River Greet
Encyclopedia
The River Greet is a small river
in Nottinghamshire
, England
. Rising close to the village
of Kirklington
, the Greet flows in a southeasterly direction past Southwell
and Rolleston to meet the River Trent
at Fiskerton
.
, with some Mercia mudstone
along the southern edge of the catchment. Below Southwell, the geology is predominently Mercia mudstone. There is a layer of clay, sand and gravel alluvium
overlaying this in the river channel.
The river is greatly affected by rainfall, raising levels and muddying the water.
After leaving the mill, the river crosses under the A612 road and flows through open countryside, to reach Upton Mill. It passes to the north of Southwell Racecourse, and then turns to the south, where Rolleston Mill is built over its course. This is a late eighteenth century brick structure, with a basement, two storeys and a garret, which still contains some of the milling equipment. It is a grade II listed structure. The river continues under the Nottingham to Lincoln Line
close to Rolleston railway station
, to reach Fiskerton Mill, built on the site of a medieval mill owned by the monks of Thurgaton Priory. Just beyond the mill, it passes under a minor road and into the River Trent
.
The Willoughby family
, who lived at Wollaton Hall
ran a fleet of barges in the 1580s, and delivered coal to Southwell, which Caffyn has taken to mean that the river was navigable for the first 4 miles (6.4 km) to enable this to happen.
Those who lived beside the river had a responsibility to keep it scoured, and on 13 July 1642 the residents of Rolleston, Southwell and Upton were indicted for not carrying out this duty.
(Salmo trutta), but although coarse fish
species can be found lower down, the modifications made to the channel to assist its land-drainage function have resulted in the habitat suffering, with a result that fish numbers are low. The Environment Agency
, who manage the river, have applied a "Hands-Off Flow" limit to the river, which specifies that if the flow drops below 2650 Megalitres per day (Mld) in the Trent, all abstraction of water must cease, in order to protect the environment. The volume of groundwater extracted from the catchment has fallen in recent years, with the result that water levels have risen a little.
Catches of Atlantic salmon
(Salmo salar) have also been reported on the river.
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, 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...
. Rising close to the village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
of Kirklington
Kirklington, Nottinghamshire
Kirklington is a village and civil parish in the English county of Nottinghamshire.Administratively Kirklington forms part of the Newark and Sherwood district...
, the Greet flows in a southeasterly direction past Southwell
Southwell, Nottinghamshire
Southwell is a town in Nottinghamshire, England, best known as the site of Southwell Minster, the seat of the Church of England diocese that covers Nottinghamshire...
and Rolleston to meet 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 Fiskerton
Fiskerton, Nottinghamshire
Fiskerton is a small village in Nottinghamshire on the west bank of the River Trent about 5 miles southeast of Southwell. Regarding the old boat ferry from Fiskerton to East Stoke, "Up until the middle of this century there was a ferry boat service over to the other side of the River Trent at...
.
Hydrology
The river has a catchment of 17.85 square miles (46.2 km²) and an average flow of 6.08 million gallons (27.65 Megalitres) per day, measured at the gauging station in Southwell. The catchment receives 25.47 inches (646.9 mm) of rainfall in an average year. Above Southwell, the underlying geology is mainly Sherwood and Mercia sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, with some Mercia mudstone
Mudstone
Mudstone is a fine grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Grain size is up to 0.0625 mm with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope. With increased pressure over time the platey clay minerals may become aligned, with the...
along the southern edge of the catchment. Below Southwell, the geology is predominently Mercia mudstone. There is a layer of clay, sand and gravel alluvium
Alluvium
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...
overlaying this in the river channel.
The river is greatly affected by rainfall, raising levels and muddying the water.
Course
The river rises as a series of springs to the west of Kirklington, close to the 160 feet (48.8 m) contour. It is joined by Cotton Mill Dyke and Edingley Beck, and to the east of Kirklington, turns to flow in a south-easterly direction. Halam Beck joins from the south, and there is a disused mill at Maythorne Farm. It was built as a cotton mill in 1795 by a hop merchant, to supply yarn to the framework knitting industry. The firm of Messrs. Bean and Johnson altered it in the early nineteenth century, after which silk and lace thread was produced. A small community was established around the mill, with cottages for some of the workers, of whom there were 70 in 1838, a general store, a public house and a mission hall. Willow for making baskets was grown in osier beds, and hops were also cultivated. The building was used as a billet for soldiers during the Second World War, by which time its industrial function had ceased. It has subsequently been converted into flats, with some of the outbuildings used as industrial workshops. There are two mill buildings, the north mill and the south mill, both of which are grade II listed structures. Below the mill the Robin Hood Way, a long distance footpath, follows the banks of the river, which forms the northern boundary of Southwell. There is a wildfowl centre on the north bank, and Caudwell flour Mill is on the south bank. It was built over the site of Burgage mill, a medieval building, and was bought by Charles Caudwell in 1851. He increased the capacity of the mill, which was subsequently damaged by fires in 1867, 1893 and 1917. Each time the mill was rebuilt, the equipment was upgraded. The Caudwell family were millers for four generations, after which Associated British Foods bought the mill. It closed in 1977, and was turned into flats in 1989.After leaving the mill, the river crosses under the A612 road and flows through open countryside, to reach Upton Mill. It passes to the north of Southwell Racecourse, and then turns to the south, where Rolleston Mill is built over its course. This is a late eighteenth century brick structure, with a basement, two storeys and a garret, which still contains some of the milling equipment. It is a grade II listed structure. The river continues under the Nottingham to Lincoln Line
Nottingham to Lincoln Line
The Nottingham to Lincoln Line is a railway line in central England, running from Nottingham north east to Lincoln.The line between Newark and Lincoln is currently only cleared for speeds, Nottinghamshire County Council have paid for a study into running....
close to Rolleston railway station
Rolleston railway station
Rolleston station is around half a mile from the small village of Rolleston, one of the Trent side villages close to Southwell in Nottinghamshire, England. The station is convenient for Southwell Racecourse, to which it is adjacent....
, to reach Fiskerton Mill, built on the site of a medieval mill owned by the monks of Thurgaton Priory. Just beyond the mill, it passes under a minor road and into 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...
.
History
There was some sort of dispute in 1598, when the millers from Fiskerton, Rolleston and Upton went to Newark to collect corn for milling. They were detained, with their horses taken to the castle, and the corn was taken to "her majesty's mills", where it was ground and tolls were paid. Eventually the millers were set free. On another occasion, Rolleston's miller was detained by Edward Earl of Rutland, but was released when he promised not to collect any more corn from Newark. There seems to have been less of an issue when the inhabitants of Newark took their corn to the mills voluntarily.The Willoughby family
Francis Willoughby (1547-1596)
Sir Francis Willoughby was an industrialist and coalowner, who built Wollaton Hall in Nottinghamshire.He was the son of Henry Willoughby, a Dorset landowner and Anne, daughter of Thomas Grey, Marquess of Dorset. Henry had inherited Wollaton from his uncle John Willoughby on 10 January 1549, but...
, who lived at Wollaton Hall
Wollaton Hall
Wollaton Hall is a country house standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton, Nottingham, England. Wollaton Park is the area of parkland that the stately house stands in. The house itself is a natural history museum, with other museums in the out-buildings...
ran a fleet of barges in the 1580s, and delivered coal to Southwell, which Caffyn has taken to mean that the river was navigable for the first 4 miles (6.4 km) to enable this to happen.
Those who lived beside the river had a responsibility to keep it scoured, and on 13 July 1642 the residents of Rolleston, Southwell and Upton were indicted for not carrying out this duty.
Ecology
The upper reaches of the river contain fish such as brown troutBrown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
(Salmo trutta), but although coarse fish
Coarse fishing
Coarse fishing is a term used in the United Kingdom and Ireland for angling for coarse fish, which are those types of freshwater fish other than game fish . The sport and the techniques used are particularly popular in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe.-History:The term "coarse fishing"...
species can be found lower down, the modifications made to the channel to assist its land-drainage function have resulted in the habitat suffering, with a result that fish numbers are low. The Environment Agency
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
, who manage the river, have applied a "Hands-Off Flow" limit to the river, which specifies that if the flow drops below 2650 Megalitres per day (Mld) in the Trent, all abstraction of water must cease, in order to protect the environment. The volume of groundwater extracted from the catchment has fallen in recent years, with the result that water levels have risen a little.
Catches of Atlantic salmon
Atlantic salmon
The Atlantic salmon is a species of fish in the family Salmonidae, which is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into the north Atlantic and the north Pacific....
(Salmo salar) have also been reported on the river.