View source for River Stour, Kent

{{Use British English|date=May 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox river
  | name              = Great Stour
  | image             = River Stour from Bucksford Lane.jpg
  | image_size        = <!--Optional; defaults to 288 px-->
  | image_caption     =
  | map               = Stour (Kent).png
  | source1_location  = [[Lenham]]
  | mouth_location    = [[Pegwell Bay]]
  | length            = 
  | source1_elevation = 
  | mouth_elevation   = 
  | discharge1_avg    = 
  | basin_size        = 
|subdivision_name1=[[England]]|subdivision_name2=|subdivision_name3=[[Kent]]|subdivision_name4=|subdivision_name5=[[Ashford, Kent|Ashford]], [[Canterbury]],   [[Sandwich, Kent|Sandwich]]|subdivision_type1=Country|subdivision_type2=|subdivision_type3=County|subdivision_type4=|subdivision_type5=Towns/Cities}}
[[Image:Kent Town Rivers.svg|thumb]]

The '''River Stour''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|t|aʊər}}, rhymes with "hour"<ref>[https://www.riverstourtrust.org/about/history/ River Stour Trust]</ref>) is a river in [[Kent]], England that flows into the [[North Sea]] at [[Pegwell Bay]]. Above [[Plucks Gutter]], where the [[Little Stour]] joins it, the river is normally known as the '''Great Stour'''. The upper section of the river, above its [[confluence]] with the [[East Stour, Kent|East Stour]] at [[Ashford, Kent|Ashford]] is sometimes known as the '''Upper Great Stour''' or '''West Stour'''. In the tidal lower reaches, the artificial '''Stonar Cut''' short cuts a large loop in the natural river.

The Stour has Kent's second largest catchment area (the [[River Medway]] having the largest). The lower part of the river is tidal; its original mouth was on the [[Wantsum Channel]], an important sea route in medieval times. The river has three major [[tributaries]], and many minor ones. For much of its length, it flows in a generally south-west to north-east direction.

The historic city of [[Canterbury]] is situated on the river, as are the former [[Cinque Ports|Cinque Port]] of [[Sandwich, Kent|Sandwich]] and the [[railway town]] of Ashford. The route of the [[Stour Valley Walk]] follows the river.

==Course==
[[Image:Great Stour near Hubbards Farm.jpg|thumb|The Great Stour near its source]]
[[Image:Great Stour at Wye.jpg|thumb|The Great Stour at [[Wye, Kent|Wye]]]]
[[Image:Canterbury - Kloster der Blackfriars und Stour.jpg|thumb|A branch of the Stour passes Blackfriars in Canterbury]]
[[File:Stonar Cut and the A256 crossing - geograph.org.uk - 454853.jpg|thumb|Stonar Cut and the A256 crossing]]
[[Image:Westgate Gardens 5.JPG|thumb|A branch of the Great Stour in Westgate Gardens, outside the Canterbury city walls]]
[[Image:Bridge over the Stour at Fordwich.jpg|thumb|The Great Stour in Fordwich]]
[[Image:Boats on the River Stour at Sandwich.jpg|thumb|Boats on the River Stour at Sandwich]]
[[Image:Near the mouth of the River Stour - geograph.org.uk - 1298941.jpg|thumb|The River Stour near to its mouth]]

===Upper Great Stour===
The source, of what is known at that point as the Great Stour, is near the village of [[Lenham]], within a short distance of the [[River Len]], a tributary of the [[River Medway|Medway]]. The source is at a high elevation close to the [[North Downs]] escarpment. At first, the river flows south east in a narrow valley parallel to the [[escarpment]] and the [[Greensand Ridge|Greensand ridge]] to the south, before breaking through the ridge near [[Hothfield]] into a broad valley. Three small streams enter from the north, having their headwaters on the close to Downs escarpment. Flood defences can turn this valley into a large lake and an embankment has had to be built to prevent overflow into the Medway catchment barely {{Convert|100|m|ft}} away to the south. The river turns north east by the village of [[Great Chart]] in the direction of its outlet to the sea.

The confluence with the [[East Stour, Kent|East Stour]], flowing from its source near [[Hythe, Kent|Hythe]], is to be found at Pledge's Mill at the bottom of East Hill in Ashford.

===Lower Great Stour===
The town of [[Ashford, Kent|Ashford]] marks the start of the middle section of the river, sited at a crossing point of the river and on ancient track ways. In Ashford, the river helps form part of the [[Ashford Green Corridor]].

After Ashford, the Stour breaches the North Downs; for most of this distance there are no tributaries. After the [[Brook Stream|Brook stream]] enters from the right, there are now {{convert|15|mi}} to Canterbury. In this stretch the river flows through the villages of [[Wye, Kent|Wye]], [[Chilham]] and [[Chartham]], with Wye being a fordable crossing.

The historic city of [[Canterbury]] lies at the junction of four branches of the [[Roman road]] [[Watling Street]] which connected Canterbury with ports around the Kent coast – [[Lympne]], [[Dover]], [[Richborough]] and [[Reculver]]. Within the city, the river flows in two channels, one through the centre of the city, and the other to the north of the city walls. The two channels rejoin to the east of Canterbury, before the river reaches [[Fordwich]], a former [[outport]] of Canterbury and the current tidal limit of the river.

Beyond Fordwich, the river passes between several former [[gravel pit]]s and through the [[reed bed]]s of the [[Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve]]. Beyond the nature reserve lies the open farmland on the reclaimed marshes surrounding the river crossing at [[Grove Ferry]], near the hamlet of [[Upstreet]].<ref name=svw>{{cite web | title = Stour Valley Walk | publisher = Kent County Council | access-date = 15 March 2010 | url = http://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure_and_culture/countryside_and_coast/walking/stour_valley_walk.aspx | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101126112437/http://kent.gov.uk/leisure_and_culture/countryside_and_coast/walking/stour_valley_walk.aspx | archive-date = 26 November 2010 | df = dmy-all }}</ref>

At the hamlet of [[Plucks Gutter]], the second of the large tributaries enters the main river: the {{convert|18.9|mi}} long [[Little Stour]], which begins life as a spring stream in [[Bekesbourne]]. From here on, the river is normally known as the River Stour.

===River Stour===
The twin villages in the parish of [[Stourmouth]] (West and East) mark the original point where the Stour entered the erstwhile [[Wantsum Channel]], a [[strait]] used for hundreds of years until silting and land reclamation turned the sea channel into a large drainage ditch. At this point the third large tributary, the 8.4-mile (13.4&nbsp;km) [[Sarre Penn]] (named locally as the "Fishbourne Stream") enters with the Wantsum Channel.

Here the river turns southwards to the once-thriving port of [[Sandwich, Kent|Sandwich]], after which it loops back on itself to the north before entering the [[Strait of Dover]] at [[Pegwell Bay]]. The ''Stonar Cut'' obviates the need for seagoing craft to take the longer route around the loop at Sandwich.<ref name=usecut>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wantsumangling.co.uk/stour.htm |title=Wantsum angling association river wantsum kent fishing club river stour |access-date=18 July 2011 |archive-date=3 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203033702/http://www.wantsumangling.co.uk/stour.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

From the tidal limit at Fordwich to the sea, the river is fringed with [[Marsh|marshes]]. Most of them are located on what was the floor of the Wantsum Channel, whilst those to the south lie behind the sand dunes of the Sandwich Flats. These marshes are criss-crossed with drainage ditches. The principal marshes are those of [[Chislet]], within the ancient [[estuary]] of the river; Wade, west of [[Birchington]]; and Ash Level.

===Stonar Cut===
In the mid-18th century, it became necessary to alleviate the problem of flooding along the lower course of the Stour.  The action of tidal drift of shingle along the coast had resulted in the huge loop at the estuary end of the river, and on 29 November 1774 an [[Act of Parliament (United Kingdom)|act]] of the [[Parliament of Great Britain]] was enacted to bypass the loop at the narrowest end, at [[Stonar]].{{which|date=August 2025}} The works, to become known as the ''Stonar Cut'', made use of an existing sluice to cut across the neck of the loop, and were completed in 1776.

During [[World War I]], huge volumes of both troops and supplies were needed on the Continent and, in the utmost secrecy, a new port was built at Richborough.  Landing facilities along the Cut were built, and the [[East Kent Light Railway]] was extended to service the port. Nothing now remains of much of those works, and the Cut has been allowed to return to its natural state.<ref>{{cite web | location = UK | url = http://www.thanetarch.co.uk/Virtual%20Museum/2_Galleries/G11%20Content/Virtual_Museum_Gallery_11_Display_1.html | work = Stonar Cut | title = Introduction | publisher = Trust for Thanet Archaeology | access-date = 15 March 2010}}</ref>

===Tributaries===
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
|-
!Tributary
!Length
! Source
! Confluence
|-
|'''[[East Stour, Kent|East Stour]]'''
|{{convert|10.3|mi|km}}
|[[Postling]]
|[[Ashford, Kent|Ashford]]
|-
|[[Aylesford Stream]]
|{{convert|3.4|mi|km}}
|[[Sevington]]
|Ashford
|-
|[[Ruckinge Dyke]]{{efn|name=TES|Tributaries of the East Stour.}}
|{{convert|4.9|mi|km}}
|[[Hamstreet]]
|[[Willesborough]]
|-
|[[Whitewater Dyke]]{{efn|name=TES}}
|{{convert|3.5|mi|km}}
|[[Shadoxhurst]]
|Ashford
|-
|[[Kennington Stream]]
|{{convert|1.1|mi|km}}
|[[Kennington, Kent|Kennington]]
|Ashford
|-
|[[Brook Stream]]{{efn|Also known as ''Spiders Castle Dyke''.}}
|{{convert|3.8|mi|km}}
|[[Brook, Kent|Brook]]
|Ashford
|-
|[[Kennington Stream]]{{efn|Also known as ''Pen Lee''.}}
|{{convert|1.4|mi|km}}
|Kennington
|Ashford
|-
|'''[[Little Stour]]'''
|{{convert|9|mi|km}}
|[[Bekesbourne]]
|[[Plucks Gutter]]
|-
|[[Little Stour|Nailbourne]]{{efn|The upper reaches of the Little Stour; some sections dry much of the time.}}
|{{convert|9|mi|km}}
|[[Lyminge]]
|Bekesbourne
|-
|[[River Wingham]]{{efn|Tributary of the Little Stour.}}
|{{convert|5|mi|km}}
|[[Ash (near Sandwich)]]
|[[Wickhambreaux]]
|-
|[[River Wantsum]]
|{{convert|6.7|mi|km}}
|[[Reculver]]
|[[Stourmouth]]
|-
|'''[[Sarre Penn]]'''
|{{convert|8.4|mi|km}}
|[[Dunkirk, Kent|Dunkirk]]
|[[Sarre, Kent|Sarre]]
|-
|North Stream, Chislet{{efn|Flows into River Wantsum.}}
|{{convert|5.4|mi|km}}
|[[Herne, Kent|Herne]]
|[[Reculver]]
|-
|North and South Streams
|{{convert|6.1|mi|km}}
|[[Hacklinge]] area
|Sandwich
|}

==History==
[[Image:Canterbury - Klein-Venedig am Stour.jpg|thumb|upright|A branch of the Great Stour in Canterbury city centre]]
In Roman and medieval times, the river was an important highway, connecting Canterbury with the Continent. Fordwich became important to shipping after the silting up of the southern entrance to the [[English Channel]].

In 1831 Joseph Priestley wrote his ''Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals and Railways''.<ref>{{cite book | first = Priestley | last = Joseph | title = Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals and Railways of Great Britain | year = 1831 | publisher = Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green | location = London | pages = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_eUqIucVmZjwC/page/n147 131]–137 | url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_eUqIucVmZjwC| quote = river stour priestley 1831. | access-date = 15 March 2010 }}</ref> In it he described in one section the "Canterbury Navigation, or River Stour". He includes an account of its course and the improvements being carried out at that time to assist navigation, and details of new port facilities.

==Economy==

===Water mills===
{{main|Stour watermills}}
Man has used the River Stour and its tributaries for centuries as a source of power. Many different processes were performed by the use of water power:- Corn milling, fulling, paper making and electricity generation. Many of the mills survive today as house conversions, with two of them still working commercially.

===Communications===
Both roads and railways make use of the river. The Watling Street link to Richborough ("Rutupiae") and their link from Canterbury southwards made use of the North Downs gap. The rail links from Canterbury to the [[Isle of Thanet]] and also to [[Ashford, Kent|Ashford]], and the main [[A28 road]] follow identical routes.

The 51.5-mile (82.4&nbsp;km) [[Stour Valley Walk]] follows the river for much of its length.<ref name=svw/>

===Fishing===
The Great Stour estuary at Plucks Gutter and Grove Ferry is renowned for its coarse fishing, particularly [[bream]] stocks.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/commondata/acrobat/fishing_kent.pdfsm | title = Angling Opportunities – Kent | publisher = Environment Agency | archive-date = 30 September 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930153752/http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/commondata/acrobat/fishing_kent.pdfsm | access-date = 15 March 2010 }}</ref>

==Flooding==

The lower-lying parts of Canterbury have in the past been particularly prone to flooding . The ''River Stour (Kent) Internal Drainage Board'' has the responsibility of reducing that risk in the river catchment area<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/rivers/gt%20stour%20case%20study-pages/fld-rvr.html | publisher = Nature Grid | title = River flooding | access-date = 15 March 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101127024516/http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/rivers/gt%20stour%20case%20study-pages/fld-rvr.html | archive-date = 27 November 2010 | df = dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.riverstouridb.org.uk/ | title = River Stour (Kent) Internal Drainage Board | publisher = River Stour (Kent) Internal Drainage Board | access-date = 15 March 2010}}</ref>

==Environment==

In 2006, male fish were found with signs of [[Endocrine system|"feminisation"]] after having been exposed to treated [[Wastewater|sewage]] [[effluent]] in the river near Ashford. It was found that [[estrogen|oestrogen]] enters the river when the nearby Bybrook sewage works discharges its end product.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/4989066.stm | title = Sewage changing sex of male fish | publisher = [[BBC]] | date = 17 May 2006 | access-date = 15 March 2010}}</ref>

In 2009, [[Southern Water]] started work on a £4.2&nbsp;million environmental improvement project at its Lenham treatment works to ensure wastewater is treated to higher standards. New reed beds, containing more than 7,500 reeds, will help clean up to 4.3&nbsp;million litres of wastewater from more than 3,600 people each day.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.southernwater.co.uk/News/latestNews/default.asp?aID=66460936&year=2009&month=02 | title = Green Grow The Rushes | work = Southern Water News | date = 16 February 2009 | publisher = Southern Water | access-date = 15 March 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110717122241/http://www.southernwater.co.uk/News/latestNews/default.asp?aID=66460936&year=2009&month=02 | archive-date = 17 July 2011 | df = dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.southernwater.co.uk/News/latestNews/default.asp?aID=76462693&year=2009&month=05 | title = MP Plants Reeds for a Cleaner Environment | work = Southern Water News | date = 13 May 2009 | publisher = Southern Water | access-date = 15 March 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110717122403/http://www.southernwater.co.uk/News/latestNews/default.asp?aID=76462693&year=2009&month=05 | archive-date = 17 July 2011 | df = dmy-all }}</ref>

In 2017 [[The Marine Group]] based in Cardiff begun work with their water injection dredger on the river through Sandwich and Richborough to tackle some of the sediment build up.

==In popular culture==

Author [[Russell Hoban]] repurposes the River Stour where it flows through [[Canterbury]] as the "Rivver Sour" in his 1980, post apocalyptic novel ''[[Riddley Walker]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.errorbar.net/rw/Places|title=Places – Riddley Walker Annotations|website=Errorbar|access-date=21 August 2022|archive-date=29 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729025537/http://www.errorbar.net/rw/Places|url-status=live}}</ref>
The River Stour features in the 1944 film ''[[A Canterbury Tale]]''.<ref>{{cite AV media | people = Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger (Producers), Powell & Pressburger (Writers), Erwin Hillier (Photographer), John Seabourne Sr. (Editor), Allan Gray (Music), Powell & Pressburger (Directors) | date = 1944 | title = A Canterbury Tale| type = Motion picture | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMJ8lVXXNP8 | access-date = 2024-08-19 | time = 119 minutes in | location = UK | publisher = General Film Distributors | quote = There! That's the River Stour.}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Rivers of the United Kingdom]]
*[[Rivers of Kent]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{commons category inline|River Stour, Kent}}

{{River Stour}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Borough of Ashford]]
[[Category:City of Canterbury]]
[[Category:Dover District]]
[[Category:Borough of Maidstone]]
[[Category:Rivers of Kent|Stour]]
[[Category:Kentish Stour catchment| ]]