| Stort | |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United Kingdom |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Hertfordshire |
| Subdivision Type5: | City |
| Subdivision Name5: | Bishop's Stortford |
| Length: | 38km (24miles) |
| Source1 Location: | Near Langley, Essex, England |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 52.0027°N 0.0683°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 130m (430feet) |
| Mouth: | River Lea |
| Mouth Location: | Near Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 51.7644°N 0.0141°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 28m (92feet) |
The River Stort is a river in Essex and Hertfordshire, England. It is 24miles long and flows from near the village of Langley to the River Lea at Hoddesdon.
The river's name is a back-formation from the name of the town of Bishop's Stortford. The 16th-century cartographers Christopher Saxton and William Camden named it the Stort, assuming the town of Stortford was named for its ford.[1] The river was originally called the Stour.[2]
The Stort rises north of Langley in Hertfordshire, although north of Maunden it only flows in times of high rainfall. From Langley, the river flows in a generally southerly direction through the villages of Clavering and Manuden and the market town of Bishop's Stortford.
It then flows past Sawbridgeworth, before it changes direction and flows west past Harlow and Roydon. The Stort finally empties into the Lea at Feildes Weir, Hoddesdon.[3]
See main article: Stort Navigation.
The Stort Navigation is the canalised section of the River Stort running 22km (14miles) from Bishop's Stortford to its confluence with the Lee Navigation. It has 15 locks.