Compton Dando

The River Chew is a small river in Somerset that flows for some 17 miles) through the North Somerset countryside to form the Chew Valley before merging with the River Avon. The spring from which the Chew rises is just upstream from Chewton Mendip. The river flows northwest from Chewton Mendip through Litton, Chew Valley Lake, Chew Stoke, Chew Magna, and Stanton Drew. The river passes under the A37 at Pensford; flows through the villages of Publow, Woollard, Compton Dando, and Chewton Keynsham; and joins the River Avon at Keynsham. The Two Rivers Way runs alongside the Chew for much of its distance, forming part of the Monarch's Way. The name 'Chew' has Celtic origins, cognate with the River Chwefru, cliwyf-ffrenwy, 'the moving, gushing water'; ancient forms are Estoca (Chew Stoke), Chiu (Chew Magna), and Ciwetune (Chewton Mendip). Its exact meaning admits of several possible explanations, including 'winding water', the ew being a variant of the French eau, 'water'. The word chewer is western dialect for 'narrow passage' and chare is Old English for 'turning.' This camera was installed and is maintained by the Environment Agency and can be viewed here. All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0.  ompton Dando is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as Comtuna. A compton was originally a 'valley enclosure'. In 1297 the name Dando was added after Godfrey or Geofrey de Anno.