River Chater

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title: "River Chater" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["rivers-of-leicestershire", "rivers-of-rutland"] description: "River in Leicestershire and Rutland, England" topic_path: "general/rivers-of-leicestershire" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Chater" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary River in Leicestershire and Rutland, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]

Field	Value
name	Chater
image	River Chater, Ketton - geograph.org.uk - 62697.jpg
image_caption	The Chater at Ketton
pushpin_map	United Kingdom Rutland
pushpin_map_caption	Location of the river mouth in Rutland
subdivision_type1	Country
subdivision_name1	England
subdivision_type3	Counties
subdivision_name3	Rutland, Leicestershire
length	35 km
source1_location	Whatborough Hill, Leicestershire
source1_coordinates
source1_elevation	182 m
mouth	River Welland
mouth_location	Tinwell, Rutland
mouth_coordinates
mouth_elevation	30 m
river_system	River Welland
tributaries_right	Morcott Brook
::

| name = Chater | name_native = | name_native_lang = | name_other = | name_etymology = | image = River Chater, Ketton - geograph.org.uk - 62697.jpg | image_size = | image_caption = The Chater at Ketton | map = | map_size = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = United Kingdom Rutland | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption= Location of the river mouth in Rutland | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = England | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = Counties | subdivision_name3 = Rutland, Leicestershire | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 = | length = 35 km | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = | discharge1_max = | source1 = | source1_location = Whatborough Hill, Leicestershire | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = 182 m | mouth = River Welland | mouth_location = Tinwell, Rutland | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = 30 m | progression = | river_system = River Welland | basin_size = | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = Morcott Brook | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra =

The River Chater is a river in the East Midlands of England. It is a tributary of the River Welland, and is about 35 km long.

Course

It rises near Whatborough Hill in Leicestershire, and then flows east, past Sauvey Castle and Launde Abbey, before crossing into Rutland. Chater Valley is a 3.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Loddington, Leicestershire. The river continues east, to the north of Ridlington, Preston, and then to the south of Manton and the north of Wing. North-east of South Luffenham, it is joined by the Morcott Brook. It continues north-east, going under the A6121 road at Foster's Bridge and through Ketton, before meeting the River Welland near Tinwell.

The river drains an area of 49 km2 that is mostly clay, but with limestone and sandstone in certain areas. The catchment is rural, with mixed farming and woodland in its lower reaches. Originally, the project for the massive reservoir of Rutland Water considered damming the valley of the Chater, but the underlying geology was not conducive for this. Additionally, the available land space would have made the reservoir smaller than the eventual site of Rutland Water.

Wildlife

The river holds a variety of fish species, including roach, dace and chub. White-clawed crayfish are known to be in the river, which puts them at risk, as invasive species of crayfish are known to be in the Welland.

History

Mills used the river to power waterwheels, usually for grinding corn. The last watermill operating on the river was at South Luffenham in 1948, when the leat was damaged and never repaired.

Etymology

Chater is a pre-English river name of uncertain etymology. Eilert Ekwall suggests it derives from Brittonic ceto-dubron meaning forest stream.

Ketton, a village that the river flows past, takes its name from the Chater.

References

Bibliography

• {{cite book |title=A History of the Fens of South Lincolnshire |author1=William Henry Wheeler |author-link=William Henry Wheeler |author2=Leonard Charles Batty |publisher=British Library Historical Print Collections |year=1896 |isbn=978-1-241-32839-9}}

References

1. Wheeler and Batty (1896), p.291
2. (2013). "High Leicestershire". Natural England Character Area Profiles.
3. (2008). "The Heritage of Rutland Water". Rutland Local History & Record Society.
4. "Designated Sites View: Chater Valley". Natural England.
5. "Map of Chater Valley". Natural England.
6. (2015). "Rutland Water". Ordnance Survey.
7. "Chater - Upper".
8. "Chater - Lower".
9. "31010 - Chater at Fosters Bridge".
10. (1982). "Rutland Water -- Decade of Change : Proceedings of the Conference held in Leicester, U.K., 1-3 April 1981". Springer Netherlands.
11. (November 2006). "Rivers Chater & Welland, Rutland".
12. (1994). "Industry in the Landscape". Routledge.
13. (1994). "The Place-Names of Rutland". English Place-Name Society.
14. (1947). "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names". Clarendon Press.

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