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