River Seph
{{Short description|River in North Yorkshire, England}}
{{use British English|date=November 2018}}
{{use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox river
| name = River Seph
| name_etymology = Slow Stream
| image = Footbridge over the River Seph - geograph.org.uk - 1762557.jpg
| image_caption = Footbridge over the River Seph
| pushpin_map = North Yorkshire
| pushpin_map_size =
| pushpin_map_caption= Location within North Yorkshire
| length = {{convert|20.5|km|0|order=flip}}
| source1_location = Chop Gate
| source1_coordinates={{Coord|54.386121|-1.140853|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation = {{convert|160|m|order=flip}}
| mouth = Seph Mouth
| mouth_location =
| mouth_coordinates ={{Coord|54.291175|-1.146138|display=inline}}
| progression =
| river_system =
| tributaries_left = Ledge Beck
Todhill Beck
| tributaries_right = Hollow Bottom Beck
Fangdale Beck
}}
The River Seph (or River Sep) is a tributary of the River Rye (itself a tributary of the River Derwent) in North Yorkshire, England.{{cite web |title=River Factfiles; The Derwent Catchment |url=http://ea-lit.freshwaterlife.org/archive/ealit:1294/OBJ/19001137.pdf |website=ea-lit.freshwaterlife.org |publisher=Environment Agency |accessdate=4 November 2018 |page=2 }} The river flows for {{convert|20.5|km|0|order=flip}} down Bilsdale and meets the Rye near the village of Hawnby.{{cite news |title=BILSDALE VALLEY: WALKING with Rodger Matthews |work=Hull Daily Mail |date=21 July 2012|id={{ProQuest|1027225602}} }} When the surrounding land was owned by Roger de Mowbray, the river was referred to as the Sep.{{cite book |editor-last=Farrer |editor-first=William |title=Early Yorkshire Charters : Being a Collection of Documents Anterior to the Thirteenth Century Made from the Public Records, Monastic Chartularies, Roger Dodsworth's Manuscripts and Other Available Sources. Volume 3 |date=2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-1-108-05825-4 |page=453 |edition=Digital}}
Name
Common club-rush (Schoenoplectus lacustris) prefers to grow in shallow water such as that found in ponds, streams and river margins.{{efn|Common club-rush or Bulrush.Schoenoplectus lacustris ( Richard Mabey ). . . " Club-rush is a stout perennial found in shallow water in lakes, ponds, canals, slow rivers. . .It can reach heights of up to ten feet in height with a thickness of nearly an inch at its base. . . "{{sfn|Mabey|1996|pp=389-391}} }} During the medieval period sedges and rushes were known as " seaves ",
{{efn| See Rushbearing > Dialect names for rush.}}
hence the origin of the name Seave Green near Chop Gate at the head of Bilsdale.
The name Seph derives from Old Norse sef – " sedge, rush ".{{efn|WiKtionary : English dialect < seave > From Old Norse sef, whence also Danish siv, Icelandic sef and Swedish säv (“club-rush”).}}{{efn|WiKtionary : Old Norse < sef >
- " sedge, rush ".}}{{efn| The North York Moors area is heavily influenced by the Old Norse language, for example Bilsdale is named from the Old Norse personal name Bildr.{{efn|See Bilsdale > History.}} }}
The meaning for River Seph might be:
- Slow Stream or Calm.{{sfn|Ekwall|1960|pp=412}}
- River where seaves grow.
- River overgrown with seaves.
Examples of rivers that might share a similar etymology:
- River Severn (Welsh: Afon Hafren) (Sephern – 1479).{{efn|See River Severn > English name }}
- River Seven, Rosedale, North York Moors.{{efn|See Rosedale, North Yorkshire > Natural England maps.}}
Course
The river starts in Bilsdale at the village of Chop Gate where the waters of the Bilsdale and Raisdale Becks meet, though some of the sources start on Urra Moor.{{cite book |last1=Colbeck |first1=Maurice |title=Yorkshire moorlands |date=1983 |publisher=B.T. Batsford |location=London |isbn=0-7134-3803-7 |page=46}} The river from source to where it meets the River Rye at Seph Mouth, is {{convert|13|mi}} long.{{cite web |title=Seph from Source to Ledge Beck Overview |url=http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB104027068591 |website=environment.data.gov.uk |accessdate=6 November 2018}}{{cite web |title=Seph from Ledge Beck to River Rye Overview |url=http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB104027068560 |website=environment.data.gov.uk |accessdate=6 November 2018}} Historically, parts of the river were the delineating boundaries between ancient parishes.{{cite web |title=Parishes: Hawnby {{!}} British History Online |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/north/vol2/pp31-37 |website=www.british-history.ac.uk |accessdate=4 December 2018}}
Bilsdale is narrow and densely wooded at the head of the valley, but further down becomes wider and the water meanders before it joins the Rye.{{cite book |last1=Pevsner |first1=Nikolaus |title=Yorkshire, the North Riding |date=1981 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=0-300-09665-8 |page=80}}
Natural History
The river has suffered with invasive species such as Himalayan balsam and Japanese Knotweed which have been the subject of various programmes to eradicate them.{{cite web |title=Natural heritage and land management: North York Moors National Park |url=https://www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/looking-after/our-projects-and-partnerships/natural-heritage-and-land-management |website=northyorkmoors.org.uk |accessdate=4 November 2018}}{{cite news |title=Battle against invasive plants starts on local riverbanks |url=https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2016-08-03/battle-against-invasive-plants-starts-on-local-riverbanks/ |accessdate=4 November 2018 |work=ITV News |date=3 August 2016}} The river has also benefitted from a government grant to help fish navigation and a reduction in pollution.{{cite web |title=East Yorkshire River Trust - The River Seph Project |url=http://www.eastyorkshireriverstrust.org.uk/derwent-catchment-partnership/projects-2/river-seph-2.html |website=www.eastyorkshireriverstrust.org.uk |accessdate=4 November 2018}}
It was known to be a good trout stream in the late 19th/early 20th centuries,{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Alfred P |title=Yorkshire moors and dales |date=1910 |publisher=Brown & sons |location=London |page=19|oclc=504885165}} and various agencies came together in 2015 to improve fish passages on the watercourse to allow the migration of trout from the River Rye.{{cite web |title=East Yorkshire River Trust - The River Seph Project |url=http://www.eastyorkshireriverstrust.org.uk/derwent-catchment-partnership/projects-2/river-seph-2.html |website=www.eastyorkshireriverstrust.org.uk |accessdate=4 December 2018}}{{cite web |title=Fisheries in Yorkshire |url=https://ifm.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/028-Fisheries-in-Yorkshire-November-2015.pdf |website=ifm.org.uk |accessdate=4 December 2018}}
The river flows across the south western edge of the North York Moors and as such has limestone, gritstone, mudstone and siltstone as its bedrock. During dry summers, the waters disappear into the bedrock and the river becomes totally subterranean.{{cite web |last1=Pedley |first1=Gareth |title=Advisory Visit Ryedale Anglers' Club River Rye (North Yorkshire) |url=https://www.wildtrout.org/assets/reports/River%20Rye%20-%20Ryedale%20Anglers.pdf |website=wild trout.org |accessdate=4 December 2018 |page=3 |date=20 October 2017}} The sides of Bilsdale where the Seph meanders, are lined with ancient Oak trees and the North York Moors National Park Authority were granted Heritage Lottery Funding in 2017 to protect the land and study the wildlife along the upper reaches of the River Rye. This will include the Seph and will look at some of the native species which make use of the watercourse such as the alcathoe bat and the white-clawed crayfish.{{cite news |last1=Pantry |first1=Lindsay |title=£3m project could 'redefine' River Rye |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/environment/3m-project-could-redefine-river-rye-1-8771399 |accessdate=4 December 2018 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=25 September 2017}}
Settlements
Bilsdale is a remote valley populated mainly with hamlets as opposed to villages and towns.{{cite web |last1=Reid |first1=Mark |title=Fangdale Beck |url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/resources/files/9121/ |website=www.thenorthernecho.co.uk |accessdate=9 December 2018 |format=PDF |date=1 April 2010}} From the source of the Seph downstream, these are;
References
=Notes=
{{notelist}}
=Citations=
{{Reflist}}
=Sources=
- {{cite book |last1=Ekwall |first1=Eilert |author-link=Eilert Ekwall |title=The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names |date=1960 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |oclc=1228215388|edition=4}}
- {{cite book |last1= Mabey |first1= Richard |author-link= Richard Mabey
|year= 1996 |title= Flora Britannica |publisher= Sinclair-Stevenson |isbn= 1-85619-377-2 }}
External links
{{commons category|River Seph, North Yorkshire}}
{{Rivers of Yorkshire}}
{{authority control}}