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{{Short description|River in Somerset, England}}
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==Course==
The River Brue originates in hills to the southwest of the [[Drainage basin|catchment]] area, close to the border with [[Dorset]]. The same hills are the locale of the sources of the [[River Wylye]] and the [[River Stour, Dorset|Dorset Stour]] which flow south to the [[English Channel]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Lewis |first=Samuel (the younger) |title=The Book of English Rivers |publisher=Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans |year=1855 |location=London |pages=
[[File:Bow Bridge Bruton.jpg|thumb|left|[[Bow Bridge, Plox|Bow Bridge]]]]
[[Bow Bridge, Plox|Bow Bridge]] is a 15th-century [[Packhorse bridge]] over the River Brue in Plox, Bruton. It is a Grade I [[listed building]],<ref name="IoE">{{
The River Brue has a long history of flooding. Its lower reaches are close to sea
The valley includes several [[Site of Special Scientific Interest|Sites of Special Scientific Interest]] including [[Westhay Moor]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) notification |url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1001181.pdf |publisher=English Nature |
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[[File:Tootal bridge.jpg|alt=Three arch stone bridge over water.|thumb|upright|Tootal Bridge at [[Barton St David]] over the River Brue]]
The area is known to have been occupied since the [[Neolithic]] when people exploited the reedswamps for their natural resources and started to construct wooden [[trackway]]s such as the [[Sweet Track|Sweet]] and [[Post Track]]s. The Sweet Track, named after the peat digger who discovered it in 1970 and dating from the 3800s BC, is the world's oldest [[timber trackway]], once thought to be the world's oldest engineered roadway.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Robin |last2=Williams |first2=Romey |title=The Somerset Levels |year=1992 |publisher=Ex Libris Press |isbn=0-948578-38-6 |pages=35–38 }}</ref> The track was built between what was in the early 4th millennium BC an island at [[Westhay]] and a ridge of high ground at [[Shapwick, Somerset|Shapwick]], close to the River Brue. The remains of similar tracks have been uncovered nearby, connecting settlements on the [[Raised bog|peat bog]] including the Honeygore, Abbotts Way, Bells, Bakers, Westhay and Nidons trackways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naturalareas.naturalengland.org.uk/Science/natural/profiles/naProfile85.pdf |title=Somerset Levels and Moors Natural Area – A nature conservation profile July 1997 |
The Levels contain the best-preserved prehistoric village in the UK,<ref name=GLV/> [[Glastonbury Lake Village]], as well as two others at [[Meare Lake Village]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Adkins |first1=Lesley |last2=Adkins |first2=Roy |title=A field guide to Somerset archaeology |year=1992 |publisher=Dovecote Press |isbn=978-0-946159-94-9 |pages=69–70 }}</ref> Discovered in 1892 by [[Arthur Bulleid]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://glastonburyantiquarians.org/site/index.php?page_id=54 |title=Lake village |
The valley was used during [[Romano-British]] period when it was the site of salt extraction.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Rippon |first1=Stephen |title=Taming a wetland wilderness: Romano=British and Medieval Reclamation in the Somerset Levels and moors. |journal=Somerset Archaeology and Natural History |date=2004 |pages=157–164 |url=http://www.sanhs.org/Documents/148/WetlandWilderness.pdf |url-status=live |
===Alteration of route===
Before the 13th century the direct route to the sea at Highbridge was blocked by gravel banks and peat near Westhay.<ref>{{cite web|title=Meare and Ferran Mere |work=Sacred Sites around Glastonbury |url=http://www.isleofavalon.co.uk/sacredsites/meare.html |
===Drainage improvements===
[[File:Flooded fields by the River Brue - geograph.org.uk - 727820.jpg|thumb|left|Flooded fields near Glastonbury in 2008]]
Between 1774 and 1797 a series of [[Inclosure Acts|enclosures]] took place in the Brue valley between the [[Polden Hills|Poldens]] and Wedmore.<ref>{{cite book|last=Havinden|first=Michael|title=The Somerset Landscape|year=1982|publisher=Hodder and Stoughton|location=London|series=The making of the English landscape|pages=135–136|isbn=0-340-20116-9}}</ref> In 1794 the annual floods filled the whole of the Brue valley. Work by the Commissioners of Sewers led to the
The area around Bruton has suffered over the centuries. The earliest recorded damage was in 1768 when a stone bridge was destroyed after the river rose very rapidly.<ref name=vijay/> On 28 June 1917, {{convert|242.8|mm}} of rain fell in 24 hours at Bruton,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wiseweather.co.uk/id54.html |title=The Boscastle storm of August 2004 and other heavy rainfall events of the last century in the area |publisher=wiseweather.co.uk |
===19th, 20th and 21st centuries===
[[File:River Brue, Burnham on Sea - geograph.org.uk - 698824.jpg|thumb|The mouth of the river]]
The mouth of the River Brue had an extensive harbour in Roman and [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] times, before silting up in the medieval period. It was used again as a small harbour in the 17th and 18th centuries, and in 1833 the port of Highbridge was formally opened on the river. A new wharf, known as Clyce Wharf, was built on the [[Huntspill]] side of the river mouth by 1904, and was used for the import of coal and the export of bricks and tiles and agricultural products. The port closed in 1949.<ref name=vch>{{cite book|chapter=Huntspill |title=A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 8, the Poldens and the Levels |editor=Robert Dunning |series=[[Victoria County History]] |year=2004 |pages=91–112 |publisher=British History Online |
Both [[Galton's Canal]] and [[Brown's Canal]], which were built in the early 19th century, were connected to the river.<ref>{{cite book | title=The Canals of South West England | first= Charles | last= Hadfield | pages= 190–191 | isbn= 0-7153-4176-6 |date=November 1967 | publisher=David & Charles | location=Newton Abbot (Devon)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mqEEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA183 |title=An Account of Improvement of a Shaking Bog at Meare in Somersetshire |first=Erasmus |last=Galton |work=Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England |publisher=[[Royal Agricultural Society of England|Royal Agricultural Society]] |year=1845 |volume=Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England Volume 6 }}</ref> The [[Glastonbury Canal]] used the course of the River Brue from Highbridge to Cripp's Bridge, and part of the South Drain to Ashcott Corner.<ref name=gc/> The Glastonbury Canal ran for just over {{convert|14|mi|km}} through two [[canal lock|locks]] from [[Glastonbury]] to [[Highbridge, Somerset|Highbridge]], where it entered the [[River Parrett]] and from there the [[Bristol Channel]]. The canal was authorised by [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] in 1827 and opened in 1834.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dunning |first=Robert |title=A History of Somerset |year=1983 |publisher=Phillimore & Co |location=Chichester |isbn=978-0-85033-461-6}}</ref> It was operated by The Glastonbury Navigation & Canal Company.<ref>{{cite book |
During the [[Second World War]] the Brue was incorporated into [[GHQ Line]] and many [[British hardened field defences of World War II|pillboxes]] were constructed along the river.<ref>{{cite book| last = Foot | first = William | title = Beaches, fields, streets, and hills ... the anti-invasion landscapes of England, 1940 | publisher = Council for British Archaeology | year = 2006| isbn = 1-902771-53-2 | pages= 267–272 }}</ref> [[Gants Mill]] at [[Pitcombe]], near Bruton, is a [[watermill]] which is still used to mill cattle feed. A {{convert|12|kW}} [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric]] turbine was recently installed at the site. There has been a mill here since the 13th century, but the current building was built in 1810.<ref>{{
Following summer floods of 1997 and the prolonged flooding of 1999–2000 the Parrett Catchment Project was formed, partly funded by the [[European Union]] [[European Regional Development Fund|Regional Development Fund]], by 30 organisations, including [[British Waterways]], [[Campaign to Protect Rural England]], [[Countryside Agency]], [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs]], Environment Agency, Kings Sedgemoor and Cary Vale Internal Drainage Board (now part of Parrett Internal Drainage Board), Levels and Moors Partnership, [[National Farmers Union of England and Wales|National Farmers Union]], Sedgemoor, [[Somerset County Council]], [[South Somerset|South Somerset District Council]], [[Taunton Deane]] and Wessex Water.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parrettcatchment.info/who-we-are/|title=Who we are|publisher=Parrett Catchment Project|
During the [[winter flooding of 2013–14 on the Somerset Levels]] the River Brue overflowed at new year, during the rain and storms from [[Cyclone Dirk|Storm Dirk]], with many residents asking for the Environment Agency to resume river dredging.<ref name="westerndailypress1">{{cite news |url=http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Plea-calm-political-storm-erupts/story-20601268-detail/story.html |title=Somerset floods: Cameron orders end to petty squabbles in Cabinet |newspaper=Western Daily Press |date=7 February 2014 |
==Hydrology and water quality==
At Bruton Dam, the nearest measuring station to the source of the river, the normal level of the river is between {{convert|0.6|m}} and {{convert|2.08|m}} with the highest level ever recorded being {{convert|10.7|m}} in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|title=River Brue at Bruton Dam |url=https://www.riverlevels.uk/river-brue-bruton-bruton-dam |publisher=River Levels UK |
For the purposes of monitoring of water quality the Brue and Axe are considered together. In 2013 19 water bodies within the area were considered to have moderate water quality with two being poor and four good quality. Agriculture and rural land management is the largest factor affecting water quality followed by the water industry. Transport, industry and manufacturing also have an effect.<ref>{{cite web|title=Brue and Axe - Summary|url=http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/OperationalCatchment/4wsx/Summary|publisher=Environment gency|
==Ecology==
[[File:The River Brue, Westhay - geograph.org.uk - 192924.jpg|thumb|upright|The River Brue crossing [[Westhay Moor]]]]
The Brue Valley Living Landscape is a UK [[Conservation biology|conservation]] project managed by the [[Somerset Wildlife Trust]]. The project commenced in January 2009 and aims to restore [[habitat]]. It aims to help wildlife sustain itself in the face of [[climate change]]<ref name=swtbrue>{{cite web|url=http://www.somersetwildlife.org/brue_valley.html |title=Brue Valley Living Landscape |publisher=Somerset Wildlife Trust |
The project covers an area of approximately {{convert|12,500|ha}} encompassing the floodplain of the River Brue from a little east of [[Glastonbury]] to beyond the [[Catcott, Edington and Chilton Moors SSSI]] in the west. Almost a quarter of the project area is designated as [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSI), [[Special Protection Area]] (SPA) and [[Ramsar site]]. The project area accounts for almost half of the [[Somerset Levels and Moors]] [[Special Protection Area]]. The area includes land already managed for conservation by organisations including [[Somerset Wildlife Trust]], [[Natural England]], the [[Hawk and Owl Trust]] and the [[Royal Society for the Protection of Birds]]. These include [[Shapwick Heath]] [[national nature reserve (United Kingdom)|national nature reserve]], [[Westhay Moor]], [[Catcott Lows]] National Nature Reserve, [[Ham Wall]] and [[Shapwick Moor]]. There are 25 [[scheduled monument]]s and 746 [[Historic Environment Record]]s in the project area including internationally important sites such at the [[Glastonbury Lake Village]] and [[Sweet Track]]. Research on the Somerset Levels and Moors has been crucial to the understanding of the natural and human history of wetlands.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brunning |first=Richard
[[File:Headwaters of the River Brue - geograph.org.uk - 519841.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The headwaters of the river]]
The project has set out their major objectives. These include mapping and research on the Brue Valley, engagement with local government, farmers, the conservation sector and other interest community members, to produce a shared local vision.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Winter |first1=H. |last2=Lobley |first2=M. |title=Monitoring the Brue Valley Living Landscape Landowner Advisory Service |url=https://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/research/microsites/centreforruralpolicyresearch/pdfs/Monitoring_the_Brue_Valley_Living_Landscape_Final_Report.pdf |publisher=University of Exeter |
One of the project's goals is to protect, restore and create areas of [[reedbed]], [[grazing marsh]], [[fen]], [[raised bog]], [[meadow|lowland meadow]], [[purple moor grass and rush pastures]] and [[wet woodland]]. Species of conservation concern ([[UK Biodiversity Action Plan]] priority species) that are likely to benefit from this project include plants such as:
[[File:WEST LYDFORD, Somerset - geograph.org.uk - 66490.jpg|thumb|The river at [[West Lydford]]]]
The River Brue and its tributaries support a population of [[European eel]]s (''Anguilla anguilla'').<ref>{{cite web |title=Headline Species |url=http://www.avalonmarshes.org/Headline_Species |publisher=Avalon Marshes |
Mammalian species of interest include the [[European hare|brown hare]] (''Lepus europaeus''), [[Eurasian harvest mouse]] (''Micromys minutus''), [[European otter]] (''Lutra lutra'') and [[European water vole|water vole]] (''Arvicola terrestris'').<ref>{{cite web |title=Notable mammal species |url=http://www.avalonmarshes.org/assets/source/headline_species/am_mammal_species.pdf |publisher=Avalon Marshes |
==Recreation==
[[Angling|Anglers]] will find [[Northern pike|pike]] in excess of {{convert|20|lb}}, with good stocks of [[European chub|chub]], [[Common dace|dace]], [[Common roach|roach]], [[Carp bream|bream]], [[tench]], [[perch]], [[rudd]], and [[Gudgeon (fish)|gudgeon]]. There are [[trout]] in the upper reaches.<ref>{{cite web|title=Glaston Manor Angling Association |url=http://www.fishinginsomerset.com/ |publisher=Glaston Manor Angling Association |
==Rail access==
[[Highbridge and Burnham railway station]] provides access. There is further {{convert|2|mi}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.burnham-on-sea.com/rail.shtml |title=
==References==
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{{Somerset}}
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[[Category:Rivers of Somerset|Brue, River]]
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