River Lymn
River Lymn | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | England |
Counties | Lincolnshire |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Belchford |
• elevation | 300 ft (91 m) |
Steeping River | |
• location | Gibraltar Point |
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The River Lymn is a
Route
The river rises on the southern slope of Belchford Hill, to the east of
It continues to the south-east and has dropped by another 33 feet (10 m) by the time it reaches the millpond of Stockwith Mill, beyond which is Stockwith Mill Bridge. The
Steeping River
The River Lymn is joined by another embanked channel, Lady Wath's Beck, as it passes between
The Wainfleet Relief Channel is also crossed by the B1195 road, and shortly afterwards, the Lymn joins it. Cowcroft Drain, which joins the Lymn from the north,[1] and the Lymn below the junction are both designated as main rivers, and are the responsibility of the Environment Agency, as is Croft Lane pumping station, which pumps the water from the Lymn into the relief channel.[5] Croft Lane bridge is next, after which the A52 and the Boston to Skegness railway cross, and the relief channel rejoins Wainfleet Haven. The final section contains three flood defence structures. Haven House Sluice is first, after which the channel splits. Wainfleet Clough Outfall is on the western channel, which is tidal below the sluice. The Burgh Sluice Relief Channel is to the east, and Burgh Sluice protects it from the sea just before the two channels rejoin.[1] Cow Bank Drain was excavated in 1812, as part of the last land reclamation scheme in the area.[6] Cow Bank pumping station, owned by the IDB, pumps the drain into the outfall.[7]
Below the outfall, Gibraltar Point
Hydrology
There is a layer of sandstone rock beneath the whole of the catchment of the River Lymn, which is largely covered by a layer of chalk. The sandstone outcrops in only a few places, and where it does, springs provide the base flow for the river.[11] As the layers of rock continue to dip to the east, they are covered by boulder clay, gravel and alluvium.[12]
Flow on the upper river is measured by a gauging station at Partney Mill, consisting of a Crump weir with a 16-foot (5 m) crest.
Discharge to the North Sea is along the Burgh Sluice Relief Channel during the winter and at times of high flow, but when flows in the river are low, Wainfleet Clough Sluice is used as the discharge point.[16]
The Environment Agency measure water quality of 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 Lymn and Steeping was as follows in 2019.
Section | Ecological Status | Chemical Status | Length | Catchment | Channel |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lymn / Steeping[18] | Moderate | Fail | 28 miles (45 km) | 65.75 square miles (170.3 km2) | heavily modified |
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) and mercury compounds, neither of which had previously been included in the assessment.[19]
History
The manipulation of the river channel has a long history, dating back to at least the thirteenth century, when the river was diverted to the south at Firsby Clough and then to the east at White Cross Clough, creating two channels. Because the old channel ran through the manor of Croft, and was used to supply drinking water for cattle, an agreement for its management was reached in 1240. The flow was diverted along the old channel for the first three weeks after Easter, and then along the new channel for three weeks. This six-week cycle was repeated until Michaelmas (29 September). The arrangement was ratified by the Court of Sewers in 1432 and 1501, and continued in operation until at least 1774.[20][21] The original channel is the Lymn, while the southern channel has been straightened and enlarged to become the Steeping River.
Thorpe Culvert takes its name from a culvert which was built under the river to drain water into the Bell Water Drain. The area to the north of the culvert became part of the Witham Fourth District in 1818, and the culvert was built soon afterwards. Responsibility for the drain passed to the Witham and Steeping Catchment Board following the passing of the Land Drainage Act in 1930, and they commissioned a new pumping station to pump water from the drain into the Steeping in 1938.[22] It contained two Ruston & Hornsby diesel engines, driving 36-inch (91 cm) Gwynnes centrifugal pumps, and could pump 322M gallons (1,460 Ml) per day when both were running.[23]
Responsibility for the drain and pumping station then passed to the Anglian Water Authority, and they built a new electric pumping station, which was commissioned in 1983. The diesel station was retained, but its condition deteriorated, so that by the early 1990s, only one of the engines was operational. At the request of Lindsey Marsh IDB, a small team of volunteers began to restore the station and the engines in 1994, and the site is opened for visitors three times a year. The restoration has enabled the station to be used twice in 2000 and once in 2004, when power failure prevented the electric station from operating, and during the floods of 2007, both engines ran to assist the electric pumps. The team of volunteers was led by Dennis Quincey, and following his death in 2002, the Drainage Board renamed it Quinceys Pumping Station.[24]
In the medieval period, Wainfleet was an important port, and had a thriving salt industry, extracting salt from sea water. The town was much closer to the sea at that time, but the gradual silting of the channel and the enclosure of land on both sides of it saw the demise of the port, with its function taken over by Boston. The channel, known as Wainfleet Haven, was still used by shipping, although larger ships unloaded cargo into river barges close to Gibraltar Point, from where the barges travelled up the river to Wainfleet. Commercial use of the Haven by boats ceased in the 1920s.[25]
Points of interest
Bibliography
- CAMS (January 2007). "The Steeping, Great Eau and Long Eau Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy (Part 2)" (PDF). Environment Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2014.
- Hawley, David; Russell, Ian; Ray, John (May 2009). "Steeping River Catchment" (PDF). Lincolnshire County Council / Environment Agency. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
- Manning, Chris; Quigley, Anita; et al. (June 2008). "The Lincolnshire Coastal Grazing Marshes Project - Water Level Management Study" (PDF). Lindsey Marsh Drainage Board. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 June 2019.
- Marsh, Terry; Hannaford, Jamie (2008). UK Hydrometric Register (PDF). Natural Environment Research Council. ISBN 978-0-9557672-2-7. Archived from the original(PDF) on 31 October 2014.
- Owen, A E B (1965). A Thirteenth-century Agreement on Water for Livestock in the Lindsey Marsh (PDF). British Agricultural History Society. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016.
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ignored (help) - Robinson, David (2005). "Poachings - Croft Marsh" (PDF). Lincolnshire Life. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Ordnance Survey, 1:25,000 map
- ^ Historic England. "Tetford Mill (1063659)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
- ^ Hawley, Russell & Ray 2009, p. 6
- ^ Historic England. "Crow's Bridge over Steeping River (1224273)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
- ^ Hawley, Russell & Ray 2009, p. 4,8
- ^ Robinson 2005, p. 1.
- ^ Hawley, Russell & Ray 2009, p. 8.
- ^ CAMS 2007, p. 37
- ^ "Welcome". Gibraltar Point Yacht Club. Archived from the original on 4 February 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ "RAF Wainfleet - a brief history". Engineering Science Aviation Group. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011.
- ^ CAMS 2007, pp. 35–36
- ^ CAMS 2007, p. 34
- ^ Marsh & Hannaford 2008, p. 87
- ^ Marsh & Hannaford 2008, p. 85
- ^ Marsh & Hannaford 2008, p. 83
- ^ CAMS 2007, p. 35
- ^ "Glossary (see Biological quality element; Chemical status; and Ecological status)". Catchment Data Explorer. Environment Agency. 17 February 2016.
- ^ "Lymn / Steeping". Catchment Data Explorer. Environment Agency.
- ^ "Chemical Status". Environment Agency. 2023. Archived from the original on 14 March 2024.
- ^ Manning & Quigley 2008, p. 8
- ^ Owen 1965, pp. 40–44.
- ^ "History". Witham Fourth District IDB. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
- ^ "Thorpe Culvert Quinceys Pumping Station". Lincolnshire County Council. Archived from the original on 7 January 2017.
- ^ "Thorpe Culvert Preservation" (PDF). Lindsey Marsh Drainage Board. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2012.
- ^ "Wainfleet Conservation Area Appraisal" (PDF). East Lindsey District Council. August 2007. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
External links
Media related to Steeping River at Wikimedia Commons Media related to River Lymn at Wikimedia Commons