River Yarrow (Lancashire)
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The River Yarrow is in
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 ...
, with its source at an area called ''Will Narr'' at ''Hordern Stoops'', along Spitlers Edge - the
Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...
/
Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...
boundary - on the
West Pennine Moors The West Pennine Moors is an area of the Pennines covering approximately of moorland and Reservoir (water), reservoirs in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The West Pennine Moors are separa ...
. The river feeds the Yarrow Reservoir, which in turn feeds the
Anglezarke Anglezarke is a sparsely populated civil parish in the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. It is an agricultural area used for sheep farming and is also the site of reservoirs that were built to supply water to Liverpool. The area has a la ...
and Upper and Lower Rivington Reservoirs. Upon leaving the reservoirs via a
pumping station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses, are public utility buildings containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are critical in a variety of infrastructure systems, such as water supply, Land reclamation, ...
, the river passes through an area that was formerly known as ''Abyssinia''. Currently, this area is within the boundaries of
Heath Charnock Heath Charnock is a small village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001 it has a population of 2,065, reducing to 2,026 at the 2011 Census. Location Heath Charnock is next ...
and Limbrick, but the original name was given because it was a route frequented by coal
miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...
s, and the workers were said to look like natives of Abyssinia (modern day
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
): until the mid 20th century it was usual for miners to return from work covered in coal dust. From here, the river flows underneath 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 ...
, joining Black Brook at Yarrow Bridge, then continuing through the ancient woodland of
Duxbury Duxbury (alternative older spelling: "Duxborough") is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore approximately to the southeast of Boston, the population was 16,090 ...
into
Yarrow Valley Park Yarrow Valley Country Park is a country park managed by Chorley Borough Council in Lancashire, England. It follows the River Yarrow for about . It contains much woodland and includes nature reserves, the best known being Birkacre and Duxbur ...
forming a boundary of Euxton and on through Eccleston and
Croston Croston is a village and civil parish near Chorley in Lancashire, England. The River Yarrow flows through the village. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 2,917. History Croston was founded in the 7th century whe ...
, where it feeds the River Douglas at
Sollom Sollom is a hamlet in the parish of Tarleton, in Lancashire, England. It lies south of Tarleton and north of Rufford on the A59 road, giving the village good links to Preston, Southport and Liverpool. Historically, the village was primarily a ...
just before its inlet into the
River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...
's
brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...
final stretch. The entire course of the River Yarrow falls within
Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...
and its villages. Parts of the river are a County Biological Heritage Site.


Croston Flood Risk Management Scheme

The Croston Flood Risk Management Scheme involved the construction of a dam on the River just east of Eccleston. The dam was constructed to protect over 300 properties in
Croston Croston is a village and civil parish near Chorley in Lancashire, England. The River Yarrow flows through the village. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 2,917. History Croston was founded in the 7th century whe ...
and Eccleston from flooding. The dam was proposed after the 2012 floods which flooded over 200 properties in Croston. Construction had already commenced when the 2015 boxing day floods caused over 300 properties in Croston and Eccleston to flood. This consequently meant that the construction suffered a major delay due to unworkable ground conditions as a result of the floods. The dam was finally completed in July 2017 at a cost of £7 million, £5.4 million in Government Grant in Aid funding, £1 million from Chorley Council, £181,000 from
Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashire is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Blackburn with Dar ...
and £667,000 was received from local levy. The dam works by monitoring the river level in croston and either lowers or raises gates to control the flow of water. A Large bank was constructed to hold excess water back. The scheme has so far proved successful at protecting Croston and Eccleston from flooding.


Etymology

The name ''Yarrow'' is obscure, and there are multiple explanations as to the origin of the name. It may have the same origin as the River Yarrow in
Selkirkshire Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. It de ...
in Scotland, and therefore be derived from the Brittonic element ''garw'', meaning "rough, harsh, rugged, uncultivated". However, it may also be related to the River Arrow in Warwickshire (Brittonic ''*ar-w-ā-''), and derived either from Brittonic ''*ar'', an ancient river-name element implying either horizontal motion, "flowing", or else "rising" or "springing up", or ''*arβ, *arw'', found in the
Celtic languages The Celtic languages ( ) are a branch of the Indo-European language family, descended from the hypothetical Proto-Celtic language. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in 1707, following Paul-Yve ...
as Welsh ''irfin'' and
Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...
''irvin'', both meaning "a wild turnip". A relationship with the River Arrow in the
Welsh marches The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...
is also possible, deriving therefore from a form of Brittonic ''arɣant'', meaning "silver, white, bright".


Wildlife

After suffering many years of pollution due to
effluent Effluent is wastewater from sewers or industrial outfalls that flows directly into surface waters, either untreated or after being treated at a facility. The term has slightly different meanings in certain contexts, and may contain various pol ...
discharge from Whitter's factory and Stanley's factory, the river is now much cleaner, and as such has attracted birds such as
dipper Dippers are members of the genus ''Cinclus'' in the bird family Cinclidae, so-called because of their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater. Taxonomy The genus ''Cinclus'' ...
s, grey wagtails and
kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...
s, and fish including
trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...
,
chub Chub is a common fish name. It pertains to any one of a number of ray-finned fish in several families and general. In the UK, the term ''chub'' usually refers to the species '' Squalius cephalus''. In addition, see sea chub. In family Cyprinid ...
,
Dace A dace is a small fish that can be one of many different species. The unmodified name is usually a reference to the common dace (''Leuciscus leuciscus''). This, like most fish called "daces", belongs to the family Leuciscidae, mostly in subfami ...
and
barbel Barbel may refer to: *Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles *Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish **''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprini ...
. Fish passes have been installed at Pincock, Birkacre and Duxbury, to enable upstream spawning of fish which would be unable to navigate the
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 ...
s.
Salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
have been recorded at Duxbury for the first time in over 100 years. Removal of
Himalayan Balsam ''Impatiens glandulifera'', Himalayan balsam, is a large annual plant native to the Himalayas. Via human introduction it is now present across much of the Northern Hemisphere and is considered an invasive species in many areas. Uprooting or cutt ...
,
Japanese Knotweed ''Reynoutria japonica'', synonyms ''Fallopia japonica'' and ''Polygonum cuspidatum'', is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Common names include Japanese knotweed and Asian knotweed. It is ...
and
Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...
plants is undertaken to allow low-growing native species to flourish.


Tributaries

Locations that are listed on
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 ...
maps are ''italicised'':
Green Withins Brook — near to the ruins of ''Simm's Farm''. It starts at ''Standing Stones Hill''. Limestone Brook — has its source near to ''Devils Ditch'', and flows via ''Shooting Huts'' on
Anglezarke Anglezarke is a sparsely populated civil parish in the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. It is an agricultural area used for sheep farming and is also the site of reservoirs that were built to supply water to Liverpool. The area has a la ...
Moor where it joins at the ''Meeting of the Waters''. Black Brook — flows from
Great Hill Great Hill is a hill in Lancashire, England, on Anglezarke Moor, between the towns of Chorley and Darwen. It is part of the West Pennine Moors and lies approximately 3 miles north of Winter Hill, the highest point in the area at 456 m (1 ...
through
White Coppice White Coppice is a hamlet near Chorley, Lancashire, England. It was the most populated part of the township of Anglezarke in the 19th century. Close to the settlement in the early 19th century were quarries and small coal mines. The hamlet lies ...
(where it is known as ''Warth Brook''), and lesserly from ''Eagle Tower'' at
Heapey Heapey is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. The village is two miles from Chorley and on the western fringe of the West Pennine Moors. In 2001 the population was 955, increasing to 1,001 at the 2011 c ...
. The brook joins the river at the Yarrow Bridge prior to entering
Duxbury Woods Duxbury Woods is an area of woodland and parkland situated in Chorley, Lancashire, at the foot of the West Pennine Moors. The area originally existed as a township with the council meeting at the Yarrow Bridge pub; this was absorbed into Chorl ...
. The brook has today more flow than the Yarrow, due to the large amount of water removed from the Yarrow for consumption. In fact, the Yarrow flooded when
Anglezarke Reservoir Anglezarke Reservoir is the largest reservoir in the Rivington chain to the west of Anglezarke in Lancashire, England. Anglezarke Reservoir has three embankments: the Charnock Embankment, the longest, is long and high, the Knowsley Embankment ...
was drained in 2002, waterlogging the fields at Nick Hilton's Bridge. Eller Brook — ''partial offtake'', between Duxbury Woods and ''Drybones'' (off Burgh Lane) from Adlington Clancutt Brook — flows away from the sea, and feeds in at Birkacre near
Coppull Coppull is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England. It is part of the Borough of Chorley, lies around above sea level. Its population is around 8,000, having been counted at 8,300 in the 2021Census. It is bounded by Whittle Brook, Cl ...
.
River Chor The River Chor is a largely culverted stream in the Lancashire town of Chorley. Its name was back-formed from "Chorley". The source of the river is in the hills near Heapey Heapey is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, ...
— at the Common Bank area of
Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...
, near to Euxton. German Brook — shortly after. Culbeck Brook — at Euxton. Syd Brook — at
Croston Croston is a village and civil parish near Chorley in Lancashire, England. The River Yarrow flows through the village. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 2,917. History Croston was founded in the 7th century whe ...
.
River Lostock The River Lostock is a river in Lancashire, England. The source of the Lostock is at the confluence of Slack Brook and Whave's Brook at the entrance to Miller Wood near Withnell Fold. Slack Brook drains an area around Brindle, having its sour ...
— at
Bretherton Bretherton is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England, situated to the south west of Leyland and east of Tarleton. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 669. Its name suggests pre-c ...
near its confluence with the Douglas.


Tributaries continued


Water quality

The Environment Agency measure the water quality of the river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of
invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...
s,
angiosperm Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed within a fruit ...
s and fish, and chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations. Chemical status is rated good or fail. The water quality of the River Yarrow system was as follows in 2016. Reasons for the quality being less than good include sewage discharge, physical modification of the channel and poor nutrient management of agricultural land.


References


External links


Friends of the River Yarrow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yarrow Rivers of Chorley Rivers of Lancashire West Pennine Moors