34-613: The River Beult ( / ˈ b ɛ l t / BELT ) is a tributary of the River Medway in South East England . The Beult has several sources west of Ashford , including one at Woodchurch . It then flows through Headcorn . At Hunton , 7 furlongs (1.4 km) above Yalding , it is joined by the major stream of the River Teise . Town bridge lies 10 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles (16.5 km) from Allington , it
68-434: A navigational context, if one were floating on a raft or other vessel in the main stream, this would be the side the tributary enters from as one floats past; alternately, if one were floating down the tributary, the main stream meets it on the opposite bank of the tributary. This information may be used to avoid turbulent water by moving towards the opposite bank before approaching the confluence. An early tributary
102-571: A breast shot waterwheel. TQ 777 400 51°07′54″N 0°32′27″E / 51.131575°N 0.540757°E / 51.131575; 0.540757 The mill building was standing in April 1974, devoid of machinery. This was a corn mill. John Foreman, farmer, of Horsmonden hired the mill for 14 years in November 1854. TQ 803 416 51°08′42″N 0°34′43″E / 51.145137°N 0.578682°E / 51.145137; 0.578682 This
136-447: A larger stream ( main stem or "parent" ), river, or a lake . A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean . Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they flow, drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater , leading the water out into an ocean. The Irtysh is a chief tributary of the Ob river and is also the longest tributary river in
170-414: A left tributary which is called Right Fork Steer Creek. These naming conventions are reflective of the circumstances of a particular river's identification and charting: people living along the banks of a river, with a name known to them, may then float down the river in exploration, and each tributary joining it as they pass by appears as a new river, to be given its own name, perhaps one already known to
204-496: A number of watermills. From source to mouth these were:- TQ 708 496 51°13′12″N 0°26′48″E / 51.219930°N 0.446791°E / 51.219930; 0.446791 This was a corn mill, latterly converted to generate electricity c.1900. The waterwheel was replaced by a turbine made by Messrs Drake & Fletcher of Maidstone . During the Second World War, Italian Prisoners of War were billeted in
238-433: A rental entry mentions "Anthony's Mill Pond. This was located near the present day Moat Farm. The mill pond would have been some 10 acres (40,000 m) in area. It was most likely a fulling mill. The site of this mill is occupied by the present day Lake Chad. In the early 17th century the millers were Francis Chittenden (1634) followed by John Chittenden (1654–69). The mill was a corn mill. The first mention of this mill
272-444: A smutter and a Feltons Patent American Grist Mill. The mill stands on the parish boundary of Frittenden and Staplehurst, with the majority of the mill in the former parish. It was working until the winter of 1947–8, when the machinery was damaged through being iced up. A tributary of the above stream flows into the pond of Hartridge mill. It powered a mill downstream of Mad Dog Shaw. The Hammer Stream powered watermills at:- This
306-410: A third stream entering between two others is designated the middle fork; or the streams are distinguished by the relative height of one to the other, as one stream descending over a cataract into another becomes the upper fork, and the one it descends into, the lower ; or by relative volume: the smaller stream designated the little fork, the larger either retaining its name unmodified, or receives
340-514: Is a tributary that joins the main stem river closer to its source than its mouth, that is, before the river's midpoint ; a late tributary joins the main stem further downstream, closer to its mouth than to its source, that is, after the midpoint. In the United States, where tributaries sometimes have the same name as the river into which they feed, they are called forks . These are typically designated by compass direction. For example,
374-436: Is an old, established corn mill site. The mill survives and retains most of its machinery. It has a cast-iron overshot wheel driving three pairs of millstones. On 18 June 1557 the miller, William Allin and his wife Katherine were burned at the stake at Fairmeadow, Maidstone , along with five other Protestants . The Allins had fed the poor, sold corn at half price and read scriptures to people. The earliest surviving part of
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#1732772870815408-416: Is carried on a wooden upright shaft, driving a cast-iron Great Spur Wheel with 120 cogs. This drove three pairs of millstones . The stones are two pairs of 48-inch-diameter (1.22 m) Peak stones and one pair of 44-inch-diameter (1.12 m) French Burr stones by Hughes of Dover & London. The Crown Wheel is cast iron, with 18 teeth, it drove a total four layshafts which drove several machines, including
442-433: 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 invertebrates , angiosperms and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail. Water quality of
476-512: Is of all-wood construction, and has 48 cogs. It drove a layshaft and the sack hoist. The mill last worked for trade in 1928, a Mr Hall being the last miller. The site of this mill was marked by Mill Field and Millpond Field on the 1840 tithe map. A stream rises at Sissinghurst and flows into the Hammer Stream downstream of Hammer Mill, Biddenden. it runs for 7 miles (11 km) passing through Sissinghurst and Frittenden and then joins
510-435: Is subject to significant agricultural run off and flows from wastewater treatment works. Hence despite recent improvements, it still suffers water quality problems. At one time, the river had been noteworthy for its cleanliness, with waters being "crystal clear" as one account put it. However, due to the aforementioned industries, the water quality had taken a heavy toll on the previous pristine description. Upstream of Smarden,
544-611: Is the longest mediaeval bridge in Kent. The river enters the Medway at Yalding. The River Beult is crossed by the railway between Headcorn and Staplehurst . The bridge was the scene of the Staplehurst rail crash in 1865 in which Charles Dickens was involved. The Beult was subject to a Land Drainage Improvement Scheme in the 1930s. This led to the river being widened, deepened and straightened from Smarden to Yalding. Despite this action
578-648: The American River in California receives flow from its North, Middle, and South forks. The Chicago River 's North Branch has the East, West, and Middle Fork; the South Branch has its South Fork, and used to have a West Fork as well (now filled in). Forks are sometimes designated as right or left. Here, the handedness is from the point of view of an observer facing upstream. For instance, Steer Creek has
612-539: The Hammer Stream at Biddenden . This mill stood in the area now known as "The Bottoms". The Upper Pond is mentioned in 1503, and in 1545 Thomas Roberts granted a lease to Thomas Burgess of Cranbrooke of the "uppermost mmyll ponde" - information given in the lease suggests that the Upper Mill was a fulling mill then. This mill was mentioned in 1416 and again in 1447, its location being in Mellane (Mill Lane). In 1464
646-610: The Hovenden family for many years, until at least 1704. The mill later passed to the Bonnick family. TQ 774 395 51°07′38″N 0°32′10″E / 51.127176°N 0.536227°E / 51.127176; 0.536227 This was a corn mill . In the mid nineteenth century it was worked in conjunction with the Union Mill, the miller being Mr Russell. The mill building was standing in 1974, devoid of machinery. It probably had
680-531: The River Beult at Headcorn . There are many footpaths crossing it and many beautiful walks typical of the Kentish countryside. It powered a watermill:- TQ 802 381 51°06′49″N 0°34′32″E / 51.113724°N 0.575504°E / 51.113724; 0.575504 This mill was mentioned in rate books of 1687 and 1689. The Crane Brook rises at Hartley, it powered a number of mills before joining
714-537: The River Beult in 2016: River Beult between Hadman's Bridge, west of Smarden , and the junction with the River Medway is a 29.1-hectare (72-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest . The river has a varied clay river flora, with nearly 100 recorded species. There are floating plants such as yellow water-lily in the channel and flora on the banks include amphibious bistort and celery-leaved buttercup . The River Beult and its tributaries powered
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#1732772870815748-416: The designation big . Tributaries are sometimes listed starting with those nearest to the source of the river and ending with those nearest to the mouth of the river . The Strahler stream order examines the arrangement of tributaries in a hierarchy of first, second, third and higher orders, with the first-order tributary being typically the least in size. For example, a second-order tributary would be
782-403: The main stream. Distributaries are most often found in river deltas . Right tributary , or right-bank tributary , and left tributary , or left-bank tributary , describe the orientation of the tributary relative to the flow of the main stem river. These terms are defined from the perspective of looking downstream, that is, facing the direction the water current of the main stem is going. In
816-478: The mill building. The building survives today, converted into a house. A Domesday site, the mill was still in existence in 1336. The River Beult is unusual in that the majority of its watermills were not on the main river itself, but on the tributaries. A stream rises at Angley Woods, Cranbrook and flows into the Beult at Frittenden . It powered these mills:- This may have been a fulling mill . The miller here
850-431: The mill is dated 1756, David Papillon being the then owner. The mill was extended c. 1890, when a steam engine was installed. The original mill building having a peg tile roof with the extension being roofed in slate . The cast-iron waterwheel is 10 feet (3.05 m) diameter and 8 feet (2.44 m) wide, mounted on a wooden axle, driving a cast-iron pit wheel with 92 wooden cogs. The cast-iron wallower has 32 teeth and
884-464: The people who live upon its banks. Conversely, explorers approaching a new land from the sea encounter its rivers at their mouths, where they name them on their charts, then, following a river upstream, encounter each tributary as a forking of the stream to the right and to the left, which then appear on their charts as such; or the streams are seen to diverge by the cardinal direction (north, south, east, or west) in which they proceed upstream, sometimes
918-543: The river is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest . It is one of the few clay rivers in England and Wales to retain much of its characteristic flora. It hasn't been heavily embanked like most clay rivers found in the midlands, although the majority of trees were removed. The lack of shade coupled with retained areas of grazing means there are many wildlife-rich margins to the river, with nearly 100 different species of aquatic and marginal plants recorded. The river
952-431: The river retains its natural meandering morphology, although it is still subject to water level management (raising water levels in the summer, and dropping them in the winter). The vegetation communities are not so interesting here as the river is smaller, heavily tree lined and a greater proportion of riverside land is in arable cultivation. The Environment Agency measure water quality of the river systems in England. Each
986-609: The site of the furnace. The brick mill building is three storeys high, with a slate roof. The overshot waterwheel was 12 feet (3.66 m) diameter and 6 feet (1.83 m) wide, mounted on an 8 + 1 ⁄ 4 inches (210 mm) square cast iron axle. It drove a cast-iron pit wheel with 88 wooden cogs. This drove a cast-iron wallower with 28 teeth mounted on a wooden upright shaft. The cast-iron Great Spur Wheel has 128 cogs and drove four pairs of millstone at one time. The three surviving pairs of stones are two pairs of French Burrs and one pair of Peak stones. The Compass-arm Crown Wheel
1020-433: The world with a length of 4,248 km (2,640 mi). The Madeira River is the largest tributary river by volume in the world with an average discharge of 31,200 m /s (1.1 million cu ft/s). A confluence , where two or more bodies of water meet, usually refers to the joining of tributaries. The opposite to a tributary is a distributary , a river or stream that branches off from and flows away from
1054-471: Was Edmund Luckhurst in 1656 and 1660. An old fulling mill site. TQ 771 384 approx 51°07′03″N 0°31′53″E / 51.117386°N 0.531403°E / 51.117386; 0.531403 An old fulling mill site. TQ 775 387 51°07′12″N 0°32′14″E / 51.119958°N 0.537261°E / 51.119958; 0.537261 This mill was sold to Alexander Courthope in 1523, and his son sold it to Robert Hovenden in 1551. It remained in
River Beult - Misplaced Pages Continue
1088-486: Was first mentioned in 1500 as "Hancock's Mill". It may have been a fulling mill or a corn mill then. In 1516 it had been replaced by "Thomas Sheffe's new fulling mill". The mill seems to have ceased working by 1604, when a dyehouse was in use at the site. A tributary of the Crane Brook flows through the town. It powered:- Tributary A tributary , or an affluent , is a stream or river that flows into
1122-474: Was in 1353 when the mill was leased. John Bettenham was the lessee in 1416, being the son of Stephen Bettenham. The mill was leased to Peter Courtnope in 1451 and again in 1472, by then probably a fulling mill. The land the mill stood on now forms part of Plumers Farm. A long lost mill site, probably a fulling mill. A tributary of the Crane Brook rises at Swattenden, it powered five mills, including those at:- A fulling mill. This fulling mill at Baker's Cross
1156-510: Was the most easterly iron furnace in the Weald . In the time of Queen Elizabeth I it was in the ownership of Sir Richard Butler. The mill was replaced by a corn mill in the mid-seventeenth century. The Hammer Pond formerly extended to 30 acres (120,000 m). TQ820 383 51°06′54″N 0°36′05″E / 51.114952°N 0.601295°E / 51.114952; 0.601295 This corn mill stands some 200 yards (180 m) south-west of
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