{{short description|Drainage ditch}} {{For|people with the name|Rhyne (name)}} {{redirect|Reen|people with that name|Reen (given name)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Use British English|date=December 2012}} {{More citations needed|date=December 2020}} [[File:Langacre Rhyne - geograph.org.uk - 231105.jpg|thumb|Langacre Rhyne near West End, North Somerset.]] [[File:Olveston Drainage Rhine - geograph.org.uk - 381123.jpg|alt=Olveston Drainage Rhine near Pilning, South Gloucestershire|thumb|Olveston Drainage Rhine near Pilning, South Gloucestershire.]] A '''rhyne''' (Somerset), '''rhine/rhyne''' (Gloucestershire), or '''reen''' (South Wales) (all pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|iː|n}} "reen"; from Old English ''ryne'' or Welsh ''rhewyn'' or ''rhewin'' "ditch") is a drainage ditch, or canal, used to turn areas of wetland close to sea level into useful pasture. Water levels will usually be controlled by a system of sluice gates and pumps. Rhynes have been used extensively in the United Kingdom.
== Etymology ==
The spelling of the term varies, though all terms are pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|iː|n}}, which comes from terms for ''ditch'' in Old English (''ryne'') or Welsh (''rhewyn'' or ''rhewin''). The term is ''rhyne'' in Somerset, ''rhine'' or ''rhyne'' in Gloucestershire, and ''reen'' in South Wales. The etymology of the name is unclear.<ref>{{Cite web|title=rhine, n.3|url=https://www.oed.com/start;jsessionid=7D7BAEB19414893DBE2184E09B314B0E?authRejection=true&url=%2Fview%2FEntry%2F165214|access-date=2020-12-27|website=Oxford English Dictionary|language=en|url-access=subscription}}{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> Some sources claim that rhyne is derived from the Irish word ''rathin'', a diminutive of ''rath'' —a circular mound or entrenchment.<ref>Gill, W. Walter (1929). ''A Manx Scrapbook''. London & Bristol: Arrowsmith. Chapter IV: [http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/scrap1/ch04_gn.htm ''The Parish of German'']</ref> The word ''rhewyn'' is attested in Welsh from the 1400s onwards.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://geiriadur.ac.uk/gpc/gpc.html | title=Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru }}</ref>
== Description ==
=== Purpose of rhyne===
A rhyne is a drainage ditch, or canal, used to turn areas of wetland close to sea level into useful pasture.
=== Water level control ===
Water levels (and hence the level of the water table) will usually be controlled by a system of sluice gates and pumps, allowing the land to become wetter at times of the year when this will improve grass growth. Rhynes represent an early method of swamp or marsh drainage. Large sections of swampland were surrounded by trenches deep enough to drain the water from the encircled mound and leave the land relatively dry. Regular clearing and dredging is necessary to keep the rhynes clear of debris so that they flow freely.
== Examples of rhynes == [[File:Chessell Pill sluice near New Passage.jpg|thumb|A sluice used to manage the Chessell Pill where it drains into the Severn Estuary near New Passage, South Gloucestershire.]]
Rhynes have been used extensively in the United Kingdom, especially on marshy coastal areas such as the Somerset Levels,<ref name=Havinden>{{cite book|last=Havinden|first=Michael|title=The Somerset Landscape|year=1982|publisher=Hodder and Stoughton|series=The making of the English landscape|pages=133–135|isbn=0-340-20116-9}}</ref> and the North Somerset Levels. Other examples in England exist in the Framilode and Saul area of Gloucestershire, where they drain into either the River Severn or Sharpness Canal, and the Pilning Levels alongside the Severn Estuary in South Gloucestershire between Avonmouth and Aust.<ref>{{Cite report|url=https://www.southglos.gov.uk/documents/LCA-Section-2-Area-20.pdf|title=Landscape Character Assessment Area 20: Pilning Levels|date=November 2014|publisher=South Gloucestershire Council|access-date=27 December 2020|archive-date=23 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423111818/https://www.southglos.gov.uk/documents/LCA-Section-2-Area-20.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In southeast Wales, they can be found on the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels.<ref>[https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/352483 Geograph photos of Reens in the Levels], retrieved 5 May 2021</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/southeastwales/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_7896000/7896793.stm BBC Newport Wetlands Reserve] 18 February 2009 ''news.bbc.co.uk'', retrieved 5 May 2021</ref> Many of them are still in use today.
Many rhynes in England and Wales are maintained as part of the water resource management operations of internal drainage boards. The rhynes near Wembdon village have some early references, including Fichet's rhyne in 1579 and the Great or Wildmarsh rhyne in 1705.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=18709 |title=Wembdon |author=A P Baggs, M C Siraut |editor=R W Dunning, C R Elrington |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |date=1992 |work=A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 6: Andersfield, Cannington, and North Petherton Hundreds (Bridgwater and neighbouring parishes) |accessdate=1 August 2011 }}</ref>
==See also==
* Water channels ** Canal ** Ditch ** List of canals by country
* Hydraulic engineering ** Gatehouse (waterworks) – An (elaborate) structure to house a sluice gate ** Floodgate ** Water locks *** Lock *** Control lock
==References== {{Reflist|}}
Category:Drainage canals Category:Hydraulic engineering Category:Water supply and sanitation in England and Wales