River Lemon

The River Lemon is a 16km long river in the county of Devon in south west England. It rises on the south east side of Dartmoor near Haytor, joins with the River Sig and the Langworthy Brook at Sigford, then passes the village of Bickington. Lower down it is joined by the Kestor Brook and it then flows through the woods in Bradley Valley, past the manor house of Bradley, and through the town of Newton Abbot where it flows through a 400 metre long tunnel below the town centre. Just below the town the river joins the River Teign near the head of its estuary.

The river has several times caused major flooding in Newton Abbot, most notably on 19 December 1853, 14 November 1894, 6 August 1938, and 27 December 1979. To prevent further occurrences, a flood control reservoir and dam was built in 1982 just below the confluence with the Kestor Brook at Holbeam. [ [http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=134822&command=displayContent&sourceNode=237837&contentPK=18167884 Newspaper article commemorating the 25th anniversary of Holbeam Dam] ] As of August 2007, the river has caused no further floods in the town.

The name "Lemon" is a derivative of a Celtic word meaning "elm". [cite book |title=The Place-names of Devon|author=Gover, Mawer and Stenton |publisher=CUP |location=Cambridge [Eng.] |year=1931]

ee also

* Puritan's Pit

References

*cite book |title=Along The Lemon |author=Judy Chard |publisher=Orchard Publications |location=Chudleigh, Devon|year=1993 |isbn=0 9519027 4 1