The River Wylye ( ), also known in its upper reaches as the River Deverill,
Etymology
The name
Wylye is of unclear origin but has been linked to the
Common Brittonic word
gwil, meaning "trick"; it would therefore mean "tricky one", either because of the river's winding course or because it was prone to sudden floods. The river gives its name to Wilton and hence to Wiltshire (originally
Wiltonshire).
[ The alternative name Deverill derives from the Brittonic root * duβr, meaning "water", and the adjectival suffix *- (i)ol.]
Course
The Wylye rises at Kilmington in the southwestern corner of Wiltshire and then disappears underground, reappearing at Coombe Barn, west of Kingston Deverill.
The Wylye is fed by several winterbournes, which commonly dry up completely in the summer, so that the water flow in the river can vary greatly according to the time of year.
Features
Two are associated with the river:
Water quality
The Environment Agency measures 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 , and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail.[ Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.]
Water quality of the Wylye in 2019:
Villages
Villages on or near the Wylye include (source to confluence):
Sources
