page_title: Hedon Haven
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Hedon Haven / History
caption_attribution_description: English: A diagram showing the layout of Hedon circa 1500-1660. This is before the Burstwick Drain was redirected from the River Hedon
context_page_description: Hedon Haven is a waterway that connected the Humber Estuary with the port of Hedon, in Holderness, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The waterway allowed ships to unload at the port in Hedon, which was also known as Hedon Haven and had, at its peak, three canalised arms that stretched into the town. The port at Hedon was the main port for south Holderness between the 12th and 13th centuries, and was the busiest port in Holderness before the docks at Hull were built.
  The port suffered several downturns in business, first with the siltation of the waterways, then being eclipsed by the newer docks at Hull. Later with the building of the turnpike road through Hedon, and when the railway connecting Hull with Withernsea was opened, port traffic went into a decline. After the waterway kept silting up, the decision was taken in the 1970s to abandon the haven and fill parts of it in. Large swathes encircling the town are designated as a scheduled monument, including the previous areas of canalised waterways, whilst the main area of the haven to the south of the town, is designated as a conservation area.
context_section_description: The town of Hedon is not mentioned in the Domesday Book, yet by the 12th century, its port was the eleventh busiest in England. The haven, as the name suggests, was also a sheltering place for boats sitting out of the tidal estuary. Efforts were made to improve the connection between the town and the Humber Estuary, and in the 12th century, a new cut of the haven was made which extended for 1.5 miles (2.4 km). This new cut provided the best route into Hedon from the west, as the land between Hedon and what is now Kingston upon Hull, was marshy and was riddled with creeks. The only overland travellers to Hedon were from the north and the east. Many writers have suggested different dates for the founding of the town, but it is believed that it was created in the early 12th century by the Earls of Aumale.
  The location of the port gave immediate rise to the prominence and importance of Hedon; it returned two Members of Parliament and had four churches, St Augustines, St Mary Magdalen, St Nicholas and St James. St Nicholas was built on the left bank of the most eastern of the three canalised arms. As the fortunes of the town waned in favour of the other Humber ports, only St Augustine's Church was left, but its dockside structures were abandoned at the end of the 15th century. During the medieval period, the town's three canal arms, all reached northwards into the town from the southern haven. 
  The Fore Bank, encircled the western side of the town, curling westwards then turning 180° to meet some of the streams at the northern end of Hedon. The Fleet, which was fed by the Burstwick Drains, went northwards through the middle of the town and had the wharfage for loading and unloading; this was mostly timber for repair and construction of buildings and is reflected in the road named Woodmarketgate, whose eastern end was on the wharfage of The Fleet. The most eastern arm, was one that went past the church of St Nicholas, and also curved westwards at the top of the town, which gave the town a moated appearance and may have led to some historians misinterpreting this as another part of the haven or port, when both Slater and Beresford contend that this was a defensive measure.
  The straight edges of the Fore Bank indicate that it was dug by humans, however, some have theorised that it was purely defensive, as opposed to part of the port. Slater points out that near its southern end, there was a road called Chain Close, which could indicate the use of a chain to close off the dock. The chaining of docks occurred elsewhere (Kingston upon Hull, Portsmouth, Dartmouth and Fowey), so this was not uncommon. It is believed that improvements to The Fleet in the 15th century, led to the abandonment of the Fore Bank in favour of The Fleet.
  Up until the 14th century, vessels could navigate up the River Hedon to Burstwick, but as with Hedon Haven further downstream, siltation became a problem for those trying to navigate the river. A report to the court in Hedon in 1392 stated; "...a ditch.. .whereby from time immemorial boats laden with merchandize passed from the high sea to the Humber, then to Hedon ...and ought so to pass, has becom dry for lack of repair and cleaning and because it has been stopped up, so that boats cannot pass along it.."
  The haven, like other waterways leading to inland ports (such as York and Patrington), was afflicted by the silting up of its riverbed. As time went on, the port at Hedon lost business to the new port at Wyke, at the mouth of the River Hull as there was a demand for larger ships which couldn't traverse the shallower channel of Hedon Haven. Wyke was later to become the Kings Town upon the Hull, latterly, Kingston-upon-Hull. By the start of the 13th century, Hedon was the eleventh busiest port in England, and despite the importance of the port to Holderness, the newer port of Hull, was sixth busiest, (Hedon paying £60 to Hull's £345 in taxes). By 1327, petitions were being made about the Sturch and Flete (both ancient names for the waterways) being silted up. Temporary sewer commissions were enacted to reme
caption: A diagram showing the layout of Hedon circa 1500-1660. This is before the Burstwick Drain was redirected from the River Hedon. The Fore bank was 650 yards (590 m), The Fleet 450 yards (410 m), the eastern arm 830 yards (760 m) and the southern haven 440 yards (400 m).[26]
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