72-692: The Selby Canal is a 6-mile (9.7 km) canal with two locks, which bypasses the lower reaches of the River Aire in Yorkshire , England , from the village of West Haddlesey to the town of Selby where it joins the River Ouse . It opened in 1778, and provided the main outlet for the Aire and Calder Navigation until 1826, when it was bypassed by a new cut from Ferrybridge to Goole . Selby steadily declined after that, although traffic to York still used
144-499: A 'Lund Tunnel' which serves to carry a drain under the canal. The East Coast Main Line crosses next, after which comes Burton Hall Bridge, an accommodation bridge designed by William Jessop, and constructed when the canal was built. It is made of millstone grit, and retains an iron roller on the north-west corner of the arch, to protect the structure from towing ropes. The A19 road crosses at Burn Bridge, and another drain passes under
216-511: A Hull man, is believed to be the first man to succeed in wading across the Humber since ancient Roman times. The feat in August 2005 was attempted to raise cash and awareness for the medical research charity, DebRA . He started his trek on the north bank at Brough ; four hours later, he emerged on the south bank at Whitton . He is 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 m) tall and took advantage of
288-569: A fair with an ox-roast and sports to take place, as described by Ralph Thoresby . An Act of Parliament was passed in 1699 to make the river downstream of Leeds navigable (the Aire and Calder Navigation) and a second act extended the navigable river upstream to Bingley. The second act formed the basis of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal . Between the mid 19th century and the late 20th, the River Aire
360-406: A lock drops the level by 7 feet (2.1 m) into the River Aire, which flows in a big loop at this point. The river follows a meandering course to Beal, where a bridge carries Intake Lane over it, and a large weir drops the level by another 8 feet (2.4 m). Beal Lock is to the right of the weir, and is 2.8 miles (4.5 km) from the start of this section. After a further 3.7 miles (6.0 km),
432-548: A ten-arched aqueduct over the River Aire at Hunslet , and a 400-yard (370 m) tunnel at Fairburn. The estimated cost of £59,468 was raised in two months, and a bill was presented to Parliament in December 1772, as was another by the Aire and Calder Navigation for improvements to the Aire below Haddlesey. The parliamentary committee found a number of issues with the Leeds and Selby scheme, and generally favoured improvements to
504-608: A very low tide. He replicated this achievement on the television programme Top Gear (Series 10 Episode 6) when he beat James May who drove an Alfa Romeo 159 around the inland part of the estuary in a race without using the Humber Bridge. On Saturday 26 August 1911, Alice Maud Boyall became the first recorded woman to swim the Humber. Boyall, then aged 19 and living in Hull, was the Yorkshire swimming champion. She crossed
576-455: Is canalised , and is known as the Aire and Calder Navigation . The Handbook for Leeds and Airedale (1890) notes that the distance from Malham to Howden is 58 miles (93 km) direct, but the river's meanderings extend that to 90 miles (140 km). Between Malham Tarn and Airmyn, the river drops 1,300 feet (400 m). The Aire starts at Malham Tarn and becomes a subterranean stream at 'Water Sinks' about one mile (1.6 km) before
648-413: Is a humpbacked bridge, built of sandstone ashlar, and is topped by a cast iron balustrade. Just before Paper House Bridge, a drain enters the canal on the west bank. The bridge is a late-eighteenth century single arched humpback bridge, made of millstone grit, and is again grade II listed . There are two semi-circular ponds, one on either side of the channel to the north of the bridge, a feature known as
720-503: Is erroneously given as a name for both the Humber and The Ouse as one continuous watercourse. Both Abus and Aber may record an older Indo-European word for water or river, (as in the 'Five Rivers' of the Punjab ). An alternative derivation may be from the Latin verb abdo meaning "to hide, to conceal". The successive name Humbre / Humbri / Umbri may continue the meaning via
792-418: Is home both to resident fish and those returning from the sea to their spawning grounds in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire . Salmon , sole , cod , eel , flounder , plaice , sprat , lamprey and sand goby have all been caught within the estuary. It is also used by over-wintering birds, is a good breeding ground for bitterns , marsh harriers , little terns and avocets , and forms part of
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#1732771832584864-605: Is named as darcy and ðarcy (with the ancient eth ) in a thirteenth-century transcription of a charter of 963. It is Eyr’ in 1135 in The Coucher Book of Selby and other sources up to 1298. Eir is given in 1175–7 in one of the Dodsworth Manuscripts in Farrer's Early Yorkshire Charters . A range of other spellings are attested, among them Air from c. 1160 to 1577 and John Cossins ' 1775 Plan of
936-469: Is navigable for the largest of deep-sea vessels. Inland connections for smaller craft are extensive but handle only a quarter of the goods traffic handled in the Thames . There are numerous theories for how the hydronym of Humber is derived from Celtic or Pre-Celtic languages. For example, it may be a Brittonic formation containing -[a]mb-ṛ , a variant of the element *amb meaning "moisture", with
1008-522: Is the confluence of the Aire and Calder ; just downstream of the confluence was the ford where the ancient British road, used by the Romans, crossed on its way north to York . The river re-enters North Yorkshire near Knottingley and in its lower reaches forms part of the boundary between North Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire . Tests have been conducted to authenticate the actual source of
1080-480: Is underway (in November 2019). If additional funding can be secured the flood plain near Calverley will be used for water storage providing a one-in-200 year level of protection. Humber The Humber / ˈ h ʌ m b ər / is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England . It is formed at Trent Falls , Faxfleet , by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent . From there to
1152-404: The Aire and Calder Navigation , and there were several schemes to bypass part or all of it. John Longbotham was employed by some of the backers for the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to survey a route from Leeds to Selby, although the Leeds and Selby Canal was not officially supported by the Leeds and Liverpool undertaking. The canal would have been just over 23 miles (37 km) long, with ten locks,
1224-654: The Environment Agency said, "The scheme has reduced the risk of flooding to 3,000 homes, 500 business and 300 acres of development land south-east of Leeds Train Station to Woodlesford". Phase two will use natural flood management techniques to help slow the flow, helping to protect a further 1,048 homes and 474 businesses. Work on phase two, designed to provide a one-in-100 year level of protection, will take place on an 8 km stretch upstream of Leeds station starting in late 2019. A pilot scheme, costing £500,000
1296-692: The First World War . Planned in 1914, their construction started in 1915 and they were not completed until 1919. A coastal battery at Easington, Fort Goodwin or Kilnsea Battery , faced the Bull Sands Fort. They were also garrisoned during the Second World War, and were finally abandoned for military use in 1956. Fort Paull is further upstream, a Napoleonic-era emplacement replaced in the early 20th century by Stallingborough Battery opposite Sunk Island . The Humber Bridge
1368-749: The Humber Bridge ; between Barton-upon-Humber on the south bank and Kingston upon Hull on the north bank (where the River Hull joins), then meets the North Sea between Cleethorpes on the Lincolnshire side and the long and thin headland of Spurn Head to the north. Ports on the Humber include the Port of Hull , the Port of Grimsby and the Port of Immingham ; there are lesser ports at New Holland and North Killingholme Haven . The estuary
1440-627: The North Sea , it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank and North Lincolnshire on the south bank. Also known as the River Humber , it is tidal its entire length. Below Trent Falls, the Humber passes the junction with the Market Weighton Canal on the north shore, the confluence of the River Ancholme on the south shore; between North Ferriby and South Ferriby and under
1512-575: The River Severn ) one of the three principal rivers of Britain, and is continually mentioned throughout the Brut y Brenhinedd as a boundary between the southern kingdom ( Lloegyr ) and various northern kingdoms. In Geoffrey of Monmouth 's 12th-century historically unreliable chronicle ( Historia Regum Britanniae ), the Humber is named for " Humber the Hun ", an invader who drowned there during battle in
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#17327718325841584-472: The 49 crew on board. From 1974 to 1996, the areas now known as the East Riding of Yorkshire , North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire constituted the county of Humberside . The Humber, from 1996, forms a boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire (to the north) and North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire, to the south. The Humber Forts were built in the mouth of the estuary for
1656-640: The Aire and Calder were repaired. Before the building of the canal, Selby had been the furthest point upstream on the Ouse which could be reached by seagoing ships. Although some of the barges which used the canal travelled up the Ouse to York or down to the Humber Ports and the River Trent , this traffic was mainly restricted to coal, and other cargoes were transhipped at Selby. The larger Humber keels , sloops, schooners and brigs, some of 200 tons, carried
1728-478: The Aire continues straight ahead, and there is a sharp left turn into Haddlesey Flood Lock and the start of the Selby Canal. The river section is marked by high flood banks. Haddlesey Lock is normally open unless there are high volumes of water passing down the Aire. Shortly after the lock, the canal is crossed by Tankard's Stone Bridge, which dates from the construction of the canal and is grade II listed . It
1800-433: The Aire route to Leeds. The changes would allow 100-ton boats to reach both destinations, and became part of the Aire and Calder Navigation Act 1828 ( 9 Geo. 4 . c. xcviii) which was obtained on 19 June 1828. This act included a provision to increase the navigable depth of the Selby Canal to 5 feet (1.5 m), which the company hoped to achieve by raising the dam boards on the weirs at Haddlesey and Beal. They knew that this
1872-461: The Aire, but no decision was made on either proposal. Following the impasse, the Aire and Calder decided that a route to Selby might be a better solution than improvements to the lower Aire, and William Jessop , working for John Smeaton , surveyed a route that ran from Haddlesey to Selby, which would require a lock at Selby, where the canal joined the River Ouse, and floodgates at Haddlesey. By
1944-406: The Aire. The Aire is navigable upstream to Leeds and downstream has a navigable section into the Aire & Calder Navigation , with navigable access to other canals and waterways. Crown Point in Leeds is listed as the furthest west that can be reached by boat, though the limit is a headroom of 11 feet 11 inches (3.62 m). The weir that straddles Crown Point is a listed structure that
2016-431: The Aire. Both of the latter plants stopped generating in 2016, with Eggborough being a stand-by for capacity problems until March 2017. A hydroelectric power station was installed on Brotherton Weir at Knottingley in November 2017. This £7.5 million project was expected to deliver 500 kilowatts and be operational for 100 years. Because the Aire flows through the former industrial landscape of West Yorkshire, it
2088-403: The Aire. The tarn at Malham was dammed and allowed to flood. Observers noted that whilst water surged at Aire Head, it also surged at the bottom of Malham Cove. A significant difference of 30 minutes was noted between the surges with Malham Cove being slower to react to the floodwater. The section between Malham Tarn and the confluence of the becks at Aire Head is known as Malhamdale. Thereafter
2160-520: The Barnsley Canal at Cold Hiendley to the River Don above Newbridge. To head off the competition, the Aire and Calder proposed a new cut from Knottingley to Goole, which included the provision of a cut at Bank Dole to maintain the connection to the Selby Canal. A petition was presented to Parliament in late 1819, and as a result of opposition, clauses were inserted to maintain the lower Aire and
2232-680: The German Ocean (the North Sea ) south of Ocelum Promontorium (Spurn Head). Ptolemy also gives the Iron Age tribes of the area as the Coritani south of the Humber and the Parisi to the north. In the 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe , Crusoe leaves England on a ship departing from The Humber. On 23 August 1921, the British airship R38 crashed into the estuary near Hull, killing 44 of
Selby Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
2304-425: The Humber Bridge has become an annual event, with a small number of pre-selected swimmers crossing in a 'pod' which remains close together, in aid of Humber Rescue. In 2019, Hull-based competitive open water swimmer Richard Royal became the first person to attempt and complete a two-way swim across the estuary, beginning and finishing at Hessle foreshore, with Barton on the south bank as the mid-way point, fulfilling
2376-512: The Humber from Hull to New Holland Pier swimming the distance in 50 minutes, 6 minutes slower than the existing men's record. Since 2011, Warners Health have organised the 'Warners Health Humber Charity Business Swim'. Twelve swimmers from companies across the Yorkshire region train and swim in an ellipse from the south bank to the north bank of the estuary under the Humber Bridge over a total distance of approximately 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (2.4 km). Since then, an organised group crossing at
2448-566: The Latin verb umbro also meaning "to cover with shadows". Although it is now an estuary its entire length, the Humber had a much longer freshwater course during the Ice Age , extending across Doggerland , which is now submerged beneath the North Sea . The Humber features regularly in medieval British literature. In the Welsh Triads , the Humber is (together with the Thames and
2520-420: The River Ouse between Goole and above York was managed by the Ouse and Foss Navigation Trust, but was later transferred to British Waterways. The Selby Canal was then promoted as part of a through route to York, and by 2006, over 2,000 boats were using Selby Lock each year, more than double the number recorded in 1988. Today the canal is used almost entirely by leisure boats. Part of the towpath has been included in
2592-403: The Selby Canal had promoted. Of the trade above Haddlesey, around four-fifths travelled via Selby, with the rest using the lower Aire. The engineer George Leather, writing in 1822, noted that the route to Goole via Selby was much better than the lower Aire, but that it still suffered from problems. These included the size and depth of the canal, the provision of only one lock between the canal and
2664-488: The Selby Canal, and to ensure parity of tolls on the new cut and the old routes. An act of Parliament to authorise the new route and other works, the Aire and Calder Navigation Act 1820 ( 1 Geo. 4 . c. xxxix) was obtained on 30 June 1820. The plans developed, with a basin and locks at Goole being added in 1821, and an increase in the navigable depth from 6 feet (1.8 m) to 7 feet (2.1 m) soon afterwards. John Rennie ,
2736-509: The Selby Horseshoe Walk. The canal takes boats with a maximum length of 78.5 feet (23.9 m), a beam of 16.5 feet (5.0 m), a draught of 4 feet (1.2 m) and an air draught of 9.7 feet (3.0 m). Although not historically part of the Selby Canal, the former section of the River Aire from Bank Dole Junction through Bank Dole Lock and Beal Lock to the flood lock at West Haddlesey is now normally considered to be part of
2808-481: The Town of Leedes , and Air’ from the thirteenth century to the fourteenth. The etymology of the name is obscure. Two Celtic etymologies have been proposed. In 1857 it was suggested that Aire may come from Common Brittonic * Isarā ('the strong one'), in which case Aire originally meant 'strong river'. An alternative Celtic etymology suggests that the word is related to Welsh aer ('slaughter'). However,
2880-596: The canal before the site of a dismantled railway bridge. which used to cross just to the south of the A63 road bridge. Immediately afterwards, another original bridge carries Brayton Lane across the canal. Then the Doncaster to Selby railway line crosses at Brayton Railway Bridge, and the A1041 road at Bawtry Road Bridge. The only swing bridge is situated just before the final lock, and is operated by boaters. A wider section marks
2952-411: The canal to be made deeper still in 1833, but their request was turned down. The partially derelict wharf wall at Selby was replaced in 1836, allowing fully laden ships to moor alongside it. Although most traffic on the Aire and Calder now passed through Goole, trade with York continued to use the Selby Canal. The town of Selby declined, although there was a brief upturn in its fortunes in 1834, following
Selby Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
3024-491: The canal, giving it a total length of 11.7 miles (18.8 km) and four locks. Because the River Ouse at Selby is tidal, the lock can only be used at certain states of the tide, and a lockkeeper is in attendance when a transit into the river is possible. Operation of the lock is fully mechanised. From the main Ferrybridge to Goole cut on the Aire and Calder Canal, a short branch leaves the main channel near Knottingley, and
3096-404: The canal. Powers to increase its depth were obtained in 1828, and the residents of Selby used legal action to ensure that the company complied with its own act of Parliament . The locks were enlarged in 1885, and subsequent history was uneventful, with the canal eventually coming under the control of British Waterways in 1962. When British Waterways also took control of the River Ouse , the canal
3168-399: The construction of a counting house, a warehouse, a rigging house, a tarring house, a sailmaker's shop, a crane and a repository for old ropes. Two cranes were erected in 1787, one on the canal and the other on the river, while an extra lock-keeper had to be employed in 1788 because of the volume of trade. Ten years later, John Foster built a private dry dock at Selby, where many of the boats of
3240-617: The earliest days of the chronicle. The Humber remained an important boundary throughout the Anglo-Saxon period, separating Northumbria from the southern kingdoms. The name Northumbria derives from the Anglo-Saxon Norðhymbre (plural) = "the people north of the Humber". The Humber is recorded with the abbreviation Fl. Abi (The Abus river, Ancient Greek : Ἄβος ) in Ptolemy 's Geographia , discharging into
3312-419: The engineer for the project, died in 1821, and the following year George Leather, who took over this role, revealed plans for a ship dock at Goole, while in 1824 the start of the new cut was moved to Ferrybridge. Although a boat carrying directors travelled from Ferrybridge to Goole on 28 July 1825, the canal was not then complete. Opening eventually took place on 20 July 1826, partly due to a drought which delayed
3384-510: The ferry until the bridge opened in 1981. Railway passenger and car traffic continued to use the pier until the end of ferry operations. The line of the bridge is similar to an ancient ferry route from Hessle to Barton upon Humber , which is noted in the Domesday Book and in a charter of 1281. The ferry was recorded as still operating in 1856, into the railway era. The Humber was then one mile (1.6 km) across. Graham Boanas,
3456-548: The filling of the cut. Boats could still reach the Selby Canal by using the Dole Bank Lock. The Aire and Calder company began to use Goole rather than Selby as the destination for all of their craft, and gradually hauliers and boat captains moved to the new location, resulting in a steady decline at Selby. Further improvements to the Calder route to Wakefield were designed by Thomas Telford , while George Leather redesigned
3528-511: The first in the UK, were installed in the first phase of a two phase plan to reduce floods. Reducing the height of the weir, by deflating a 'bladder' has the potential to reduce flood levels by up to one metre upstream. The Knostrop weir was operated during the 2019 England floods . A 600m stretch of land, Knostrop Cut island, was removed allowing the river and canal to merge creating additional flood water capacity. Adrian Gill, area flood risk manager at
3600-588: The first time since the Industrial Revolution. The project will also benefit eels, lamprey and other coarse fish. The project is expected to be complete by early 2021. Castleford Wastewater Treatment Works has had £16 million of investment between 2013 and 2015. The improvements to this plant, which discharges water directly into the Aire, has improved water quality downstream. Rodley Nature Reserve , Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve, St Aidans and Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve all lie alongside
3672-470: The goods further afield. By 1800, some 369,780 tons were being handled, and industries such as ropemaking, sailmaking and shipbuilding thrived. In the twenty years from 1801 to 1821, the population of Selby increased from 2,861 to 4,097. Dividends paid by the Aire and Calder Navigation showed a large increase, from £11,625 in 1777 to £32,000 in 1791, much of which was funded by the increase in miscellaneous goods, including wool, bales of cloth and groceries, which
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#17327718325843744-509: The land-to-land criteria, covering a total of 4,085 m (4,467 yd). Royal holds the record for the fastest one-way swim across the Humber (35 minutes 11 seconds) and the fastest two-way swim (1 hour, 13 minutes, 46 seconds), certified by Guinness World Records and the World Open Water Swimming Association. He raised over £900 for Humber Rescue, who provided safety support during the swim. The Humber
3816-439: The larger barges. The new route provided a better route from Leeds and Wakefield to Hull, although it was a similar length to the route via the lower Aire, but considerably reduced the distance from Leeds to York. The port at Airmyn on the lower Aire closed in early 1779, and 8 acres (3.2 ha) of land were leased at Selby, on which to build port facilities and warehouses. Staithes were built in 1781 and 1782, and 1782 also saw
3888-529: The name could also come from Old Norse eyjar ('islands'), which might in turn have been inspired by an earlier Old English name ēg ('island'). The deposit of silt by two tributaries close together, the Meanwood Beck from the north and the Hol Beck from the south, created a crossing place and a settlement that became the town of Leeds. The Romans forded the Aire by a paved way at Castleford on
3960-614: The navigable depth was increased to 6 feet (1.8 m). The Aire and Calder remained highly successful, although little is heard of the Selby Canal after 1900. In January 1948, private ownership of the canal ceased, when it was taken over by the British Transport Commission, as part of the post-war nationalisation. Several changes followed, until the British Waterways Board took control in 1962, later to become British Waterways . Before 1985,
4032-536: The opening of the Leeds and Selby Railway , which lasted until 1840, when the railway from Selby to Hull opened. Lengthening of the locks on the main Aire and Calder lines to take compartment boats was completed by 1873, and the locks on the Selby line were rebuilt between 1885 and 1886. This work included Dole Bank Lock and Beal Lock, on the old course of the Aire, as well as Haddlesey Flood Lock and Selby Lock. The locks were made 78.5 by 16.5 feet (23.9 by 5.0 m), and
4104-415: The point at which the wharves and dry dock turned along the quayside. Both the lock, which retains some paddle mechanisms from 1828 and the adjacent lock house, which has six bays and a hipped pantile roof, are grade II listed structures. Download coordinates as: River Aire The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire , England, 92 miles (148 km) in length. Part of the river below Leeds
4176-618: The prefix *hu- meaning "good, well" (c.f. Welsh hy- , in Hywel , etc). The first element may also be *hū- , with connotations of "seethe, boil, soak", of which a variant forms the name of the adjoining River Hull . The estuary appears in some Latin sources as Abus (A name used by Edmund Spenser in The Faerie Queene ). This is possibly a Latinisation of the Celtic form Aber ( Welsh for river mouth or estuary) but
4248-497: The resident engineer. James and John Pinkerton were the main contractors, and construction began in early 1775. A great celebration was held at Selby on 29 April 1778, when the canal opened, having cost £20,000. The town of Selby flourished following the opening, with a custom house which enabled traffic to proceed straight to the North Sea without stopping at Hull. While the canal was fairly successful, there were some problems. There
4320-488: The river as the water and food quality is far superior to that when the river was polluted. In the upper reaches of the river around Bell Busk and Malham, white-clawed crayfish are present in the tributaries. A joint project between the Environment Agency and The Aire Rivers Trust will instal four fish passes on the last four high weirs on the river, with the intent of allowing salmon to return to Skipton for
4392-616: The river, and that there were no docks at Selby, suitable for the brigs and other vessels that used the river. Meanwhile, the Aire and Calder were facing the prospect of rival schemes to provide canals parallel to the rivers. The Aire and Dun Canal was proposed in 1817, to run from Knottingley to Newbridge on the Dutch River, with a branch to Doncaster on the River Don Navigation , while the Went and Wakefield Canal would join
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#17327718325844464-623: The road connecting Doncaster with York, which went north through the town near to the church. At this time, the River Don emptied into the Aire at Snaith, but the Dutch engineer, Cornelius Vermuyden , changed the course of the Don in the 1630s so that it flows into the Ouse after its confluence with the Aire. During the Great Frost of 1683–84 the river froze solid for a month in Leeds allowing
4536-465: The spring of 1774, the Leeds and Selby Canal was supported by the Leeds and Liverpool company, and rival bills were presented to Parliament. The Leeds and Selby proposal was defeated, but the Aire and Calder bill became an act of Parliament , the Aire and Calder Navigation Act 1774 ( 14 Geo. 3 . c. 96) on 14 June 1774. The company employed Jessop as engineer on a part-time basis, with John Gott acting as
4608-466: The top of Malham Cove , it then flows underground to Aire Head, just below Malham , in North Yorkshire , and then flows through Gargrave and Skipton . After Cononley , the river enters West Yorkshire where it passes through the former industrial areas of Keighley , Bingley , Saltaire and Shipley . It then passes through Leeds and on to Swillington and Woodlesford . At Castleford
4680-510: The valley is known as Airedale and encompasses Bradford, (even though the river bypasses the city) and by the time it reaches Leeds, the term Airedale is rarely applied. The River Aire empties into the River Ouse at Airmyn , 'myn' being an old English word for 'river mouth'. From source (Joins River Ouse ) The name of the Aire is first attested as Yr in a charter from 959 AD (as edited in Gray's Cartularium Saxonicum ). The river
4752-402: Was a 2-mile (3.2 km) section where the banks consisted of loose sand, which had to be regularly dredged to prevent the sand blocking it, and Elias Wright, who was the engineer in 1797, complained that the depth of only 3.5 feet (1.1 m) was too shallow, and that extra boards had to be kept on Haddlesey weir to maintain the water levels. As cargoes increased the canal became too shallow for
4824-614: Was constructed in medieval times and first documented in 1636. Canoeing and rowing are popular sports on the river with two clubs (the Bradford and Bingley Canoe Club and the Bradford Amateur Rowing Club ) having landings on the river. Canoeing can be carried out on most parts of the river, with the two clubs having navigable sections protected by weirs next to their landings. In October 2017 at Crown Point near Leeds city centre and Knostrop two movable weirs,
4896-491: Was devoid of fish life downstream of Shipley because of pollution. Efforts have been made to return the river to a good wildlife status and fish and other wildlife exist all along the course of the river. There are three thermal power stations alongside the River Aire east of Castleford : Ferrybridge C , Eggborough and Drax . Drax takes its cooling water from the Ouse , but both Ferrybridge and Eggborough drew their water from
4968-571: Was heavily polluted. In 2007, Yorkshire Water carried out improvements to Esholt Sewage Works at a cost of £110 million under the EU 's Fresh Water Fish Directive. Whilst Trout are prevalent above Keighley, the river is host to others such as Chub , Dace , Barbel & Grayling , whilst Sea Trout have been noted as far upriver as Shipley. Work is also being undertaken to make some weirs easier for fish to negotiate. Improvements have allowed Eurasian otters and European water voles to return to
5040-402: Was marketed as part of a through route to York , and the number of boats using it have steadily increased. Although not originally part of the canal, the section of the Aire from Dole Bank Lock to Haddlesey Flood Lock is usually considered to be part of the modern Selby Canal, making it 11.7 miles (18.8 km) long with four locks. In the late 1760s, there was dissatisfaction with the state of
5112-525: Was not actually legal, and a case brought before the Quarter Sessions upheld this position, so they started to make the channel wider and deeper. However, the residents of Selby were not satisfied, and further legal action by them resulted in the company having to carry out additional work in 1832 and 1833. The work included the provision of a new lock into the Ouse, as the old one was in a poor state of repair. Traders at Malton and York petitioned for
5184-712: Was the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world from its construction in 1981 until 1998. It is now the twelfth longest . Before the bridge was built, a series of paddle steamers operated from the Corporation Pier railway station at the Victoria Pier in Hull to the railway pier in New Holland . Steam ferries started in 1841, and in 1848 were purchased by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway . They, and their successors, ran
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