Page:Rivers, Canals, Railways of Great Britain.djvu/60

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
38
Avon River

AVON RIVER.

24 George II. Cap. 39, Royal Assent 22nd May, 1751.
33 George III. Cap. 23, Royal Assent 30th April, 1793.

This River Avon commences a mile west of Warwick, where the Rivers Leame and Dove (having previously received the waters of the Sow and Watergall) unite, and take the name of Avon. From the junction of these rivers, the Avon runs close to Warwick, (the county town), washing the walls of the castle, and passing through the princely grounds attached to the same, it takes a circuitous course by The Hill, Charlecote House, Alveston House, and Welcombe, to Stratford-upon-Avon, where it first becomes navigable. A mile from Stratford, it is the boundary between Gloucester and Warwick for about a mile in length; from thence its course continues through the county of Warwick, for the distance of a mile, and again becomes the boundary of Gloucester and Warwick, to Binton Bridges, to which place, from Stratford, the distance is five miles and one-eighth. From Binton Bridges, the Avon is still the county boundary, to Grange: it then passes through a portion of Warwick, to within three quarters of a mile of the junction with the Arrow River, where it again divides the counties of Warwick and Gloucester. The distance from Binton Bridges to the Arrow River is five miles and three quarters. From the Arrow Mouth, the Avon is the division for a mile and a half between Warwickshire and Worcestershire, when it enters the latter county, passing Offenham, to the bridge, at the town of Evesham. The distance from the mouth of the River Arrow, to the latter place, is six miles and a half. From Evesham Bridge, the river almost makes the circuit of the town; then proceeds, in a north-westerly direction, by the Manor-House, and Cracombe House, and by the villages of Fladbury and Wyre Piddle, to the bridge at the town of Pershore. The distance from the latter place to Evesham Bridge is eleven miles and three quarters. From Pershore, to Eckington Bridge, the river makes two or three considerable bends, so that though the distance by the river, between these places, is six miles and a half yet, by a straight line, it is only two miles and a half. From Eckington Bridge, the river