River Roach

Roach
River Roach flowing through Rochford Hundred Golf Course
River Roach is located in Essex
River Roach
Location of the river mouth within Essex
Location
CountryEngland
CountyEssex
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationRayleigh
 • coordinates51°35′50″N 0°37′56″E / 51.5973°N 0.6322°E / 51.5973; 0.6322 (Source of Hawkwell Brook)
 • elevation58 m (190 ft)
MouthRiver Crouch
 • location
east of Wallasea Island
 • coordinates
51°37′00″N 0°52′18″E / 51.6166°N 0.8718°E / 51.6166; 0.8718 (Mouth of River Roach)
 • elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Length22 km (14 mi)
Basin features
River systemRiver Crouch
Designation
Official nameCrouch & Roach Estuaries
Designated24 March 1995
Reference no.721[1]
River Roach
River Crouch
The Middleway / Havengore Creek
Paglesham Pool
Paglesham Reach
Potton Creek
Barlinghall Creek
1
Prittle Brook
Stambridge Mills
Weir
Tidal mill pound
Salt Bridge, Rochford
Rochford Reservoir
Weir on Noblesgreen Ditch
Shenfield–Southend line
2
Eastwood Brook
Rectory Road Hawkwell
B1013 Cherry Orchard Way
Hockley Brook
Cherry Orchard Jubilee Country Park
Thorpe Close (becomes Main River)
B1013 Main Road Hawkwell
4
Source of Hawkwell Brook
3
Source of Noblesgreen Ditch

The River Roach is a river that flows entirely through the English county of Essex. It is one of four main streams that originate in the Rayleigh Hills to the west, and flow east. They then flow towards the centre of the Rochford Basin, a circular feature which may have been caused by an asteroid impact in the Late Oligocene or Early Miocene periods. To the east of Rochford, the river becomes tidal, and is governed by the Crouch Harbour Authority. It joins the River Crouch between Wallasea Island and Foulness Island. To the west of Rochford, there is some doubt as to which of the four streams is officially the Roach.

At Stambridge, there was a tidal mill from at least the 1500s, although few details are known until it was rebuilt in 1809. A pound was filled by the incoming tide, and was released to drive a water wheel as the tide fell. On spring tides, this gave around 7 hours of operation, which gradually decreased as the tides reduced, and at neap tides, the operation of the mill was entirely dependent on the flow from the upper river. Rankins, the millers, objected to plans by the Great Eastern Railway to build a dam and reservoirs in Rochford, as it would damage their operation, but a single reservoir was authorised in 1904.

The river channels are designated as "heavily modified" from their natural state by the Environment Agency, who measure the water quality. This is moderate for most of the tributaries, and the chemical status has improved since 2013. Charles Darwin's HMS Beagle was moored on the river from 1850 as a Coast Guard watch ship. It was sold for breaking, but an archaeological survey concluded in 2008 that much of it still remains buried beneath the mud near Paglesham. The Paglesham Reach is also significant for its native oysters.

  1. ^ "Crouch & Roach Estuaries". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.