The River Chew is a small river in England that flows for some through the North Somerset countryside to form the Chew Valley before merging with the River Avon.
The spring from which the Chew rises is just upstream from Chewton Mendip. Strode Brook and Winford Brook are the main tributaries, both joining the Chew from the left. The river flows northwest from Chewton Mendip through Litton, Chew Valley Lake, Chew Stoke, Chew Magna, and Stanton Drew. The river passes under the A37 at Pensford; flows through the villages of Publow, Woollard, Compton Dando, and Chewton Keynsham; and joins the River Avon at Keynsham. The Two Rivers Way runs alongside the Chew for much of its distance, forming part of the Monarch's Way.
The name "Chew"
The name "Chew" may have Celtic origins, cognate with the River Chwefru,
cliwyf-ffrenwy, "the moving, gushing water"; ancient forms are
Estoca (
Chew Stoke),
Chiu (
Chew Magna), and
Ciwetune (
Chewton Mendip).
["Notes on the names of parishes in the county of Somerset", Notes and Queries 15 September 1883:204, drawing upon Eyton, Domesday Studies and Collinson, Somerset.] Its exact meaning admits of several possible explanations, including "winding water",
the
ew being a variant of the French
eau, "water". The word
chewer is western dialect for "narrow passage" and
chare is
Old English for "turning."
Another theory is that the name derives from the Welsh cyw, "the young of an animal, or chicken", such that Afon Cyw would have meant "the river of the chickens".Ekwall, Eilert (2025). 019869119X, Oxford University Press. 019869119X
Other possible explanations are it comes from the Old English word cēo ("fish gill"), used in the transferred sense of a ravine, in a similar way to Old Norse gil, or possibly a derogatory nickname from Middle English chowe, "chough", Old English cēo, a bird closely related to the crow and the jackdaw, notorious for its chattering and thieving.
Course
The current course of the river was likely established after the last
ice age, before which the river had probably followed the course of the
Congresbury Yeo to the
Bristol Channel. Ice blocking the Bristol Channel would have diverted the Chew such that it flowed north rather than west through
Compton Martin to join the Avon.
Roman use
"Pigs" (ingots) of lead from the Charterhouse Roman Town on
Mendip Hills were brought to the river to be transported to Sea Mills on the Avon for shipment overseas.
Flood of 1968
The Chew Stoke flood of 1968 caused serious damage to towns and villages along its path, sweeping away the bridge at
Pensford.
Fishing
have been installed at three
in Keynsham and Chewton Keynsham to allow fish to travel upstream. Fishing rights for the Millground and Chewton sections of the river are owned by Keynsham Angling Club.
The Mill Ground stretch of the River Chew consists of the six left-bank fields (looking downstream) from Chewton Place at Chewton Keynsham to the Albert Mill,
Keynsham. The water is home to numerous species of fish, including
European chub,
Common Roach,
European perch,
rudd, gudgeon,
Common dace, grayling,
Brown trout, and
European eel.
External links
For further information, visit the dedicated River Chew website at
www.riverchew.co.uk.
==Gallery==
