The River Sheppey has its source in a group of springs west of the village of Doulting, near Shepton Mallet in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

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. It flows through the wetlands to the north of the Polden Hills and ultimately joins the

River Brue The River Brue originates in the parish of Brewham in Somerset, England, and reaches the sea some west at Burnham-on-Sea. It originally took a different route from Glastonbury to the sea, but this was changed by Glastonbury Abbey in the twelfth ...

Route

From Doulting, the Sheppey flows south west to Charlton, where parts of its course have been culverted. The river has been diverted underground for much, though not all, of its passage through Shepton Mallet. It reappears at Darshill and then flows south west through Croscombe to Dinder where it flows through the grounds of Dinder House which was built in 1801 and under a bridge which pre-dates the house. It then continues west past Dulcote, Woodford and Coxley. At Coxley it is joined by the Keward Brook which carries the water from the springs in Wells which fill the moat of the Bishop's Palace. From Coxley, the river flows north through Hay Moor and North Moor, west through Ash Moor, then sharply south through Frogmore and west through Godney. At Lower Godney (where this is a

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

named after the river), it is channelled through the James Wear River and the Decoy Rhine to Westhay Level, where it joins Whites River and then the River Brue near

Westhay Westhay is a village in Somerset, England. It is situated in the parish of Meare, north-west of Glastonbury on the Somerset Levels. The name means 'The west field that is enclosed by hedges' from the Old English ''west'' and ''haga''. The 'g' i ...

Ecology

The water quality is generally good; however, there have been some discharges from sewage treatment works in the area that can contribute to nutrient levels in rivers. Signs of nutrient enrichment are noticeable at times of low flow and the ecology of the Sheppey is adversely affected in its upper reaches.

History

It would appear that the Sheppey was only so called in the late 19th century. Prior to this, it may have been named Doulting Water or the River Brae. The Sheppey has been used in the past to power local industry, for example corn and textile mills in the Shepton Mallet area. There may have been more than thirty mills powered by the river and its tributaries in the area of Shepton Mallet, Bowlish and Darshill, although fewer than this number of sites have been positively identified.

References

{{authority control Sheppey, River Somerset Levels 1Sheppey