The Old Bedford River is an artificial, partial diversion of the waters of the River Great Ouse in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England. It was named after the fourth Earl of Bedford who contracted with the local Commission of Sewers to drain the Great Level of the Fens beginning in 1630. It provided a steeper and shorter path for the waters of the Great Ouse, and was embanked to prevent them flooding the low ground of the South Fens. Throughout the project, the Earl and his Adventurers faced disruption from those who were opposed to drainage schemes. The project was deemed to have succeeded in draining the fens in 1637, but that decision was reversed in 1638. After a lull during the English Civil War, when much of the work was damaged, the Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden worked with William Russell, the fifth Earl of Bedford to complete the drainage. Disruption and unrest continued while the work was carried out, resulting in the Adventurers employing armed guards. A second river, the New Bedford River, was cut parallel to the first channel, which then became the Old Bedford River. At some point, the Old Bedford River was split into two parts, when the upper section was diverted into the River Delph at Welches Dam, and the lower section was joined to the Counter Drain. Both parts retain the name, but are not connected to each other. The area between the two Bedford rivers acts as a large washland, which holds floodwater when the river channels cannot cope with the volume of water in them.
The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale.
The River Ouse is a river in North Yorkshire, England. Hydrologically, the river is a continuation of the River Ure, and the combined length of the River Ure and River Ouse makes it, at 129 miles (208 km), the sixth-longest river of the United Kingdom and the longest to flow entirely in one county. The length of the Ouse alone is about 52 miles (84 km) but the total length of the river is disputed.
The Derwent is a river in Yorkshire in the north of England. It flows from Fylingdales Moor in the North York Moors National Park, east then southwards as far as its confluence with the River Hertford then westwards through the Vale of Pickering, south through Kirkham Gorge and the Vale of York, joining the River Ouse at Barmby on the Marsh. The confluence is unusual in that the Derwent converges on the Ouse at a shallow angle in an upstream direction.
The River Nar is a river in England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. It rises at Mileham near Litcham in Norfolk and flows 15 miles west through Castle Acre and Narborough, joining the Ouse at King's Lynn. It has had a variety of alternative names, such as the Setch, the Sandringham, and Lynn Flu, though these are rarely, if ever, used today. In 2011 the Nar was recognised by the Environment Agency as one of the top ten most improved rivers in England and Wales.
There are nine bridges across the River Ouse and eighteen smaller bridges and passages across the narrower River Foss within the city of York, England.
The siege of York in 1644 was a prolonged contest for York during the First English Civil War, between the Scottish Covenanter army and the Parliamentarian armies of the Northern Association and Eastern Association, and the Royalist Army under the Marquess of Newcastle. It lasted from 22 April until 1 July when the city was relieved by Prince Rupert of the Rhine. Rupert and Newcastle were defeated the next day at the decisive Battle of Marston Moor, and the siege resumed until the city was surrendered on easy terms on 16 July.
Oulston is a village and civil parish in Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies about 3 miles (5 km) north-east of Easingwold. Remains of a Roman villa have been found in the area. The village is within the Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Lake Pickering was an extensive proglacial lake of the Devensian glacial. It filled the Vale of Pickering between the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Wolds, when the ice blocked the drainage, which had flowed north-eastwards past the site of Filey towards the Northern North Sea basin. The lake surface rose until it overflowed southwards and cut an exit between the Howardian Hills and the Yorkshire Wolds at Kirkham Priory between Malton and Stamford Bridge, so creating the River Derwent.
The River Wiske is a tributary of the River Swale in Yorkshire, England. The Wiske gives its name to several villages it passes through. The name Wiske is derived from an Old English word wisca meaning a water meadow. It was once known as the Foulbroke, a name for which some writers commented that it was well deserved.
The River Rye in the English county of North Yorkshire rises just south of the Cleveland Hills, east of Osmotherley, and flows through Hawnby, Rievaulx, Helmsley, Nunnington, West and East Ness, Butterwick, Brawby, and Ryton, before joining the River Derwent at 54°10′N00°44′W near Malton.
Barlings Eau is a small river near Barlings, Lincolnshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Witham, joining it near Short Ferry. It acts as the central spine for a number of other small rivers, which drain the low-lying land to either side. Most of its course is within the area managed by the Witham Third District IDB, an Internal Drainage Board responsible for land drainage. One of their pumping stations is on the banks of the river.
The Ebor Way is a 70-mile (112 km) long-distance footpath from Helmsley, North Yorkshire to Ilkley, West Yorkshire, via the city of York, England. It takes its name from Eboracum, the Roman name for York.
The Centenary Way is a route devised to celebrate the 100th anniversary of North Yorkshire County Council. It was opened by Chris Brasher in 1989 to mark the Centenary of the governance by County Councils.
The River Foulness is a river in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Its name is derived from Old English fūle[n] ēa, meaning “dirty water”. Maintenance responsibilities for the river transferred from the Environment Agency to the Market Weighton Drainage Board on 1 October 2011. Market Weighton Drainage Board subsequently amalgamated with the Lower Ouse Internal Drainage Board on 1 April 2012 to create the Ouse and Humber Drainage Board. The river discharges into the Humber Estuary via Market Weighton Canal. Water levels within the river, its tributaries and the canal are managed and controlled by the Environment Agency. The river lies in an area known as the Humberhead Levels.
Holderness Drain is the main feature of a Land Drainage scheme for the area of Holderness to the east of the River Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Construction began in 1764, and several notable civil engineers were involved with the scheme over the years. Despite the high costs of the initial scheme, it was not particularly successful, because of the refusal of the ship owners of Hull to allow an outlet at Marfleet. They insisted that the water be discharged into the River Hull to keep the channel free of silt. Following a period of agricultural depression and the building of new docks in the early 1800s, an outlet at Marfleet was finally authorised in 1832. A high level system still fed upland water to the Hull, but the low level system discharged into the Humber, where levels were considerably lower. Following the success of steam pumping on the Beverley and Barmston Drain, the trustees looked at such a possibility for the Holderness Drain, but the development of the Alexandra Dock in the 1880s and then the King George V Dock in 1913 provided a solution, as the docks were topped up with water pumped from the drain, to lessen the ingress of silt-laden water.
The Beverley and Barmston Drain is the main feature of a land drainage scheme authorised in 1798 to the west of the River Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The area consisted of salt marshes to the south and carrs to the north, fed with water from the higher wolds which lay to the north, and from inundation by tidal water passing up the river from the Humber. Some attempts to reduce the flooding by building embankments had been made by the fourteenth century, and windpumps appeared in the seventeenth century. The Holderness Drainage scheme, which protected the area to the east of the river, was completed in 1772, and attention was then given to resolving flooding of the carrs.
The Foss Barrier consists of a retractable floodgate and pumping station owned and managed by the Environment Agency. It straddles the River Foss in York, just above the confluence with the River Ouse. The barrier’s purpose is to prevent water from the Ouse flowing upstream into the Foss, raising water levels and flooding properties along the River Foss. The pumps next to the flood gate move water around the barrier via a side culvert so that it can continue to drain into the Ouse. This prevents water levels on the Foss rising when the barrier is closed. The Ouse’s normal water level at York is approximately 5 metres AOD. When the river level reaches 7.5 metres AOD, the barrier is lowered into the Foss, shutting it off from the Ouse. The electrically driven barrier takes less than five minutes to lower into position. The barrier operates as a ‘turn and lift’ gate so it opens and closes in a similar way to a garage door. The pump-house attached to the barrier maintain the water level in the Foss at around 6.5 metres AOD. When the flood subsides and the level of the Ouse drops back to 6.5 metres, the levels in both rivers are equalised so the barrier opens, and the pumps shut down.
Holgate Beck is a small watercourse that flows north-eastwards through Holgate across the west side of the City of York, England. Primarily flowing through Holgate, from which it derives its name, the beck drains a large part of Askham Bog and Hob Moor, then running underneath the various lines near York railway station. It empties into the River Ouse at Water End, being one of five main tributaries for the River Ouse in York, and consequently added to the flooding in the river and immediate environs. To counter this, some flood diversionary schemes have been implemented near to Askham Bog and Hob Moor.
The Ea Beck, also spelled Eaubeck or Eau Beck, is a small river in South Yorkshire, England, that flows eastwards into the River Don at Thorpe-in-Balne. The Environment Agency lists the beck as starting at South Elmsall, but mapping lists the beck with several names along its course. The beck has twice flooded areas and villages that it passes through in the 21st century.
Oulston Reservoir near source of River Foss
River Foss near Crayke 2 miles from its source
Bridge over the River Foss near Farlington
Bridge over River Foss in Strensall on road heading to Sherriff Hutton
River Foss in Strensall as seen from the Post Office
River Foss viewed from Towthorpe Bridge towards Strensall
River Foss New Earswick
River Foss Huntington Road, York
River Foss from Monk Bridge
Pedestrian bridge from the west, looking downstream near DEFRA buildings
Looking upstream from Foss Bridge to Rowntree Wharf, with Wormald's Cut to the right.
Castle Mills Lock and Basin, near the Foss Barrier and the confluence with River Ouse
The River Foss Barrier (closed), viewed from the north (Castle Mills Basin)
The River Foss Barrier (open), viewed from the south
View from the River Ouse of the confluence and the "Blue Bridge"
