Lam Brook
Encyclopedia
The Lam Brook is a stream in the West Country
of England
, which rises in a number of springs on the southern end of the Cotswold Hills and runs in a generally southerly direction for approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) before joining the river Avon at Lambridge in Bath. The brook is mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon
charter of ideterminate date. There is evidence of watermill
s in the Swainswick valley but no working examples survive. The waters are relatively clean and support a variety of wildlife including the rare white-clawed crayfish.
in South Gloucestershire
converge at Ashcombe Farm near Langridge
and the Lam Brook then runs in a generally southerly direction past Ashcombe House
and the villages of Upper Swainswick
and Lower Swainswick
. At Lambridge the stream is joined by an un-named tributary on the right bank just before joining the Bristol Avon.
Fosse Way
forded the brook near the present Lambridge. Lam Brook is mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon
charter as forming part of the boundaries of the village of Charlcombe
. No date has yet been determined for this document. In common with many other local rivers, watermill
s were constructed, especially in the Swainswick valley and at Lambridge. Mill Farm at Woolley survives but has been converted to other uses. A lease of 1275 refers to "two fulling mills with all appurtenances at Lambrugge ..." and a 1729 map records "Dead Mill" a little further upstream.
and white-clawed crayfish
have been identified in the waters of the Lam Brook. Use of the brook by otters, kingfishers and water voles is suspected but has not been confirmed by formal surveys. Every year a road in Charlcombe
is closed for seven weeks in February and March to allow newts, frogs and toads to safely travel down the road to reach a lake in the Charlcombe valley on an un-named tributary of the Lam Brook.
Toad patrol volunteer Helen Hobbs received an award from the International Fund for Animal Welfare in 2010 for her work in saving around 4,500 amphibians.
West of England
The West of England is a loose and locationally unspecific term sometimes given to the area surrounding the city and county of Bristol, England, and also sometimes applied more widely and in other parts of South West England.-Use in the Bristol area:...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, which rises in a number of springs on the southern end of the Cotswold Hills and runs in a generally southerly direction for approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) before joining the river Avon at Lambridge in Bath. The brook is mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
charter of ideterminate date. There is evidence of watermill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
s in the Swainswick valley but no working examples survive. The waters are relatively clean and support a variety of wildlife including the rare white-clawed crayfish.
Course
Streams from a number of springs issuing from the southern end of the Cotswold Hills at Lansdown, Toghill and Cold AshtonCold Ashton
Cold Ashton is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. The village church has a 14th century tower and the rest of the church was rebuilt in the 16th century by Thomas Key, its rector....
in South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, in South West England.-History:The district was created in 1996, when the county of Avon was abolished, by the merger of former area of the districts of Kingswood and Northavon...
converge at Ashcombe Farm near Langridge
Charlcombe
Charlcombe is a civil parish and small village just north of Bath in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 433 and includes the villages of Woolley and Langridge.-History:...
and the Lam Brook then runs in a generally southerly direction past Ashcombe House
Ashcombe House, Somerset
Not to be confused with the Ashcombe House in Wiltshire occupied by Madonna and Guy Ritchie.Ashcombe House at Swainswick, north-east of Bath in Somerset, England is a Gothic revival country house. It is a Grade II listed building....
and the villages of Upper Swainswick
Swainswick
Swainswick is a small village and civil parish, north east of Bath, on the A46 in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 284...
and Lower Swainswick
Swainswick
Swainswick is a small village and civil parish, north east of Bath, on the A46 in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 284...
. At Lambridge the stream is joined by an un-named tributary on the right bank just before joining the Bristol Avon.
History
It is believed that the RomanAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
Fosse Way
Fosse Way
The Fosse Way was a Roman road in England that linked Exeter in South West England to Lincoln in Lincolnshire, via Ilchester , Bath , Cirencester and Leicester .It joined Akeman Street and Ermin Way at Cirencester, crossed Watling Street at Venonis south...
forded the brook near the present Lambridge. Lam Brook is mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
charter as forming part of the boundaries of the village of Charlcombe
Charlcombe
Charlcombe is a civil parish and small village just north of Bath in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 433 and includes the villages of Woolley and Langridge.-History:...
. No date has yet been determined for this document. In common with many other local rivers, watermill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
s were constructed, especially in the Swainswick valley and at Lambridge. Mill Farm at Woolley survives but has been converted to other uses. A lease of 1275 refers to "two fulling mills with all appurtenances at Lambrugge ..." and a 1729 map records "Dead Mill" a little further upstream.
Natural history
SalmonidaeSalmonidae
Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish, the only living family currently placed in the order Salmoniformes. It includes salmon, trout, chars, freshwater whitefishes and graylings...
and white-clawed crayfish
Austropotamobius pallipes
Austropotamobius pallipes is an endangered European freshwater crayfish, and the only species of crayfish native to the British Isles. Its common names include white-clawed crayfish and Atlantic stream crayfish.-Distribution and ecology:...
have been identified in the waters of the Lam Brook. Use of the brook by otters, kingfishers and water voles is suspected but has not been confirmed by formal surveys. Every year a road in Charlcombe
Charlcombe
Charlcombe is a civil parish and small village just north of Bath in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 433 and includes the villages of Woolley and Langridge.-History:...
is closed for seven weeks in February and March to allow newts, frogs and toads to safely travel down the road to reach a lake in the Charlcombe valley on an un-named tributary of the Lam Brook.
Toad patrol volunteer Helen Hobbs received an award from the International Fund for Animal Welfare in 2010 for her work in saving around 4,500 amphibians.