River Swilgate
river in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
The River Swilgate is a small river that flows through Gloucestershire, England.
It is formed by the confluence at Elmstone Hardwicke of the Hyde Brook which flows westwards from Bishop's Cleeve, and Wymans Brook that flows northwest through Cheltenham. The Swilgate flows northwest and north to Tewkesbury where it joins the River Avon close to the latter's confluence with the Severn.
The Swilgate gained some notoriety when New Statesman's issue of 4 January 2013 stated: "The Swilgate, the tributary of the Avon that runs round the southern edge of the town, had overflown its banks four days earlier".
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “River Swilgate” as river in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as river in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7337856. Authority coordinates are 51.989, -2.166. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2013.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “River Swilgate”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow River Swilgate primary sources, River Swilgate archive and River research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “River Swilgate”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “River Swilgate” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.