page_title: River Derwent, Yorkshire
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: River Derwent, Yorkshire / History
caption_attribution_description: Wheldrake Ings Bridge
context_page_description: The Derwent is a river in Yorkshire in the north of England.
  It flows from Fylingdales Moor in the North York Moors National Park, 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 old course of the river used to flow further east, entering the Ouse east of Howden.
  The River Derwent catchment area includes the Upper Derwent, River Rye, River Hertford, Bielby Beck and Pocklington canal and their tributaries. It covers an area of 2,057 square kilometres and includes the towns of Stamford Bridge, Malton, Pickering, Helmsley, Filey and Scarborough. The area is bounded by the Cleveland Hills, North York Moors and Hambleton Hills to the north, the Yorkshire Wolds and the coast to the east, the Vale of York to the west and the River Ouse and Humber Estuary to the south. The area around the river is primarily rural in nature with grazing moorland in the upland areas and a variety of agricultural uses at lower levels.
context_section_description: Before the last Ice Age the waters of the upper Derwent flowed east and discharged into the sea at Scalby, near Scarborough. The River Hertford, the present middle Derwent and the River Rye flowed east and discharged into the North Sea near Filey Brigg. During the Ice Age these outlets were blocked by a tongue of ice which extended down the North Sea basin carrying with it large amounts of glacial detritus. As the ice melted the detritus was deposited to form the Wykeham moraine and permanently blocked the eastern exits of the watercourse. Water from the melting ice and the North York Moors formed a lake in the Vale of Pickering which expanded and deepened until eventually the water escaped by overflowing at the lowest point at Kirkham. The water cut a gorge through the Howardian Hills as it drained away southwards, breaching the Escrick moraine just east of Wheldrake, and joining the Humber glacial lake.
  The unusual upstream facing outfall of the Derwent is man made. It is believed to have been cut during the Roman occupation of Britain to reduce the distance between the Derwent mouth and the Roman legionary headquarters at York by 9 miles. The first navigation weir, also believed to be of Roman origin, was a flash weir built near Wheldrake to raise the level of the river upstream and regulate its flow downstream.
  During the reign of King John (1199–1216) a water mill on the Derwent at Wheldrake was given to the monks of Fountains Abbey and later in the 13th century a weir is known to have existed at the same place.
  By 1462 when the Lord Mayor of York was authorised to "correct and amend defects" of the Derwent "from the Ouse as far as the town and bridge of Sutton upon Derwent" the river must have been navigable at least to Sutton. A corn mill existed at Sutton upon Derwent by 1597. It was rebuilt in 1836 and continued in use until 1960. There are other water mill sites at Stamford Bridge, Buttercrambe, Howsham, Kirkham and Malton.
  Before the 18th century coal was usually taken by coastal shipping from Newcastle or Sunderland and put into smaller vessels at coastal ports to be delivered to upriver destinations. For this purpose there was an interest in improving navigation on the Derwent as far as Malton. In 1702 an Act of Parliament was passed authorising its proprietors to improve the river. Towpaths were laid out and "locks, turnpikes, pens for water, wharfs and warehouses" were constructed. The promoters of these works were allowed to charge tolls on the cargo carried on any part of the river.
  The owners of land near to the river complained in 1722 that the new locks and weirs caused them to lose income because their meadows were more often flooded. In 1793 thirty five vessels were trading from Malton, carrying corn downstream to the West Riding towns and returning upstream with coal. Virtually every village and hamlet near the tidal river had its own landing place.
  In 1845 the York and North Midland Railway was built to join the West Riding to Scarborough via Malton. Much of the freight traffic of the Derwent Navigation was transferred to the cheaper railway. In 1855 the railway managers bought the Navigation and to further stifle competition they charged high tolls on barge freight. More cargo was moved to the railway and by the 1890s the only regular trade on the Derwent was on its lower reaches.
  By the beginning of the 20th century the river was being used for pleasure craft and by 1920 there were craft based regularly at Stamford Bridge and Kirkham Abbey. After floods in 1930 damaged the lock gates at Kirkham several vessels were stranded upstream. In 1935 statutory Right of Navigation was revoked above Sutton Lock. There followed a long series of fights for public access against riparian interests which continue to the present day.
caption: The Old Ings Bridge over the River Derwent at Wheldrake in 1961
exif: {"Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0", "Image DateTime": "2007:05:07 22:13:44"}