The River Irthing is a river in
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
, England and a major tributary of the
River Eden. The name is recorded as Ard or Arden in early references. For the first 15 miles of its course it defines the border between
Northumberland
Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
and
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
.
Etymology
The name ''Irthing'' may be of
Brittonic origin,
though its precise etymology is uncertain. The last part of the name is from ''–ïnn'', an adjectival and, in place-names, toponymic
suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...
, added to nouns or adjectives.
The first part may be ''arth'', meaning "a bear" (cf.
Welsh ''arth'').
Or else, the first part of the name could either one of two elements suffixed with ''-ed'', an early
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 Foot ...
nominal suffix meaning "having the quality of..".
The first of these is, ''*ar'', an ancient
river-naming element implying either horizontal motion, "flowing", or else "rising" or "springing up" (compare ''
Irt''). The second possibility is ''*īr'', meaning "fresh, clean, pure".
Geography
It is thought that before the last
glacial maximum the Irthing flowed into the
South Tyne valley through the watershed near Greenhead, now known as the Tyne Gap. This section of the valley is now blocked by a filling of
glacial till
image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...
, diverting the river south west, but the old course has been detected by drilling and echo-sounding. The rapidly eroding cliffs threatening the southern edge of
Birdoswald Roman Fort and the fact that the Roman bridge
abutment
An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end that provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...
at Willowford is now 44 m (144.4 ft) from the river testify to the instability of the local landscape as it continues to recover from glacial alteration.
The river rises on Paddaburn Moor in
Kielder Forest and skirts the eastern edge of
Butterburn Flow raised bog. Remains of numerous mediaeval
shielings have been found along the banks of these upper reaches, some of which have been given
ancient monument
An ancient monument can refer to any early or historical manmade structure or architecture. Certain ancient monuments are of cultural importance for nations and become symbols of international recognition, including the Baalbek, ruins of Baalbek ...
status.
For two miles above the village of
Gilsland the river flows through the
Irthing Gorge, flanked by mainly sandstone crags. Within the upper section of this gorge lies the spectacular 7.6 metre (25 feet) Crammel Linn waterfall.
Peregrine falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...
s and
raven
A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...
s nest near the waterfall and derelict military structures, probably pump-houses supplying water for the
Blue Streak rocket site at
RAF Spadeadam, can be seen just upstream. Further downstream, in the grounds of
Gilsland Spa hotel, the crags develop into high cliffs. The cliff face below the hotel gives rise to the famous
sulphurous spring after which the hotel is named and also a
chalybeate
Chalybeate () waters, also known as Iron oxide, ferruginous waters, are mineral spring waters containing salts of iron.
Name
The word ''chalybeate'' is derived from the Latin word for steel, , which follows from the Ancient Greek, Greek word ...
spring and a
petrifying seep.
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...
crossed the river on a bridge at Willowford, 0.75 kilometres (0.5 miles) east of
Birdoswald Roman Fort. From that point the course of the river as it turns west is lined with other Roman sites associated with the Roman
Stanegate
The Stanegate (meaning "stone road" in Northumbrian dialect) was an important Roman road and early frontier built in what is now northern England. It linked many forts including two that guarded important river crossings: Corstopitum (Corbr ...
road and Hadrian's Wall. A 914-metre (2,998.7 feet) stretch of Wall, including two turrets and the impressive bridge remains, runs alongside the River Irthing at Willowford, linked by a new footbridge to Birdoswald Roman Fort.
This crossing of the River Irthing marked a significant transition in the construction of
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...
, emphasising the greater availability of building stone to the east.
Passing
Brampton
Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...
the Irthing merges with the
River Gelt, and soon after meets the
River Eden near
Warwick Bridge
Warwick Bridge is a village in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. It forms part of a small urban area which includes the villages of Corby Hill and Little Corby. In 2011 it had ...
, just north of
Wetheral
Wetheral is a village, civil parish and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Cumbria, England. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census, the population of the Wetheral Wards of the United Kingdom, Ward was ...
.
References
{{authority control
Irthing, River
1Irthing