Tees Navigation Company

Last updated February 26, 2019

The Tees Navigation Company was a British Company chartered by an Act of Parliament in 1808, for the purpose of improving navigation of the River Tees between the towns of Stockton-on-Tees ^[1] and Middlesbrough.^[2]^[3]

The United Kingdom, officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but more commonly known as the UK or Britain, is a sovereign country lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state‍—‌the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.

The River Tees is in northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles (137 km) to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough.

Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England. The town has a population of 105,682, with a population of 238,000 in the wider borough, according to 2017 estimates.

Background

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the River Tees had several large meanders between the two towns, especially a large meander beginning at the current location of the Tees Barrage, which looped south for 2.5 miles (4 km) and returned to a point a mere 220 yards (200 m) from the beginning of the meander, near a location known as the Mandale. From there it meandered north and then back south, joining the current channel at a point about 1350 yds (1.2 km) from the Mandale in a roughly west-northwest direction.

The Tees Barrage is a barrage across the River Tees just upriver of Blue House Point in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in North East of England and is used to control the flow of the river, preventing flooding and the effects of tidal change. The Tees Barrage comprises a river barrage, road bridge, footbridge, barge lock, fish pass and white water course. The waters above the barrage are permanently held at the level of an average high tide and are used for watersports such as canoeing, jet skiing, dragonboat racing and incorporates a 1 km rowing course. The barrage is accessible by road only from Thornaby-on-Tees as there is very limited road access to the north bank of the Tees.

These two meanders, along with the tidal nature of the river and the presence of shifting sandbars, made navigation difficult. The journey from Stockton to Middlesbrough could take as long as the journey from Middlesbrough to London. Stockton's flour industry required good river navigation to compete with other ports. Removing the meanders was seen as a means of preventing the town's decline as a port.

The Mandale Cut

The Company dug a channel at the Mandale to cut off the southern meander and opened this improvement in 1810. Although it was a comparatively simple engineering work, political problems had dogged the operation since it was first suggested in the 1790s. In particular, property owned by Lord Harewood lay on the southern meander and would lose all access to the river after the cut was made. Lord Harewood was eventually compensated and the work went ahead.

The Portrack Cut

Cutting off the northern meander required a longer channel to be dug, the final cut being 1,100 yds (1 km) long. Since the northern meander was shorter and the cut longer, the net reduction in distance was less, but the bypassing of islands and sandbars in the Portrack meander still made it worthwhile. The work was completed in 1831, resulting in the present river channel.

The Tees Conservancy

Despite these two improvements, the River's usefulness continued to deteriorate. The estuary below Cargo Fleet was treacherous, as the river divided into three channels around various bars and shoals. In the 1850s another Act of Parliament replaced the Tees Navigation Company with the Tees Conservancy Board which took charge of the entire navigation of the river. Much of the work carried out by this body exploited the growing iron industry in Middlesbrough. Large amounts of slag from the processing of iron ore were dumped along the channel in order to narrow and straighten it, causing the river to flow faster and thus scour its own bed. In addition, there was much work done dredging channels for ships.

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References

↑ The town of Stockton-on-Tees is located at 54.57°N latitude & 1.32°W longitude.
↑ The town of Middlesbrough is located at 54.574°N latitude and 1.233°W longitude.
↑ John Brewster, The parochial history and antiquities of Stockton upon Tees J Richardson, 1829

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[1] The town of Stockton-on-Tees is located at 54.57°N latitude & 1.32°W longitude.

[2] The town of Middlesbrough is located at 54.574°N latitude and 1.233°W longitude.

[3] John Brewster, The parochial history and antiquities of Stockton upon Tees J Richardson, 1829