River Roch

The River Roch (pronounced "roach") is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England, a tributary of the River Irwell that gives Rochdale its name.

Course

Rising south of Todmorden in the Pennines near the source of the River Calder, it 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 river gets its name from "rached", a Celtic word meaning "river by the forest".

The Domesday Book (1086) gives the name "Recedham" for the settlement that became Rochdale.

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.

Tributaries

Moving upstream from the Irwell confluence, the tributaries include the following: -

• Parr Brook
• Hollins Brook
• Brightley Brook
• Whittle Brook
• Castle Brook
• Langley Brook
• Tack Lee Brook
• Wrigley Brook
• Naden Brook
• Millers Brook
• Roeacre Brook
• Sudden Brook
• River Spodden
• Moss Brook
• Hey Brook
• Stanney Brook
• River Beal
• Ash Brook
• Wardle Brook
• Featherstall Brook
• Middle Wood Brook
• Hills Brook
• Ealees Brook
• Town House Brook
• Long Clough Brook
• Turn Slack Brook
• Blue Pot Brook
• Stony Brook
• Greenvale Brook
• Lydgate Brook
• Castle Brook
• Red Brook
• Lead Mine Brook
• Chelburn Brook

Gallery

References