River Marden

The River Marden in Calne

The River Marden is a small river in Wiltshire, 7 miles long, which is a tributary of the River Avon. It flows from the hills surrounding Calne and meets the Avon about a mile upstream of Chippenham.

Course

The Marden rises just north of the valley of Ranscombe Bottom near Calstone Wellington in Wiltshire. It then flows in a north west direction through Blacklands Park and Quemerford, where it is joined on the right bank by the Rivers Brook. In Calne, the Abberd Brook joins it on the right and the river turns in a westerly direction and is joined by the overspill from Bowood Lake, part of the Bowood House estate on the left at Studleybrook Farm. The river is then joined by the combined Fishers and Cowage brooks before turning to the north-west, past the village of Stanley. A mile and a half later it joins the Avon to the north east of Chippenham.

History

The Domesday Book of 1086 records four watermills on the Marden at Calne. In the 18th century four fulling mills are recorded and one of these, Upper Mill, became a paper mill in 1768 and continued in operation until 1860. Hassell's Mill at Studley remained in operation until 1960.

The Wilts & Berks Canal, opened in 1810, paralleled the course of the Marden west of Calne, but it was closed in 1914, following the collapse of the Stanley aqueduct in 1901, although traces still survive.

Water

The Environment Agency gauging station at Stanley has measured the mean flow of the river as 43 ft³/s, with a maximum recorded flow of 1529 ft³/s on 30 October 2000 and a minimum of 3.9 ft³/s on 21 August 1976.