Cock Beck
It is a tributary of the River Wharfe, and known as the River Cock or Cock River. The name cock may refer to a salmon, as it was a spawning ground for salmon. Industrial pollution reduced the fish stock, but it has been recovering in the 21st century, in places the beck was relatively narrow, but too deep to cross unaided, a feature which can still be seen today at many points. John Ogilbys 1675 map indicates the crossing for the Cock was sited along the Tadcaster-Ferrybridge road. Many drowned in the Beck, and soon the survivors were reported to be crossing the Cock Beck on bridges of their fallen comrades, during the English Civil War, the Royalists defeated the Parliamentarians under Sir Thomas Fairfax at the Battle of Seacroft Moor in 1643. The ensuing massacre of the Parliamentarians is said to have been of magnitude that the beck ran crimson with blood. Cock Beck is identified as a site of the Battle of the Winwaed on 15 November 655
River Derwent, Yorkshire
The Derwent is a river in Yorkshire in the north of England. The confluence is unusual in that the Derwent converges on the Ouse at an angle in an upstream direction. The old course of the used to flow further east. The River Derwent catchment area includes the Upper Derwent, River Rye, River Hertford, Bielby Beck and Pocklington canal and it covers an area of 2,057 square kilometres and includes the towns of Stamford Bridge, Pickering, Helmsley and Scarborough. The area around the river is primarily rural in nature with grazing moorland in the upland areas, there are large areas of designated conservation sites throughout the area. It is used for water abstraction and sporting activities and it is the subject of conflicting interests as well as having an interesting ice age past and a long recorded history. Water abstracted from the Derwent supplies towns and cities such as Hull, York, the river is of generally good quality with BOD levels remaining below 2 mg/l all year round. It is typical of Northerly British rivers in that it exhibits acid flushes at peak times of rainfall, there are several effluent sites scattered along this river at Malton, Stamford Bridge, Elvington and Bubwith.
At its source on the North York Moors the River Derwent, downstream of Stamford Bridge the catchment area is mainly of Sherwood sandstone from the Triassic period. To the east this sandstone dips under Mercia mudstone, of the Triassic period, some of the underlying rocks are major aquifers and provide a valuable source for water supply in the area. The major aquifers are the Corallian limestone and Sherwood sandstone, the Corallian limestone outcrops on the hills surrounding the Vale of Pickering and is made up of a series of limestones and sandstones. This aquifer is unconfined in parts and gets water from the River Rye and climate conditions vary slightly across the Derwent catchment area due to the topography. Annual rainfall ranges from averages of 600 millimetres at Barmby Barrage to over 1,100 millimetres at its source on the North York Moors, for management purposes the catchment area has been divided into ten smaller units. Two of these relate to the River Rye which is the subject of a separate article.
The other eight, starting at the source, West Ayton The Derwent starts its course at Lilla Rig on the North York Moors a few miles from the east coast of Yorkshire. After collecting the waters of the Jugger Howe Beck, Black Beck, from there it continues across lower ground to where it is joined by the River Hertford. The Sea Cut, a man made channel, connects the Derwent to the North Sea near Scarborough to alleviate flooding in the reaches of the Derwent. This management area is about 127 km² and largely rural with no major settlements, Corallian limestone lies beneath this area
River Rother, South Yorkshire
The River Rother, a waterway in the northern midlands of England, gives its name to the town of Rotherham and to the Rother Valley parliamentary constituency. From the 1880s the water quality deteriorated rapidly, as a result of coal mining, the river became unable to sustain life, and by 1974, was the most polluted of the rivers within the River Don catchment. The pollutants came from coking plants, from inefficient sewage treatment plants, major investment in upgrading the sewage treatment works took place, and in the treatment of industrial effluent before it was discharged to the river. The closure of the coking plants has aided the recovery of the river. By 1996 there was evidence for self-sustaining fish populations, and that the river could support organised angling, the lower river is managed because of flood risk, three regulators can restrict its flow. Their operation normally causes flooding of washlands, rather than of centres of population, the source of the river is at Pilsley near Clay Cross in Derbyshire, from where it flows to the west for a short distance, before turning to the north.
The valley is shared with the Derby to Rotherham Railway, which makes the first two of a total of 20 crossings before the river reaches the edges of Danesmoor. It is joined by another stream before passing to the west of North Wingfield, before reaching Chesterfield, Birdholme Brook joins it from the west at Birdholme, Calow Brook joins from the east at Hady, and the River Hipper joins it on the southern edge of the town. Within Chesterfield, the river was navigable, as the Chesterfield Canal joined the river, the canal company were not authorised by their Act of Parliament to use the river, but did so despite that. This stretch of the forms part of a £300 million redevelopment project called Chesterfield Waterside. The project involves the creation of a length of new canal to create an island in the centre of the site. A new basin has been constructed near the site of the 1890 basin, outline planning permission for the whole site was granted on 15 March 2010. Between Chesterfield and Tapton, the river flows over a large weir while the canal is protected from flooding by a flood gate, the two waterways remain close as they flow northwards between New Whittington and Brimington, where the River Drone joins from the west.
At Old Whittington both turn to the east, before turning north again at Staveley. It continues to the east of Eckington and the west of Killamarsh, to arrive at the Rother Valley Country Park, where the course is largely man-made, as the park is part of a flood-defence scheme. The river was diverted to run close to the railway to the west while 1.7 million tonnes of coal from the reserves under the park were removed by open cast mining between 1976 and 1981. The channel was rebuilt once mining had ceased and the pit had been filled in. The visitor centre uses a part of Bedgrave Mill, which was constructed around 1100, the recent closures of industry and the work of the Environment Agency has improved the quality of the river Rother
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, its derives from the River Sheaf. With some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its industrial roots to encompass a wider economic base. The population of the City of Sheffield is 569,700, Sheffield is the third largest English district by population. The metropolitan population of Sheffield is 1,569,000, in the 19th century, Sheffield gained an international reputation for steel production. Known as the Steel City, many innovations were developed locally, including crucible and stainless steel, Sheffield received its municipal charter in 1843, becoming the City of Sheffield in 1893. International competition in iron and steel caused a decline in these industries in the 1970s and 1980s, the 21st century has seen extensive redevelopment in Sheffield along with other British cities. Sheffields gross value added has increased by 60% since 1997, standing at £9.2 billion in 2007, the economy has experienced steady growth averaging around 5% annually, greater than that of the broader region of Yorkshire and the Humber.
The city is in the foothills of the Pennines, and the valleys of the River Don and its four tributaries, the Loxley, the Porter Brook, the Rivelin. 61% of Sheffields entire area is space, and a third of the city lies within the Peak District national park. The area now occupied by the City of Sheffield is believed to have inhabited since at least the late Upper Palaeolithic period. The earliest evidence of occupation in the Sheffield area was found at Creswell Crags to the east of the city. In the Iron Age the area became the southernmost territory of the Pennine tribe called the Brigantes and it is this tribe who are thought to have constructed several hill forts in and around Sheffield. Gradually, Anglian settlers pushed west from the kingdom of Deira, a Celtic presence within the Sheffield area is evidenced by two settlements called Wales and Waleswood close to Sheffield. The settlements that grew and merged to form Sheffield, date from the half of the first millennium. In Anglo-Saxon times, the Sheffield area straddled the border between the kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria, after the Norman conquest, Sheffield Castle was built to protect the local settlements, and a small town developed that is the nucleus of the modern city.
By 1296, a market had been established at what is now known as Castle Square, from 1570 to 1584, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in Sheffield Castle and Sheffield Manor. During the 1740s, a form of the steel process was discovered that allowed the manufacture of a better quality of steel than had previously been possible
River Kyle
The River Kyle is a small river in North Yorkshire, England. At just under 6 miles long, it is one of the shortest classified main rivers in the country, the river is first called Kyle after the confluence of Carle Beck and Derrings Beck. From the confluence it flows south-east of the village of Tholthorpe, near Easingwold, past Flawith, Alne, at Linton-on-Ouse it turns south and joins the River Ouse just north of Newton-on-Ouse. The name of the river derives from Welsh which means narrow, the river previously formed the boundary of the Forest of Galtres. During the Second World War, RAF Bomber Command operated an airfield near the start of the River Kyle at RAF Tholthorpe, both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force flew from this base until its closure in 1945. The river passes close to the current airfield at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, there are two Ordnance Survey Leisure Walking routes that cross the river near Tollerton. Orndance Survey Open Viewer Google Earth National Environment Research Council - Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Environment Agency
River Rivelin
The River Rivelin is a river in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It rises on the Hallam moors, in north west Sheffield, the Rivelin Valley, through which the river flows, is a three and a half mile long woodland valley which includes the popular Rivelin Valley Nature Trail that was created in 1967. The valley has farmland on its upper slopes. A relatively fast-flowing river, the Rivelin is fed by a constant release of water from the moorland peat. Its flow was exploited for centuries as a source, driving the water wheels of up to twenty industries along its course. Other evidence of Roman occupation comes from finds on Walkley Bank Road, in medieval times the Rivelin valley was part of a large tract of land set aside by the Lords of Hallamshire for deer hunting. It was known as Rivelin Chase or Firth and covered thousands of acres on the western outskirts of the parish of Sheffield. In 1637 John Harrison after surveying the area declared that the firth had an area of 6,863 acres,5,531 acres of this was within Sheffield Parish with the rest in the Parish of Bradfield.
Until the 20th century the River Rivelin formed the boundary of Sheffield. The Valley possesses 21 artificially created ponds, testament to the twenty mills which were present on the river. Though most of the mills and forges no longer exist, the ponds which used to feed them do, thanks to the support of the Rivelin Valley Conservation Group and Yorkshire Water. Some of the more famous mills are as follows, The mostly westerly site and this mill dates from 1600 when it was owned by Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury. By 1830 there were two waterwheels powering three grinding stones, however problems with the supply in the summer meant that the mill was often not working at full capacity. The mill continued operating until the 1930s after which the buildings fell into disrepair and were demolished in the early 1950s with a small car parking area now occupying the site. The dam wall was damaged in 1967 by dredging work and eventually collapsed in March 2001, the RVCG and Sheffield Council filled in the pond and created a new one nearby with a pond dipping platform.
The official opening was on 17 May 2007, was built around 1722 and had one of the largest wheels in the valley with a diameter of 15 feet. It was owned by the Windle brothers between 1818 and 1852 who used it for grinding knives and razors, after which it was sold to the Water Company. The mill was in use until 1918, but a survey in 1934 revealed that the internal machinery had been dismantled
River Dove, North Yorkshire
The River Dove is a river in North Yorkshire, England. It rises on the North York Moors and flows south to join the River Rye, the upper valley of the river is known as Farndale. The name is of Brittonic Celtic origin, meaning dark river and its principal tributary is the Hodge Beck. The river flows through Farndale south-east past several small settlements to Church Houses, here it turns south and continues meandering past Low Mill to Lowna. At Gillamoor it heads south-east again past Hutton-le-Hole before returning southwards past Ravenswick and it continues past Keldholme and Kikrby Mills to Great Edstone. From there it flows south south-east to where it joins the River Rye in the Vale of Pickering near the village of Salton. The Environment Agency have a station at Kirby Mills where the average low river level is 0.2 metres. The record high level shows the river can be susceptible to flooding, both the River Dove and Hodge Beck are partly swallowed by the local limestone aquifer and issue again further down the valley.
During summer months the bed of Hodge Beck often runs dry, the soil in the valley floor is loam over clay. The bedrock is Jurassic limestone with some sandstone, between Church Houses and Low Mill in Farndale, the River Dove is popular with walkers due to its picturesque setting. The banks of the river are known for their wild daffodils which are rumoured to have been planted by monks from nearby Rievaulx Abbey, along this part of the valley is The Farndale Daffodil Walk, an 11. 4-kilometre circular walk starting at Lowna Bridge. William Wordsworths poem, She dwelt among the ways from the Lucy series of poems refers to the eponymous Lucy living close to the springs of Dove. Ordnance Survey Explorer Map OL26 Google Earth
Dipper
Dippers are members of the genus Cinclus in the bird family Cinclidae, named for their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater, dippers are small, stout, short-tailed, short-winged, strong-legged birds. The different species are dark brown, or brown and white in colour, apart from the rufous-throated dipper. Sizes range from 14–22 cm in length and 40–90 g in weight and their short wings give them a distinctive whirring flight. They have a characteristic bobbing motion when perched beside the water, while under water, they are covered by a thin, silvery film of air, due to small bubbles being trapped on the surface of the plumage. Dippers are found in freshwater habitats in the highlands of the Americas, Europe. In Africa they are found in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. They inhabit the banks of fast-moving upland rivers with cold, clear waters, outside the season, they may visit lake shores. Unlike many water birds, dippers are generally similar in form to many terrestrial birds and their wings are relatively short but strongly muscled, enabling them to be used as flippers underwater.
To reduce their buoyancy in water, the bones are solid instead of hollow and they have dense plumage with a large preen gland for waterproofing their feathers. Relatively long legs and sharp claws enable them to hold on to rocks in swift water and their eyes have well-developed focus muscles that can change the curvature of the lens to enhance underwater vision. They have nasal flaps to prevent water entering their nostrils, one small population wintering at a hot spring in Suntar-Khayata Mountains of Siberia feeds underwater when air temperatures drop below −55 °C. Dippers forage for small prey in and along the margins of fast-flowing freshwater streams. They perch on rocks and feed at the edge of the water and they search underwater for prey between and beneath stones and debris, they can swim with their wings. The two South American species swim and dive less often than the three northern ones and their prey consists primarily of invertebrates such as the nymphs or larvae of mayflies, blackflies and caddisflies, as well as small fish and fish eggs.
Molluscs and crustaceans are consumed, especially in winter when insect larvae are less available. Linear breeding territories are established by pairs of dippers along suitable rivers, the length of a territory may vary from about 300 metres or 1,000 feet to over 2,500 metres or 8,200 feet. Dipper nests are large, domed structures made of moss, with an internal cup of grass and rootlets
River Leven, North Yorkshire
The River Leven is a river in North Yorkshire, England, a tributary to the River Tees. It rises on Warren Moor, part of Kildale Moor, in the North York Moors, the source of the river is on Warren Moor, part of Kildale Moor, just south of the village of Kildale. It flows east until it reaches the Whitby to Middlesbrough rail line where it does a complete turnaround to flow west to Kildale and it runs parallel to the A173 to Stokesley. The river becomes increasingly meandering as it continues south-west past Skutterskelfe to Hutton Rudby and Rudby, at Crathorne it turns north and north-east as far as Middleton-on-Leven before passing under the A19 in a north-west direction. The final couple of miles are north and north-west between Ingleby Barwick and Yarm, before the river joins the River Tees and High Water Levels are an average figure. The river drains from the Cleveland Hills across a mixed geology of mostly Permian, most of the deposits on top of the bedrock are boulder clay. There is mixed agriculture, with some moorland and forestry near the source, due to a weir on the lower river built during the Industrial Revolution and territorial fish and mammals had been missing from the river.
In 2007, the Environment Agency built a bypass at the weir. In Stokesley, the river is crossed by a 17th-century packhorse bridge, Taylorsons Bridge, the Domesday Book records the existence of a water mill on the banks of the river in the town. In Hutton Rudby there is a plaque on a bridge that marks the spot of a mill that, amongst several uses. Ordnance Survey Open Viewer Google Earth National Environment Research Council - Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Environment Agency
Limb Brook
The Limb Brook is a stream in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It rises at the village of Ringinglow, flowing east through Whirlow and Ecclesall Woods into Abbeydale in the Beauchief area, where it merges with the River Sheaf. Near this point part of the stream has been diverted to provide the goit for the Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet millpond, Limb Brook lies entirely within the City of Sheffield boundaries, but used to form part of the border between Yorkshire and Derbyshire. This boundary dates back to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria, sidney Oldall Addy, in his 1888 book on the Sheffield dialect mentions that this stream is called Fenny Brook on the Ordnance Survey map, where it flows past Ringinglow. Historical evidence of shallow coal drift-mining of the Ringinglow seam which lies on top of the Chatsworth Grit has been found in the Barber Fields area, the workings extended beneath the watercourse. Stratigraphically this was the lowest coal seams ever worked in the Sheffield area, the mine was served by a short railway which, along with the mine is no more.
All that remains is a spoil-heap on the North bank of the brook, the mine is one of the few known examples of a shallow drift to have been worked by a small number of men in the Sheffield area. Today, the no longer supports any industry, but with the woodlands of the Limb valley provides a valuable recreational resource for the inhabitants of Sheffield. It is owned and administered by the city recreation department, who maintain the area for the benefit of wildlife. Sheffield Round Walk follows almost the entire route of the Limb brook and it flows slowly through farmland, where it provides an environment for reeds and sedges. As it descends into the Limb valley and down through Ecclesall Woods, it is surrounded by steep hillsides which support mature woodland, including Beech, Alder and this is a rich environment for invertebrates and many birds and mammals, including kingfishers and water voles. The rare white-clawed crayfish has been seen, the Sheffield Round Walk - Sheffield City Council Limb Valley Nature Trail Introduction 1995, A. H. V.
Smith, published by The Sorby Record
Historic England
Historic England is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture and Sport. It is tasked with protecting the environment of England by preserving and listing historic buildings, ancient monuments. The body was created by the National Heritage Act 1983. Historic England has a remit to and complements the work of Natural England which aims to protect the natural environment. Historic England inherits English Heritages position as the UK governments statutory adviser and this includes archaeology on land and under water, historic buildings sites and areas, designated landscapes and the historic elements of the wider landscape. It monitors and reports on the state of Englands heritage and publishes the annual the Heritage at Risk survey which is one of the UK Governments Official statistics and it is tasked to secure the preservation and enhancement of the man-made heritage of England for the benefit of future generations. Giving grants national and local organisations for the conservation of buildings, monuments.
In 2013/14 over £13 million worth of grants were made to support heritage buildings, advising central UK government on which English heritage assets are nationally important and should be protected by designation. Administering and maintaining the register of Englands listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered battlefields, conservation areas and protected parks and this is published as an online resource as The National Heritage List for England. Advising local authorities on managing changes to the most important parts of heritage, providing expertise through advice and guidance to improve the standards and skills of people working in heritage, practical conservation and access to resources. In 2009–2010 it trained around 200 professionals working in local authorities and collaborating with other heritage bodies and national planning organisations e. g. It is not responsible for approving alterations to listed buildings, the management of listed buildings is the responsibility of local planning authorities and the Department for Communities and Local Government.
It owns the National Heritage Collection of nationally important historic sites, however they do not run these sites as this function is instead carried out by the English Heritage Trust under licence until 2023. Britain from Above, presents the unique Aerofilms collection of photographs from 1919-1953. Images of England website Heritage Explorer, Education site for teachers Department for Culture Media and Sport
River Bain, North Yorkshire
The River Bain is a river in North Yorkshire, England. As a tributary of the River Ure, it is one of the shortest, the river is home to the small scale hydroelectricity project River Bain Hydro located at Bainbridge. The river leaves the second-largest natural lake in North Yorkshire, after a couple of gentle meanders it runs though woodland before slowly turning northward. It passes under the A684 road in Bainbridge and joins the River Ure to the east of Yore Bridge opposite the mouth of Grange Beck
