River Wansbeck | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United Kingdom |
County | Northumberland |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | West of Sweethope Loughs |
• coordinates | 55°08′27″N2°08′13″W / 55.1409°N 2.137°W |
• elevation | 295 m (968 ft) [1] |
Mouth | |
• location | North Sea |
• coordinates | 55°09′43″N1°31′46″W / 55.1619°N 1.5294°W |
Length | 50 km (31 mi) [1] |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• right | River Font, Hart Burn |
The River Wansbeck runs through the county of Northumberland, England. It rises above Sweethope Lough on the edge of Fourlaws Forest in the area known locally as The Wanneys (Great Wanney Crag, Little Wanney Crag; thus the "Wanneys Beck"); runs through the town of Ashington before discharging into the North Sea at Sandy Bay near Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.
The River flows through the village of Kirkwhelpington, Hartburn, where the tributary Hart Burn joins, the village of Mitford, where the River Font joins, and the town of Morpeth.
The River Wansbeck is nicknamed the River Wanney. The term 'The Wilds of Wanney' is used by people of Tyneside to refer to the rural areas of Northumberland where the Wansbeck rises.
The River lent its name to the former Wansbeck district which was based in Ashington, and included Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Bedlington and Stakeford.
Between 1974 and 75, a £250,000 barrage [2] with a navigation lock was built near the rivermouth and adjacent to the A189 road bridge. [3] In so doing the lower three miles of river [4] became a country park [5] and are recognised as England's most northerly inland (locked) navigation. [6] Very little use of the lock has actually been recorded, although rowing and sailing craft are launched and used in the country park.
Stakeford Bridge [7] is about midway in the navigable part. Sheepwash Bridge [8] is near the upper limit of the park and the navigable water. [9]
From 1985, the new navigation was officially recorded in The Inland Waterways of Great Britain, noting that the navigation authority was then Wansbeck District Council, [10] which means that, since 2009, Northumberland County has held that role.
Bedlington is a town and former civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 18,470 measured at the 2011 Census.
Morpeth is a historic market town in Northumberland, North East England, lying on the River Wansbeck. Nearby towns include Ashington and Bedlington. In the 2011 census, the population of Morpeth was given as 14,017, up from 13,833 in the 2001 census. The earliest evidence of settlement is believed to be from the Neolithic period, and some Roman artifacts have also been found. The first written mention of the town is from 1080, when the de Merlay family was granted the barony of Morpeth. The meaning of the town's name is uncertain, but it may refer to its position on the road to Scotland and a murder which occurred on that road. The de Merlay family built two castles in the town in the late 11th century and the 13th century. The town was granted its coat of arms in 1552. By the mid-1700s it had become one of the main markets in England, having been granted a market charter in 1200, but the opening of the railways in the 1800s led the market to decline. The town's history is celebrated in the annual Northumbrian Gathering.
Stakeford is a large village in south east Northumberland, England.
Wansbeck is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Ian Lavery, a member of the Labour Party.
Choppington is a large village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. It is situated 5 miles to the south-east of Morpeth, and north of Bedlington. It was at one time part of the three big mid-Northumberland collieries.
The Blyth and Tyne Railway was a railway company in Northumberland, England, incorporated by Act of Parliament on 30 June 1852. It was created to unify the various private railways and waggonways built to carry coal from the Northumberland coalfield to Blyth and the River Tyne, which it took control of on 1st January 1853. Over time, the railway expanded its network to reach Morpeth (1857/8), North Seaton (1859), Tynemouth (1860/1), Newcastle upon Tyne (1864), and finally Newbiggin-by-the-Sea (1872). It became part of the much larger North Eastern Railway in 1874.
Sheepwash is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ashington, in the county of Northumberland, England. It is adjacent to Stakeford and Guide Post and across the River Wansbeck from Ashington. In 1931 the parish had a population of 68.
The A1068 is a road in northern England that runs from Seaton Burn in North Tyneside to Alnwick in Northumberland. The section between Ellington and Alnmouth is signposted as part of the Northumberland Coastal Route.
Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is 15 miles (24 km) north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the south by the River Wansbeck. The North Sea coast at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea is 3 miles (5 km) away.
Angerton was a railway station serving the village of Low Angerton in Northumberland, Northern England. It was located on the Wansbeck Railway, which diverged from the East Coast Main Line at Morpeth and joined the Border Counties Railway at Reedsmouth Junction.
Bedlington Academy is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form in Bedlington in the English county of Northumberland.
The A197 is a road in Northumberland, in the United Kingdom. It connects Morpeth, Pegswood, Ashington and Newbiggin by the Sea.
Duke's Cut is a short waterway in Oxfordshire, England, which connects the Oxford Canal with the River Thames via the Wolvercote Mill Stream. It is named after George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough, across whose land the waterway was cut. It is seen as a branch of the Oxford Canal.
The Northumberland Line is a planned railway project aimed at reintroducing passenger rail services to freight-only lines in South East Northumberland, North East England. Under the scheme, a new passenger service would link some of Northumberland's major population centres in Ashington and Blyth to the nearby city of Newcastle upon Tyne. Construction of new stations and works to upgrade the existing rail infrastructure to bring it up to passenger-carrying standards is reported as having begun by late August 2022, ahead of the anticipated launch of the new passenger service in December 2023.
The county of Northumberland has returned four MPs to the UK Parliament since 1983. Under the Local Government Act 1972, which came into effect on 1 April 1974, the boundaries of the historic/administrative county were significantly altered with the south-east of the county, comprising more than half the electorate, being transferred to the new metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear. These changes were reflected in the following redistribution of parliamentary seats which did not come into effect until the 1983 general election, resulting in a reduction in the county's representation from 10 to 4 MPs.
The thesis has a colour photo of the lock. The construction dates and details are sourced from the thesis
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)