The River Skell is a tributary of the

River Ure The River Ure in North Yorkshire, England is approximately long from its source to the point where it becomes the River Ouse. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only major dale now named after a village rather than its r ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

, England. Its source is in boggy ground on moorland north of

Pateley Bridge Pateley Bridge (known locally as Pateley) is a small market town in Nidderdale in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies on the River Nidd. It is in the Yorkshire Dales an ...

. For its first the river is known as Skell Beck. Descending from the moor the river enters Skell Gill, a narrow wooded valley. The river valley gradually broadens, but remains well wooded, passing the villages of Skelding and Grantley and the 17th century

Grantley Hall Grantley Hall is a Country house located in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near Grantley, about to the west of Ripon, on the banks of the River Skell. It is listed Grade II* on the National Heritage List for England, and the Japanese ...

. The river enters Studley Royal Park and flows past

Fountains Hall Fountains Hall is a English country house, country house near Ripon in North Yorkshire, England, located within the World Heritage Site at Studley Royal Park which include the ruins of Fountains Abbey. It belongs to the National Trust for Places ...

and the ruins of Fountains Abbey. Below the abbey the river was dammed in the 18th century to form an ornamental lake and

water garden Water garden or aquatic garden, is a term sometimes used for gardens, or parts of gardens, where any type of water feature is a principal or dominant element. The primary focus is on plants, but they will sometimes also house waterfowl, or orn ...

. Downstream from the park the river bed is porous rock that allows some or all of the flow to disappear underground. After this, the river re-emerges on the surface and enters the city of

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

, and on the outskirts receives its largest tributary, the

River Laver The River Laver is a tributary of the River Skell, itself a tributary of the River Ure in North Yorkshire, England. The name is of Brittonic origin, from ''labaro'', meaning "talkative", i.e. a babbling brook. The Afon Llafar in Wales shar ...

. The Skell enters the River Ure east of the centre of Ripon. The name is from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

''skjallr'', meaning "resounding", from its swift and noisy course. In the Middle Ages the river was known as "Heaven Water", presumably from its association with Fountains Abbey. The flow of the River Skell has been measured at Alma Weir in Ripon, near to its confluence with the Ure since 1984. The thirty year record shows that the

catchment A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of to the

gauging station A stream gauge, streamgage or stream gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water level surface elevation (" stage") and/or vol ...

yields an average flow of . In June 2007 the highest river level was recorded of over the weir, which was estimated to have a flow of .

References

External links

{{authority control Skell