River Isle

The River Isle rises near Combe St Nicholas in south Somerset and winds north for about 19 miles before joining the River Parrett south of Langport. It collects several small springs near Wadeford and passes villages such as Donyatt, Ilminster, Puckington and Isle Abbotts. The upper six miles drop 250 feet, creating fast water that once powered numerous mills. At least one mill is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, linking the river to the medieval wool trade. A Grade II listed road bridge spans the river at Knowle St Giles. In the 1830s a lock was built where the Westport Canal meets the Isle to keep water levels steady. A little further downstream, Chard Reservoir was created in the 1840s by damming the river to feed the Chard Canal. Near Ilton and Puckington the Isle is joined by Cad Brook, a stream first mentioned in a 13th-century copy of a 10th-century charter. Cad Brook itself has had several names. In 1928 Eilert Ekwall suggested it meant ‘Caduc’s stream’, but by 1936 he thought it might be ‘jackdaw stream’. More recently Andrew Breeze has proposed a Brittonic origin meaning ‘misty stream’. The brook gave its name to the hamlet of Cad Green, though by the 1920s locals called the stream Ding. Modern maps now show Cad Brook again, showing how names can shift and return.