The Stour

Collyer's Brook

Collyer's Brook rises in the grounds of Springhead House, in Fontmell Magna. When it reaches Mill Bridge in Fontmell Magna it becomes the Fontmell Brook.

It has three mills on its short run and was traditionally used for sheep-washing - some old estate maps show a 'sheep dip' in Mill Street, Fontmell Magna

On October 4th 1999, Mill Bridge was the first bridge to be named as part of Common Ground's 'Naming of Brook and Bridge' project (image, top right) which aims to put the name of the rivers or brooks on the bridges which cross them, proposing that each river valley should have its own letter form, a kind of signature, so that you can tell which catchment you are in from the lettering on the bridges.