The Severn, Gloucestershire

Historical Description

Severn, The, a river of North Wales, Salop, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and Monmouthshire. It is the Sabrina of the Romans, the Saeferne of the Saxons, and the Hafren of the Welsh, and it was the boundary between Britannia Secunda and Flavia Cassariensis. It issues from a small lake on the E side of Plinlimmon, at the SW boundary of Montgomeryshire, runs east-south-eastward, with the vehemence of a torrent, to Llanidloes, receives there the Clwyedog, goes thence north-eastward, past Newtown and the neighbourhood of Montgomery, to Welshpool, receiving by the way the Camo and the Rhiw; becomes navigable at Welshpool; proceeds north-north-westward to the boundary with Salop at Melverley, and there receives the Vyrnwy; goes thence eastward, with many beautiful curves, past Shrawardine and Shrewsbury to Atcham, and there receives the Tern; proceeds thence east-south-eastward, past Cressage and Ironbridge to Coalport; goes thence southward to Bridgnorth, and there receives the Worff; proceeds, in a similar direction, past Bewdley to Stourport, where it receives the Stour; becomes about 150 feet wide and more than 6 feet deep at Stourport; goes still southward, past Holt, Worcester, and Upton, to Tewkesbury; receives the Teme 1½ mile below Worcester and the Upper Avon at Tewkesbury; proceeds thence south-south-westward to Gloucester, and there receives the Leadon, and becomes tidal; goes thence, in serpentine curves, south-westward, past Minsterworth and Newnham to Awre; widens considerably in the neighbourhood of Newnham, and becomes decidedly estuarial at Awre; proceeds thence, with a width of from three-quarters of a mile to 2½ miles, south-westward, past Berkeley and Oldbury to Aust; narrows there by projection of a small peninsula on its right side, and immediately afterwards receives the Wye; proceeds thence, with rapidly increasing width, to the influx of the Lower Avon at the boundary with Somerset, and there becomes identified with the Bristol Channel. Its couase is about 180 miles; it drains upwards of 4500 square miles, is subject to great freshets, brings down vast quantities of sand and silt, and over its tidal portion is swept by a bore or " eagre" 3 or 4 feet high at the influx of the tide. See BRISTOL CHANNEL.

Church Records

The Gloucestershire Parish Registers are available online at Ancestry, in association with Gloucestershire Archives.

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Gloucestershire is available to browse.