The Stour

Key Brook

The Key Brook rises to the west of Shaftesbury, Dorset, emerging from the hill on which the town is built. It joins the Manston Brook at West Orchard. In 2001 letter cutter Rachel Jackson created a named stone to be included in the restoration of a bridge over the Key Brook at West Orchard (top left). This was organised by the Parish Council of the Orchards and Margaret Marsh, inspired by Common Ground's 'Naming of Brook and Bridge' project 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. Other bridges that have been named include Mill Bridge over Collyer's Brook in Fontmell Magna, Dorset. You can read more about this on the Common Ground web-site at www . commonground . org . uk

The picture on the right shows a bridge over a Key tributary near Jolliffe's Farm.