River Rivelin

The River Rivelin is a river in South Yorkshire, England.

It rises in the Hallam moors, north west of Sheffield, and on the outskirts of Sheffield joins the River Loxley (at Malin Bridge).

A relatively fast flowing river, the Rivelin is fed by a constant release of water from the nearby moorland peat. Its flow was exploited for centuries as a power source, driving the water wheels of up to twenty industries (forges, metal-working and flour mills) along its course. Among the first such was the Rivelin Corn Mill which dates back to 1600, and some were still working commercially up to the 1950s. The Mousehole Forge at Malin Bridge is probably the most well known, having produced world famous anvils. This forge has been carefully restored by its present owner.

Though most of the mills and forges no longer exist, the ponds which used to feed them do, thanks to the support of the Ponds Conservation Trust and Yorkshire Water.

The Rivelin Valley, through which the river flows, is a three and a half mile long woodland valley and over 700 lime trees line the adjacent road, making it the second longest lime tree avenue in Britain. The valley was especially loved by the "corn law rhymer" Ebenezer Elliott. There is a rock by the side of Black Brook with his name carved on it where he was renowned to sit and appreciate nature. The Valley possesses many ponds, testament to the twenty mills which were once present on the river. Famous mills are the Hind Wheel and the Rivelin Corn Mill, the former dating from 1581 and the latter, 1600. The most well known, Mousehole Forge at Malin Bridge, produced the famous anvils. Some mills were in activity up until the 1950s. The upper part of the valley is flanked to the north by Rivelin Rocks

As well as industrial heritage, the valley is home to much wildlife, now protected by the Rivelin Valley Conservation Group.

In April 1761, tablets dating from the Roman period were found in the Rivelin Valley south of Stannington, close to the likely course of the Templeborough to Brough-on-Noe road. In addition there have been finds dating from the Roman period on Walkley Bank Road, which leads onto the valley bottom. [For example, an early Roman lamp was found at 354 Walkley Bank Road in 1929. "See:" cite journal | last = Taylor | first = M. V. | coauthors = Collingwood, R. G. | year = 1929 | title = Roman Britain in 1929: I. Sites Explored: II. Inscriptions. | journal = Journal of Roman Studies | volume = 19 | pages = pp. 180–218 | url = http://www.jstor.org/journals/00754358.html | doi = 10.2307/297347 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.rivelinvalley.org.uk// Rivelin Valley Conservation Group]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/myspace/rivelin_valley/index.shtml// BBC Report on Conservation Group]