River Stour (Pegwell Bay)
River Stour Great Stour (upper reaches) |
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River Stour system in east Kent |
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Data | ||
River system | River Stour | |
River basin district | South east | |
origin | east of Lenham 51 ° 13 ′ 44 ″ N , 0 ° 43 ′ 35 ″ E |
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muzzle | at Sandwich in Pegwell Bay ( Strait of Dover ) Coordinates: 51 ° 18 ′ 48 " N , 1 ° 21 ′ 52" E 51 ° 18 ′ 48 " N , 1 ° 21 ′ 52" E
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Left tributaries | River Wantsum | |
Right tributaries | East Stour River , Little Stour | |
Big cities | Ashford | |
Medium-sized cities | Canterbury | |
Small towns | sandwich | |
The River Stour |
The River Stour is a watercourse in Kent in south east England .
The Great Stour arises east of Lenham , first flows south, crosses under the M20 motorway and then turns in a south-easterly direction until it reaches Ashford, where the East Stour River flows into it. It then flows in a north to northwest direction to Canterbury . The Little Stour flows further east , and the river is now referred to only as the River Stour. Then he reaches the former Wantsum Channel , which once cut off the island of Thanet from the mainland. After a large loop to the south to Sandwich , which is cut off at the former Richborough Port by the Stonar Cut , which was artificially created in 1775–1776, the Stour flows into the Strait of Dover in Pegwell Bay .
Before it was gradually silted up, the Stour was the gateway to the ports of Canterbury and Sandwich, and during World War I the secret military port of Richborough Port on the Stour was laid north of Sandwich.
The river was also known for the water mills that used its water power. Many buildings have been preserved to this day, but only a few mills are still in operation.
literature
- Joseph Priestley: Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals, and Railways, of Great Britain. London 1831, pp. 131–137 ( online at Google Books )
Web links
- Stour-Valley Walk (93 km long hiking trail along the River Stour)