Settrington Beck

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Settrington Beck
Settrington Beck, winter view - geograph.org.uk - 2845810.jpg
The beck in Settrington village
North Yorkshire UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location within North Yorkshire
Location
County North Yorkshire
CountryEngland
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • coordinates 54°06′12″N0°40′57″W / 54.1033°N 0.6825°W / 54.1033; -0.6825
 • elevation160 metres (520 ft)
Mouth  
 • coordinates
 54°09′09″N0°44′49″W / 54.1525°N 0.7469°W / 54.1525; -0.7469
Length11.2 kilometres (7 mi)
Basin size32.4 square kilometres (12.5 sq mi)
Basin features
EA waterbody ID GB104027067750

Settrington Beck is a watercourse that is a tributary of the River Derwent in North Yorkshire, [i] England. The beck rises on the northern part of the Yorkshire Wolds and is a chalk stream that flows northwards through the village of Settrington, for which it is named after. The beck is one of 34 chalk streams in the eastern part of Yorkshire that flow into the Humber Estuary. As a chalk stream, the beck is protected by the Environment Agency for its rate of flow, with abstraction licences being reduced in amount that can be taken over other non-chalk watercourses.

Contents

History

The beck is a tributary of the River Derwent, [1] and has cut through the Ferriby Chalk formation which has revealed Jurassic clays underneath the surface chalk strata. [2] The beck rises south-east of Settrington as Whitestone Beck at around 160 metres (520 ft) above sea level, runs west to North Grimston, then turns northwards and bisects the village of Settrington, running down the middle of two sets of parallel houses, at around 35 metres (115 ft) above sea level. [3] [4] [5] [6] From its source to Settrington, the beck meanders through fields, but the section through the village has been straightened. [7]

Settrington Beck flows into the River Derwent some 4 miles (6 km) upstream of Malton. [8] The beck flows for 11.2 kilometres (7 mi) and drains an area of 32.4 square kilometres (12.5 sq mi). [9] Originally, the beck ran due westwards past Auburn Hill and entered the River Derwent further downstream past Malton. The 3-mile (4.8 km) valley that the beck ran down is now dry, and what caused the beck to change its course to northwards from North Grimston is unknown. [10]

There are 35 chalk stream watercourses in the eastern part of Yorkshire, with most being in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and 34 of these flow into the Humber Estuary, while the remaining one (the Gypsey Race) flows directly into the North Sea. [11] The Gypsey Race and Settrington Beck are some of the most northerly chalk streams in Europe as the chalklands reaches its extremity northwards around Settrington, and curves eastwards towards the sea. [12] [13]

In the headwaters of Settrington Beck, water flows through three SSSIs; Cow Cliff Pasture & Quarry, Nine Spring Dale, and Wharram Quarry. [14] The Environment Agency have designated the beck as having a high flow rate, and, as the beck is a chalk stream, the flow rate is protected by limiting the amount of water that can be abstracted from the beck. [15] [16] [17]

A corn mill is known to have existed on the beck in Settrington from at least 1790 (though research suggests another mill pre-dates the 1790 one). It was last used for corn milling in the Second World War and the adjoining Mill House has been converted into a private dwelling which is now a grade II listed building. [18] [19] [20]

Wildlife

Kingfishers, dippers, moorhens and mallards have been observed along the length of the beck. [21] A weir that is more than 3 metres (9.8 ft) high at the northern end of the beck prevents fish passage upstream from the River Derwent. This area used to feed water into a fish farm, and the remains of signal crayfish have been found around the weir. [22]

Notes

  1. ↑ Historically, the area was in the East Riding of Yorkshire, but moved in 1974 into North Yorkshire.

References

  1. ↑ King, H.; Harris, Alan, eds. (1962). "Introduction". YAS record series volume 126: A survey of the Manor of Settrington. Leeds: Yorkshire Archaeological Society. p. xi. OCLC   2753043.
  2. ↑ Ellis, Stephen (1981). "10: Patterned ground at Wharram Percy North Yorkshire; its origins and paleoenvironmental implications". In Neale, John; Flenley, John (eds.). The Quaternary in Britain: essays, reviews and original work on the Quaternary. Oxford: Pergamon Press. p. 98. ISBN   0080262546.
  3. ↑ Allison, Keith John (1976). The east-riding of Yorkshire Landscape. London: Hodder & Stoughton. p. 187. ISBN   0340158212.
  4. ↑ Varley, Raymond (1990). "Two food vessels from the early Bronze-Age, Settrington, near Malton, North Yorkshire". Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. 62. Leeds: Yorkshire Archaeological Society: 3. ISSN   0084-4276.
  5. ↑ Glasscock, Robin Edgar; Roberts, Brian K. (1983). Villages, fields and frontiers: studies in European rural settlement in the medieval and early modern periods papers presented at the meeting of the Permanent European conference for the study of the rural landscape held at Durham and Cambridge, England 10-17 September 1981. Oxford: B. A. R. p. 5. ISBN   0860542386.
  6. ↑ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Neave, David; Neave, Susan (2005). Yorkshire - York and the East Riding. London: Yale University Press. p. 677. ISBN   0300095937.
  7. ↑ "Advisory Visit Settrington Beck" (PDF). wildtrout.org. 4 November 2015. p. 21. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  8. ↑ Varley, Raymond (1990). "Two food vessels from the early Bronze Age from Settrington, near Malton". Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. 62. Leeds: Yorkshire Archaeological Society: 3. ISSN   0084-4276.
  9. ↑ "Settrington Beck catch (trib of Derwent) | Catchment Data Explorer | Catchment Data Explorer". environment.data.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  10. ↑ Fox-Strangways, C. (1893). The Jurassic rocks of Britain, volume 1; Yorkshire. London: HMSO. p. 424. OCLC   49485333.
  11. ↑ O'Neil, Rose; Hughes, Kathy (2014). The state of England's chalk streams (PDF). assets.wwf.org.uk (Report). WWF. pp. 16, 59.
  12. ↑ Ryan, Emma (3 December 2022). "Action plan to save our chalk streams". The Yorkshire Post. p. 22. ISSN   0963-1496. Inside Country Week
  13. ↑ Kelly's Directory of the North and East Ridings Yorkshire, with the city of York. [1893. Part 1: Places] (5 ed.). London: Kelly's Directories. 1893. p. 350. OCLC   1131686665.
  14. ↑ Cross, Matt (2023) [2017]. Lavelle, Brian; Scontus, Silvia (eds.). "Invasive non-native species report and control strategy for Riparian Plants Yorkshire Derwent catchment" (PDF). catchmentbasedapproach.org. p. 75. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  15. ↑ Hickey, Paul (19 July 2019). "Protecting chalk streams – Creating a better place". environmentagency.blog.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  16. ↑ "Chalk Stream Restoration Strategy 2021 Appendices" (PDF). catchmentbasedapproach.org. p. 39. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  17. ↑ Darley, Karen (18 October 2023). "Pollution fear for beck after vandal attack". Gazette & Herald. p. 4. ISSN   0961-4060.
  18. ↑ "Watermill, Settrington". new.millsarchive.org. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  19. ↑ Historic England. "Mill House (Grade II) (1174146)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  20. ↑ Allison, K. J. (1975) [1970]. East Riding water-mills. York: East Yorkshire Local History Society. p. 48. ISBN   0900349263.
  21. ↑ "Settrington Village Design Statement" (PDF). edemocracy.northyorks.gov.uk. February 2013. p. 21. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  22. ↑ "Advisory Visit Settrington Beck" (PDF). wildtrout.org. 4 November 2015. pp. 30–31. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
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