Brean Down, a pro ...
. In the Middle Ages overseas trade was carried out from the port of Rackley, which is now north of the river as the course has been diverted. Rackley is now a farm below
Crook Peak Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill is a 332.2 hectare (820.9 acre) geological and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the western end of the Mendip Hills, Somerset. The line of hills runs for approximately from west to east a ...
and west of
Axbridge Axbridge is a small town in Somerset, England, in the Sedgemoor district on the River Axe, near the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. The town's population according to the 2011 census was 2,057. History ''Axanbrycg'' is suggested as the sou ...
, which also had wharves. In the 14th century a French ship sailed up the river and by 1388 Thomas Tanner from
Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...
used Rackley to export
cloth Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
and
corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
to Portugal, and received
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
and
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
in exchange. Later slate was imported through this route and it may have still be possible to trade through Rackley until the act of 1915 authorising the drainage of the Axe and installation of the flood gate at Bleadon. Bleadon had been a small port, sometimes known as Lympsham Wharf, for many years, with the arrival of the railway in 1841 making this the furthest navigable point. It was last used by the ketch ''Democrat'' in 1942. A series of 11
watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...
s were powered by the river but the only one which remains is at Burcott.


See also

*
Somerset Levels The Somerset Levels are a coastal plain and wetland area of Somerset, England, running south from the Mendip Hills, Mendips to the Blackdown Hills. The Somerset Levels have an area of about and are bisected by the Polden Hills; the areas to ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{authority control Axe, River, Somerset Axe, River, Somerset Somerset Levels