River Bourne

The River Bourne rises in the parish of Ightham, Kent and flows in a generally south easterly direction through the parishes of Borough Green, Platt, Plaxtol, West Peckham, Hadlow, and East Peckham where it joins the River Medway. In the 18th century the river was known as the Busty or Buster, the Shode or Sheet, but is not known by these names nowadays. A bourne is a type of stream, while shode means a branch of a river.
Several springs feed into the headwaters of the River Bourne and there are three contenders for its actual main source. It could be a spring on the North Downs at New House Farm, Yaldham, though the Environment Agency prefers a spring to the west of Oldbury Hill. It could be a spring on Oldbury Hill which feeds the Waterflash, a tree-ringed pond, which drains to the north of the hill. Oldbury Hill is on the Greensand Ridge. These merge in Ightham where the Bourne has cut a 117 feet deep gorge through the limestone. In 1891 ice age relicts were found near here in a quarry. The river passes through woods to Basted, where a mill pond gives clues to its industrial past. From Ightham through Hadlow to Golden Green, the river powered numerous watermills. Road names are full of mill references. The principal products were flour and paper. The area of the Medway Valley near East Peckham is prone to flooding and the River Bourne contributes much water, so is regularly monitored and dredged to ensure an uninterrupted water flow. There is a gauging station at Hadlow .

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