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The River Wey North Branch The River Wey is very unusual in that it has two sources that feed two separate rivers that share the same name. The northernmost branch rises near Alton in Hampshire and joins with its sister south of Farnham in Surrey. From there the Wey as a single river flows northwards towards the Thames. |
Wey WEY BLOG WEY POLITICAL click image to enlarge WEY DROUGHT “Our stream has been so low for many weeks that the miller at Kingsley could not grind; but was obliged to send his corn to Headleigh, where the Blackdown stream never fails. At Headleigh park-corner the Blackdown streams joins the Selborne rivulet: & at Tilford bridge they are met by the Farnham river, where together they form so considerable a body of water as within a few miles to become navigable, viz: at the town of Godalming; & there take the name of Wey." Entry for 23rd November 1790. The Natural History of Selborne - a Naturalist's Diary. Gilbert White.
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Source to Historic Farnham It is not difficult to find the source of the North Branch of the River Wey. A signpost marks the edge of a Hampshire field just outside Alton, in the middle of which a spring emerges. This first trickle of water will over the next ten miles or so be joined by more and more tributaries soon ensuring that the river becomes a dependable source of water. Human settlements have used the waters since the Stone Age and the river has supported man’s endeavours in agriculture and industry ever since.
For such an important river the Wey’s North Branch source is a great disappointment and barely worth a visit. Rising as a spring in the middle of a field (GR: SU707394) on the outskirts of the busy market town of Alton in Hampshire, the trickle of water flows past South East Water’s Weysprings Treatment Works near which a sign proclaims it as ‘Source of The River Wey’. From here it heads east into the town. Beyond this point there is little to see as the river runs from culvert to culvert beneath roads and buildings, past a brewery and on through an industrial estate before at last breaking free into open countryside near Holybourne, the site of a Roman settlement. The village name comes from the Old English ‘Haligburna’ meaning ‘sacred stream’ referring to a brook that rises by the ancient church of the Holy Rood (GR: SU732413). The stream is a tributary to the River Wey. The church was included in William The Conqueror's grant of the church of Alton to Hyde Abbey. It was a chapelry, together with Binsted and Kingsley, of Alton church until the 1800s, and consequentially only qualified to have a curate based there. The Cistercians (SEE WAVERLEY ABBEY) had no involvement with Holybourne apart from owning a few dwellings here that belonged to their manor of Neatham. The monks were granted permission to have an oratory (1) at the grange so that they would not have to attend Holybourne church. (1) An oratory is a small chapel or private room set aside for individual prayer. Several streams have already joined the Wey by this point and provided water power for a number of watermills along the course of the river between Alton and Farnham. An important tributary for the Wey here is Caker Stream which flows due north beneath Little Caker Bridge (GR: SU728385) and joins the river (GR: SU731401) beneath Lynch Hill. The stream's runoff is increased by effluent returns from a sewage works. None of the mills remain operational and most have been renovated and converted to private residences. The mill furthest upstream along the northern Wey was the fulling Orps Mill which was built above where a mill pond was to be later constructed. Kings Pond (GR: SU724395) now owned by Alton Town Council, was created in the late 1700s to provide a water reservoir for the Spital Mill which converted to milling paper in the mid-1700s. Today the pond lies in 11 acres of parkland which has been created to provide a natural habitat for many species of wildlife, flowers and trees. In 1997 the area was renovated and a hard surfaced footpath was laid to facilitate access from the car park. Anstey Mill operated near to the Caker Stream confluence with the mill house still remaining. Now within the boundaries of the town is Upper Neatham Mill (GR: SU733404), partially preserved in that the two storey 18th century mill house and a barn remain. Further downstream near Neatham Manor is Neatham Mill (GR: SU739407). Neatham Upper and Lower Mills were operating will into the 1900s, with Neatham Lower originally built to for fulling. Millcourt Mill (GR: SU755417)was built downstream from Holybourne, and although the mill house has been converted to a private residence and the mill itself was demolished. Froyle Mill and Mill House (GR: SU768428) in Lower Froyle are 18th century buildings now converted into a private residence. Isington Mill (GR: SU774427) has the distinction of having been saved from dereliction by none other than Bernard Law 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein. Montgomery bought the ruined watermill after the war in 1947 and completely renovated the building converting it into his private residence. Local village stories recount of how ‘Monty’ was given all manner of advice on what to do with the heavily overgrown meadow the mill stood in. Having listened politely he announced that as the turf on the meadow was many hundreds of years old it deserved to be restored, and this he painstakingly did. The resultant lawn of more than 1,000 square yards (836 square metres) was lovingly maintained to ensure that not a single weed or mole ever took hold. The long wooden building between the house and the river was where he stored his wartime caravans, now on display in the Imperial War Museum, London. Viscount Montgomery lived at Isington Mill until his death in 1976, and following his state funeral was buried in a simple grave in the churchyard at nearby Binsted Parish Church. It is always therefore a frustration in trying to gain access to the river as it meanders through private land in a rich and beautiful farming landscape as it approaches the borders with the county of Surrey. Public footpaths and bridleways do crisscross the valley but few run alongside the river itself. There is however a delightful walk along a stretch of the River Wey through some fields and a copse, bounded on one side by a forest in which wildlife thrives. In one short visit I encountered a lone fox and two roe deer, all a little jumpy as this is prime farming country and quite often these creatures and farmers have very different agendas. Leave the A31 and park up near Turks Mill (GR: SU803442). Once over the river follow the public footpath towards Holtwood Farm Bridge GR: SU812443. The mill here, today referred to as Turks Mill has buildings dating from the 18th and 19th centuries and has been renovated and converted to a private residence although the mill itself did not survive. The mill has been renamed throughout its history with reference in a 1587 will as Grove Mill. By 1664 it had become Holt Mill and milled paper, although the Isington/Binsted Popham Mill was also called Holt Mill at one time being located near the Holt. Further name changes came in the form of Groveland Mill and Bentley Mill, although being in Binsted that seems a misnomer. Towards the end of its operational life it adopted the name of the family that took it over, Turk. Overlooking the river on the other side of the valley is the village of Upper Froyle. Here in 1908 the Lord Mayor Treloar College (GR: SU755427) was founded.
Lord Baden-Powell (1857 – 1941), founder of the scout movement, lived in Bentley at Pax Hill, a small village close to the River Wey a few miles south-west of Farnham. Bentley was featured in the ‘fly on the wall’ docusoap series The Village produced by Meridian TV and broadcast in October 2000. The programme followed the lives of the real villagers as they went about their daily business and it put Bentley under the spotlight for a short period. The series was syndicated to a number of countries which provided the likes of Bentley resident ‘Dave the Plumber’ with a chance to plug his singing talents (he released a CD which included the tracks We’ll Still Sing Rule Britannia and Peggy Sue’s a Granny Now.) It’s not known what became of 60 year old Dave Hurrell, or indeed his co-stars, after their brief moment of fame.
On the southern bank to Bentley the river skirts the boundary of the Alice Holt Forest (GR: SU810420) This ancient forest, which is open to the public, is entrusted to the management of the Forestry Commission who care for the oak trees which once supplied timber for Britain’s great navies. Oak from the forest was used to build the replica of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre in London, the brainchild of actor Sam Wanamaker, and which was completed in 1996. The Woodland Park in the forest has waymarked trails for both walkers and horse riders. Within the forest are important habitats including Abbotts Wood with its mature oak trees and an impressive avenue of beech, Holt Pound with coniferous woodland and large open areas, Bourne Wood high on a hill with a mixture of oak, birch and pine, and Straits Inclosure providing for wet woodland. There are remains of ancient pottery kilns dating back to Roman times in the south end of the forest (GR: SU809401).
(14.040207) Acknowledgement: © Wey River 2005 - 2007 |
