Piddle Brook
The Piddle Brook is a watercourse in Worcestershire; It starts in Kington and flows past the villages of Flyford Flavell, North Piddle, Naunton Beauchamp and Wyre Piddle before joining the River Avon near Pershore.
| Piddle Brook | |
|---|---|
 Piddle Brook flowing through Naunton Beauchamp | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | |
• location | River Avon |
• coordinates | 52.116771°N 2.068359°W |
The Wyre Piddle Brewery is based about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the brook from which it takes the names of its beers, such as Piddle in the Hole, Piddle in the Wind, Piddle in the Dark & Piddle in the Snow.[1]
In 2009 Worcestershire Wildlife Trust purchased the meadows in Naunton Beauchamp which Piddle Brook flows through.[2]
The brook is forded on the road to Naunton Beauchamp at Sea Ford.[3]
Origin of the name
William Henry Dugan, in his book Worcestershire Place Names, states that although the word "Piddle" is not listed in any Anglo-Saxon dictionary, it is found in a few places in Anglo-Saxon charters. Dugan believes that the word "Piddle" is an old English word for a small stream.[4] The former Celtic name for the Piddle may have been Wyre, as there is a town on the brook called Wyre Piddle.[5]
References
- "Wyre Piddle Brewery". pub-explorer.com. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
- "Piddle Brook Meadows - success!". Retrieved 2 September 2011.
- "Sea Ford". wetroads.co.uk. 10 August 2001.
- William Henry Dugan (1905). Worcestershire Place Names. Oxford University Press. p. 128.
- Reaney, P.H. (1964). The Origin Of English Place-Names. Routledge and Keagan Paul. p. 80.