River Tamar
The Tamar is a river in south west England, that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall. The area is a World Heritage Site due to its historic mining activities.
The Tamar's source is less than from the north Cornish coast, but it flows southward and its course runs across the peninsula to the south coast. The total length of the river is. At its mouth, the Tamar flows into the Hamoaze before entering Plymouth Sound, a bay of the English Channel. Tributaries of the river include the rivers Inny, Ottery, Kensey and Lynher on the Cornish side, and the Deer and Tavy on the Devon side.
The name Tamar was mentioned by Ptolemy in the second century in his Geography. The name is said to mean "Great Water." The Tamar is one of several British rivers whose ancient name is assumed by some to be derived from a prehistoric river word apparently meaning "dark flowing" and which it shares with the River Thames.
The seventh century Ravenna Cosmography mentions a Roman settlement named Tamaris, but it is unclear to which of those towns along the Tamar this refers. Plymouth, Launceston, and the Roman fort at Calstock have been variously suggested.
Environment
The river is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a European Special Area of Conservation, and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is also designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape.In November 2013, South West Water was fined £50,000 after it admitted permitting the discharge of sewage from its Camels Head treatment plant into a tributary of the River Tamar for eight years.
Tamar Valley AONB
Together, the Tamar, Tavy and Lynher form the Tamar Valley, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers around around the lower Tamar and its tributaries the Tavy and the Lynher. It was first proposed in 1963, but was not designated until 1995. The highest point in the AONB is Kit Hill, 334 metres above sea level.European Special Area of Conservation
The Plymouth Sound and Estuaries are a European Special Area of Conservation. Rocky reefs in low salinity estuarine conditions far inland on the Tamar are very unusual and support species such as the hydroid Cordylophora caspia. The Tamar is one of a few estuaries where zonation of rocky habitats can be observed along an estuarine gradient.Site of Special Scientific Interest
The Tamar–Tavy Estuary is a Site of Special Scientific Interest covering the tidal estuaries of the River Tamar and the River Tavy. Part of the Tamar estuary also forms the Tamar Estuary Nature Reserve, owned by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust. The site was designated in 1991 for its biodiversity and varying habitats that support a large number of wader and wildfowl species, as well as the special interest of its marine biology. The site supports a nationally important wintering population of avocet and supports species such as black-tailed godwit, Eurasian whimbrel, greenshank, spotted redshank, green sandpiper and golden plover.UNESCO World Heritage Site
Throughout human history the valley has been almost continuously exploited for its rich mineral and metal deposits including silver, tin, lead and arsenic leaving a unique archaeological landscape which forms a significant part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape. Remains include wheal or engine houses, deep and open cast mines dating from the Bronze Age through to the medieval and modern era, the export docks at Morwellham Quay were once an international centre of trade in copper, lead and arsenic. The valley, with the stannary town of Tavistock was added to the World Heritage List during the 30th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Vilnius, July 2006.Geography
Reservoirs
The Upper Tamar Lake and Lower Tamar Lake are two small reservoirs on the Tamar's upper course. The Lower Lake was constructed in the 1820s to feed the Bude Canal; it is now a nature reserve. The Upper Lake was constructed in the 1970s and supplies fresh water to the Bude area, as well as having some recreational use.Border
The east bank of the Tamar was fixed as the border of Cornwall by King Athelstan in the year 936. Several villages north of Launceston, to the west of the Tamar, were transferred to Devon somewhen in the eleventh century; the border was changed to follow the River Ottery westward, rather than the Tamar. The county boundary was restored to the Tamar in 1966, when the civil parishes of North Petherwin and Werrington were transferred from Devon to Cornwall. The Counties Act 1844 ensured parishes were entirely within one county. It transferred a part of the Rame Peninsula from Devon to Cornwall. The Act also transferred part of the parish of Bridgerule to Devon and part of the parish of North Tamerton to Cornwall — these latter transfers created two of the present-day 'exceptions' to the river boundary.The modern administrative border between Devon and Cornwall more closely follows the Tamar and Hamoaze than the 'historic' county border. Only three 'exceptions' to the rule that the border follows the river currently exist, all of which are upstream of the confluence of the River Deer, in the upper course of the Tamar. Part of the Cornish civil parish of North Tamerton extends east across the river, whilst parts of the Devon civil parishes of Bridgerule and Pancrasweek extend west across the Tamar. Where the border does follow the Tamar, it is defined as being along a line running at the centre of the river — where the river is tidal, it is the centre of the low water channel. This "centre of river" arrangement ends just upstream of the Tamar Bridge at Saltash, downstream of which the counties officially extend only to their respective bank's low water mark. The river is dammed at two points of its upper course, forming two reservoirs in place of the natural river: at Upper Tamar Lake the border follows the line of the river as it was prior to the construction of the reservoir, whilst at the older Lower Tamar Lake the border was re-aligned along a re-routing of the river to the reservoir's west side, placing the lake in Devon.
Crossings
The river has 22 road crossings, including some medieval stone bridges. The oldest bridge still extant is at Horsebridge, and the next oldest is Greystone Bridge near Lawhitton — this arched stone bridge was built in 1439. Gunnislake New Bridge was built in 1520 by Sir Piers Edgcumbe, the owner of Cotehele and Mount Edgcumbe. The Gunnislake bridge was a main route into south east Cornwall and the lowest bridge over the Tamar until the Tamar Bridge at Saltash was opened in 1962.The lower Tamar is spanned also by the Royal Albert Bridge, a rail bridge now adjacent to the newer Tamar Bridge. Both of these bridges are between Saltash and Plymouth. Further downstream, crossing the Hamoaze, is the Torpoint Ferry — a chain ferry connecting Torpoint to Devonport — and at the most downstream part of the Hamoaze there is also the Cremyll Ferry.
The Calstock Viaduct is another notable structure on the Tamar, being 120 feet high with twelve 60-foot wide arches, of which three of the piers stand in the river, and was built between 1904 and 1907.
Table of crossings
Listed below are all crossings of the River Tamar, in order heading downstream. All cross the county boundary between Devon and Cornwall, except for four that are noted.| Crossing | Type | Carries | Created | Notes |
| Road bridge | Country lane | The highest bridge on the Tamar, excepting culverts and other very minor crossings nearer the source; above sea level. | ||
| Youlstone Ham Bridge | Road bridge | Country lane | ||
| Buse's Mill | Road bridge | Country lane | ||
| Upper Tamar Lake Dam | Dam walkway | Public footpath | Passes atop of the reservoir dam. | |
| Alfardisworthy New Bridge | Road bridge | Country lane | Immediately to the east is the historic boundary stone at the site of the old bridge, which crossed the original route of the Tamar, now just within Devon. | |
| Lower Tamar Lake Spillway | Footbridge | Public footpath | Crosses the discharge of the reservoir – however not the county boundary, which follows a previous routing of the river. | |
| Road bridge | Country lane | |||
| Road bridge | Country lane | The bridge does not cross the county boundary – it connects a part of Devon that is west of the Tamar. | ||
| Moretonmill Bridge | Road bridge | Country lane | above sea level | |
| Burmsdon Aqueduct | Canal aqueduct | Bude Canal | 1821 | Canal derelict since 1891; the towpath however remains open as a public footpath. Grade II listed. |
| Kingford Mill | Road bridge | Driveway | Private | |
| Blackpool Bridge | Road bridge | Country lane | ||
| Tamarstone Bridge | Road bridge | A3072 road | ||
| Bridgerule Bridge | Road bridge | Village road | 1923 | The bridge no longer crosses the county boundary – since 1844 the bridge connects a part of Devon that is west of the Tamar. |
| Bridgerule Railway Bridge | Railway bridge | Okehampton to Bude Line | Dismantled | |
| Crowford Bridge | Road bridge | Country lane | ||
| Tamerton Bridge | Road bridge | Local road | 1851 | The bridge no longer crosses the county boundary – since 1844 the bridge connects a part of Cornwall that is east of the Tamar. |
| Boyton Bridge | Road bridge | Country lane | c. 1614 / 2005 | Main span replaced in 2005. |
| Druxton Bridge | Road bridge | Country lane | c. 16th century | The bridge connected a part of Devon that was west of the Tamar, until boundary changes in 1966. |
| Nether Bridge | Road bridge | A388 road | 1986 | Replacement for the older, narrower Higher New Bridge |
| Higher New Bridge | Road bridge | Country lane | c. early 16th century | Remains open |
| St Leonards Railway Bridge | Railway bridge | North Cornwall Railway | Dismantled | |
| Polson Bridge | Road bridge | A388 road | 1833 / 1934 | The former A30 route into Launceston ; the main span was replaced in 1934. |
| Lower Barnham Railway Bridge | Railway bridge | South Devon and Tavistock Railway | Dismantled | |
| Dunheved Bridge | Road bridge | A30 trunk road | 1975 / 2006 | Part of the Launceston by-pass; the road deck was replaced in 2006/7. |
| Greystone Bridge | Road bridge | B3362 road | 1439 | above sea level Grade I listed. |
| Horsebridge | Road bridge | Country lane | 1437 | Oldest extant bridge on the Tamar. Grade I listed. |
| Ford | Unpaved public road | Not maintained and deep – not suitable for most motor vehicles. | ||
| Gunnislake New Bridge | Road bridge | A390 road | 1520 | Lowest bridge on the non-tidal river; until 1962 the lowest road bridge on the Tamar. Grade I listed. |
| Calstock Ferry | Passenger ferry | Calstock to Ferry Farm and Cotehele | April–October only | |
| Calstock Viaduct | Railway viaduct | Tamar Valley Line | 1907 | |
| Tamar Bridge | Road bridge | A38 trunk road | 1961 | Toll ; opened in 1962. |
| Royal Albert Bridge | Railway bridge | Cornish Main Line | 1859 | The lowest bridge on the Tamar |
| Torpoint Ferry | Vehicle ferry | A347 road | 1791 | Chain ferry; carries vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. |
| Cremyll Ferry | Passenger ferry | Cremyll to Stonehouse, Plymouth | Ancient | Carries passengers and cyclists |
Navigation
The total length of the tidal river is. The normal tidal limit is a weir just downstream of the village of Gunnislake. Waterborne traffic through the Hamoaze is controlled by the Queen's Harbour Master for Plymouth, who is responsible for managing navigation along the entire tidal Tamar. The Royal Navy has one of its three main naval bases at Devonport, situated on the Hamoaze, upstream of which the river is now used largely by recreational craft. Excursions operate on the river between Plymouth and Calstock; excursions used to operate as far as Morwellham Quay, but were suspended indefinitely in 2016. A passenger ferry also operates April to October between Cotehele Quay and Calstock.A typical Tamar vessel was a sailing barge, built on the open river bank, of up to 60 tons, with a peaked, gaff-rigged mainsail and a fore staysail. The Tamar was navigable by seagoing ships of up to 400 register tons as far inland as Weir Quay, near Bere Alston, where the estuary narrows into the tidal river, some upstream from Plymouth Sound. Vessels of 300 tons sailed as far inland as Morwellham, along the river from the sea. A further stretch of upstream to Weir Head, near Gunnislake, was accessible to smaller boats. Weir Head is just downstream of the weir at Gunnislake and is the final place to turn boats; it was from here that smaller craft could begin their journey on the Tamar Manure Canal.
Tamar Manure Navigation
In 1794 the Tamar Manure Navigation Company was formed to extend navigation inland for a further 30 miles, to Tamerton Bridge in North Tamerton. An Act of Parliament of 1796 authorised the works, with the company empowered to improve and manage navigation on the Tamar from Morwellham Quay upstream to Boat Pool, at Blanchdown, and to construct a canal from there. The project however advanced no further than Gunnislake, with work ceasing in 1808. Barges of up to 30 tons could then proceed as far as Gunnislake New Bridge, bypassing the weir via a 500-yard canal to the west of the river. As the only completed work of the original project, this short canal became known as the Tamar Manure Canal. It had one lock located at the Weir Head end of the canal, allowing vessels to rise from the tidal Tamar to the water level above the weir. A salmon ladder bypassed the lock.The navigable route along the Tamar and the Manure Canal that was managed by the company was known as the Tamar Manure Navigation and was in length. The import of fertilizer and coal and the export of bricks and granite along this short navigation proved profitable for many years. The navigation from Launceston to Tamerton was completed in 1826 as part of a separate project, the Bude Canal. The Tamar Manure Navigation ceased functioning in 1929 and the company was wound up in 1942.
History
In 997 according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, raiding Vikings travelled up the Tamar and then the Tavy river as far as Lydford, and burned Ordwulf's monastery at Tavistock.The old ferry crossings were later to develop into the busy river quays of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In mediaeval times the transport of goods to supply the Benedictine abbey at Tavistock, four miles by track from the river port of Morwellham, was significant. Sea sand from the coast was imported to spread on farmland, until in the eighteenth century a dressing of lime was found to be more beneficial. Large quantities of limestone and coal were then imported to burn in the numerous limekilns on the river quays; the lime had to be made locally as it was not slaked before application and was too reactive for transport by water after burning. Later, street sweepings and other refuse from Plymouth and Devonport, together with bones for the newly discovered bone fertiliser, were carried inland to manure the fields. Other regular imports were timber from British Columbia and the Baltic, in large baulks for use as supports in the mines, and coal from Wales to supply the mine pumping engines.
Tavistock was one of the three stannary towns of Devon and large quantities of refined tin ore were exported through Morwellham from twelfth century until 1838, when the requirement to pay duty on the metal at one of the specified towns was relaxed. The opening of the Tavistock Canal, between Tavistock and Morwellham, in 1817 facilitated traffic. Later, the East Cornwall Mineral Railway provided an outlet through the quays of Calstock from the Cornish side of the valley. Other significant cargoes exported were quarried granite and, later, copper, lead and manganese ores, with their important by-product of arsenic. Arsenic was extracted from mispickel, once regarded as a waste product but later offering an important source of revenue as copper and tin extraction declined in profitability. The refined product was exported worldwide, in particular to the southern United States, where it was used as an insecticide in the cotton fields.
In the thirteenth century lead and silver output from the royal mines on the Bere peninsula was significant, and production continued intermittently until the nineteenth century. The Johnson Matthey smelting works at Weir Quay extracted silver and lead not only from local ore, but from ore imported by sea from Europe and as far away as Newfoundland. Fluorspar from the lead mine tailings was exported to France for use in the manufacture of glassware.
railway crosses the Tamar on a viaduct, built in 1907, at Calstock.
The development of the "Three Towns" at the mouth of the river offered an important market for the valley's agricultural produce, needed in particular to serve the victualling requirements of the royal dockyard, and this was always carried by boat. In 1820 or 1821 the first paddle steamer on the Tamar inaugurated a service between Calstock and Devonport to deliver foodstuffs. In 1859 a rail connection from Plymouth to London was opened, and fresh produce could be landed at the Devonport steamer quays in the evening and be on sale in London by the next morning. The growing city population created a large demand for sightseeing cruises on the river and this was a significant source of traffic from 1823, with the launch of the Cornish steam packet Sir Francis Drake, until the outbreak of the second world war.
Mineral traffic on the river diminished towards the latter end of the nineteenth century, after the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway reached Tavistock in 1859 and as the copper and tin mines became exhausted. The decline accelerated from 1894 when the East Cornwall Mineral Railway, until then linked to the outside world only through the port of Calstock, was extended to the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway at Bere Alston. Tourist and market traffic on the river, using purpose-built or converted steamers, remained substantial until the Devonport piers were closed and the ships requisitioned on the outbreak of war in 1939.
Economy
Rocks around the edge of Dartmoor were mineralised by fluids driven by the heat of the earth's core, which gave rise to ores containing tin, copper, tungsten, lead and other minerals in the Valley. The medieval estate of Cotehele, owned by the Edgcumbe family, was a significant producer of silver for the Royal Mint. During the industrial revolution, there was significant mining activity near the river, between Gunnislake and Weir Quay. During this period, the Tamar was an important river for shipping copper from ports such as Morwellham Quay, Calstock and New Quay to south Wales where it would be smelted. The valley forms district A10i of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape. The river has long been famous for the quality of its salmon whilst the valley was known nationally for the high quality, and early, soft fruit and market gardens sheltered by its steeply winding slopes.Folklore
The Alliterative Morte Arthure states that the mortal combat of King Arthur and Mordred took place close to the banks of the river.A traditional Cornish tale claims that the devil would never dare to cross the River Tamar into Cornwall for fear of ending up as a pasty filling. Though unusual landscape features are often named after the devil it used to be said that the devil never came to Cornwall: he once reached Torpoint and immediately noticed that various kinds of pie were customary; he feared that devilly pie might be the next kind so returned to Devon. This legend is set to music in the traditional Cornish folk song Fish and Tin and Copper.