River Severn - Quiz
  • 1. Who is the legendary princess that the River Severn is named after?
A) Hafren
B) Cornwall
C) Gwendolen
D) Estrildis
  • 2. Which author included the story of Princess Hafren in Historia Regum Britanniae?
A) Geoffrey of Monmouth
B) John Rhŷs
C) Brutus of Troy
D) Arthur Granville Bradley
  • 3. Who invaded the kingdom of Lloegyr from Germania?
A) Corineus
B) Humber the Hun
C) Brutus
D) Locrin
  • 4. Who was the father of Locrin?
A) Father Plynlimon
B) Humber the Hun
C) King Corineus
D) Brutus of Troy
  • 5. Where did Locrin build secret apartments for Estrildis?
A) In the kingdom of Germania
B) In a cave underground
C) In a palace in Cornwall
D) Near the River Stour
  • 6. What is the name of the daughter of King Corineus of Cornwall?
A) Hafren
B) Gwendolen
C) Estrildis
D) Rheidolyn
  • 7. Near which river did the battle between Gwendolen and Locrin take place?
A) River Rheidol
B) River Severn
C) River Stour
D) River Wye
  • 8. How was Locrin killed during the civil war battle?
A) He was captured and executed
B) In a sword fight
C) By drowning
D) By a single arrow
  • 9. According to the myth, why did Gwendolen rename the river after Habren?
A) To celebrate the end of the war
B) To allow the girl to enjoy immortality
C) To honor the memory of Locrin
D) To spite the kingdom of Germania
  • 10. In the second Welsh tradition, who is the father of the three sister rivers?
A) King Corineus
B) Brutus of Troy
C) Humber the Hun
D) Father Plynlimon
  • 11. Who first recorded the legend of the three sisters in the 1840s?
A) John Rhŷs
B) Geoffrey of Monmouth
C) Brutus of Troy
D) Arthur Granville Bradley
  • 12. Which river is identified as 'Gwy' in the legend of the three sisters?
A) River Rheidol
B) River Severn
C) River Wye
D) River Stour
  • 13. In the legend where the sisters race to the sea, what does their father promise as a dowry?
A) The kingdom of Lloegyr
B) All the territory they can cover before dark
C) Palatial apartments underground
D) Title to the mountain of Plynlimon
  • 14. In the race to the sea legend, which direction does Hafren take?
A) West
B) East
C) South
D) North
  • 15. What reward did Hafren receive for reaching the sea first?
A) Immortal status
B) The most fertile country
C) The kingdom of Cornwall
D) A crown of gold
  • 16. Approximately how many lives have been lost in disasters on the River Severn?
A) 500
B) 300
C) 100
D) 1000
  • 17. In what year was the Severn Railway Bridge demolished?
A) 1950
B) 1960
C) 1970
D) 1980
  • 18. What were the names of the two barges involved in the 1960 accident?
A) Arkendale H and Wastdale H
B) Severn Star and Gloucester Queen
C) River King and Bridge Runner
D) Shrewsbury Pride and Bewdley Belle
  • 19. Which towns are specifically mentioned as experiencing frequent flooding from the River Severn?
A) Berkeley and Sharpness
B) Gloucester and Bristol
C) Welshpool and Stourport
D) Shrewsbury and Bewdley
  • 20. In which recent years did major floods occur on the River Severn?
A) 2007 and 2019-20
B) 2000 and 2010
C) 2005 and 2015
D) 2012 and 2022
  • 21. Between which two locations is there a public right of navigation on the River Severn?
A) Pool Quay and Stourport
B) Welshpool and Gloucester
C) Gloucester and Bristol
D) Shrewsbury and Diglis
  • 22. Which act of Parliament created the Severn Commissioners?
A) Transport Act 1947
B) Severn Navigation Act 1842
C) Canal & River Trust Act 2012
D) British Waterways Act 1963
  • 23. Which of these is a location where the Severn Commissioners constructed locks and weirs?
A) Diglis
B) Alney Island
C) Berkeley
D) Welshpool
  • 24. What can cause the river to be closed to navigation?
A) Spring freshet
B) Low water levels
C) Heavy traffic
D) Bridge maintenance
  • 25. At Upper Parting, the river flows on either side of which island?
A) Lyde Rock
B) Stourport Island
C) Chapel Rock
D) Alney Island
  • 26. Which channel of the river at Alney Island is no longer navigable?
A) South Channel
B) North Channel
C) West Channel
D) East Channel
  • 27. What marks the Normal Tidal Limit of the East Channel?
A) Upper Parting
B) Lower Parting
C) Gloucester Docks
D) Llanthony Weir
  • 28. Who acts as the competent harbour authority for the tidal section below Gloucester?
A) Gloucester Harbour Trustees
B) Severn Commissioners
C) Canal & River Trust
D) British Waterways Board
  • 29. Where are navigation lights maintained by the Gloucester Harbour Trustees?
A) Chapel Rock and Lyde Rock
B) Holt and Lincomb
C) Shrewsbury and Bewdley
D) Diglis and Bevere
  • 30. In what year was the Severn Tunnel completed?
A) 1886
B) 1856
C) 1950
D) 1906
  • 31. Which railway company commissioned the Severn Tunnel?
A) South Wales Railway
B) British Rail
C) Gloucester Transport Authority
D) Great Western Railway
  • 32. What is the name of the railway line that passes through the Severn Tunnel?
A) South Wales Main Line
B) Severn Estuary Express
C) Great Western Main Line
D) Gloucester Coastal Line
  • 33. Which original line ran from Gloucester before the tunnel was built?
A) Severn Valley Railway
B) Great Western Tunnel Route
C) Lydney to Newport Line
D) South Wales Railway
  • 34. How many round trips did car-transporting trains make daily in the 1950s?
A) Five
B) Three
C) Ten
D) One
  • 35. What type of locomotive pulled the flat bed carriages carrying cars?
A) Pannier tank locomotive
B) Steam turbine locomotive
C) Electric engine
D) Diesel locomotive
  • 36. Why were car owners advised to cover their vehicles with a sheet?
A) Heavy rain in the tunnel
B) Falling debris from the track
C) Dust from the tunnel walls
D) Sparks from the steam locomotive
  • 37. What was the approximate cost to transport a car in the early 1950s?
A) Ten shillings
B) Thirty shillings
C) One shilling
D) Five pounds
  • 38. In which Welsh county does the River Severn lie?
A) Cardiff
B) Gwynedd
C) Powys
D) Monmouthshire
  • 39. What is the first town the Severn encounters downstream of its source?
A) Welshpool
B) Shrewsbury
C) Newtown
D) Llanidloes
  • 40. What is the last town on the Severn's course in Wales?
A) Abermule
B) Llandinam
C) Newtown
D) Welshpool
  • 41. Which English county does the Severn enter after leaving Wales?
A) Shropshire
B) Herefordshire
C) Worcestershire
D) Gloucestershire
  • 42. Which town is known for having the world's first iron arch bridge?
A) Worcester
B) Bewdley
C) Shrewsbury
D) Ironbridge
  • 43. The Severn joins the Warwickshire Avon outside which town?
A) Worcester
B) Bridgnorth
C) Tewkesbury
D) Gloucester
  • 44. What was the name of the ferry used before the first bridge was built in 1966?
A) Severn Ferry
B) Gloucester Ferry
C) Wales Ferry
D) Aust Ferry
  • 45. Which bridge was Thomas Telford's first ever bridge design?
A) Bewdley Bridge
B) Over Bridge
C) Montford Bridge
D) Mythe Bridge
  • 46. Which bridge is the only one to cross the Severn between Worcester and Tewkesbury?
A) Mythe Bridge
B) Upton Town Bridge
C) Holt Fleet Bridge
D) Haw Bridge
  • 47. Which bridge carries the M50 motorway?
A) Severn Bridge
B) Over Rail Bridge
C) Haw Bridge
D) Queenshill Viaduct
  • 48. The River Vyrnwy begins at which location?
A) Lake Vyrnwy
B) Clent Hills
C) Wyre Forest
D) Plynlimon
  • 49. At what location does the River Tern meet the Severn?
A) Shrewsbury
B) Bridgnorth
C) Stourport-on-Severn
D) Attingham Park
  • 50. Where does the River Stour rise?
A) Wyre Forest
B) Clent Hills
C) Lake Vyrnwy
D) Plynlimon
  • 51. The River Stour reaches its confluence with the Severn at which place?
A) Stourport-on-Severn
B) Kidderminster
C) Wilden
D) Halesowen
  • 52. At what location does the River Frome enter the tidal stretch of the Severn?
A) Over
B) Chepstow
C) Framilode
D) Gloucester
  • 53. Which river flows through the Avon Gorge?
A) Little Avon
B) River Teme
C) Warwickshire Avon
D) Bristol Avon
  • 54. Where do the River Usk and the Ebbw River flow into the Severn Estuary?
A) Uskmouth
B) Chepstow
C) Framilode
D) Over
  • 55. Which brook drains the Wyre Forest?
A) Dowles Brook
B) Sylfaen Brook
C) Mochdre Brook
D) Bechan Brook
  • 56. Where does the River Leadon enter the tidal West Channel of the Severn?
A) Over
B) Framilode
C) Chepstow
D) Uskmouth
  • 57. What is the final tributary to enter the Severn before the Severn Bridge?
A) The Lyd
B) Bideford Brook
C) Mounton Brook
D) Streams via Oldbury Pill
  • 58. In what year did the coalition of Danish armies attempt to annex western Mercia?
A) 900
B) 888
C) 893
D) 875
  • 59. The River Severn's current form was shaped in part by what process during the Pleistocene epoch?
A) Severe flooding
B) Glaciation
C) Volcanic activity
D) Tectonic uplift
  • 60. According to the text, the name history of the river shows influence from which group?
A) Norman
B) Roman
C) Scandinavian
D) Celtic
  • 61. What Old Norse word means 'to fare' or 'to travel'?
A) fara
B) Sæfari
C) faren
D) sær
  • 62. The Ironbridge Gorge was formed to provide the Severn with an exit to what?
A) The sea
B) The Irish Sea
C) A glacial lake
D) The Welsh border
  • 63. In the context of the name Sæfern, what does Middle English 'faren' mean?
A) river
B) north
C) travel
D) sea
  • 64. What is the total length of the River Severn?
A) 300 miles
B) 250 miles
C) 150 miles
D) 220 miles
  • 65. Where does the River Severn rise?
A) Cambrian Mountains
B) Pennine Hills
C) Cotswolds
D) Snowdonia
  • 66. What is the altitude of the River Severn at its source?
A) 400 m
B) 500 m
C) 750 m
D) 610 m
  • 67. What was the Romano-British name for the Severn?
A) Hafren
B) Sæfern
C) Samarosina
D) Sabrina
  • 68. The Welsh name 'Afon Hafren' was first recorded in which document?
A) Domesday Book
B) Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
C) Historia Regum Britanniae
D) Magna Carta
  • 69. Which people used the club-rush to make wicker baskets?
A) The Vikings
B) The Hwicce
C) The Romans
D) The Normans
  • 70. What is the Old Welsh form of the name recorded around 800 AD?
A) Sabrina
B) Hauren
C) Habren
D) Hafren
  • 71. What is the estimated drainage basin area of the Severn Estuary?
A) 2,500 square miles
B) 4,409 square miles
C) 3,200 square miles
D) 5,000 square miles
  • 72. What is the most northerly lock on the lower Severn?
A) Lincomb
B) Gloucester
C) Worcester
D) Stourport
  • 73. How far is the Lincomb lock located from Stourport?
A) 5 miles
B) 2 miles
C) 10 miles
D) 1 mile
  • 74. At which location does the Droitwich Barge Canal join the Severn?
A) Sharpness
B) Lydney
C) Hawford
D) Framilode
  • 75. What type of canal is the Droitwich Barge Canal?
A) Broad beam
B) Abandoned
C) Tidal
D) Narrow beam
  • 76. In what year were the two Droitwich canals re-opened?
A) 1986
B) 1920
C) 2010
D) 1966
  • 77. How many locks are included in the Avon Ring?
A) 50
B) 200
C) 109
D) 129
  • 78. Which company operated paddle steamers in the Severn Estuary until the late 1970s?
A) Waverley Excursions
B) British Waterways
C) Aust Ferry Company
D) P & A Campbell
  • 79. What ship has operated occasional sailings to Sharpness and Lydney since 1986?
A) Glen Usk
B) Cardiff Queen
C) Severn Princess
D) MV Balmoral
  • 80. When did the Aust Ferry close?
A) 1970
B) 1966
C) 1950
D) 1986
  • 81. When did the Hampton Loade Ferry stop operating?
A) 2018
B) 2016
C) 2020
D) 2010
  • 82. Where does the Cathedral Ferry operate?
A) Shrewsbury town centre
B) Ironbridge Gorge
C) Worcester Cathedral
D) Tewkesbury
  • 83. Where does the tidal river begin on the West Channel?
A) Tewkesbury
B) Aust
C) Llanthony Weir
D) Maisemore
  • 84. Which location has a tidal range exceeding that of the Severn?
A) Ungava Bay
B) Bay of Fundy
C) The English Channel
D) The Thames Estuary
  • 85. When did UNESCO designate Ironbridge Gorge a World Heritage Site?
A) 1986
B) 1990
C) 1979
D) 1966
  • 86. In what year was the first cast-iron arch bridge constructed across the Severn?
A) 1786
B) 1779
C) 1750
D) 1801
  • 87. Which creature was seen in Bewdley during the winter of 2011/2012?
A) A female grey seal
B) A swan
C) A rare water vole
D) A sturgeon
  • 88. What migratory route does the River Severn form part of?
A) The Celtic Corridor
B) Severn-Trent flyway
C) The Western Migration Path
D) The Great Britain Bird-line
  • 89. Where can the statue of Sabrina be found in Shrewsbury?
A) The Town Square
B) Near the railway bridge
C) Shrewsbury Abbey
D) Dingle Gardens at the Quarry
  • 90. Which deity is represented as mounted on a seahorse and riding the Severn bore?
A) Sabrina
B) Poseidon
C) Neptune
D) Nodens
  • 91. In A. E. Housman's '1887', what is compared to the Severn's overflow?
A) The Trent
B) The Nile
C) The Thames
D) The Danube
  • 92. In Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, who does Hotspur recall fighting on the banks of the Severn?
A) Edmund Mortimer
B) Owain Glyndŵr
C) A group of pirates
D) Henry V
  • 93. Which Gloucestershire composer wrote 'Western Sailors' and 'Severn Meadows'?
A) Herbert Howells
B) Edward Elgar
C) Ivor Gurney
D) Gerald Finzi
  • 94. Who published 'Severn Tide' in 1947 and 'Severn Stream' in 1949?
A) Ellis Peters
B) A. E. Housman
C) Brian Waters
D) Julian Barnes
  • 95. Gerald Finzi's 'A Severn Rhapsody' was written in what year?
A) 1954
B) 1923
C) 1930
D) 1917
  • 96. Who wrote 'The Severn Suite', Opus 87?
A) Herbert Howells
B) Gerald Finzi
C) Ivor Gurney
D) Edward Elgar
  • 97. Herbert Howells wrote which choral work inspired by the river?
A) Missa Sabrinensis
B) The Severn Suite
C) Severn Tide
D) Severn Rhapsody
  • 98. In the song 'The Last Bristolian Pirate', what is the profession of the main character?
A) A local fisherman
B) A disgruntled farmer
C) A retired soldier
D) A disgruntled poet
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