At some point, however, this former name was replaced in use by reference to a particular feature in the river's course: "Hooke" is a derivation of hoc, Old English for "sharp bend in a stream".

[2] It is possible that this description gave the village of Hooke its name, which then transferred to the river by back-formation.

According to the Dorset-born author and broadcaster Ralph Wightman, this has resulted in "many springy and boggy patches which are not typical of chalk valleys.

"[3] Writing in 1965, Wightman commented that at Hooke village itself "the largest spring I have ever seen used to gush out of the steep hillside, and was immediately used for watercress.

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