dumble

Noun

dumble (plural dumbles)

1. (Midlands) A shady valley, a dingle; especially one with steep wooded sides and a stream running through it.
   • When a stream runs in a deep dell, particularly in clay districts, the steep banks and stream form what are called a “dumble” in Nottinghamshire.1859, John Blenkarn, British timber trees: a practical treatise on the raising, management, and value of British timber, G. Routledge, page 110
   • Fine electric activity in sound came from the dumbles below the road, the birds piping one against the other, and water mysteriously plashing, issuing from the lake.1921, DH Lawrence, Women in Love, Vintage, published 2008, page 40
2. (East, Yorkshire) The club rush.
   • Recently Dr. K. J. Allison has come across a Leconfield lease of 1631 which included 'all the earl 's dumbles growing in Arram Carr' ?1974, The Local Historian - Volume 11, page 64
   • In such circumstances it may well be that a natural pool would be enlarged or deepened or an artificial pond created to maintain a suitable habitat for the rush. Later archival references to the rush “dumbles" are for the River Hull valley.1982, Lore and Language - Volume 3, Parts 6-10, page 54