River Kennett

The River Kennett rises in the hills just west of Cowlinge Hall in western Suffolk at an altitude of around 108m above sea level. It flows north-east to the village of Cowlinge before turning west for around a mile, crossing the county border into Cambridgeshire in the parish of Kirtling. After only a couple of miles in Cambridgeshire it crosses back into Suffolk just north of Lidgate and flows north through Dalham and Moulton. At Kentford it forms the Suffolk-Cambridgeshire border for around a mile followed by a mile in Cambridgeshire just north of the village of Kennett, after which it again forms the county border for around three miles as it runs past Red Lodge.

As it reaches Freckenham, it joins Lee Brook, a tributary of the River Lark, just south of Freckenham, at an altitude of around 10m.{{cite web | url = http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:River_Kennett_at_Badlingham_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1192831.jpg | title = River Kennett at Badlingham | access-date = 2012-11-09 | last = Jones | first = Bob | date = 6 March 2009 | publisher = Wikimedia Commons | quote = The River Kennett becomes Lee Brook at Freckenham, and joins the River Lark near West Row. | archive-date = 28 April 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160428052450/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:River_Kennett_at_Badlingham_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1192831.jpg | url-status = live }} The river is generally dry in the summertime.

File:River Kennett.jpg

In recent years, starting from 2015, the river's water level has significantly decreased, with even the winter months seeing extremely low levels. Along the sections that pass through the Lidgate, Ousden, and Dalham areas, the river has occasionally dried up during winter. The consistent flow of water through Moulton, whether in winter or summer, was primarily due to the presence of the sewage treatment works situated between Dalham and Moulton. Fortunately, a change took place in early December 2019 when, thanks to a substantial amount of rainfall, the river in the aforementioned areas began to flow once more, albeit as a modest stream.

This current situation is a far cry from the winter of 2013–2014 when extreme flooding was experienced. In Moulton, on 7 February 2014, the river swelled to the point of overflowing onto the road adjacent to the church, with houses at one point facing the imminent threat of inundation.{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79-WtV75mW0 | title=Flooding in Moulton & Cheveley 7th February 2014 | date=7 February 2014 | author=Tricky Rf | publisher=Youtube | access-date=19 January 2021 | archive-date=23 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123113940/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79-WtV75mW0 | url-status=live }}

The villages of Kentford and Kennett both derive their names from the river. The name of the river is Celtic in origin, and its meaning is unknown.{{cite book|title=A Dictionary of British Place Names|author=A. D. Mills|publisher=Oxford University Press}}

The exact course of the river has changed many times over the centuries. Some evidence of this can be inferred from its deviations from the Kennett parish boundary.{{cite web|url=http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/kentford22/history.htm|title=Kentford history|access-date=25 November 2016|archive-date=15 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415151121/http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/kentford22/history.htm|url-status=live}}

At Moulton the river passes under a Grade-II*-listed 15th-century packhorse bridge. This bridge has four arches, indicating that the river was larger when the bridge was constructed.{{cite web |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/moulton-packhorse-bridge/history-and-research/ |title=History and Research Moulton Packhorse Bridge |publisher=English Heritage |access-date=16 November 2012 |archive-date=8 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808001417/http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/moulton-packhorse-bridge/history-and-research/ |url-status=live }}

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|File:River Kennett at Badlingham - geograph.org.uk - 1192831.jpg|River Kennett at Badlingham, near Chippenham, Cambridgeshire

|File:Moulton Pack Horse bridge - geograph.org.uk - 829526.jpg|alt2=A stone bridge beside a road junction, with cottages behind|The 15th-century Moulton Packhorse Bridge

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Category:Rivers of Suffolk

Category:Rivers of Cambridgeshire