Oldcotes Dyke
Oldcotes Dyke | |
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![]() The weir and gauging station that measure flow on Oldcotes Dyke before it joins the River Ryton | |
Location | |
Country | England |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Streams near Ravenfield and Hellaby |
• elevation | 410 feet (125 m) |
Mouth | |
• location | River Ryton, Blyth |
• coordinates | 53°22′54″N 1°03′46″W / 53.38165°N 1.06282°W |
• elevation | 39 feet (12 m) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• right | New Hall Dike, Kingsforth Brook, Firbeck Dike, Lamb Lane Dike, Owlands Wood Dike |
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Oldcotes Dyke is the name of the final section of a river system that drains parts of north Nottinghamshire and the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. Historically, it has supported milling, with seven water mills drawing their power from its water, and ran through the grounds of the Cistercian Roche Abbey. It is a tributary of the River Ryton.
Route
The river begins as a small stream near the 410-foot (125 m) contour and close to the B6093 Moor Lane South road at Ravenfield. If flows to the east, forming the southern boundary of the housing of the village, with open land on its south bank. It passes under Priests Bridge on Lidget Lane, and is briefly culverted as it flows under the M18 motorway and Hellaby Lane, to the north of Hellaby. It forms the eastern boundary of Hellaby Industrial Park. It runs beside a dismantled railway embankment, and is joined by an unnamed stream which also rises to the west of the M18 motorway. A little further to the south, Hellaby Bridge carries the A631 Rotherham to Bawtry road over the combined flow, and it is joined by Newhall Dike, which rises at Cum Well, further west but to the east of the motorway.[1]
The river turns to the east, flowing along the southern edge of
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Maltby_Dike_at_Roche_Abbey.jpg/220px-Maltby_Dike_at_Roche_Abbey.jpg)
Heading south-east, the river is crossed by the
As part of Capability Brown's landscaping, the monastic channels which had carried the dike through the site for hundreds of years were filled in, to create a meandering stream and a lake, covering the southern part of the complex.[8] Brown's concept of a "romantic ruin" passed out of favour, and James Aveling began the process of excavating the site in the late 1850s. He published a book recording what he had found in 1870, the first such publication about a monastic site in Britain. Larger scale removal of Brown's infilling of the site began in the 1880s, when the 10th Earl of Scarborough ensured that the process was recorded photographically. Responsibility for the ruins passed to the State following the First World War, after which Brown's lake was drained and the original water channels were rediscovered and reinstated. The Office of Works used the work as a way to provide jobs for the unemployed.[9] Two cutwaters are visible, one to the west of the site near the 18th century banquetting lodge, and the other at the east of the site, which carries the public footpath to Laughton Pond. The waters of the dike were used to power a water mill during the monastic period.[8]
Hooton Dike
Just below the Abbey complex, the river is joined by Hooton Dike. This rises close to the 425-foot (130 m) contour on land which was once the edges of Thurcroft Colliery, until its closure in 1991. It flows eastwards under some old railway embankments which were part of the colliery, and the former junction of the Thurcroft Colliery Branch and the defunct Braithwell and Laughton Railway.[10] Beyond the embankments, it is called Brookhouse Dike, and flows under the main road in Brookhouse and the Worksop to Doncaster freight railway. To the south of the hamlet of Slade Hooton, Hooton Bridge carries Hooton Lane over it, and there is a sewage treatment works on the north bank. Like the Maltby treatment works, it is strung along the bank, because the valley has steep sides. Beyond the works, the river is called Hooton Brook.[1]
The course of the river turns towards the north-east, and it enters Laughton Pond, a large artificial lake, created by Capability Brown and completed in 1776.[6] At its north-eastern is a 10-foot (3.0 m) cascade, also built as part of Brown's landscaping project. It is constructed of irregular Magnesian Limestone blocks, arranged in tiers.[11] Nearby is a tunnel, which enters the bank wall below the pond. From it, a channel connects to the Maltby Dike. It shows signs of being adapted in the 1760s, but its origins are clearly older, probably medieval.[12]
Firbeck Dike
The river and its banks below the junction of Hooton Dike and Maltby Dike continues to be part of Sandbeck Park,[6] almost to King's Wood Lane, at the hamlet of Stone. Just before the bridge was another corn mill, called Roche Abbey Mill.[13] The grade II listed mill farmhouse dating from around 1800 still exists, but the mill itself does not.[14] Beyond the bridge, and before the next bridge, is Stone Mill. The mill house and attached mill building survive. They date from the 17th century, but were enlarged in the 18th and 19th centuries. The position of the wheel is indicated by an ashlar-faced wall, and internally, there is evidence that it drove two sets of wheels.[15]
The river now becomes Firbeck Dike, and passes under New Road to curve around the northern and eastern edges of the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Outbuilding_at_Yews_Mill.jpg/220px-Outbuilding_at_Yews_Mill.jpg)
Another set of lakes are in front of Firbeck Hall, a country house with a 16th-century core, which was remodelled and extended in the 18th and 19th centuries. It became a country club in 1935, when Cyril Nicholson, a Sheffield
Below the junction of the two streams, and a little further to the east was Yews Mill. Little remains of the original building, although parts of it, dating from the early 18th century, have been incorporated into Yews Mill House. The mill race is still visible, and there is a suggestion that it was once a paper mill, which might account for its small scale.[22] It was shown as a corn mill on the map for 1902.[23] On the main course of the river is another small building connected to a bridge, which carries the date 1806, which is also thought to have been a mill. Neither the wheel pit, not any of the machinery survives.[24]
Oldcotes Dyke
The mill stream rejoins the main course to pass under a bridge carrying Haven Hill, and the river becomes Oldcotes Dyke. It passes to the south of Oldcotes, and Goldthorpe Mill is situated to the west of the A60 Worksop to Tickhill road. It is an early 18th century building, with later additions, and has been converted into a house. It still contains a steel water wheel dating from the late 19th century, and parts of the wooden machinery.[25] The mill race and main stream combine on the eastern side of the A60 road, and soon it reaches Oldcotes Mill, to the east of the village. This dates from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The wheel drove 3 sets of stones, and much of the machinery is still in situ. It is inscribed "John Thornton Millwright Engineer & C Worksop".[26] Both mills were producing flour in the 1880s.[27]
The river passes through Fishpond Plantation, and turns to the south east, running parallel to the A634 road from Oldcotes to Blyth. As it nears Blyth, it drops below the 50-foot (15 m) contour, and is joined by Hodsock Brook. The river turns to the north-east to pass under the A634 at Old Bridge. Beyond the bridge is a gauging station, to measure flow, and the river sweeps round in an arc to join the River Ryton by Bawtry Road, Blyth.[1]
Hodsock Brook
Hodsock Brook rises as a series of springs near Gildingwells. The stream flows eastwards, through Langold Holt, a wooded area with a pond in its centre, crosses the border from the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham into Nottinghamshire, and enters the upper of two lakes that are part of Langold Country Park. A weir lowers the level into the second lake, and the overflow from this flows through woods and through a culvert beneath the remains of the railway sidings for Firbeck Colliery, Langold. Next is passes under the A60 Doncaster Road and to the north of Hodsock Lodge Farm. There is a sewage treatment works on the northern bank, opposite the farm. On the edge of woods called New Plantation, it is joined by Owlands Wood Dike and turns abruptly to the north, to join Oldcotes Dyke.[1]
Owlands Wood Dike begins at a pond to the south of Gildingwells, and initially flows south. The Rotherham and Nottinghamshire border follows the course of the stream, which then turns to the east. The border turns to the south and leaves the river just before it reaches Corn Mill Farm. A water mill constructed of stone with a roof of pantiles was built at the site around 1800 by the father of Sir T W White. It was disused by 1897, and the machinery was removed in 1928 when the building was converted into a house.
Water quality
The Environment Agency assesses the water quality within the river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of
The water quality of the Oldcotes Dyke system was as follows in 2019.
Section | Ecological Status | Chemical Status | Length | Catchment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Oldcotes Dyke Catchment (trib of Ryton)[34] | Poor | Fail | 16.5 miles (26.6 km) | 22.75 square miles (58.9 km2) |
Hodsock Brook (to Oldcoates Dyke)[35] | Moderate | Fail | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) | 4.44 square miles (11.5 km2) |
Owlands Wood Dyke from Source to Hodsock Brook[36] | Moderate | Fail | 5.6 miles (9.0 km) | 9.31 square miles (24.1 km2) |
The first row is for Oldcodes Dyke from its junction with the River Ryton westwards to Maltby Dike, but stopping at the M18 motorway. Like most rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and mercury compounds, none of which had previously been included in the assessment.[37]
There was a significant pollution incident in 2014, when a pipeline carrying raw sewage ruptured twice, on 25 February and 26 March. The sewage ran onto agricultural land, and into Slacks Pond, a private fishing lake, which discharged into Kingsforth Brook, and subsequently into Maltby Dike. The incident resulted in a number of fish dying, and the population of certain invertebrates, including fresh water shrimps, being depleted. Because Severn Trent Water, the owner of the pipeline, had received two previous warnings about similar incidents at this location, they were fined £480,000, and ordered to pays the costs of the Environment Agency, who brought the case to court. The costs were a further £13,675.38, and the fine was one of the largest ever imposed upon a water company in the United Kingdom for negligence.[38] The water company replaced the underground pipeline in August 2014. It had been installed 35 years previously, and was used to pump sewage to a treatment work. They also restocked fish in the river.[39]
Points of interest
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Ordnance Survey, 1:25,000 and 1:2,500 maps
- ^ Historic England. "House and attached mill building at Mill Farm (1192693)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "1:2,500 map". Ordnance Survey. 1892.
- ^ "1:2,500 map". Ordnance Survey. 1929.
- ^ "Nature reserve plan at sewage works". Sheffield Star. 21 February 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ a b c Historic England. "Sandbeck Park and Roche Abbey (1001161)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Roche Abbey". English Heritage. Archived from the original on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- ^ a b Fergusson & Harrison 2013, p. 21.
- ^ Fergusson & Harrison 2013, pp. 38–39.
- ^ "1:2,500 map, Thurcroft". Ordnance Survey. 1929.
- ^ Historic England. "Cascade north-east corner of Laughton Pond (1151842)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ Historic England. "Tunnel entrance and lining (1151898)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "1:2,500 map, Stone". Ordnance Survey. 1929.
- ^ Historic England. "Roche Abbey Mill Farmhouse (1151897)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ Historic England. "Stone Mill (1151864)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "1:2,500 map, Firbeck". Ordnance Survey. 1902.
- ^ Historic England. "Farm buildings at Park Hill Farm (1132705)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ Newton 2019.
- ^ "History of Firbeck Hall". Friends of Firbeck Hall. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Friends of Firbeck Hall". Friends of Firbeck Hall. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ^ Historic England. "Bridge and weir to east of Firbeck Hospital (1132704)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ Historic England. "Rear wing to Yews Mill House (1151895)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "1:2,500 map, Yews Mill". Ordnance Survey. 1902.
- ^ Historic England. "Outbuilding and attached bridge near Yews Mill House (1286460)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ Historic England. "Goldthorpe Mill (1045722)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ Historic England. "Oldcotes Mill (1224490)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "1:2,500 map, Oldcotes Mills". Ordnance Survey. 1886.
- ^ "Building record M4774 - Watermill, Corn Mill Farm, Wallingwells". Nottinghamshire Historic Environment Record. 19 January 2023.
- ^ Historic England. "Wallingwells Hall and Service Wing (1266864)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ Historic England. "Carlton Mill (1206373)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ Historic England. "Hodsock Priory (1370097)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ Historic England. "Hodsock Priory Gatehouse and Bridge (1187689)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Glossary (see Biological quality element; Chemical status; and Ecological status)". Catchment Data Explorer. Environment Agency. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
- ^ "Oldcotes Dyke Catchment (trib of Ryton)". Catchment Data Explorer. Environment Agency. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ "Hodsock Brook (to Oldcoates Dyke)". Catchment Data Explorer. Environment Agency. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ "Owlands Wood Dyke from Source to Hodsock Brook". Catchment Data Explorer. Environment Agency. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ "Chemical Status". Environment Agency. 2023. Archived from the original on 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Repeated raw sewage leaks, lead to one of the largest water company fines". Environment Agency. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
- ^ "Severn Trent hit with £480,000 fine". Sheffield Star. 25 September 2015. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
Bibliography
- Fergusson, Peter; Harrison, Stuart (2013). Roche Abbey. English Heritage. ISBN 978-1-84802 227 0.
- Newton, Grace (26 July 2019). "The Yorkshire stately home that became Britain's most glamorous party house". Yorkshire Post. Archived from the original on 2 January 2021.
See also
Media related to Oldcotes Dyke at Wikimedia Commons