River Roch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids River Roch |
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Flowing in front of Rochdale Interchange and Number One Riverside
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| Country | England |
| District | Littleborough, Rochdale, Heywood, Bury |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | Chelburn Moor |
| River mouth | River Irwell, Radcliffe 53°33′43.95″N 2°18′2.65″W / 53.5622083°N 2.3007361°W |
| Length | 100 miles |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries |
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The River Roch is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England, a tributary of the River Irwell, that gives Rochdale its name.
Contents
Course
Rising on Chelburn Moor (south of Todmorden in the Pennines), the river flows south through Littleborough towards Rochdale where it is joined by the River Beal at Belfield, and the River Spodden from Whitworth. Turning west it runs past Heywood and Bury before meeting the River Irwell just to the east of Radcliffe.
History
The Domesday Book records the name of Rochdale as Recedham, formed from Old English reced "hall", and ham "homestead". The name of the river is a back-formation from this Old English name. With time, the town's name changed to Rachedale and eventually Rochdale. The name of the river Roch is with a long o. The name of the town, however, is pronounced with a short o.
The river has been culverted in Rochdale town centre since the early 20th century. This was built by the joining together of seven bridges to form one large bridge, making it one of the widest bridges in the world. Maintenance work was carried out on the bridge in the 1990s and the river was uncovered temporarily. In 2015 work began on opening the bridge again in a multimillion-pound project. On Boxing Day 2015, following heavy rain, the Roch burst its banks causing flooding in the town centre.
Tributaries
Moving upstream from the Irwell confluence, the tributaries include the following:
- Parr Brook
- Hollins Brook
- Gigg Brook
- Barn Brook
- Green Brook
- Gipsy Brook
- Tack Lee Brook
- Wrigley Brook
- Naden Brook
- Plumpton Wood Brook
- Millers Brook
- Primrose Hill Brook
- Sudden Brook
- River Spodden
- Moss Brook
- Hey Brook
- Stanney Brook
- River Beal
- Ash Brook
- Clegg Hall Brook
- Wuerdle Brook
- Stubley Brook
- Featherstall Brook
- Ealees Brook
- Town House Brook
- Greenvale Brook
- Chelburn Brook
Gallery
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The source on Chelburn Moor
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Aqueduct across the Caldervale Railway
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Looking downstream from Smallbridge
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Confluence of River Beal
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Flowing under one of the world's widest bridges
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Rochdale town centre section uncovered during bridge works in the 1990s
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Confluence of River Spodden
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Upstream from Bottom o' th' Brow, Heywood
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Confluence with River Irwell
