The River Lugg () rises near Llangynllo in Powys, Wales. From its source, it flows through the border town of Presteigne and then into Herefordshire, England. It meets its main tributary, the River Arrow, to the south of Leominster, then flows into the River Wye downstream of Hereford at Mordiford, around from its source. Its name comes from a Welsh root, and means "bright stream".
As it passes through the countryside, it is crossed by a number of bridges, many of which are listed structures. Lugg Bridge at Lugwardine and the bridge at Mordiford with its associated causeway both date from the 14th century. The river at Leominster was altered significantly in the 1960s, when it was diverted to the south and then along the course of the Leominster and Kington Railway around the northern edge of the town, as part of a flood defence scheme. In the past, it was important for milling, supplying power to nearly one third of the mills in Herefordshire at the time of the Domesday Book. There are a few mills left, and some obvious mill sites, but many of the mills below Leominster were bought up and their weirs demolished as part of a scheme to make the river navigable in the 1690s. This was not a success, as the water levels dropped creating shoals, and in the 1720s, some of the weirs were reinstated, with pound locks to enable boats to bypass them. Navigation up to Leominster was for a time possible, although it was never hugely successful, and ceased in the 1860s, once railways had been built in the area.
The river was a free navigation as a result of powers obtained in an act of Parliament, the Rivers Wye and Lugg Navigation Act 1695 (7 & 8 Will. 3. c. 14), but in 2002, the Environment Agency became the navigation authority following the passing of the Wye Navigation Order 2002 (SI 2002/1998). This reaffirmed the right of navigation on the river, but prohibited the building of locks and weirs, and so most boating is by canoes and kayaks. The river is also used for fishing, as it has good populations of wild brown trout and grayling. Water quality of the river system is moderate, although some of its tributaries have poor water quality, and some bad. In common with many rivers, the chemical quality changed from good to fail in 2019, following the introduction of testing for chemicals not previously included in the quality assessment. The whole of the river is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and since 2003, a policy of building fish passes where there are weirs has led to significant improvements to the presence of migratory fish in the river.
Course
The River Lugg rises at two locations on Pool Hill, to the north-west of Llangunllo, close to the contour, and is joined by several other streams as it descends rapidly. It is crossed by the Heart of Wales Line, between and stations, before passing under the first of four bridges that carry the B4356 road over it. Already it has dropped below the contour. It turns to the east to reach Greenstreet Bridge on the B4356, and then to the south-east to pass the village of Llangunllo. Just beyond it is Llangunllo Bridge, again on the B4356. Mynachdy moated enclosure, a well-preserved medieval moated homestead is situated on the north bank, after which the river turns to the south to pass the grade I listed Monaughty House, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. It is one of the oldest stone buildings in Radnorshire, and renovation in the 1990s saw many of its later 19th century modifications removed.
Next it is crossed by the A488 Penybont to Shrewsbury road, after which a tributary joins on the south bank. Castell Foel-Allt, the remains of a medieval motte and bailey castle is located on the north bank, and is a scheduled monument. It passes under Whitton Bridge on the B4357 road, and is joined by Cascob Brook on its south bank. Almost opposite is a short section of Offa's Dyke, a long linear earthworks which roughly defined much of the border between England and Wales. After a fourth crossing by the B4356, it arrives on the outskirts of Presteigne. It is crossed by the narrow, single-arched Old Boultibrooke Bridge, probably dating from the 18th century, which has been bypassed by a new bridge constructed in 1932, just to its east. After it is joined by Norton Brook and the English/Welsh border, the river continues along the northern edge of Presteigne, passing the Old Mill, formerly known as New Mill House. Close by is the weir which once powered the mill. Lugg Bridge, the first of several with this name, carries Ford Street over the river, and has three segmental arches. The basic structure dates from the 17th century, but it has been heavily modified.
Continuing eastwards, the river comes to Rosser's Bridge, where the border turns to the south, and the river is wholly in Herefordshire. Hindwell Brook joins on the south bank, and the course turns to the north-east. Another tributary, Lime Brook, flows southwards to join the north bank. Just before Lyepole Bridge, As the river turns to the south-east, a large weir directs water into a mill leat, which runs on the north side of the main channel to Aymestrey Mill, a grist mill built in the 1860s. Most of the machinery is still in situ, and the wheel now powers a printing press. The A4110 road bridge crosses the river and the mill tailrace, and as the river turns to the south, a similar weir creates a leat to the west of the river. Mortimer's Cross Water Mill is located further to the south, fed by another weir. It is long and a leat feeds the mill, which has three sets of stones. It was a paper mill until the 1830s, and then became a grain mill. New machinery was installed in 1870 and it produced animal feed until the 1940s. It is unusual in that it was designed to be operated by one man. It has been restored and on days when it is open to the public, it can be seen in operation.
To the south of the mill is Lugg Bridge, consisting of three arches, two spanning the river and a third spanning the mill tailrace. The north face dates from 1771, when the bridge was built, while the south face dates from 1938, when it was widened. At Lugg Green, Kingsland is another Lugg Bridge, and after a series of weirs, the river arrives on the northern edge of Leominster. There were once 19 bridges in Leominster, most of them crossing the Lugg, Kenwater or Pinsley Brook. The river system within the town was radically reworked in the 1960s, as part of a flood alleviation scheme. The Lugg continued southwards along the course of the Kenwater, to a new weir close to the former course of the Leominster and Kington Railway. The Kenwater passed over the weir, while a new channel was cut for the Lugg, following the course of the railway. It then passed under the railway to meet the Ridgemoor Brook, and under Ridgemoor Bridge, a single span that dates from 1815 but was widened in 1940, which carries the A44 road. Below the bridge, it is joined by Cheaton Brook, and then rejoins its original course. The Pinsley Brook was diverted into the Kenwater to the west of the town in 1968 and its original course filled in. Parts of it had been culverted some years before that.
The Lugg then passes under Mosaic Bridge, constructed for the A49 bypass in 1988. It takes its name from a mosaic on the southern pier which was designed by young people at the time of its construction, and has since been restored. Eaton Bridge, carrying the A44, has three arches and was built in the 16th century, with modifications made in the 18th century. Near Eaton Hall is another three-arched bridge, dating from the 19th century, where the eastern arch crosses a leat. The river is then joined by the River Arrow on its western bank, and was crossed by the Worcester, Bromyard and Leominster Railway until it was closed in 1964. As the river passes under Ford Bridge at Ford, the B4361 road, the railway and the A49 road are squeezed into a narrow gap between it and War Hill to the west. who lived at Hampton Court, a grade I listed house built between 1427 and 1436 and modified in the 18th century. The river forms the western and southern boundaries of the associated parkland and the building was remodelled and restored by Wyattville for Richard Arkwright at that time. The Humber Brook forms the eastern boundary of the estate, and joins the Lugg on its north bank. after which the river turns to the west. It is crossed by two bridges carrying the Welsh Marches Line just to the south of the twin tunnels through Dinmore Hill. Dinmore railway station was located on the north bank, Wellington Brook joins on the west bank of the river, opposite the grade I listed church of St Mary, Marden, which dates from the 13th and 14th centuries. As it approaches Moreton Bridge, the channel splits into two, enclosing an island, and the three-span bridge crosses both channels. It dates from the 16th or 17th century, but was altered in the mid-19th century. The bridge is to the east of the village of Moreton on Lugg. After Wergins Bridge, Morton Brook joins on the west bank, and the river is crossed by a railway bridge carrying the Cotswold Line. The Little Lugg joins from the east near the bridge, which was the location of corn mills in 1903, when a structure spanned the river to the south of the bridge. After the River Frome joins on the east bank, the final bridge connects Mordiford on the east bank to Hampton Bishop. The bridge dates from the 14th century, and was widened in the 16th century. It consists of two main arches, through which the Lugg flows, with two flood arches and a causeway containing five more arches to the west of the main arches. The causeway was widened on the upstream side in the 20th century. To the west of the causeway are the remains of a pound lock. The walls of the chamber survive, although they are in poor condition. The Pentaloe Brook joins the river on its east bank just below the bridge, and then the Lugg joins the River Wye.
Recreation
The river is popular with canoeists who have undisputed rights of navigation. However travelling from Leominster to Hereford is challenged by numerous fallen trees obstructing the river. It is a good fishing river, with populations of wild brown trout and grayling.
Environment
The Environment Agency measure the water quality of the river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of invertebrates, angiosperms and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail. Equivalent data for the Welsh section is not readily available.
The water quality of the River Lugg system was as follows in 2019.
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Like most rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and mercury compounds, none of which had previously been included in the assessment.
From its source to its mouth, the entire length of the river has been a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) since 2 February 1995. It received the designation because it was one of the best examples of a clay river, with its chemistry changing from nutrient-poor in the upper reaches to naturally nutrient-rich in the lower reaches. As well as supporting several rare plant communities and otters, it also provides habitat for Atlantic stream crayfish, Atlantic Salmon, Bullhead and Twaite Shad. Below Eaton, the river is a designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC). During the 1980s and 1990s, there was a sharp drop in the number of migrating salmon on the river, as access was impeded by weirs. From 2003, a number of fish passes were constructed at these locations, and a survey in 2013 found that numbers of salmon in the river and in the tributary River Arrow had increased dramatically. The survey also found that brown trout had benefitted from the improvements, as their numbers had also increased. Some of the work was funded by the Lugg and Arrow Fisheries Association.
The Eaton Angling Club, which was established in 1877, manages the fishing rights on of the river near Eaton Hall. Every year since 1955, they had stocked the river with 500 to 600 rainbow trout, but in 2009, some of their stocking was with triploid brown trout, infertile females which cannot inter-breed with the wild trout. Because of the conservation status of the river, and guided by the Environment Agency's National Trout and Grayling Fisheries Strategy, they have reduced the levels of stocking, which still include some triploid brown trout. Research on similar rivers has shown that reducing the levels of restocking can have a disproportionate benefit for the native populations of both brown trout and grayling, and the club are monitoring catch data to see if this is the case on the Lugg. A survey by the Trout Trust identified the bridge at Eaton as a problem for migrating fish, as there is a weir which forms part of the bridge footings. While salmon and larger trout can easily negotiate the flume that this creates, it acts as a barrier to smaller fish, grayling and eels, and they recommended that some remedial action should be taken.
Construction of a Larinier fish pass at Ballsgate Weir, near Aymestrey, was expected to be completed in autumn 2019, but work was delayed by high water levels in the river throughout the winter from September onwards. The need for the fish pass was shown by fish surveys carried out above and below the weir, which showed that while plenty of salmon spawned below the weir, very few succeeded in getting further upstream. The fish pass was completed by the Wye and Usk Foundation in September 2020, and was funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The weir was the last major obstacle on the river for migrating salmon, and opens up miles of spawning grounds further upstream, in addition to making it easier for other species to move up and down the river.
2020 and 2021 illegal damage
In November/December 2020, damage was done to a stretch of the riverbank near Kingsland in Herefordshire. The damaged area, which was part of the SSSI, was home to protected wildlife including crayfish, otters, salmon, and lampreys. It was discovered that trees had been felled, river-bed gravel removed, the meanders straightened, and all vegetation in the area had been dug up by bulldozer, without permission, leaving the riverbank devastated.
A lawyer for Salmon and Trout Conservation, who is also a local resident, said:
The Environment Agency, Natural England and the Forestry Commission interrupted the work, preventing further damage. Herefordshire Wildlife Trust said the changes would have "huge repercussions for wildlife downstream" and urged that the landowner responsible be prosecuted. Further damage was done in December 2021.
In March 2022, the Environment Agency and Natural England launched legal proceedings against the landowner, following an investigation.
In April 2023, Price was jailed for twelve months and ordered to pay a total of over £1.2million in court costs and for the restoration of the affected stretch of river. His sentence was reduced to 10 months on appeal, and he served 3 months before being released in July 2023.
By May 2026, Price had installed buffer strips and replanted trees, though some later died, and the Environment Agency and Natural England had also placed logs in the river to encourage fish spawning. The Environment Agency and Natural England said the river's condition was improving, though an ecologist stated the damage could persist for 20 to 30 years.
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links
- River Lugg SSSIs
- Photos of the River Lugg on geograph.org.uk