The River Humber originates at the
confluence of the
River Ouse and
River Trent. It stretches 40 miles (64km) east, where it meets the
North Sea on the east coast of England. Traditionally, it has formed the border between
Yorkshire and
Lincolnshire. The
Humber Bridge was constructed over the river in
1981 and is the longest
suspension bridge in the
UK.
In his poem “
To His Coy Mistress”,
Andrew Marvell contrasts the mundane, local, commercial (and thus secular) River Humber with the sacred, faraway, exotic
Ganges River. Marvell grew up around the river and as an adult represented
Hull as an
MP for 20 years. His father, Rev. Andrew Marvell, drowned while crossing the river in
1640.
There is a
Humber River in
Ontario which was presumably named after the one in
England.