River Don Navigation
Encyclopedia
The River Don Navigation was the result of early efforts to make the River Don in South Yorkshire
, England
, navigable between Fishlake
and Sheffield
. The Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden
had re-routed the mouth of the river in 1626, to improve drainage, and the new works included provision for navigation, but the scheme did not solve the problem of flooding, and the Dutch River was cut in 1635 to link the new channel to Goole
. The first Act of Parliament
to improve navigation on the river was obtained in 1726, by a group of Cutlers based in Sheffield
; the Corporation of Doncaster
obtained an Act in the following year for improvements to the lower river. Locks and lock cuts were built, and, by 1751, the river was navigable to Tinsley
.
The network was expanded by the opening of the Stainforth and Keadby Canal
in 1802, linking to the River Trent
, the Dearne and Dove Canal
in 1804, linking to Barnsley
, and the Sheffield Canal
in 1819, which provided better access to Sheffield. All three were bought out by the Don Navigation in the 1840s, after which the canals were owned by a series of railway companies. The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation
Company was created in 1889 and eventually succeeded in buying back the canals and the Don Navigation in 1895, but plans for expansion were hampered by a lack of capital. One success was the opening of the New Junction Canal
in 1905, jointly funded with the Aire and Calder Navigation
.
During the 20th century, there were several plans to upgrade the Don, to handle larger craft. It was eventually upgraded to take 700-tonne barges in 1983, but the scheme was a little too late, as an anticipated rise in commercial traffic did not occur. Most use of the navigation is now by leisure boaters, whose boats are dwarfed by the huge locks. The navigation and river are crossed by a wide variety of bridges, from a medieval bridge complete with a chapel on it, one of only three to have survived in Britain, to a motorway viaduct that pioneered the use of rubber bearings and a new waterproofing system. In between are a number of railway bridges, including two that were built to carry the internal railway system at the Blackburn Meadows
sewage treatment plant. The former railway viaduct at Conisbrough
now carries cyclists 113 feet (34.4 m) above the Don, as part of the National Cycle Network
.
to enter the River Trent
, and a northern branch, which was a Roman navigation channel, and joined the River Aire
at Turnbridge, near East Cowick
. Cornelius Vermuyden
's drainage scheme for Hatfield Chase, begun in 1626 and largely completed by 1628, included the construction of Ashfield Bank, which ran for 2 miles (3.2 km) along the southern bank of the Don from Fishlake to Thorne, cutting off the eastern branch. Navigation to Sandtoft was made possible by the provision of a navigable sluice in the bank, which had lifting gates and a 50 by lock chamber. A further bank some distance to the east of the northern channel ran for 5 miles (8 km) from Thorne to Turnbridge to provide washlands, which would flood when high levels in the Aire prevented the Don discharging into it.
In the winter of 1628, there was flooding at Fishlake and Sykehouse, which was followed by rioting. A navigable sluice was built at Turnbridge in 1629, with a lock 60 by, and an outfall sluice called the "Great Sluice" was completed in 1630, probably by Hugo Spiering, who had assisted Vermuyden with the main project. Continued problems with flooding led to the construction of a 5 miles (8 km) channel from Newbridge near Thorne eastwards to Goole, where water levels in the Ouse
were between 5 and 10 ft (1.5 and 3 m) lower than at Turnbridge. The channel, called the Dutch River, ended in another outfall sluice, and was completed in 1635 at a cost of £33,000. Boats continued to use the lock at Turnbridge. In about 1688 the Goole sluice was washed away by a flood, and was never replaced. The tidal scour widened the channel, and barges of up to 30 tonnes could normally reach Fishlake, and often Wilsick House, in Barnby Dun
. Smaller boats could reach Doncaster for most of the year, and large barges could do so when there was a flood tide.
Initial attempts to seek powers to make the River Don navigable were hampered by opposition from local landowners and disunity between the authorities in Sheffield
, Rotherham
and Doncaster
. The first Act of Parliament
was presented in 1698 by the MP
for Thirsk, Sir Godfrey Copley of Sprotborough, representing the interests of Rotherham. Although there was support from the "gentlemen, traders and inhabitants" of Doncaster, the Corporation opposed the Bill in view of the likely impact on their mills. There was no support from Sheffield either, and the Bill failed at its first reading. In 1704 Doncaster Corporation, with the support of its traders, presented a Bill that received a first reading, but disappeared without a second reading ever happening. By 1722 there was some agreement between Sheffield and Doncaster, with a tacit agreement that Doncaster would be responsible for the river below their town, and Sheffield for the section above Doncaster. There was organised resistance to the scheme from local landowners, and it appears that their influence resulted in the proposed Bill being defeated in committee, so it could not be presented to parliament.
However, in 1726 Sheffield's Company of Cutlers
sought parliamentary approval to make the river navigable from Holmstile in Doncaster to Tinsley
, on the edge of Sheffield. Terminating at Tinsley placated the Duke of Norfolk, who represented the opposition from Sheffield, and a great deal of work had been done to reduce the opposition from landowners. The Act of Parliament
was passed on 6 May 1726 giving the Cutlers powers to make cuts and to make the river deeper and wider so that boats of 20 tonnes could reach Tinsley. There were a number of restrictions, intended to protect existing water-powered installations. Lord Frederick Howard's mills at Rotherham, Kilnhurst forge, Thrybergh dam and Sprotborough mills and water engine were specifically mentioned.
The Corporation of Doncaster sought powers in 1727 to improve the river below Holmstile, as far as Wilsick House in Barnby Dun. The Bill passed through parliament uneventfully, and again included detailed restrictions on what could and could not be done, designed to protect the landowners. The details were very specific in that they included the permissible heights of dams, the maximum length of cuts, and many other details of the work to be carried out.
Both Acts were unusual in that they gave the bodies powers to borrow money, but did not create the companies to do the work. Nor were the financial arrangements clearly laid down, and both groups resorted to issuing shares to fund the improvements, although they were not actually empowered to do so. In October 1730, the two groups decided to amalgamate, but a 1731 Act to formalise the agreement and legalise the issuing of shares was defeated because it also included powers to make further changes to the river, including the section below Barnby Dun. Finally an Act of 1733 created The Company of the Proprietors of the Navigation of the River Don, with powers to create a new cut from Bromley Sands above Rotherham to Ickles Dam. The problems presented by the river below Wilsick House, including shallows and fords at Bramwith and Stainforth, and bridges on the Dutch River that were difficult to navigate, resulted in the proprietors trying again to obtain powers to improve the lower river in 1737, but again the petition was defeated in a parliamentary committee. Work continued, and it appears that Aldwarke was the head of navigation for some years, but Rotherham was reached in 1740.
A further Bill in 1740 sought powers to improve the river from Barnby Dun to Fishlake Ferry. Despite serious opposition, which included the merchants and traders of Doncaster as well as Doncaster Corporation, the Bill was passed, giving the company new powers to make the river deeper and create a cut to avoid the shallows at Stainforth and Bramwith. Work on this northern section started almost immediately. The southern section to Tinsley was navigable by 1751, although the wharf and warehouse had not been completed by that date, and the towpath from Rotherham was not completed until 1822.
In 1737, the navigation was leased to three of the company shareholders for 14 years, and a new 7 year lease was made in 1751. After 1758, the company managed the navigation itself. Tolls for the next 10 years raised an average of £7006 per annum, indicating healthy traffic levels.
, which had been proposed by the Don Navigation shareholders in 1792. Construction was started in 1793 and completed in 1802, with John Thompson, the engineer to the Don Navigation Company, overseeing the work until his death in 1795. It provided a link from Bramwith lock to the River Trent
, broadly following the old course of the River Don prior to Vermuyden's improvements. Two years later, the Dearne and Dove Canal
opened, connecting with the Barnsley Canal
near Barnsley
. The canal had also been proposed by Don Navigation shareholders in 1792, and again John Thompson had overseen the initial construction. The third opening was in 1819, when the Sheffield Canal
connected the Tinsley terminus to the centre of Sheffield. There were several plans to create a link to the Chesterfield Canal
, including one in 1793 by Benjamin Outram
, and a proposal by Richard Gresley in 1810 for a North East Junction Canal, which would have linked to the Don at Rotherham, broadly following the modern ideas for the Rother Link
. Neither of these, nor a revival of the idea in 1832 gained sufficient support to proceed.
The Company bought out the Dearne and Dove Canal in 1846, the Sheffield Canal in 1848, and the Stainforth and Keadby Canal in 1849. They then amalgamated with the South Yorkshire, Doncaster and Goole Railway in 1850, to become the South Yorkshire Railway and River Dun Company. This in turn was leased to the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
in 1864. In order to allow an extension of the railway from Mexborough to Sheffield to pass under the railway line to Rotherham Westgate railway station, the Holmes cut below Ickles lock was diverted into the river, and the Eastwood cut below Rotherham lock was diverted to the east in 1864. The original bed was then filled in and the railway built along its course. Despite attempts to divert coal traffic to the railway, the canals maintained their traffic levels, carrying 982,000 tonnes in 1878 and 927,254 in 1888. However, there was dissatisfaction among users of the canals that the rates for traffic were higher than on the railways, and the canals were failing to modernise, as steam boats were banned, despite them having been in use for 50 years on the neighbouring Aire and Calder Navigation.
A plan to upgrade the waterways to allow the use of 300 to 500-tonne boats led to the formation of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Canal Company Limited in November 1888. The cost of the scheme was estimated to be around £1 million, in addition to the cost of acquiring the canals from the railway company. The new company obtained an Act of Parliament on 26 August 1889, creating the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation
Company, which was authorised to raise £1.5 million and to purchase the four canals either by negotiation, or by compulsory purchase if negotiations failed. The railway company was unwilling to sell, and it was not until 1895, after protracted negotiation and legal battles that the transfer was agreed. The Navigation Company had only succeeded in raising £625,000, which was less than the purchase price of the canals, and therefore the railway company nominated half of the ten directors, while the Aire and Calder Company declined to buy any shares because of railway influence. Many of the ambitious plans for the modernisation of the system were hindered by a lack of capital, although some further developments took place.
One improvement that was completed was the construction of the New Junction Canal
. This had been authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained on 28 July 1891 by the Aire and Calder Navigation, which specified that the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation Company would share the cost of construction and the ownership of the new waterway. No work could start until the company actually owned their canals, and they were required to raise £150,000 at a time when they had just failed to raise the finance for the takeover of the original canals. However, three-quarters of the cost had been raised by 1903. The new canal leaves the original navigation at Bramwith Junction, runs over the River Don on an aqueduct, and continues in a straight line for 5.5 miles (8.9 km), to join the Aire and Calder Navigation
upstream from Goole
. It provided a much more direct route from Sheffield to Goole, and was opened on 2 January 1905. The company had hoped to run compartment boats
for the transport of coal along the canal, as the Aire and Calder did, but although straightening of the navigation was completed at Doncaster in April 1905 and at Sprotborough in late 1907, and Doncaster Town Lock was lengthened in 1909 and 1910, most of the locks could only hold three compartments at a time, and so there was little advantage to using this type of boat.
Towards the end of the First World War, Sheffield City Council proposed a major upgrade of the navigation. They expected the government to nationalise the waterway, and pay for the improvements, to which they would contribute, providing that the railway influence was removed. The scheme involved deepening the channel from 6 feet (1.8 m) to 8 feet (2.4 m), and constructing 18 new locks which would be 270 by, to replace the existing 62 by locks. The locks would have multiple gates, and be capable of holding four 110-tonne barges or one 300-tonne barge. The estimated cost was £1,483,426, but the government was unwilling to support the scheme, and Sheffield City Council was not prepared to proceed without government backing.
During the inter-war years the navigation struggled to hold its own against competition from the railways and later the roads, and was affected by miners' strikes in the coal industry. Traffic was spasmodic, rising from 381,727 tonnes in 1926, the year of the general strike, to 815,329 tonnes in 1937, but much of the latter was short-haul traffic, rather than long-haul, and the revenues did not increase correspondingly. In an agreement with Hatfield Main Colliery and the Aire and Calder, Bramwith Lock on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal was lengthened in 1932, to allow compartment boats to be used for the coal traffic, while straightening of a stretch near Doncaster and the construction of a new warehouse and wharf were largely funded by Doncaster Corporation in 1934.
The major traffic on the navigation had always been coal, but after the Second World War there was a steady increase in oil traffic. By 1946, all of the mortgages that the company had used to fund expansion were repaid, and the financial position of the canal gradually improved. Control of the navigation, as with most British canals, passed to the British Transport Commission
on 1 January 1948, under the terms of the Transport Act (1947). Some improvements continued to be made, with two coal wharfs being built at Mexborough in 1954, to serve the new Doncaster power station, and Long Sandall Lock being extended to 215 by. The new lock was opened on 10 July 1959, and allowed trains of 17 compartment boats to work through to Doncaster and Hexthorpe, as Doncaster Town Lock above it and Sykehouse Lock below it on the New Junction Canal were already of a similar size.
In 1961, the British Transport Commission, together with the British Iron and Steel Federation and Sheffield Chamber of Commerce considered plans to upgrade the navigation to handle 250-tonne barges, and work started on new wharfs and warehouses at Rotherham. Control of the navigation passed on again in 1963, this time to the British Waterways Board
, who submitted a proposal to the government for a £2.5 million upgrade, covering the stretch from Bramwith to Rotherham. This would have involved the construction of ten new locks, each 225 by, to replace the existing 12 locks. The new main line would then have been the same size as the Aire and Calder Navigation, although some of the bridges would have had less clearance. In 1972, a further proposal for a £2 million scheme to upgrade the waterway to handle 700-tonne barges up to Mexborough, and 400-tonne barges from there to Rotherham was submitted to the Department of the Environment.
Finally, the navigation was the subject of one of the last major attempts in the UK to attract commercial freight to the waterways. In 1983, it was upgraded to the 700-tonne Eurobarge standard by deepening the channels and enlarging the locks as far as Rotherham. Conisbrough lock was removed altogether, and the two Eastwood locks were combined into one. The new lock was initially named the Sir Frank Price Lock, after the chairman of the British Waterways Board who formally opened it on 1 June 1983. The expected rise in freight traffic did not occur, however. At Kilnhurst and Long Sandall, the new larger locks were built alongside the original locks, and so a comparison of the relative sizes can be made.
The new locks are 198 by, and the navigation accommodates boats with a draught of 8.2 feet (2.5 m) and needing headroom of 10.5 feet (3.2 m). Beyond Rotherham, the locks are 70 by, and so can accommodate a 70 feet (21.3 m) broad boat, but Rotherham lock is smaller, being only 61.5 feet (18.7 m) long, and so the upper reaches are effectively restricted to 60 feet (18.3 m) boats.
The River Don Navigation ended at Tinsley Wharf, but it forms a convenient place to start a description of the route. The wharf was on the river, just upstream from the present junction with the canal to Sheffield. It was close to the site of the Meadowhall Shopping Centre and the Tinsley Viaduct
, which carries the M1 motorway over the valley of the River Don. From here there is a towpath along the canal to Victoria Quays
(formerly Sheffield Basin) in Sheffield
City Centre, or the Five Weirs Walk
follows the course of the River Don to the same destination. The towpath extends to Rotherham
in the opposite direction, passing the large Jordans Weir and the three locks on the Holmes Cut. Beside Jordans Weir is the outfall from Blackburn Meadows
sewage treatment plant. In dry weather, this discharges 30 million gallons (136,000 m3) of treated water each day, more than doubling the flow in the river.
The towpath continues to Rotherham Lock, where the Rotherham cut starts, but from here to Conisbrough
, the only way to see the navigation is from a boat or from one of the bridges which cross it. To the north of the cut are the remains of the Greasbrough Canal
, now culverted under the embankment of the A633 road. Eastwood lock marks the end of the Rotherham Cut, to be followed by Aldwarke Lock, in the shadow of the A6123 road bridge, and Kilnhurst flood lock, which marks the start of the Kilnhurst Cut. In Swinton
, the stub of the Dearne and Dove Canal turns off to the left, and there are three more locks before the cut ends. Immediately following this, the River Dearne
flows into the Don, and the towpath resumes, where the Dearne Way footpath ends.
The route continues through a wooded valley, past the site of the Sprotborough Flash Site of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI), with the towpath forming part of the Trans Pennine Trail. Sprotborough lock and weir are situated just before Sprotborough, but soon the edge of Doncaster is reached. Here amongst the railway marshalling yards, the River Don leaves the navigation for the final time, as does the towpath. The two weir streams flow either side of Doncaster prison
, effectively forming an island on which the building sits. Doncaster Town Lock is situated close to Doncaster railway station
, and between here and Long Sandall Lock, some of the changes which have occurred over the years can be visualised, with the river on the left and ox-bow lakes on the right, severed by the course of the Wheatley Cut. The final section to Bramwith is usually called the River Dun Navigation. At Bramwith, the waterway splits, with the New Junction Canal heading north-east for the Aire and Calder Navigation and Goole
, and the Stainforth and Keadby Canal heading east to the River Trent
at Keadby
. The River Don heads northwards too, turning to the east where the Dutch River starts at Newbridge. The original course to the River Aire can be traced across the fields, now little more than a drainage ditch crossed by an oversized Grade II listed bridge on the A1041 at East Cowick
, and Vermuyden's embankments are closely followed by the A614 road
after it has crossed the M18 motorway.
and the river, carries the Sheffield to Rotherham freight-only railway line. The railway, which opened in 1868, was originally part of the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway, which later became part of the Great Central Railway
. Between this railway bridge and Jordan Bridge, there are two bridges carrying pipes.
Sewage Works to additional filters and contact beds to the east of the navigation. It was constructed by Logan and Hemmingway, who won a contract valued at £41,046 in April 1907, which included six settling tanks, 24 contact beds, and the bridge. The eastern approach consists of three brick arches, which allowed a siding to pass through it. Continued expansion of the works required a second bridge to be constructed in 1922, to carry the railway over the river channel. The steelwork for Holmes bridge was supplied by Charles Ross Ltd, who were based in Sheffield, while piling work was carried out by Yorkshire Hennebique Concreting Co Ltd.
into Westgate Station. It was demolished in 1952. Prior to the re-routing of the canal in 1864, the Westgate line crossed the Holmes cut a little further to the west by a three-arched bridge, the centre arch of which was 36 feet (11 m) long and was made of iron.
, West Yorkshire, and St Ives, Huntingdonshire. Dating from about 1483, it remained in use as a chapel until the reign of King Edward VI
(1547–1553). It was put to use as almhouses during the 17th and 18th centuries, and in 1779 it was used as a prison. Later, it became a private dwelling and finally a tobacconist's shop, before being returned to its original use as a chapel; it was formally reconsecrated in 1924 by the Bishop of Sheffield.
crossing of the River Don.
. This was a line which essentially served a coalfield, although there was a rudimentary passenger service between 1912 and 1951. The remaining coal traffic on the line ceased in 1966. The viaduct has 21 arches and was built from 12 million Conisbrough blue bricks. The central metal span is 150 feet (45.7 m) long and crosses the Don at a height of 113 feet (34.4 m). The viaduct remained out of use until 2001, when ownership was transferred to Railway Paths Ltd, who manage potentially useful railway structures until they can be incorporated into the National Cycle Network
. Installation of a new deck surface and safety railings were funded by the Railway Heritage Trust in early 2008, and the viaduct re-opened as part of the Sustrans
network in April 2008.
, which later became part of the Great Central Railway
, the Rainbow bridge is still in use and carries the Swinton to Doncaster railway line.
in 1897. The ironwork was manufactured by Newton Chambers & Co. Ltd., who were based at Thorncliffe Ironworks in Sheffield, as recorded by plates attached to the bridge. The northern bridge was a single-arched masonry structure, which has been replaced by a plate girder bridge
resting on the original piers. The toll house, consisting of a single storey with a half basement, made of dressed sandstone with an ashphalt roof, still survives on the northern bank of the lock cut. Tolls collected here for passage over Sprotbrough Bridge were said to have been given by the Copley family to the Doncaster Dispensary.
, the Minister of Transport, on 31 July 1961. It consists of two separate structures, one for each carriageway, each having seven spans. The longest span, formed from two 40 feet (12.2 m) cantilevers and a suspended central span of 100 feet (30.5 m), carries the motorway over the river at a height of 70 feet (21.3 m). The total length of the structure is 760 feet (231.6 m), and it has a slight horizontal and vertical curve at its southern end. Five riveted steel girders and a 9 inches (22.9 cm) composite concrete deck support each carriageway. The bridge was one of the first to use rubber bearings, and the first to use bitumen membranes lined with copper to make the decks waterproof. The design includes jacking points to compensate for mining subsidence.
. It still carries a freight-only line that avoids a crossing on the level of the East Coast Main Line
at Doncaster Station.
and is where the lines to Leeds, York and Thorne diverge.
, which is now the main road north out of Doncaster. It was opened on 22 November 2001, and was named St George's Bridge as a result of a public competition. It consists of a 690 yards (630.9 m) long steel-composite bridge with spans of 49 yards (44.8 m) over the River Don, the East Coast Main Line, and the Don Navigation. The ladder beam layout, using two main plate girders, cross-girders at 13 feet (4 m) centres and precast planks, was chosen both to optimise the deck and to minimise the size and number of the piers.
. Going downstream, there is a gap of some 5 miles (8 km) before the next public road crossing of the navigation at Barnby Dun.
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, navigable between Fishlake
Fishlake
Fishlake is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. It has a population of 628.-References:...
and Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
. The Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden
Cornelius Vermuyden
Sir Cornelius Wasterdyk Vermuyden was a Dutch engineer who introduced Dutch reclamation methods to Britain, and made the first important attempts to drain The Fens of East Anglia.-Life:...
had re-routed the mouth of the river in 1626, to improve drainage, and the new works included provision for navigation, but the scheme did not solve the problem of flooding, and the Dutch River was cut in 1635 to link the new channel to Goole
Goole
Goole is a town, civil parish and port located approximately inland on the confluence of the rivers Don and Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England...
. The first Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
to improve navigation on the river was obtained in 1726, by a group of Cutlers based in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
; the Corporation of Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
obtained an Act in the following year for improvements to the lower river. Locks and lock cuts were built, and, by 1751, the river was navigable to Tinsley
Tinsley, South Yorkshire
Tinsley is a suburb of northeastern part of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Its name derives from the Old English Tingas-Leah, which means 'Field of Council'...
.
The network was expanded by the opening of the Stainforth and Keadby Canal
Stainforth and Keadby Canal
The Stainforth and Keadby Canal is a navigable canal in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England. It connects the River Don Navigation at Bramwith to the River Trent at Keadby, by way of Stainforth, Thorne and Ealand, near Crowle.-History:...
in 1802, linking to the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
, the Dearne and Dove Canal
Dearne and Dove Canal
The Dearne and Dove Canal ran for almost ten miles through South Yorkshire, England from Swinton to Barnsley through nineteen locks, rising 127 yards. The canal also had two short branches, the Worsbrough branch and the Elsecar branch, both about two miles long with reservoirs at the head of each....
in 1804, linking to Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
, and the Sheffield Canal
Sheffield Canal
The Sheffield Canal is a canal in the City of Sheffield, England. It runs from Tinsley, where it leaves the River Don, to the Sheffield Canal Basin in the city centre, passing through 11 locks.- Early history :...
in 1819, which provided better access to Sheffield. All three were bought out by the Don Navigation in the 1840s, after which the canals were owned by a series of railway companies. The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation
Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation
The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation is a system of navigable inland waterways in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England....
Company was created in 1889 and eventually succeeded in buying back the canals and the Don Navigation in 1895, but plans for expansion were hampered by a lack of capital. One success was the opening of the New Junction Canal
New Junction Canal
The New Junction Canal is a canal in South Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation , although it was jointly funded by the Aire and Calder Navigation, and was opened in 1905. It links the River Don Navigation and the Stainforth and Keadby Canal with the Aire...
in 1905, jointly funded with the Aire and Calder Navigation
Aire and Calder Navigation
The Aire and Calder Navigation is a river and canal system of the River Aire and the River Calder in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. The first improvements to the rivers above Knottingley were completed in 1704 when the Aire was made navigable to Leeds and the Calder to...
.
During the 20th century, there were several plans to upgrade the Don, to handle larger craft. It was eventually upgraded to take 700-tonne barges in 1983, but the scheme was a little too late, as an anticipated rise in commercial traffic did not occur. Most use of the navigation is now by leisure boaters, whose boats are dwarfed by the huge locks. The navigation and river are crossed by a wide variety of bridges, from a medieval bridge complete with a chapel on it, one of only three to have survived in Britain, to a motorway viaduct that pioneered the use of rubber bearings and a new waterproofing system. In between are a number of railway bridges, including two that were built to carry the internal railway system at the Blackburn Meadows
Blackburn Meadows
Blackburn Meadows is an area of land in England, just inside the Sheffield city border at Tinsley, which became the location of the main sewage treatment works for the city in 1884...
sewage treatment plant. The former railway viaduct at Conisbrough
Conisbrough
Conisbrough is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is located roughly midway between Doncaster and Rotherham, and is built alongside the River Don at...
now carries cyclists 113 feet (34.4 m) above the Don, as part of the National Cycle Network
National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...
.
Early history
Before 1626 the River Don had two outlets, an eastern branch that meandered across Hatfield ChaseHatfield Chase
Hatfield Chase was a low-lying area in South Yorkshire, England which often flooded and is chiefly known from the Battle of Hatfield Chase in 633. It was a royal hunting ground until Charles I appointed the Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden to drain it in 1626...
to enter the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
, and a northern branch, which was a Roman navigation channel, and joined the River Aire
River Aire
The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England of length . Part of the river is canalised, and is known as the Aire and Calder Navigation....
at Turnbridge, near East Cowick
East Cowick
East Cowick is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately east of the town of Snaith. It lies on the A1041 road and just north of the M62 motorway.It forms part of the civil parish of Snaith and Cowick.-Buildings:...
. Cornelius Vermuyden
Cornelius Vermuyden
Sir Cornelius Wasterdyk Vermuyden was a Dutch engineer who introduced Dutch reclamation methods to Britain, and made the first important attempts to drain The Fens of East Anglia.-Life:...
's drainage scheme for Hatfield Chase, begun in 1626 and largely completed by 1628, included the construction of Ashfield Bank, which ran for 2 miles (3.2 km) along the southern bank of the Don from Fishlake to Thorne, cutting off the eastern branch. Navigation to Sandtoft was made possible by the provision of a navigable sluice in the bank, which had lifting gates and a 50 by lock chamber. A further bank some distance to the east of the northern channel ran for 5 miles (8 km) from Thorne to Turnbridge to provide washlands, which would flood when high levels in the Aire prevented the Don discharging into it.
In the winter of 1628, there was flooding at Fishlake and Sykehouse, which was followed by rioting. A navigable sluice was built at Turnbridge in 1629, with a lock 60 by, and an outfall sluice called the "Great Sluice" was completed in 1630, probably by Hugo Spiering, who had assisted Vermuyden with the main project. Continued problems with flooding led to the construction of a 5 miles (8 km) channel from Newbridge near Thorne eastwards to Goole, where water levels in the Ouse
River Ouse, Yorkshire
The River Ouse is a river in North Yorkshire, England. The river is formed from the River Ure at Cuddy Shaw Reach near Linton-on-Ouse, about 6 miles downstream of the confluence of the River Swale with the River Ure...
were between 5 and 10 ft (1.5 and 3 m) lower than at Turnbridge. The channel, called the Dutch River, ended in another outfall sluice, and was completed in 1635 at a cost of £33,000. Boats continued to use the lock at Turnbridge. In about 1688 the Goole sluice was washed away by a flood, and was never replaced. The tidal scour widened the channel, and barges of up to 30 tonnes could normally reach Fishlake, and often Wilsick House, in Barnby Dun
Barnby Dun with Kirk Sandall
Barnby Dun with Kirk Sandall is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 8,524. The parish covers Barnby Dun and Kirk Sandall, both parts of the Doncaster urban area.-History:The parish was formed in...
. Smaller boats could reach Doncaster for most of the year, and large barges could do so when there was a flood tide.
Initial attempts to seek powers to make the River Don navigable were hampered by opposition from local landowners and disunity between the authorities in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
and Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
. The first Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
was presented in 1698 by the MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Thirsk, Sir Godfrey Copley of Sprotborough, representing the interests of Rotherham. Although there was support from the "gentlemen, traders and inhabitants" of Doncaster, the Corporation opposed the Bill in view of the likely impact on their mills. There was no support from Sheffield either, and the Bill failed at its first reading. In 1704 Doncaster Corporation, with the support of its traders, presented a Bill that received a first reading, but disappeared without a second reading ever happening. By 1722 there was some agreement between Sheffield and Doncaster, with a tacit agreement that Doncaster would be responsible for the river below their town, and Sheffield for the section above Doncaster. There was organised resistance to the scheme from local landowners, and it appears that their influence resulted in the proposed Bill being defeated in committee, so it could not be presented to parliament.
Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire
The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire is a trade guild of metalworkers based in Sheffield, England. It was incorporated in 1624 by an Act of parliament. The head is called the Master Cutler...
sought parliamentary approval to make the river navigable from Holmstile in Doncaster to Tinsley
Tinsley, South Yorkshire
Tinsley is a suburb of northeastern part of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Its name derives from the Old English Tingas-Leah, which means 'Field of Council'...
, on the edge of Sheffield. Terminating at Tinsley placated the Duke of Norfolk, who represented the opposition from Sheffield, and a great deal of work had been done to reduce the opposition from landowners. The Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
was passed on 6 May 1726 giving the Cutlers powers to make cuts and to make the river deeper and wider so that boats of 20 tonnes could reach Tinsley. There were a number of restrictions, intended to protect existing water-powered installations. Lord Frederick Howard's mills at Rotherham, Kilnhurst forge, Thrybergh dam and Sprotborough mills and water engine were specifically mentioned.
The Corporation of Doncaster sought powers in 1727 to improve the river below Holmstile, as far as Wilsick House in Barnby Dun. The Bill passed through parliament uneventfully, and again included detailed restrictions on what could and could not be done, designed to protect the landowners. The details were very specific in that they included the permissible heights of dams, the maximum length of cuts, and many other details of the work to be carried out.
Both Acts were unusual in that they gave the bodies powers to borrow money, but did not create the companies to do the work. Nor were the financial arrangements clearly laid down, and both groups resorted to issuing shares to fund the improvements, although they were not actually empowered to do so. In October 1730, the two groups decided to amalgamate, but a 1731 Act to formalise the agreement and legalise the issuing of shares was defeated because it also included powers to make further changes to the river, including the section below Barnby Dun. Finally an Act of 1733 created The Company of the Proprietors of the Navigation of the River Don, with powers to create a new cut from Bromley Sands above Rotherham to Ickles Dam. The problems presented by the river below Wilsick House, including shallows and fords at Bramwith and Stainforth, and bridges on the Dutch River that were difficult to navigate, resulted in the proprietors trying again to obtain powers to improve the lower river in 1737, but again the petition was defeated in a parliamentary committee. Work continued, and it appears that Aldwarke was the head of navigation for some years, but Rotherham was reached in 1740.
A further Bill in 1740 sought powers to improve the river from Barnby Dun to Fishlake Ferry. Despite serious opposition, which included the merchants and traders of Doncaster as well as Doncaster Corporation, the Bill was passed, giving the company new powers to make the river deeper and create a cut to avoid the shallows at Stainforth and Bramwith. Work on this northern section started almost immediately. The southern section to Tinsley was navigable by 1751, although the wharf and warehouse had not been completed by that date, and the towpath from Rotherham was not completed until 1822.
In 1737, the navigation was leased to three of the company shareholders for 14 years, and a new 7 year lease was made in 1751. After 1758, the company managed the navigation itself. Tolls for the next 10 years raised an average of £7006 per annum, indicating healthy traffic levels.
Expansion
The early 19th century saw the completion of a number of canals which linked to the Don. The first was the Stainforth and Keadby CanalStainforth and Keadby Canal
The Stainforth and Keadby Canal is a navigable canal in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England. It connects the River Don Navigation at Bramwith to the River Trent at Keadby, by way of Stainforth, Thorne and Ealand, near Crowle.-History:...
, which had been proposed by the Don Navigation shareholders in 1792. Construction was started in 1793 and completed in 1802, with John Thompson, the engineer to the Don Navigation Company, overseeing the work until his death in 1795. It provided a link from Bramwith lock to the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
, broadly following the old course of the River Don prior to Vermuyden's improvements. Two years later, the Dearne and Dove Canal
Dearne and Dove Canal
The Dearne and Dove Canal ran for almost ten miles through South Yorkshire, England from Swinton to Barnsley through nineteen locks, rising 127 yards. The canal also had two short branches, the Worsbrough branch and the Elsecar branch, both about two miles long with reservoirs at the head of each....
opened, connecting with the Barnsley Canal
Barnsley Canal
The Barnsley Canal is a canal that ran from Barnby Basin, through Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England to a junction with the Aire and Calder Navigation near Wakefield. It was long and included 15 locks. It was taken over by the Aire and Calder Navigation in 1854, and despite competition from the...
near Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
. The canal had also been proposed by Don Navigation shareholders in 1792, and again John Thompson had overseen the initial construction. The third opening was in 1819, when the Sheffield Canal
Sheffield Canal
The Sheffield Canal is a canal in the City of Sheffield, England. It runs from Tinsley, where it leaves the River Don, to the Sheffield Canal Basin in the city centre, passing through 11 locks.- Early history :...
connected the Tinsley terminus to the centre of Sheffield. There were several plans to create a link to the Chesterfield Canal
Chesterfield Canal
The Chesterfield Canal is in the north of England and it is known locally as 'Cuckoo Dyke'. It was opened in 1777 and ran 46 miles from the River Trent at West Stockwith, Nottinghamshire to Chesterfield, Derbyshire...
, including one in 1793 by Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram was an English civil engineer, surveyor and industrialist. He was a pioneer in the building of canals and tramways.-Personal life:...
, and a proposal by Richard Gresley in 1810 for a North East Junction Canal, which would have linked to the Don at Rotherham, broadly following the modern ideas for the Rother Link
Rother Link
The Rother Link is a planned English canal that would connect the Chesterfield Canal at Killamarsh, via the River Rother through to the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation, thus creating a new cruising ring and encouraging boats to visit the Chesterfield Canal.-Proposals:The Rother Link was...
. Neither of these, nor a revival of the idea in 1832 gained sufficient support to proceed.
The Company bought out the Dearne and Dove Canal in 1846, the Sheffield Canal in 1848, and the Stainforth and Keadby Canal in 1849. They then amalgamated with the South Yorkshire, Doncaster and Goole Railway in 1850, to become the South Yorkshire Railway and River Dun Company. This in turn was leased to the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was formed by amalgamation in 1847. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension.-Origin:...
in 1864. In order to allow an extension of the railway from Mexborough to Sheffield to pass under the railway line to Rotherham Westgate railway station, the Holmes cut below Ickles lock was diverted into the river, and the Eastwood cut below Rotherham lock was diverted to the east in 1864. The original bed was then filled in and the railway built along its course. Despite attempts to divert coal traffic to the railway, the canals maintained their traffic levels, carrying 982,000 tonnes in 1878 and 927,254 in 1888. However, there was dissatisfaction among users of the canals that the rates for traffic were higher than on the railways, and the canals were failing to modernise, as steam boats were banned, despite them having been in use for 50 years on the neighbouring Aire and Calder Navigation.
A plan to upgrade the waterways to allow the use of 300 to 500-tonne boats led to the formation of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Canal Company Limited in November 1888. The cost of the scheme was estimated to be around £1 million, in addition to the cost of acquiring the canals from the railway company. The new company obtained an Act of Parliament on 26 August 1889, creating the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation
Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation
The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation is a system of navigable inland waterways in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England....
Company, which was authorised to raise £1.5 million and to purchase the four canals either by negotiation, or by compulsory purchase if negotiations failed. The railway company was unwilling to sell, and it was not until 1895, after protracted negotiation and legal battles that the transfer was agreed. The Navigation Company had only succeeded in raising £625,000, which was less than the purchase price of the canals, and therefore the railway company nominated half of the ten directors, while the Aire and Calder Company declined to buy any shares because of railway influence. Many of the ambitious plans for the modernisation of the system were hindered by a lack of capital, although some further developments took place.
One improvement that was completed was the construction of the New Junction Canal
New Junction Canal
The New Junction Canal is a canal in South Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation , although it was jointly funded by the Aire and Calder Navigation, and was opened in 1905. It links the River Don Navigation and the Stainforth and Keadby Canal with the Aire...
. This had been authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained on 28 July 1891 by the Aire and Calder Navigation, which specified that the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation Company would share the cost of construction and the ownership of the new waterway. No work could start until the company actually owned their canals, and they were required to raise £150,000 at a time when they had just failed to raise the finance for the takeover of the original canals. However, three-quarters of the cost had been raised by 1903. The new canal leaves the original navigation at Bramwith Junction, runs over the River Don on an aqueduct, and continues in a straight line for 5.5 miles (8.9 km), to join the Aire and Calder Navigation
Aire and Calder Navigation
The Aire and Calder Navigation is a river and canal system of the River Aire and the River Calder in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. The first improvements to the rivers above Knottingley were completed in 1704 when the Aire was made navigable to Leeds and the Calder to...
upstream from Goole
Goole
Goole is a town, civil parish and port located approximately inland on the confluence of the rivers Don and Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England...
. It provided a much more direct route from Sheffield to Goole, and was opened on 2 January 1905. The company had hoped to run compartment boats
Tom Pudding
Tom Pudding was the name given to the tub boats on the Aire and Calder Navigation, introduced in 1863 and used until 1985, which were a very efficient means of transferring and transporting coal from the open cast collieries of the South Yorkshire Coalfield near Stanley Ferry to the port of Goole,...
for the transport of coal along the canal, as the Aire and Calder did, but although straightening of the navigation was completed at Doncaster in April 1905 and at Sprotborough in late 1907, and Doncaster Town Lock was lengthened in 1909 and 1910, most of the locks could only hold three compartments at a time, and so there was little advantage to using this type of boat.
Later developments
During the inter-war years the navigation struggled to hold its own against competition from the railways and later the roads, and was affected by miners' strikes in the coal industry. Traffic was spasmodic, rising from 381,727 tonnes in 1926, the year of the general strike, to 815,329 tonnes in 1937, but much of the latter was short-haul traffic, rather than long-haul, and the revenues did not increase correspondingly. In an agreement with Hatfield Main Colliery and the Aire and Calder, Bramwith Lock on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal was lengthened in 1932, to allow compartment boats to be used for the coal traffic, while straightening of a stretch near Doncaster and the construction of a new warehouse and wharf were largely funded by Doncaster Corporation in 1934.
The major traffic on the navigation had always been coal, but after the Second World War there was a steady increase in oil traffic. By 1946, all of the mortgages that the company had used to fund expansion were repaid, and the financial position of the canal gradually improved. Control of the navigation, as with most British canals, passed to the British Transport Commission
British Transport Commission
The British Transport Commission was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain...
on 1 January 1948, under the terms of the Transport Act (1947). Some improvements continued to be made, with two coal wharfs being built at Mexborough in 1954, to serve the new Doncaster power station, and Long Sandall Lock being extended to 215 by. The new lock was opened on 10 July 1959, and allowed trains of 17 compartment boats to work through to Doncaster and Hexthorpe, as Doncaster Town Lock above it and Sykehouse Lock below it on the New Junction Canal were already of a similar size.
In 1961, the British Transport Commission, together with the British Iron and Steel Federation and Sheffield Chamber of Commerce considered plans to upgrade the navigation to handle 250-tonne barges, and work started on new wharfs and warehouses at Rotherham. Control of the navigation passed on again in 1963, this time to the British Waterways Board
British Waterways
British Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
, who submitted a proposal to the government for a £2.5 million upgrade, covering the stretch from Bramwith to Rotherham. This would have involved the construction of ten new locks, each 225 by, to replace the existing 12 locks. The new main line would then have been the same size as the Aire and Calder Navigation, although some of the bridges would have had less clearance. In 1972, a further proposal for a £2 million scheme to upgrade the waterway to handle 700-tonne barges up to Mexborough, and 400-tonne barges from there to Rotherham was submitted to the Department of the Environment.
Finally, the navigation was the subject of one of the last major attempts in the UK to attract commercial freight to the waterways. In 1983, it was upgraded to the 700-tonne Eurobarge standard by deepening the channels and enlarging the locks as far as Rotherham. Conisbrough lock was removed altogether, and the two Eastwood locks were combined into one. The new lock was initially named the Sir Frank Price Lock, after the chairman of the British Waterways Board who formally opened it on 1 June 1983. The expected rise in freight traffic did not occur, however. At Kilnhurst and Long Sandall, the new larger locks were built alongside the original locks, and so a comparison of the relative sizes can be made.
The new locks are 198 by, and the navigation accommodates boats with a draught of 8.2 feet (2.5 m) and needing headroom of 10.5 feet (3.2 m). Beyond Rotherham, the locks are 70 by, and so can accommodate a 70 feet (21.3 m) broad boat, but Rotherham lock is smaller, being only 61.5 feet (18.7 m) long, and so the upper reaches are effectively restricted to 60 feet (18.3 m) boats.
Route
Tinsley Viaduct
Tinsley Viaduct is a two-tier road bridge in Sheffield, England; the first of its kind in the UK. It carries the M1 and the A631 1033 metres over the Don Valley, from Tinsley to Wincobank, also crossing the Sheffield Canal, the Midland Main Line and the former South Yorkshire Railway line from...
, which carries the M1 motorway over the valley of the River Don. From here there is a towpath along the canal to Victoria Quays
Victoria Quays
Victoria Quays is a large canal basin in Sheffield, England. It was constructed 1816–1819 as the terminus of the Sheffield Canal and includes the former coal yards of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway...
(formerly Sheffield Basin) in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
City Centre, or the Five Weirs Walk
Five Weirs Walk
The 8 km long Five Weirs Walk runs alongside the River Don in Sheffield, England. From Lady's Bridge in Sheffield City Centre, it heads downstream, northeast, over the Cobweb Bridge, through Attercliffe to Meadowhall....
follows the course of the River Don to the same destination. The towpath extends to Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
in the opposite direction, passing the large Jordans Weir and the three locks on the Holmes Cut. Beside Jordans Weir is the outfall from Blackburn Meadows
Blackburn Meadows
Blackburn Meadows is an area of land in England, just inside the Sheffield city border at Tinsley, which became the location of the main sewage treatment works for the city in 1884...
sewage treatment plant. In dry weather, this discharges 30 million gallons (136,000 m3) of treated water each day, more than doubling the flow in the river.
The towpath continues to Rotherham Lock, where the Rotherham cut starts, but from here to Conisbrough
Conisbrough
Conisbrough is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is located roughly midway between Doncaster and Rotherham, and is built alongside the River Don at...
, the only way to see the navigation is from a boat or from one of the bridges which cross it. To the north of the cut are the remains of the Greasbrough Canal
Greasbrough Canal
The Greasbrough Canal was a private canal built by the Marquess of Rockingham to serve his coal mining interests in and around the village of Greasbrough, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1780, and the Newbiggin branch was built some time later...
, now culverted under the embankment of the A633 road. Eastwood lock marks the end of the Rotherham Cut, to be followed by Aldwarke Lock, in the shadow of the A6123 road bridge, and Kilnhurst flood lock, which marks the start of the Kilnhurst Cut. In Swinton
Swinton, South Yorkshire
Swinton is a suburban town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, in South Yorkshire, England on part of the west bank of the River Don...
, the stub of the Dearne and Dove Canal turns off to the left, and there are three more locks before the cut ends. Immediately following this, the River Dearne
River Dearne
The River Dearne is a river in South Yorkshire, England. It flows roughly east for more than , from its source just inside West Yorkshire, through Denby Dale, Clayton West, Darton, Barnsley, Darfield, Wath upon Dearne, Bolton on Dearne, Adwick upon Dearne and Mexborough to its confluence with the...
flows into the Don, and the towpath resumes, where the Dearne Way footpath ends.
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
(SSSI), with the towpath forming part of the Trans Pennine Trail. Sprotborough lock and weir are situated just before Sprotborough, but soon the edge of Doncaster is reached. Here amongst the railway marshalling yards, the River Don leaves the navigation for the final time, as does the towpath. The two weir streams flow either side of Doncaster prison
Doncaster (HM Prison)
HM Prison Doncaster, is a Category B men's private prison, located in the Marshgate area of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. The prison is operated by the Serco Group.-History:Doncaster Prison was opened in 1994...
, effectively forming an island on which the building sits. Doncaster Town Lock is situated close to Doncaster railway station
Doncaster railway station
Doncaster railway station serves the town of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the East Coast Main Line north of London Kings Cross, and is about five minutes walk from Doncaster town centre. The station is managed by East Coast...
, and between here and Long Sandall Lock, some of the changes which have occurred over the years can be visualised, with the river on the left and ox-bow lakes on the right, severed by the course of the Wheatley Cut. The final section to Bramwith is usually called the River Dun Navigation. At Bramwith, the waterway splits, with the New Junction Canal heading north-east for the Aire and Calder Navigation and Goole
Goole
Goole is a town, civil parish and port located approximately inland on the confluence of the rivers Don and Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England...
, and the Stainforth and Keadby Canal heading east to the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
at Keadby
Keadby
Keadby is a small village lying just off the A18, west of Scunthorpe, in North Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the West bank of the River Trent. It is pronounced "Kidby"....
. The River Don heads northwards too, turning to the east where the Dutch River starts at Newbridge. The original course to the River Aire can be traced across the fields, now little more than a drainage ditch crossed by an oversized Grade II listed bridge on the A1041 at East Cowick
East Cowick
East Cowick is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately east of the town of Snaith. It lies on the A1041 road and just north of the M62 motorway.It forms part of the civil parish of Snaith and Cowick.-Buildings:...
, and Vermuyden's embankments are closely followed by the A614 road
A614 road
The A614 is a main road in England running through the counties of Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire.Beginning at Redhill, near Calverton in Nottinghamshire at a roundabout with the A60, the road meets the A6097 at a junction which looks like a roundabout but...
after it has crossed the M18 motorway.
Structures
This section provides details of some of the many bridges crossing the Don Navigation, in west-to-east order, starting from Tinsley.MS&L railway bridge
This bridge, which is located a little below the junction of the Sheffield CanalSheffield Canal
The Sheffield Canal is a canal in the City of Sheffield, England. It runs from Tinsley, where it leaves the River Don, to the Sheffield Canal Basin in the city centre, passing through 11 locks.- Early history :...
and the river, carries the Sheffield to Rotherham freight-only railway line. The railway, which opened in 1868, was originally part of the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway, which later became part of the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
. Between this railway bridge and Jordan Bridge, there are two bridges carrying pipes.
Jordan Bridge
Called "Jordan Bridge 21" by British Waterways, this bridge carried a railway that linked Blackburn MeadowsBlackburn Meadows
Blackburn Meadows is an area of land in England, just inside the Sheffield city border at Tinsley, which became the location of the main sewage treatment works for the city in 1884...
Sewage Works to additional filters and contact beds to the east of the navigation. It was constructed by Logan and Hemmingway, who won a contract valued at £41,046 in April 1907, which included six settling tanks, 24 contact beds, and the bridge. The eastern approach consists of three brick arches, which allowed a siding to pass through it. Continued expansion of the works required a second bridge to be constructed in 1922, to carry the railway over the river channel. The steelwork for Holmes bridge was supplied by Charles Ross Ltd, who were based in Sheffield, while piling work was carried out by Yorkshire Hennebique Concreting Co Ltd.
Holmes Lock Bridge
This carries Steel Street – a minor road linking the Blackburn Meadows Nature Reserve Car Park with Holmes. The bridge still has railway tracks embedded in part of the cobbled road surface. The tracks were part of a network of sidings which served the Holmes Rolling Mills on the north bank of the navigation, and the bridge provided access to a crushing plant situated on the island formed by the course of the river to the south and the Holmes Cut to the north.Midland Railway bridges
The western of the two railway bridges was built in 1869, but the line it carried was truncated by the building of the Holmes Chord in the 1980s, and it is now unused. The eastern of the two bridges was built in 1840 as part of the North Midland Railway. This carried the "main line" from Derby to York until the diversion via Bradway and Sheffield was opened in 1870. The line is now freight-only.Lockhouse Bridge
Just east of Ickles Lock, this is actually two bridges. The western bridge carries the continuation of Millmoor Lane and the eastern the ex-MS&L freight-only line between Tinsley and Rotherham Central.Centenary Way bridge (south)
This carries the Centenary Way dual carriageway over the navigation, which has now been re-joined by the River Don. The road (A630) is an upgrading of the old Canklow Road and is the main access into Rotherham from the M1. It also forms part of the Rotherham Ring Road which was begun about 1968, actually only goes half way around town, was built in sections and completed in 1995. The towpath of the navigation (part of the Trans-Pennine Trail) is carried on a walkway that is cantilevered over the Don from the retaining wall of the factory site to the north.Corporation Bridge
This single-span metal bridge carries Main Street over the navigation. Slightly upstream of this bridge was a wooden railway bridge with seven arches, built in 1838, that took the Sheffield and Rotherham RailwaySheffield and Rotherham Railway
The Sheffield and Rotherham Railway was a short railway between Sheffield and Rotherham and the first in the two towns.In the early nineteenth century, when news broke of the building of the North Midland Railway, it was clear that George Stephenson would follow the gentle gradient of the Rivers...
into Westgate Station. It was demolished in 1952. Prior to the re-routing of the canal in 1864, the Westgate line crossed the Holmes cut a little further to the west by a three-arched bridge, the centre arch of which was 36 feet (11 m) long and was made of iron.
Rotherham Lock footbridge
This footbridge provides pedestrian access to the Court House from Forge Island, which was once the site of an iron works but is now occupied by Tesco's. The River Don separates from the navigation above Forge Island, and there is a road and pedestrian bridge across the river into Forge Island.Bridge Street Bridge and Chantry Bridge
Bridge Street Bridge is a single-span metal bridge that carries Bridge Street over the navigation. The street continues eastwards and originally crossed the river at Rotherham Bridge or Chantry Bridge. As originally constructed in 1483 the bridge had four arches and was 15 feet (4.6 m) wide, but it was widened and a fifth arch added in 1768. In 1930 a new bridge was built nearby, a little further upstream, and as part of the work, the fifth arch was removed and the bridge was returned to its Medieval width. Because of improvements to the river made in the 18th and 19th centuries, it is wider than it used to be, and the bridge no longer reaches the west bank. The chapel on the bridge is one of only three complete bridge chapels that still exist in Britain, the other two being at WakefieldWakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
, West Yorkshire, and St Ives, Huntingdonshire. Dating from about 1483, it remained in use as a chapel until the reign of King Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
(1547–1553). It was put to use as almhouses during the 17th and 18th centuries, and in 1779 it was used as a prison. Later, it became a private dwelling and finally a tobacconist's shop, before being returned to its original use as a chapel; it was formally reconsecrated in 1924 by the Bishop of Sheffield.
Centenary Way bridge (north)
This carries the Centenary Way dual carriageway over the navigation.Greasborough Road Bridge
The Greasborough Road is no longer a main road and only serves local businesses. Downstream of this bridge are 3 pipe bridges.Rawmarsh Road Bridge
Called “Rotherham Rawmarsh Road Bridge 39” by British Waterways, this bridge carries the A633 Rotherham Road (from Rotherham to Parkgate). The A633 crossing of the River Don is called Grafton Bridge.Eastwood Footbridge
This carries the public footpath from the Eastwood area of Rotherham to the Parkgate Retail Park. When the Rotherham Cut section of the Don Navigation was constructed in 1740, the crossing was by means of a swing bridge. This was replaced by the current footbridge in the late 1900s. To the south of Eastwood Footbridge is a bailey bridgeBailey bridge
The Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed by the British during World War II for military use and saw extensive use by both British and the American military engineering units....
crossing of the River Don.
Conisbrough and Warmsworth area
Conisbrough Viaduct
Conisbrough Viaduct was built in the first decade of the 20th century as part of the Dearne Valley RailwayDearne Valley Railway
The Dearne Valley Railway was a railway line which ran through the valley of the River Dearne in South Yorkshire. It was incorporated by an Act of Parliament on 6 August 1897 to build a line between Brierley Junction, on the main line of the Hull and Barnsley Railway, to junctions with the Great...
. This was a line which essentially served a coalfield, although there was a rudimentary passenger service between 1912 and 1951. The remaining coal traffic on the line ceased in 1966. The viaduct has 21 arches and was built from 12 million Conisbrough blue bricks. The central metal span is 150 feet (45.7 m) long and crosses the Don at a height of 113 feet (34.4 m). The viaduct remained out of use until 2001, when ownership was transferred to Railway Paths Ltd, who manage potentially useful railway structures until they can be incorporated into the National Cycle Network
National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...
. Installation of a new deck surface and safety railings were funded by the Railway Heritage Trust in early 2008, and the viaduct re-opened as part of the Sustrans
Sustrans
Sustrans is a British charity to promote sustainable transport. The charity is currently working on a number of practical projects to encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport, to give people the choice of "travelling in ways that benefit their health and the environment"...
network in April 2008.
Rainbow Bridge
Built in 1849 as part of the South Yorkshire RailwaySouth Yorkshire Railway
The South Yorkshire Railway was a railway company which was based in the south of the former West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Its first section of line opened on 10 November 1849 between Swinton Junction and Doncaster...
, which later became part of the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
, the Rainbow bridge is still in use and carries the Swinton to Doncaster railway line.
Sprotbrough Bridge
Sprotbrough Bridge is actually two bridges that carry Mill Lane, the southern one crossing the weir stream and the northern one crossing the lock cut. Replacing a ferry crossing of the river, the first bridge and associated toll house were built in 1849 for Sir Joseph William Copley of Sprotbrough Hall. The designers of the southern bridge were Benjamin Brundell and William Arnold, and the present structure has three segmental arches on each side, which originally formed the approaches to a central arch. The arch was replaced by an above-deck trussTruss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge composed of connected elements which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges...
in 1897. The ironwork was manufactured by Newton Chambers & Co. Ltd., who were based at Thorncliffe Ironworks in Sheffield, as recorded by plates attached to the bridge. The northern bridge was a single-arched masonry structure, which has been replaced by a plate girder bridge
Plate girder bridge
A plate girder bridge is a bridge supported by two or more plate girders. The plate girders are typically I-beams made up from separate structural steel plates , which are welded or, in older bridges, bolted or riveted together to form the vertical web and horizontal flanges of the beam...
resting on the original piers. The toll house, consisting of a single storey with a half basement, made of dressed sandstone with an ashphalt roof, still survives on the northern bank of the lock cut. Tolls collected here for passage over Sprotbrough Bridge were said to have been given by the Copley family to the Doncaster Dispensary.
A1 Don Viaduct
This bridge carries the A1(M) motorway over the river; it was opened by Ernest MarplesErnest Marples
Alfred Ernest Marples, Baron Marples PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Postmaster General and Minister of Transport. After his retirement from active politics in 1974 Marples was elevated to the peerage...
, the Minister of Transport, on 31 July 1961. It consists of two separate structures, one for each carriageway, each having seven spans. The longest span, formed from two 40 feet (12.2 m) cantilevers and a suspended central span of 100 feet (30.5 m), carries the motorway over the river at a height of 70 feet (21.3 m). The total length of the structure is 760 feet (231.6 m), and it has a slight horizontal and vertical curve at its southern end. Five riveted steel girders and a 9 inches (22.9 cm) composite concrete deck support each carriageway. The bridge was one of the first to use rubber bearings, and the first to use bitumen membranes lined with copper to make the decks waterproof. The design includes jacking points to compensate for mining subsidence.
Warmsworth railway viaducts
There are two railway viaducts at Warmsworth. The western one was completed in 1914 and formed part of the Hull & Barnsley and Great Central Joint Railway. This was essentially a railway to serve the coalfield and was closed in 1958. For some years after closure, the viaduct was used to carry a conveyor belt over the Don. It became part of the Doncaster spur on the Trans-Pennine Trail, which was officially opened in 2001. The steel pillars supporting the viaduct are filled with limestone. Its construction, which uses an above-deck truss, contrasts with the below-deck truss of the eastern viaduct, which was completed in 1910 and formed part of the Great Central RailwayGreat Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
. It still carries a freight-only line that avoids a crossing on the level of the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
at Doncaster Station.
Doncaster Town area
Newtons Farm Footbridge
Two bridges situated side-by side, one made of concrete and the other a wooden bridge, cross one of the two weir channels where the river leaves the navigation before Doncaster Town Lock.Cheswold Hauling Bridge
Cheswold Hauling Bridge, also known as Cheswold High Bridge, is a footbridge on the navigation towpath, which crosses the second of the two weir streams where the river leaves the navigation upstream of Doncaster Town Lock. The small section of river between the footbridge and where it rejoins that part of the River Don that left the navigation at Newtons Farm footbridge is called the River Cheswold, reputedly the shortest river in Great Britain.North Bridge and St Marys Bridge
North Bridge Road is carried over the railway and then the navigation at Doncaster Town Lock by North Bridge, and over the Don by St Mary's Bridge. North Bridge Road was previously part of the Great North Road. Until 1910, this crossed the railway on the level before crossing the Don Navigation. After 1910, a lengthy iron bridge took the road over the railway, navigation and river. This bridge was replaced by the current North Bridge in 2003. Its use has been restricted to buses, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians since the new St George's Bridge opened. The new bridge was constructed over the top of the old one while it was still in situ. Once the old bridge had been stripped of its surface trimmings the deck was cut up into 25-tonne sections, which were suspended from the new structure. A pulley system was used to transport these sections along the underside of the new bridge, so that they could be lowered onto the towpath, where they were cut up further before removal from the site.Railway bridges
Below the North Bridge, the six railway tracks north of Doncaster Station cross the Don Navigation on three separate bridges. This section of tracks is known as Marshgate JunctionDoncaster PSB
Doncaster PSB is a signalling centre on the East Coast Main Line railway in the United Kingdom, principally covering the line from London to Edinburgh but also encompassing other lines diverging and converging to the ECML...
and is where the lines to Leeds, York and Thorne diverge.
Friars Gate Bridge
This bridge provides access across the navigation from the centre of Doncaster to the small businesses and car parks on the "island" between the river and navigation.St George's Bridge
St George's Bridge is one of the newest bridges over the Don. It carries the dual carriageway New Bridge Road, part of the A19A19 road
The A19 is a major road in England running approximately parallel to and east of the A1 road, although the two roads meet at the northern end of the A19, the two roads originally met at the southern end of the A19 in Doncaster but the old route of the A1 was changed to the A638. From Sunderland...
, which is now the main road north out of Doncaster. It was opened on 22 November 2001, and was named St George's Bridge as a result of a public competition. It consists of a 690 yards (630.9 m) long steel-composite bridge with spans of 49 yards (44.8 m) over the River Don, the East Coast Main Line, and the Don Navigation. The ladder beam layout, using two main plate girders, cross-girders at 13 feet (4 m) centres and precast planks, was chosen both to optimise the deck and to minimise the size and number of the piers.
Chappell Drive Bridge
This bridge provides access across the navigation from the centre of Doncaster to the small businesses situated on the "island" between the river and navigation. It is situated immediately north of the Hub campus of Doncaster CollegeDoncaster College
Doncaster College is a further and higher education college in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. It comprises two campuses, which are known as "The Hub" and the "University Centre".-Staff and students:...
. Going downstream, there is a gap of some 5 miles (8 km) before the next public road crossing of the navigation at Barnby Dun.
Points of interest
See also
- Canals of Great Britain
- History of the British canal systemHistory of the British canal systemThe British canal system of water transport played a vital role in the United Kingdom's Industrial Revolution at a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of pack horses were the only means of "mass" transit by road of raw materials and finished products The...
- River Don, South Yorkshire, for information on that (non-navigable) part of the River Don, west of Tinsley.