The River Tern (also historically known as the Tearne[1]) is a river in Shropshire, England. It rises north-east of Market Drayton in the north of the county. The source of the Tern is considered to be the lake in the grounds of Maer Hall, Staffordshire. From here it flows for about 30 miles (48 km), being fed by the River Meese and the River Roden, until it joins the River Severn near Attingham Park, Atcham.

River Tern
River Tearne
The Tern near Longdon-on-Tern
A map of the Tern and its tributaries. Watershed is shown in cyan.
Location
CountryUnited Kingdom
StateEngland
CountyShropshire
CityMarket Drayton, Atcham
Physical characteristics
SourceMaer Pool
 • locationlake in the grounds of Maer Hall, Staffordshire
 • coordinates52°56′36″N 2°19′03″W / 52.94323°N 2.31742°W / 52.94323; -2.31742
 • elevation114 m (374 ft)
MouthRiver Severn
 • location
Attingham Park, Atcham, Shropshire
 • coordinates
52°40′42″N 2°39′44″W / 52.67828°N 2.66214°W / 52.67828; -2.66214
 • elevation
44 m (144 ft)
Length30 mi (48 km)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftRiver Meese, River Strine
 • rightRiver Roden

Extensive peat bog formerly existed,[2] extending from Crudgington on the Tern as far as Newport.

Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct

At Longdon-on-Tern, the Tern is spanned by the Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct, the world's first large-scale cast iron navigable aqueduct (Benjamin Outram's 13 m cast iron Holmes Aqueduct pre-dated it by a month), designed by Thomas Telford to carry the Shrewsbury Canal. Although no longer connected to the canal network, The 62-yard (57 m) long structure still stands, but is marooned in the middle of a field.

References

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  1. ^ Secret Shropshire: Field name map of Withington Parish[dead link]
  2. ^ Reported in 1838 by John Selby Prideaux and Sir William Jardine, "An attempt to ascertain the Fauna of Shropshire and North Wales", Magazine of Zoology and Botany, vol. 2 (1838), p. 538.
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  • Tern Views - a detailed description with photographs