River Bure
River Bure | |
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River Bure at Aylsham | |
Location | |
Country | England |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Near Melton Constable |
Mouth | |
• location | Breydon Water, Great Yarmouth |
Length | 50 miles (80 km) |
The River Bure is a
It has two major tributaries, the
History
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/NorfolkWherryHathor.jpg/220px-NorfolkWherryHathor.jpg)
The River Bure has been navigable for some 31 miles (50 km) as far as Horstead Mill, near Coltishall, since at least 1685, when cargoes of coal, corn and timber were carried to within 1 mile (1.6 km) of Meyton Manor House. It was stated at the time that the river could be improved to enable boats to reach the house. Vessels could not travel beyond Coltishall, and so Aylsham was served by carts, either loaded from wherries at Coltishall and carried north, or loaded from boats at Cromer and carried south.[2]
Plans to extend the limit of navigation were drawn up in 1773. An
Five locks were provided, at Aylsham, Burgh-near-Aylsham Mill, Oxnead Mill, Buxton Mill at Oxnead Lamas and Coltishall. Within a month, the Commissioners found that silting of the river bed had occurred, reducing the navigable depth, and dredging of the river bed using a scoop, known locally as a didle, was a regular activity. Small wherries, capable of carrying 13 tons, were used for the carriage of flour, agricultural produce, coal and timber. A brickyard at Oxnead was also served by the boats, while below Coltishall, marl was carried away from pits which were served by a system of navigable dikes on the estate of Horstead Hall. The marl trade continued until 1870, but the dikes remain,[2] in an area called Little Switzerland.
At each of the mills, cuts were made to accommodate the locks, but at Aylsham a longer cut of about 1 mile (1.6 km) was made, ending at a basin where warehouses were constructed. Boats could also get from there to Aylsham Mill Pool, which enabled them to deliver grain and carry flour away. The navigation was reasonably successful until 1880, when railway competition arrived, in the form of the East Norfolk Railway, which followed the Bure valley. The East Norfolk later became part of the Great Eastern Railway. Further competition arrived in 1883, when the Eastern and Midlands Railway opened a railway station near the terminal basin on its line from Melton Constable to North Walsham. Despite this, wherries were using the navigation until 1912, when a disastrous flood damaged the locks. Assessment of the damage suggested that repairs would cost £4,500, which the Commissioners could not find, and so the navigation was abandoned. This act was formalised in 1928, when it was officially abandoned. Oxnead Lamas Lock was filled in, in 1933, but the other structures remain, although the lock gates have been replaced by sluices.[2]
See also
- Bure Valley Railway, a heritage railway
- Bure Valley Path
- Bure Marshes NNR, a national nature reserve
- named after the river.
References
- ISBN 0-319-23769-9.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7153-7415-3
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)