St Austell River
Encyclopedia
The St Austell River properly known as the River Vinnick, but historically called The White River, is a 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) long river located in south Cornwall
, United Kingdom
. 50.337°N 4.793°W. It is possible that the name originates from the Cornish
wynack meaning pluralised "white", although in truth the river was originally known as the "red river" due to tin streaming and mining activity upstream.
The river drains the central southern section of the St Austell
Moorland, the second largest granite
mass in Cornwall, an upland formed in the Variscan orogeny
, to the north of St Austell. The highest natural point of the moorland is Hensbarrow Beacon
at 312 metres (1,023.6 ft); however modern china clay mining waste tips now rise above it.
The name White River has been adopted locally because waste water
from china clay quarrying and refining
practices was emptied into the river giving it a white colour. Prior to the industrial revolution, tin streaming and shallow lode-back mining occurred on quite a large scale along the river and on the moorland around it. This activity caused the river to run red, a situation that was exacerbated as mechanised mining came to the area with the advent of the industrial revolution. The then tiny fishing port of Pentewan
was used to export a small amount of tin, but suffered from silting due to the mine waste in the river. After the cessation of metal mining in the area as it began to give over to clay extraction, the river began to run clear and the silt soon cleared. At this point the port of Pentewan was identified as an ideal point of export for the new china clay material, and it was soon undergoing improvement works. However, as the china clay industry picked up, wastes began to find their way into the river once again, this time in the form of sand and mica, and the harbour soon silted once again. Commercial use continued until the 1950s, after which the port only lasts for another ten years seeing use for leisure craft only before it silted up for good.
The local term White River has given its name to the St Austell Town Centre Redevelopment Scheme, which is now called White River Place.
at and heads south east past the southern edge of Gunheath china clay pit. At Carthew, the river heads south and passes Ruddlemoor and Trethowel in the Trenance Valley, where several mills and blowing house made use of the river. This is a steep sided ‘V’ shaped valley carved through granite
. A number of very minor tributaries
enter this section, including springs and adits/levels at Gunheath, Lansalson, and Bojea. At the end of the Trenance Valley the river passes under the Cornish Main Line
railway and enters St Austell.
The second tributary begins within the massive Littlejohn's/Dorothy china clay pit in a region that was originally known as Longstone Moor, where previously it had been a long, shallow valley that had drained the surrounding high moorland area. It travels southwards beneath a massive waste tip, whence it issues from a culvert at the head of the Gover Valley and the base of the tip. From there, it winds roughly south until it too reaches another viaduct belonging to the Cornish Main Line railway, wherefrom it turns east southeast and follows this heading for approximately a kilometre into St Austell, where it joins the Trenance Valley river.
Once leaving St Austell the river flows south along the Pentewan
Valley, which extends for 5 kilometres (3.1 mi), to the village
of Pentewan where the river enters the English Channel
. The final section of the river can vary course significantly as it crosses Pentewan beach and flows into the sea at .
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. 50.337°N 4.793°W. It is possible that the name originates from the Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
wynack meaning pluralised "white", although in truth the river was originally known as the "red river" due to tin streaming and mining activity upstream.
The river drains the central southern section of the St Austell
St Austell
St Austell is a civil parish and a major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south coast approximately ten miles south of Bodmin and 30 miles west of the border with Devon at Saltash...
Moorland, the second largest granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
mass in Cornwall, an upland formed in the Variscan orogeny
Variscan orogeny
The Variscan orogeny is a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Euramerica and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangaea.-Naming:...
, to the north of St Austell. The highest natural point of the moorland is Hensbarrow Beacon
Hensbarrow Beacon
Hensbarrow Beacon is a hill in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated a mile north-west of Stenalees village at .The natural summit of Hensbarrow Beacon is 312m high and is marked by a trig point. It can be reached by a short walk from the road to the west...
at 312 metres (1,023.6 ft); however modern china clay mining waste tips now rise above it.
The name White River has been adopted locally because waste water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
from china clay quarrying and refining
Refining
Refining is the process of purification of a substance or a form. The term is usually used of a natural resource that is almost in a usable form, but which is more useful in its pure form. For instance, most types of natural petroleum will burn straight from the ground, but it will burn poorly...
practices was emptied into the river giving it a white colour. Prior to the industrial revolution, tin streaming and shallow lode-back mining occurred on quite a large scale along the river and on the moorland around it. This activity caused the river to run red, a situation that was exacerbated as mechanised mining came to the area with the advent of the industrial revolution. The then tiny fishing port of Pentewan
Pentewan
Pentewan is a coastal village and former port in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated at three miles south of St Austell at the mouth of the St Austell River....
was used to export a small amount of tin, but suffered from silting due to the mine waste in the river. After the cessation of metal mining in the area as it began to give over to clay extraction, the river began to run clear and the silt soon cleared. At this point the port of Pentewan was identified as an ideal point of export for the new china clay material, and it was soon undergoing improvement works. However, as the china clay industry picked up, wastes began to find their way into the river once again, this time in the form of sand and mica, and the harbour soon silted once again. Commercial use continued until the 1950s, after which the port only lasts for another ten years seeing use for leisure craft only before it silted up for good.
The local term White River has given its name to the St Austell Town Centre Redevelopment Scheme, which is now called White River Place.
The route
The river has two main tributaries, the first of which begins several hundred metres south of Hensbarrow BeaconHensbarrow Beacon
Hensbarrow Beacon is a hill in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated a mile north-west of Stenalees village at .The natural summit of Hensbarrow Beacon is 312m high and is marked by a trig point. It can be reached by a short walk from the road to the west...
at and heads south east past the southern edge of Gunheath china clay pit. At Carthew, the river heads south and passes Ruddlemoor and Trethowel in the Trenance Valley, where several mills and blowing house made use of the river. This is a steep sided ‘V’ shaped valley carved through granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. A number of very minor tributaries
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
enter this section, including springs and adits/levels at Gunheath, Lansalson, and Bojea. At the end of the Trenance Valley the river passes under the Cornish Main Line
Cornish Main Line
The Cornish Main Line is a railway line in the United Kingdom, which forms the backbone for rail services in Cornwall, as well as providing a direct line to London.- History :...
railway and enters St Austell.
The second tributary begins within the massive Littlejohn's/Dorothy china clay pit in a region that was originally known as Longstone Moor, where previously it had been a long, shallow valley that had drained the surrounding high moorland area. It travels southwards beneath a massive waste tip, whence it issues from a culvert at the head of the Gover Valley and the base of the tip. From there, it winds roughly south until it too reaches another viaduct belonging to the Cornish Main Line railway, wherefrom it turns east southeast and follows this heading for approximately a kilometre into St Austell, where it joins the Trenance Valley river.
Once leaving St Austell the river flows south along the Pentewan
Pentewan
Pentewan is a coastal village and former port in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated at three miles south of St Austell at the mouth of the St Austell River....
Valley, which extends for 5 kilometres (3.1 mi), to the village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
of Pentewan where the river enters the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. The final section of the river can vary course significantly as it crosses Pentewan beach and flows into the sea at .