Editing River Stour, Suffolk (section)

==Description==
[[File:Constable DeadhamVale.jpg|thumb|right|Constable's ''Dedham Vale'' was painted in 1802.]]
The river rises in Wratting Common, Cambridgeshire, to the south of [[Weston Colville]], and passes near [[Great Bradley]] where it is joined by Kirtling Brook. It continues through [[Little Thurlow]], [[Great Thurlow]], [[Great Wratting]], and [[Kedington]] before passing to the east of [[Haverhill, Suffolk|Haverhill]], where the county boundary between Suffolk and Essex starts to follow its course. The villages of [[Wixoe]], [[Stoke-by-Clare]], [[Clare, Suffolk|Clare]] and [[Cavendish, Suffolk|Cavendish]] are all on the left bank of the river. The River Glem joins it on the left bank, before it passes to the west of [[Long Melford]] and then skirts the western and southern edges of [[Sudbury, Suffolk|Sudbury]]. It is crossed by the [[A131 road]] at Ballingdon Bridge, to the south-west of Sudbury, below which it is officially navigable. It continues through [[Bures, England|Bures]] and to the south of [[Nayland]] to reach the western edge of [[Stratford St Mary]]. [[Dedham, Essex|Dedham]] is on the south bank and [[Flatford]] on the north bank. To the south of [[Brantham]] the river becomes tidal below Cattawade barrage, after which it opens out to become an [[estuary]] near [[Manningtree]], and runs along the southern side of the [[Shotley Peninsula]]. The international port of [[Harwich]] is on the south bank, and it is joined by the [[River Orwell]] as it reaches the sea to the east of Harwich.<ref name=osmap/><ref>{{cite web |title=River Stour Navigation |url=https://www.waterways.org.uk/ipswich/river_stour_navigation |website=www.waterways.org.uk |access-date=15 September 2015}}</ref>

The whole of the river valley above Manningtree is a designated National Landscape, formerly known as an [[Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]]. The designated area is called [[Dedham Vale National Landscape|Dedham Vale]], and is named after the village of [[Dedham, Essex|Dedham]] in Essex. It is an area of rural beauty on both sides of the river, covering around {{convert|35|sqmi|km2|sigfig=1}} in total. The valley is directly accessible by rail from London and Colchester, but people wishing to travel from Ipswich must change. The valley is generally poorly connected by road to the Suffolk coast.<ref>Field Studies Centre https://www.field-studies-council.org/locations/flatfordmill/</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://dedhamvale-nl.org.uk/visiting/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213211111/https://dedhamvale-nl.org.uk/visiting/ |archive-date=13 December 2023 |url-status=live |title=Visiting Dedham Vale |publisher=Dedham Vale National Landscape & Stour Valley Project |p=2}}</ref> The area was better connected, before the closure of most of the [[Stour Valley Railway]] in 1967.

The earliest known settlement on the river in Suffolk was at Great Bradley, where human occupation has been recorded for over 5,000 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://greatbradley.weebly.com/stone-age.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003152332/https://greatbradley.weebly.com/stone-age.html |archive-date=3 October 2023 |url-status=live |title=Stone Age Great Bradley |publisher=Great Bradley Village Website}}</ref> During the Anglo-Saxon era, the river became the boundary between the [[Kingdom of Essex|Kingdom of the East Saxons]] and the [[Kingdom of East Anglia]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Yorke |first=Barbara |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BC6EAgAAQBAJ&q=barbara+yorke+kings |title=Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-70725-6 |pages=65}}</ref> The ''[[Life of King Alfred]]'' records a naval battle taking place at the mouth of the river in [[884]], where [[Alfred the Great]] defeated a force of 13 Viking ships.{{sfn|Asser|1983|loc=Chapter 67}}

The Stour valley has been portrayed as a working river by artists including [[John Constable]], [[Thomas Gainsborough]], [[Alfred Munnings]], [[John Nash (artist)|John Nash]] and [[Cedric Morris]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dedhamvalesociety.org.uk/pages/55-artists |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819211612/https://www.dedhamvalesociety.org.uk/pages/55-artists |archive-date=19 August 2022 |url-status=live |title=Artists |publisher=Dedham Vale Society |year=2021}}</ref> Constable's connection with the area was especially important, evident in such works as ''[[Stour Valley and Dedham Church]]'' c. 1815.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://collections.mfa.org/objects/33153 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009101958/https://collections.mfa.org/objects/33153 |archive-date=9 October 2020 |url-status=live |title=Stour Valley and Dedham Church |publisher=Museum of Fine Art, Boston}}</ref> John Nash, who was an official war artist, settled in the Stour valley and is buried at St Andrew's at [[Wormingford]], one of its typically serene small settlements.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dedhamvale-nl.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Wormingford-to-Stoke-by-Nayland-Walk.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128155059/https://dedhamvale-nl.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Wormingford-to-Stoke-by-Nayland-Walk.pdf |archive-date=28 January 2024 |url-status=live |title=Wormingford to Stoke-by-Nayland |publisher=Dedham Vale National Landscape & Stour Valley Project |p=1}}</ref>

The [[River Stour Trust]], a [[waterway restoration]] group, was set up in 1968 to protect and enhance the right of the public to navigate the River Stour. The trust seeks to restore through navigation from Sudbury to the sea, following on the successful restoration of the locks at Stratford St Mary, Dedham, Flatford and Great Cornard, by reinstating the remaining locks. Meanwhile, the Trust encourages use of the river by small craft and organises annual events for all age groups and abilities on different parts of it. Boat trips and private charters, skippered by volunteer crews from the Trust, are available in Flatford and Sudbury between Easter and October.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.riverstourtrust.org/about/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608124551/https://www.riverstourtrust.org/about/ |archive-date=8 June 2023 |url-status=live |title=About the Trust |publisher=River Stour Trust}}</ref> [[RSPB Stour Estuary]] is a [[nature reserve]] managed by the [[Royal Society for the Protection of Birds]] (RSPB). It is located on the south bank of the estuary, to the east of Wrabness.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rspb.org.uk/days-out/reserves/stour-estuary 
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128165344/https://www.rspb.org.uk/days-out/reserves/stour-estuary |archive-date=28 January 2024 |url-status=live |title=Stour Estuary, Wrabness |publisher=RSPB}}</ref> Just to the west is Wrabness Nature Reserve, a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] covering {{convert|69|acre|ha}}. It is run by the [[Essex Wildlife Trust]] and is also a designated [[Local Nature Reserve]] and a Local Wildlife Site.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.essexwt.org.uk/nature-reserves/wrabness |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129121131/https://www.essexwt.org.uk/nature-reserves/wrabness |archive-date=29 November 2021 |url-status=live |title=Wrabness Nature Reserve |publisher=[[Essex Wildlife Trust]]}}</ref>

In July 2019 sections of the river ran dry because of low rainfall and debris blocking flows at Bures Mill. The [[Environment Agency]] pumped water from boreholes into the river in an attempt to restore water levels.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-49048532 |title='Constable Country' river drying up |date=19 July 2019|work=BBC News |access-date=21 July 2019}}</ref>

The river from Cattawade barrage to Orwell Haven is tidal and used by large ships. The channel is dredged to {{convert|17|ft|m|0}}, and this section should only be navigated by those experienced in tidal river navigation.{{sfn|Cumberlidge|2009|pp=279-280}} [[Coastal trading vessel|Coasters]] travel up the river as far as the quay at [[Mistley]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.visitmyharbour.com/harbours/east-coast/stour/expanded.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602181207/https://www.visitmyharbour.com/harbours/east-coast/stour/expanded.asp |archive-date=2 June 2018 |url-status=live |title=Stour, River |publisher=Visit My Harbour}}</ref>