River Sherbourne

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Sherbourne
Whitley Abbey Bridge, over the River Sherbourne in Whitley.
Location
Country	England
City	Coventry
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Hawkes End, Allesley
Mouth	River Sowe
• location	Baginton
• coordinates	52°22′35″N 1°29′38″W / 52.37639°N 1.49389°W / 52.37639; -1.49389

The River Sherbourne is a river that flows under the centre of the city of Coventry, in the West Midlands, in England.

The source of the river is in the fields near Hawkes End in the parish of Allesley. It flows for about 8 miles or 13 km in a generally southeastern direction. In the centre of Coventry it flows through Spon End (where it is spanned by Vignoles Bridge) and it is culverted just before it reaches the Inner Ring Road and Spon Street, and continues through the suburb of Whitley. It joins the River Sowe (a tributary of the River Avon) south of the A45 road near Baginton.^[1]

The name Sherbourne is said to derive from Scir Burna, "clear stream" in Old English.

In 1935 and on eight more recent occasions,^[when?] the upper Sherbourne around Allesley has dried up almost completely.^{[citation needed]}

Coventry City Council has plans to open up a stretch of the river which is currently culverted, and runs beneath The Burges, a street in the city centre.^[2]

As part of the Sherbourne Valley Project, there are plans to return the river to its natural course, avoiding the current culverts and weirs, in the area of Coundon Wedge, west of Coventry. Specifically where the river is joined by the North Brook. This would allow fish to pass up and down the river more easily.^[3]

The grade II-listed Sherbourne Viaduct carries the Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line over the river near the Charterhouse.^[4]