The River Ribble runs through

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

Northern England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...

. It starts close to the

Ribblehead Viaduct The Ribblehead Viaduct or Batty Moss Viaduct carries the Settle–Carlisle railway across Batty Moss in the Ribble Valley at Ribblehead, in North Yorkshire, England. The viaduct, built by the Midland Railway, is north-west of Skipton and s ...

in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...

and flow westwards towards the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

(the Dee in Dentdale and the Twiss in Kingsdale being notable others).

Etymology

The name ''Ribble'' may be a Brittonic compound-formation. The second element is the noun ''*pol'', with connotations including "puddle, pond, upland-stream" ( Welsh ''pwll''). The first is ''rö-'', an intensive prefix, with nouns meaning "great" (Welsh ''rhy-'', Cornish re-). Ribble may once have been known as ''*Bremetonā-'', underlying the name ''Bremetenacum'', the Roman fort at

Ribchester Ribchester () is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, northwest of Blackburn and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The village has a long history w ...

. Involved here is the Brittonic root ''*breμ–'', meaning "roaring" (cf. Welsh ''brefu''), as observed at the river-names Breamish in

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 ...

, Braan in Scotland and Brefi in Wales.

History

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

finds from along the River Ribble during the creation of the Preston Docks and others revealed man has been in the area for a long time. The River Ribble looked completely different then and the coastline is likely to have been much further inland than it is at present where land has been reclaimed and the marsh extended out into the River Ribble due to sedimentation. The Ribble would appear to have been known in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times as the Belisama, possibly giving its name to

Samlesbury Samlesbury ( ''or locally'' ) is a village and civil parish in South Ribble, Lancashire, England. Samlesbury Hall, a historic house, is in the village, as is Samlesbury Aerodrome and a large modern brewery owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. The pop ...

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

's "''Belisama aest.''" seems to represent the estuary of the Ribble.

Bremetennacum Bremetennacum, (), or Bremetennacum Veteranorum, was a Roman Britain, Roman castra, fort on the site of the present day village of Ribchester in Lancashire, England (). (Misspellings in ancient geographical texts include ''Bremetonnacum'', ''Brem ...

was a Roman fort that guarded a crossing-point of the river at

. Remains of another Roman site were discovered at

Walton-le-Dale Walton-le-Dale is a large village in the borough of South Ribble, in Lancashire, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Ribble, opposite the city of Preston, adjacent to Bamber Bridge. The population of the South Ribble Ward at the ...

in the mid-19th century. The

Cuerdale Hoard The Cuerdale Hoard is a hoard of more than 8,600 items, including silver coins, English and Carolingian jewellery, hacksilver and ingots. It was discovered on 15 May 1840 on the southern bank of a bend of the River Ribble, in an area called ...

, the largest

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

silver hoard ever found outside

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

was discovered in 1840 on the southern bank of a bend of the river, at Cuerdale near Preston. Whilst the medieval silver Mitton Hoard was found near where this river joins the

River Hodder The River Hodder is in Lancashire, England. It is a County Biological Heritage Site. It rises on White Hill and flows for approximately 23 miles to the River Ribble, of which it is the largest tributary. The Hodder drains much of the Fore ...

in 2009.Coin hoard BM-193206
Finds.org.uk, Retrieved 16 September 2015 At one time the Ribble marked the northernmost extent of the ancient kingdom of

Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

. At the time of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, the river formed the northern boundary of an area of land (known as ''Inter Ripam et Mersam'') that was included in the Domesday information for

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, though it was probably not formally part of the county of Cheshire. Sawley Abbey was founded by Cistercian monks in 1147, at a bend in the river. It is thought that the monks built a

weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

to supply a

mill race A mill race, millrace or millrun, mill lade (Scotland) or mill leat (Southwest England) is the current of water that turns a water wheel, or the channel ( sluice) conducting water to or from a water wheel. Compared with the broad waters of a m ...

that powered a

corn mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

within the abbey precinct. Weir at Waddow Hall on the River Ribble - geograph

After his defeat in the Battle of Hexham in 1464 (during the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

King Henry VI Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at the age of eight months, upon ...

went into hiding at a number of houses belonging to his supporters. A little over a year later he was at Waddington Hall in Waddington. On 13 July 1465, a group of Yorkists, including the property-owner's brother, arrived at the hall to arrest him. Escaping into nearby woods, Henry was captured soon after crossing the river at the old

stepping stones Stepping stones or stepstones are sets of stones arranged to form an improvised causeway that allows a pedestrian to cross a natural watercourse such as a creek, a small river; or a water feature in a garden where water is allowed to flow betwe ...

at Brungerley. Around 1785, a large

was constructed across the river, slightly downstream at Waddow Hall, to supply water to a

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven ...

at Low Moor. The site relied on water power right up to closure around 1930, although the

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a large wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with numerous b ...

s gradually gave way to

water turbine A water turbine is a rotary machine that converts kinetic energy and potential energy of water into mechanical work. Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now, t ...

s and were augmented by

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

s. During 2009, an Archimedean screw type

hydropower station Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

was constructed at Settle weir near Bridge End Mill. Built for a community-owned company, Settle Hydro, the site became operational by the end of the year. As of February 2024, the generator has produced 1.2 million kWh of electricity.

Geography

The Ribble begins at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of the ''Gayle Beck'' and ''Batty Wife Beck'' near the

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

at Ribblehead, in the shadow of the

Yorkshire three peaks The mountains of Whernside (), Ingleborough () and Pen-y-ghent () are collectively known as the Three Peaks. The peaks, which form part of the Pennines, Pennine range, encircle the head of the valley of the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales ...

. It is the only major river rising in Yorkshire which flows westward. It flows through Settle,

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for to ...

and Preston, before emptying into the

between Lytham St. Annes and

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

, a length of . Its main tributaries are the Hodder and Calder which join the river near Great Mitton, the River Darwen which joins at

and the River Douglas which joins near Hesketh Bank. Above Hellifield the valley of the river is known as

Ribblesdale Ribblesdale is one of the Yorkshire Dales in England. It is the Dale (landform), dale or upper valley of the River Ribble in North Yorkshire. Towns and villages in Ribblesdale (downstream, from north to south) include Selside, North Yorkshire, ...

. The Ribble Way is a long-distance footpath which follows the river for much of its course. The river is connected to both the

Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...

and the

Lancaster Canal The Lancaster Canal is a canal in North West England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria (Historic counties of England, historically in Westmorland). The section around the crossing of the River ...

(via the Ribble Link). The river downstream of Preston was actively dredged when Preston was an active port; this is no longer done and silt from the river is now spreading more widely over the (sand) beaches around Fairhaven and St. Annes. Its estuary forms part of the Ribble and Alt Estuaries

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

for wildlife. An average of 340,000 water birds over-winter in the estuary making it the most important wetland site in Britain. The Ribble is also a key breeding ground for the endangered

Atlantic salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Hucho taimen, Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlan ...

. 1.25 million people live in the Ribble's catchment area. The Normal Tidal Limit (NTL) of the river is at Fishwick Bottoms, between Preston and

, from the sea. The River Ribble has the third-largest tides in England, with tides that run at and a tidal range at the mouth of the river of during

spring tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

s. Since River Ribble dredging ceased, the estuary is filling up with sand and is developing a meandering path, depending on the tides and river runoff. In addition, many tributaries flow into the main channel including the Savick Brook/Ribble Link, while the River Douglas, has a significant influence both on sediment transport and hydrodynamics of the estuary.

Crossings

There was a bridge at Edisford,

in 1339. The age of the present

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

bridge is not known, but parts contain features indicating they may date to the late medieval period. The current Ribchester Bridge dates from 1774. It replaced one built in 1669, which also had a predecessor of unknown age. Evidence of a bridge between Preston and

occurs in a deed in the early 13th century. A stone bridge was built in the early 1400s, possibly just west of the present Walton Bridge which was completed in 1781. Until 1755 this was the only bridge over the Ribble at Preston. The original attempt to build a bridge directly to

Penwortham Penwortham () is a town and civil parish in South Ribble, Lancashire, England, on the south bank of the River Ribble facing the city of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The town is at the most westerly crossing point of the river, with major road ...

was completed in 1755, only to collapse the following year. The Penwortham Old Bridge opened in 1759 to replace it. In 1802 the Lancaster Canal Company completed a timber

trestle bridge A trestle bridge is a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by closely spaced frames usually carrying a railroad line. A trestle (sometimes tressel) is a rigid frame used as a support, historically a tripod used to support a st ...

to facilitate a temporary tramroad to connect the two isolated sections of the canal. The missing section was never completed and, although heavily modified, the disused Old Tramroad Bridge still stands today.

Ferries (historic)

Several

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

crossings were marked along the lower part of the river, on the first

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

map of Lancashire, published in the 1840s. The Hacking Ferry near Hacking Hall and Trowers Ferry near Dinckley Hall. Another, downstream of Osbaldeston Hall and the Balderstone Hall Ferry. Also at Samlesbury Church as well as an old boat house, upstream of Penwortham Old Bridge. It is uncertain when these services began. A 1354

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

assigned some land for the use of the ferryman near Ribchester, possibly referring to the crossing near Osbaldeston Hall. The Hacking Ferry seems to have been funded by the Shireburn family of Stonyhurst, and established during the 1600s. It continued operating as a regular toll service until 1938, but continued occasionally afterward until it finally ceased operation in 1955. In later years it operated two johnboat-type rowing boats. The older boat could carry twelve passengers and a newer boat had a capacity of 19. The former is now in the collection at Clitheroe Castle Museum.

Estuary crossing proposals

A Ribble estuary fixed crossing has been proposed on several occasions, to provide a quicker route between the seaside resorts of

and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

. Two routes for a tramroad were proposed; the first in 1899 outlined a route between Crossens and

Lytham Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population of the built-up area at the 2021 United Kingdom census, ...

, then between 1900 and 1906 as a route from Crossens to Warton via Hesketh Bank. A railway tunnel was proposed in 1907, between Hesketh Bank and Warton. A bridge was proposed between 1938 and 1947. A road link was campaigned for in 2007, envisaging a development similar to the

Rance Tidal Power Station The Rance Tidal Power Station is a tidal power station located on the estuary of the Rance River in Brittany, France. Opened in 1966 as the world's first tidal power station, the 240-watt, megawatt (MW) facility was the largest such power statio ...

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. In 2011, an April fools' joke suggested a road tunnel from Marshside to

Lytham St Annes Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population of the built-up area at the 2021 United Kingdom census, ...

Ecology

The River Ribble catchment is covered by the Ribble Rivers Trust, a UK based charity working to improve, protect and promote the River Ribble for both people and wildlife. The Ribble Estuary is an Internationally important Ramsar Wetland site, a

(SPA) under the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, a

Marine Conservation Zone A Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) is a type of marine nature reserve in United Kingdom, UK waters. They were established under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009) and are areas designated with the aim to prot ...

up to

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI), a National Nature Reserve, and is under development as a Coast & Wetlands

Regional Park A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government. Definition A regional park can be a special park distr ...

. Preston City Council published plans to build a barrage across the River Ribble, in their 'Riverworks' proposals (2006). The aim of these proposals was to build a barrage and a water sports park on a section of the Ribble, coupled with over 4,000 units of housing and businesses in the river's flood plain. Some local residents opposed these plans, arguing that they endanger wildlife, increase flood risk to local housing and damage greenbelt areas. These residents set up the Save The Ribble campaign, and their two-year information campaign successfully overturned Preston City Council's proposals, and South Ribble Borough Council announced the alternative creation of a Country Park. Parts of the river are a County Biological Heritage Site.

Settlements

North Yorkshire

* Horton in Ribblesdale * Stainforth * Stackhouse * Langcliffe * Giggleswick * Settle * Halton West * Nappa

Lancashire

* Paythorne * Gisburn * Sawley * West Bradford * Horrocksford *

* Great Mitton * Brockhall Village * Little Town *

* Preston *

* Tarleton * Hundred End * Banks *

Main tributaries

Rivers Ribble and Hodder meet - geograph

* River Douglas or River Asland * Savick Brook * River Darwen * Stydd Brook * Dinckley Brook * River Calder *

Name

The River Ribble gives its name to the local government boroughs of

Ribble Valley Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe, the largest town. The borough also includes the town of Longridge and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. ...

and

South Ribble South Ribble is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Leyland. The borough includes the towns and villages of Penwortham, Leyland, Farington, Farington Moss, Hutton, Longton, Walmer B ...

, and the Ribble Valley parliamentary constituency. The Ribble Bus Company once operated throughout

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,4 ...

. The Ribble also lends its name to the Ribble Steam Railway.

References

Notes

Bibliography

*Crosby, A. (1996). ''A History of Cheshire.'' (The Darwen County History Series.) Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Phillimore & Co. Ltd. . *Greenhalgh, M. (2009). ''Ribble: river and valley, a local and natural history''. Lancaster, Carnegie Publishing. . *Harris, B. E., and Thacker, A. T. (1987). ''The Victoria History of the County of Chester. (Volume 1: Physique, Prehistory, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Domesday).'' Oxford: Oxford University Press. . * Hutton, R. (1991) ''The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles'', Oxford : Blackwell, *Morgan, P. (1978). ''Domesday Book Cheshire: Including Lancashire, Cumbria, and North Wales''. Chichester, Sussex: Phillimore & Co. Ltd. . *Phillips A. D. M., and Phillips, C. B. (2002), ''A New Historical Atlas of Cheshire''. Chester, UK: Cheshire County Council and Cheshire Community Council Publications Trust. .

External links

Riverworks

Save The Ribble

Ribble Rivers Trust – Working Together to Improve Our Rivers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ribble, River Rivers of North Yorkshire Rivers of Lancashire