River Chew 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." Another theory is that the name derives from the Welsh "cyw", "the young of an animal, or chicken", such that "Afon Cyw" would have meant
Chew Magna The bridge on the road to Dundry was demolished. The Chew Magna telephone exchange was manually operated until the 1950s. An important number Chew Magna 2 was that of Dr Terrell Hughes: the exchange operators could often locate him in an emergency even if he was away from his home and surgery. The manual exchange served most of the Chew valley and even East Dundry. Chew Magna has its own parish council, which has some responsibility for local issues, and is part of the Chew Valley North Ward. This is represented by one councillor on the Bath and North East