Branshott Court Aquaduct, after restoration

THE RIVER WEY TRUST The River 
Introduction

The southern branch of the River Wey rises in the
hills that surround Haslemere. For fifteen miles it
flows first westwards then north in an arc through
Hampshire to re-enter Surrey near Frensham. It is
joined by the Alton branch of the Wey at Tilford —
the downstream limit of the River Wey Trust's area
of interest. From Tilford the Wey goes on via
Godalming and Guildford to join the Thames at
Weybridge and thence to the sea.

In its upper reaches the southern Wey is a small river
flowing through a predominantly rural landscape of
woods, fields and gardens. The quiet nature of the
valley today belies its history as the scene of
intensive industrial and agricultural activity, much of
whose legacy is still with us. The six miles of river
between Haslemere and Headley supported over a
dozen watermills, of which one is still, today, a
working mill.

Less obvious are the watermeadows, which once ran
almost uninterrupted from the source of the Wey
downstream at least as far as Frensham. They were
devised to improve the fertility and drainage of the
riverside meadows, through a process of controlled
irrigation, and so to increase hay production. Water
was diverted from the river onto the meadows
through a system of channels or "carriers", then
returned to the river through a complementary
pattern of drains.

The Wey meadows are known to have been in
existence in 1680 and continued in use until the early
part of this century, when changes in agricultural
practices made them uneconomic.

Watermeadows are found elsewhere in the country.
The most celebrated are in the valleys of the
chalkstreams farther west in Hampshire and
Wiltshire, but the Wey system differs in underlying
geology, in scale, and in the complex arrangement of
sluices, hatches, and particularly, aqueducts.

Rising on sandstone rather than chalk, the Wey is
small by comparison with the chalk streams. The
valley is narrow, and bordered by small and irregular
meadows. Where a narrowing of the valley
interrupted the system, stone aqueducts were
constructed to carry water over the river — a feature
believed to be unique to the Wey. Many structures
remain — aqueducts, sluices and other less
conspicuous features such as the hatches and "stops"
lying overgrown in odd corners of meadows
throughout the valley.

The first section of this booklet examines the
geology, industry, agriculture, ecology and
landscape. The second section is a site-by-site guide
to the river valley.