River Ure

The River Ure is a river in North Yorkshire, England, approximately 74 miles (119 km) long from its source to the point where it changes name to the River Ouse. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only one of the Dales now named after a village rather than its river. The old name for the valley was Yoredale after the river that runs through it.

The Ure is one of many rivers and waterways that drain the Dales into the River Ouse. Tributaries of the Ure include the River Swale and the River Skell.

The earliest recorded name is Earp, but by 1142 it is recorded as Jor, hence Jervaulx (Jorvale) Abbey. In 1530 it is recorded as Yeure, and local placenames include Yorebridge and Yoreburgh, but in Tudor times the antiquarians John Leland and William Camden called it by its current name. The Old Celtic word for Ure was 'Isara' which evolved into 'Isure', 'Isurium', 'Isis' and finally into the Anglo-Saxon 'Ouse', giving an explanation of the changing name of the river.