Hebden Water

The name is first recorded in 1279 as aqua de Heppedene. Hebden comes from Old English hēopa + denu, meaning 'bramble or wild rose valley'.{{cite book |editor-last=Watts |editor-first=Victor |editor-link=Victor Watts |date=2004 |title=The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=293 |isbn=9780521362092 }}

File:Gibson_Mill,_Hebden_Bridge_(5700537909).jpg

Hebden Water is formed by the union of two streams: Graining Water, which flows generally south-eastward, and Alcomden Water, which flows generally southward, both rising near the Lancashire/West Yorkshire county boundary on the southern slopes of Boulsworth Hill. One of the headwaters of Graining Water, Old Hay Dike, feeds Widdop Reservoir, while another, Reaps Water, feeds Gorple Upper and Lower reservoirs. Alcomden Water has been dammed in three places to form Walshaw Dean Upper, Middle, and Lower Reservoirs. Hebden Water, beginning between Blake Dean and Black Dean at Grid Reference SD959314, flows first eastward and then southward through a steep-sided wooded valley, Hebden Dale, passing Gibson Mill and the rocks of Hardcastle Crags. It then turns eastward and is joined from the north by Crimsworth Dean Beck before reverting to a southward course. The valley opens out somewhat as it approaches the town of Hebden Bridge. In Hebden Bridge the river debouches into the River Calder at Grid Reference SD991271.{{cite map |author=Ordnance Survey |title=South Pennines |year=1995 |scale=1:25,000 |series=Outdoor Leisure 21 |publisher=Ordnance Survey |isbn=9780319260524 }}

Hebden Water is approximately {{convert|7.5|km|mi}} in length.{{cite web |url=https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB104027062731 |title=Hebden Water from Widdop Beck to R Calder Water Body |author= |date=3 August 2023 |website=Data Services Platform |publisher=Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs |access-date=31 August 2024 }} The catchment of Hebden Water covers an area of {{convert|59|km2|sqmi}}, of which about {{convert|20|km2|sqmi}} in the upper reaches drain into the reservoirs mentioned above.{{cite report |last1=Precious |first1=A. |last2=Kinrade |first2=E. |date=9 June 2022 |title=Hebden Bridge Canal Overflow Flood Risk Assessment |url=https://docs.planning.org.uk/20220706/73/RDXH9VDWM3400/wx86makdb1e7pni2.PDF |publisher=Mott MacDonald |page=14 |access-date=31 August 2024 }} The water quality of the river was in 2019 recorded as moderate for ecological status (likewise in 2022), but it failed on the score of its chemical composition. The lower stretches are prone to flooding, which has often impacted the town of Hebden Bridge,{{cite web |url=https://slowtheflow.net/the-history-of-flooding-calderdale/ |title=The History of Flooding in Calderdale |author= |date=24 May 2023 |website=Slow the Flow |access-date=31 August 2024 }}{{cite web |url=https://slowtheflow.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Understanding-the-Hebden-Water-Catchment-LOW-RES.pdf |title=Understanding the Hebden Water Catchment |author= |date=September 2013 |website=Slow the Flow |access-date=31 August 2024 }} but measures to reduce the risk of flood have been undertaken by the National Trust, which owns most of the upper section of the river, and the volunteer group Slow the Flow. These include the creation of leaky dams on feeder streams and the thinning of woodland to encourage undergrowth.{{cite web |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/hardcastle-crags/slow-the-flow-at-hardcastle-crags |title=Slowing the Flow of Water at Hardcastle Crags |author= |website=National Trust |access-date=31 August 2024 }}

File:Old Bridge, Hebden Bridge Flickr 22 October 2023.jpg]]

The wooded valley of the Hebden Water, considered attractive and picturesque, has a history of attracting visitors as a picnic spot on Sundays and Bank Holidays. There are public footpaths running along the river's banks for most of its length, and Hebden Water itself has been called "probably the best local run of its kind in West Yorkshire" for canoeists and kayakers.{{cite web |url=https://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/rivers/england/north-east/hebden-water/ |title=Guide to Hebden Water |author= |website=The UK Rivers Guidebook |access-date=24 August 2024 }}{{cite book |last=Hughes |first=Glyn |author-link=Glyn Hughes (writer) |date=1975 |title=Millstone Grit |url=https://archive.org/details/millstonegrit0000glyn/mode/2up |url-access=registration |location=Newton Abbot |publisher=Readers Union |page=69 |isbn=9780575017436 |access-date=1 September 2024 }}

Standing on the banks of Hebden Water is Gibson Mill, one of the earliest Industrial Revolution cotton mills, dating from c. 1800. It is now a Grade II listed building, and has been renovated by its owner, the National Trust, as a visitor and education attraction.{{cite web |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/research/heritage-counts/2019-carbon-in-built-environment/case-studies/gibson-mill-at-hardcastle-crags/ |title=Sustainable Visitor and Education Attraction at Gibson Mill |author=Historic England |author-link=Historic England |website=The National Heritage List for England |access-date=1 September 2024 }}

Hebden Water is in its short course crossed by six bridges listed for their architectural interest, at Grade II unless otherwise stated. These are West End Bridge, West End, Hebden Bridge, built in 1771–1772;{{National Heritage List for England|num=1230445|desc=West End Bridge over the Hebden Water|fewer-links=yes|access-date=1 September 2024}} the Old Bridge, Bridge Gate, Hebden Bridge, built c. 1510 (Grade II*, also a scheduled monument);{{National Heritage List for England|num=1228914|desc=The Old Bridge over the Hebden Water|fewer-links=yes|access-date=1 September 2024}}{{National Heritage List for England|num=1005795|desc=The Old Bridge over the Hebden Water at Hebden Bridge|fewer-links=yes|access-date=1 September 2024}} St George's Bridge, St George's Square, Hebden Bridge, built in 1892;{{National Heritage List for England|num=1230336|desc=St George's Bridge|fewer-links=yes|access-date=1 September 2024}} Foster Mill Bridge, Slater Bank Lane, Hebden Bridge, probably built in the late 18th century;{{National Heritage List for England|num=1278678|desc=Foster Mill Bridge|fewer-links=yes|access-date=1 September 2024}} New Bridge, Midge Hole Road, Wadsworth, built in the 18th or early 19th century;{{National Heritage List for England|num=1227262|desc=New Bridge|fewer-links=yes|access-date=1 September 2024}} and Gibson's Bridge, Hardcastle Crags, Heptonstall, built in the early 19th century.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1226168|desc=Gibson's Bridge|access-date=1 September 2024}} There are also early 19th-century Grade II listed bridges over Graining Water at Blake Dean,{{National Heritage List for England|num=1265201|desc=Bridge at Blake Dean over Graining Water|fewer-links=yes|access-date=1 September 2024}} and over Alcomden Water at Holme Ends.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1235132|desc=Bridge at Holme Ends over Alcomden Water|fewer-links=yes|access-date=1 September 2024}}

{{Reflist}}

{{commonscat|Hebden Water}}

{{Rivers of Yorkshire}}

{{coord|53.74073|-2.01555|format=dms|display=title|region:GB_type:river}}

Category:Aire catchment

Category:Hebden Bridge

Category:Rivers of Calderdale