River Valency

Source of the Valency.
River Valency at Newmills.

The River Valency (Cornish: Dowr an Velinji)[1] is in north Cornwall, England, UK, with many small tributaries, and after running past Lesnewth cuts a valley before entering the sea at the harbour of the village of Boscastle. One of its tributaries is quite large, the Jordan, which it joins in Boscastle just before the B3263 road bridge.

The Valency valley is steep-sided and the sides of the lower section are wooded. The valley has been flooded many times, most seriously in the Boscastle flood of 2004 when significant channel erosion occurred.[2] (Heavy rainfall for 7 hours over a wide area in the afternoon of 16 August 2004 led to severe flooding and structural damage.) The agricultural use and fast drainage within the catchment areas of the Valency and Jordan are related to the extent of the Boscastle flooding.

Etymology

The name has been explained as a corruption of the Cornish Melinjy (i.e. Melin-Chy = Mill-house) from the mill which existed in medieval times.

References

  1. ↑ Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF) : List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel. Cornish Language Partnership.
  2. ↑ BBC News May 2007 - Flood village bridge plan opposed

Coordinates: 50°41′30″N 4°42′01″W / 50.6916°N 4.7004°W / 50.6916; -4.7004

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