Confluence News 5 (November / December 1999)

The Naming of Brook and Bridge

On October 4th in Fontmell Magna, Common Ground launched a country-wide challenge to put the name of rivers and streams in a simple, particular and appropriate way on the bridges which cross them, going further to suggest that every river catchment has its own letter form, a kind of signature, so that you can tell which valley you are in from the lettering on the bridges.

The scheme has been initiated as part of Confluence and this first naming is supported by Fontmell Magna Parish Council and the Highways and Transportation division of the County Council who are responsible for the maintenance of Dorset's bridges.

We asked Richard Grasby, the internationally known letter cutter who lives in the parish to do the work and also to create a letterform, a whole alphabet, for the catchment of the Stour from which others can work.

An unconnected event, the crashing of a vehicle into the bridge, unexpectedly enabled Richard Grasby to carry out the carving of the coping stones in the comfort of his own workshop.

Fontmell Magna has streams which journey along the streets, through old mill ponds and village gardens. How many residents know their names?

At Springhead there is literally a rising, a bubbling up of pure clear water through soft sand - is this the fontmell, the spring by the bare hill? The stream carries the name Collyer's Brook to the Mill Bridge, where, joined by Jacob's Brook, the name Fontmell Brook dominates as it flows on to join the Stour at Fontmell Parva.

Most small rivers and streams are unnamed on maps and it is surprising how few people know their names. The naming of things is one step towards raising their profile, understanding and cherishing them. Once things have a name, it is easier to tell stories about them, they become more valued. The same is true of bridges and many of them provide ideal spots from which to look at the water and fish below or to contemplate life's passing.

These bridges had speaking countenances. Every projection in each was worn down to obtuseness partly by weather, more by friction from generations of loungers, whose toes and heels had from year to year made restless movements against these parapets, as they stood there meditating on the aspects of affairs. (The Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy).

The bridges in the Stour catchment vary enormously - from Sturminster's grand medieval Town Bridge, the little packhorse bridges at Tarrant Monkton and Fifehead Neville, the suspension footbridge at Canford to hundreds of modest bridges such as that at Fontmell Magna.

Listed bridges cannot be touched without permission of the conservation officer of the local authority (for grade II listed bridges). For grade II or grade I listed bridges, English Heritage will also need to be consulted. Lists of scheduled bridges can be obtained from local planning authorities. Over 30 bridges are listed in north Dorset alone.

Often bridges are best seen from the river bank. At Holwell, the County Council have made a path down to the Caundle Brook so that the beautiful Cornford Bridge can be seen face on.

Names carry meaning, raising questions about their derivation. The name of a river usually tells us something about it. It may be descriptive, tell of a previous owner of the land, or be named after some event or local notable. In north Dorset we are fortunate to have some beautiful chalk streams and many slower moving but volatile streams which drain the clay vale.

Stour means 'strong or powerful one' warning of how a seemingly languid river on clay can become a frightening torrent in a just few hours after rain. Tarrant implies 'trespasser' - and, like the Allen, it often emerges in its upper reaches to flow along the road or has the road taken advantage of the winterbourne bed? The word avon (afon) simply means river, and sometimes 'the brook' is all to be found; but a brook may gather more than one name along its length and over time.

Even if streams are named on the OS map, it is worth asking parish elders, relevant landholders, historians and archivists. If this fails, look at old maps and charters, at the Tithe Map from the mid nineteenth century, or at old farm and estate maps. Many of these are held at the County Record Office in Dorchester.