165-730: 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. The Rother Link was first suggested in early 1995, when the Chesterfield Canal Society submitted their proposal to
330-573: A 5-mile (8 km) channel from Newbridge near Thorne eastwards to Goole, where water levels in the Ouse were between 5 and 10 feet (1.5 and 3.0 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
495-518: A ceremonial county, or be a district tier within a shire county , be a royal or metropolitan borough , have borough or city status , or be a unitary authority . At the community level, much of England is divided into civil parishes with their own councils ; in Greater London only one such parish, Queen's Park , exists as of 2014 after they were abolished in 1965 until legislation allowed their recreation in 2007. From 1994 until
660-610: A chapel; it was formally reconsecrated in 1924 by the Bishop of Sheffield, and restoration of the interior took place in 1980. Centenary Way bridge (north) carries the Centenary Way dual carriageway over the navigation. Greasbrough Road Bridge carries Greasbrough Road, which 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, carries
825-622: A cost of £4,175. Neither the main route, nor the extension were pursued. In 1810, a proposal to link Rotherham to the Chesterfield Canal was made by Richard Gresley. This was the North Eastern Junction Canal, and envisaged a link from the Chesterfield Canal to the Cromford Canal as well, but the scheme met with little enthusiasm. In 1814, the Sheffield Canal promoters were considering two schemes, one to
990-505: 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,
1155-512: A geographical frame of reference. Of these, 38 developed gradually since the Middle Ages ; these were reformed to 51 in 1974 and to their current number in 1996. Each has a Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff ; these posts are used to represent the British monarch locally. Some counties, such as Herefordshire , are only divided further into civil parishes. The royal county of Berkshire and
1320-571: 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
1485-579: 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
1650-660: A profound and permanent effect on the English language. Subsequently, the House of Plantagenet from Anjou inherited the English throne under Henry II , adding England to the budding Angevin Empire of fiefs the family had inherited in France including Aquitaine . They reigned for three centuries, some noted monarchs being Richard I , Edward I , Edward III and Henry V . The period saw changes in trade and legislation, including
1815-572: 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
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#17327733719161980-516: A stretch near Doncaster and the construction of a new warehouse and wharf were largely funded by Doncaster Corporation in 1934. Stainforth Side Lock, which allowed boats to access the lower River Don, was closed in 1939. 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
2145-450: A struggle for hegemony between Northumbria and Mercia, which in the 8th century gave way to Mercian preeminence. In the early 9th century Mercia was displaced as the foremost kingdom by Wessex. Later in that century escalating attacks by the Danes culminated in the conquest of the north and east of England, overthrowing the kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia. Wessex under Alfred
2310-443: Is a drop of around 46 feet (14 m) between these two points, several locks would be required, and the waterway would consist of a number of river sections with cuts to accommodate the locks. In 2016 it was suggested that around six locks would be required, and that they would be broad locks, at 14 feet (4.3 m) by 72 feet (22 m). Much of the route is already canalised, with the banks protected by concrete and steel piling. If
2475-472: Is a long-distance footpath, connecting Liverpool , Leeds , Hull and Chesterfield, and is suitable for walking and cycling, with some sections suitable for horse riding. As with similar canal schemes, the Rother Valley Link would bring economic benefits to the region, which are estimated to be around £2.4 million in visitor spending per year. The link would also mean that the Chesterfield Canal
2640-577: Is a non-departmental public body, established in 1995 and sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with responsibilities relating to the protection and enhancement of the environment in England. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the minister responsible for environmental protection, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in England. River Don Navigation The River Don Navigation
2805-408: Is a road and pedestrian bridge across the river into Forge Island. Bridge Street Bridge also known as Chantry 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 . As originally constructed in 1483 the bridge had four arches and was 15-foot (4.6 m) wide, but it was widened and
2970-412: Is also applied to England in a more poetic capacity, though its original meaning is the island of Britain as a whole. The earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor , dating to about 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago. Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during
3135-583: Is bridge number 47 and conveys a service road over the Navigation and railway. At this point on the west side of the Navigation, there was a large tar distillation works and it is probable that this road connected that works with a tip or further chemical plant on the east side. The tar distillation works was built by Ellison & Mitchell in 1886 and became part of the Yorkshire Tar Distillers group in 1927. Swinton Talbot Road Bridge
3300-573: Is bridge number 48 and connects the main road in Swinton (A6022 Bridge Street and Rowms Lane) with an industrial estate whose principal unit is the Morphy Richards distribution centre. Mexborough Double Bridges is named "Double Bridges and Footbridge 49A" by the Canal & River Trust. The bridge carries a footway and double-track railway over the Navigation. This section of the Navigation
3465-546: Is damp relatively frequently and is changeable. The coldest months are January and February, the latter particularly on the English coast , while July is normally the warmest month. Months with mild to warm weather are May, June, September and October. Rainfall is spread fairly evenly throughout the year. Important influences on the climate of England are its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean , its northern latitude and
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#17327733719163630-641: Is governed directly by the Parliament of the United Kingdom , although other countries of the United Kingdom have devolved governments. There has been debate about how to counterbalance this in England. Originally it was planned that various regions of England would be devolved, but following the proposal's rejection by the North East in a 2004 referendum , this has not been carried out. In 2024, an England-only intergovernmental body, known as
3795-669: Is high moorland in upland areas, indented by fertile valleys of the region's rivers. They contain two national parks , the Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District . In the West Country , Dartmoor and Exmoor of the Southwest Peninsula include upland moorland supported by granite. The English Lowlands are in the central and southern regions of the country, consisting of green rolling hills, including
3960-780: Is known as the lost colony after it was found abandoned on the return of the late-arriving supply ship. With the East India Company , England also competed with the Dutch and French in the East. During the Elizabethan period, England was at war with Spain. An armada sailed from Spain in 1588 as part of a wider plan to invade England and re-establish a Catholic monarchy. The plan was thwarted by bad coordination, stormy weather and successful harrying attacks by an English fleet under Lord Howard of Effingham . This failure did not end
4125-623: Is mostly found in the north and west, including Dartmoor , the Lake District , the Pennines , and the Shropshire Hills . The country's capital is London , the metropolitan area of which has a population of 14.2 million as of 2021, representing the United Kingdom's largest metropolitan area. England's population of 56.3 million comprises 84% of the population of the United Kingdom, largely concentrated around London,
4290-562: Is part of the United Kingdom, a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system . There has not been a government of England since 1707, when the Acts of Union 1707 , putting into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union , joined England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain . Before the union England was ruled by its monarch and the Parliament of England . Today England
4455-472: Is similar to that of other areas in the British Isles with a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate life in a diverse range of habitats. National nature reserves in England are designated by Natural England as key places for wildlife and natural features in England. They were established to protect the most significant areas of habitat and of geological formations. NNRs are managed on behalf of
4620-519: The 1535–1542 acts . There were internal religious conflicts during the reigns of Henry's daughters, Mary I and Elizabeth I . The former took the country back to Catholicism while the latter broke from it again, forcefully asserting the supremacy of Anglicanism . The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor age of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I ("the Virgin Queen"). Historians often depict it as
4785-643: The Age of Discovery . Henry VIII broke from communion with the Catholic Church, over issues relating to his divorce, under the Acts of Supremacy in 1534 which proclaimed the monarch head of the Church of England . In contrast with much of European Protestantism , the roots of the split were more political than theological. He also legally incorporated his ancestral land Wales into the Kingdom of England with
4950-583: The Angeln region of what is now the German state of Schleswig-Holstein . The earliest recorded use of the term, as " Engla londe ", is in the late-ninth-century translation into Old English of Bede 's Ecclesiastical History of the English People . The term was then used to mean "the land inhabited by the English", and it included English people in what is now south-east Scotland but was then part of
5115-590: The Battle of Trafalgar confirmed the naval supremacy Britain had established during the course of the eighteenth century. The Napoleonic Wars fostered a concept of Britishness and a united national British people , shared with the English, Scots and Welsh. London became the largest and most populous metropolitan area in the world during the Victorian era , and trade within the British Empire – as well as
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5280-536: The Battle of Watling Street . The author of one study of Roman Britain suggested that from 43 AD to 84 AD, the Roman invaders killed somewhere between 100,000 and 250,000 people from a population of perhaps 2,000,000. This era saw a Greco-Roman culture prevail with the introduction of Roman law , Roman architecture , aqueducts , sewers , many agricultural items and silk. In the 3rd century, Emperor Septimius Severus died at Eboracum (now York ), where Constantine
5445-676: The British Isles , but also from the Commonwealth , particularly the Indian subcontinent . Since the 1970s there has been a large move away from manufacturing and an increasing emphasis on the service industry . As part of the United Kingdom, the area joined a common market initiative called the European Economic Community which became the European Union . Since the late 20th century the administration of
5610-610: The Cotswold Hills , Chiltern Hills , North and South Downs ; where they meet the sea they form white rock exposures such as the cliffs of Dover . This also includes relatively flat plains such as the Salisbury Plain , Somerset Levels , South Coast Plain and The Fens . England has a temperate maritime climate : it is mild with temperatures not much lower than 0 °C (32 °F) in winter and not much higher than 32 °C (90 °F) in summer. The weather
5775-744: The Court of Appeal , the High Court of Justice for civil cases, and the Crown Court for criminal cases. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the highest court for criminal and civil cases in England and Wales . It was created in 2009 after constitutional changes, taking over the judicial functions of the House of Lords . A decision of the Supreme Court is binding on every other court in
5940-583: The Courts of England and Wales continued, under the Treaty of Union , as a separate legal system from the one used in Scotland . The general essence of English law is that it is made by judges sitting in courts, applying their common sense and knowledge of legal precedent – stare decisis – to the facts before them. The court system is headed by the Senior Courts of England and Wales, consisting of
6105-736: The French Revolution , under George III and William Pitt the Younger . The regency of George IV is noted for its elegance and achievements in the fine arts and architecture. During the Napoleonic Wars , Napoleon planned to invade from the south-east ; however, this failed to manifest and the Napoleonic forces were defeated by the British: at sea by Horatio Nelson , and on land by Arthur Wellesley . The major victory at
6270-541: The Great Central Railway . Between this railway bridge and Jordan Bridge, there are two bridges carrying pipes. Jordan Bridge , called "Jordan Bridge 21" by British Waterways, carried a railway that linked Blackburn Meadows 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
6435-487: The Kingdom of Great Britain . England is the origin of the English language , the English legal system (which served as the basis for the common law systems of many other countries), association football , and the Anglican branch of Christianity; its parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into
6600-735: The Labour Party , 116 from the Conservative Party , 65 from the Liberal Democrats , five for Reform UK and four for the Green Party of England and Wales . The English law legal system, developed over the centuries, is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States (except Louisiana ). Despite now being part of the United Kingdom, the legal system of
6765-556: The Latin word Anglii is used. The etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars; it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. How and why a term derived from the name of a tribe that was less significant than others, such as the Saxons , came to be used for the entire country is not known, but it seems this is related to
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6930-474: The M18 motorway . 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 , which is located a little below the junction of the Sheffield Canal 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
7095-424: The Mayoral Council for England , was established to bring together ministers from the UK Government , the Mayor of London and the leaders of combined authorities . In the House of Commons which is the lower house of the British Parliament based at the Palace of Westminster , there are 543 members of parliament (MPs) for constituencies in England, out of the 650 total. England is represented by 347 MPs from
7260-438: The Ministry of Justice , manages most prisons, housing 81,309 prisoners in England and Wales as of September 2022 . The subdivisions of England consist of up to four levels of subnational division , controlled through a variety of types of administrative entities created for the purposes of local government . Outside the London region, England's highest tier is the 48 ceremonial counties . These are used primarily as
7425-409: 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
7590-399: 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
7755-408: The Rother Valley Country Park . From the far end of the lake, another six locks would return the level to the existing channel near Norwood. There is a relatively easy route from the lake to the Rother, which would probably require a flood lock for protection. The route diagram shows existing roads and railways which cross the River Rother between the Rother Valley Country Park and Rotherham. As there
7920-518: The Severn is the longest river flowing through England. It empties into the Bristol Channel and is notable for its Severn Bore (a tidal bore ), which can reach 2 metres (6.6 ft) in height. However, the longest river entirely in England is the Thames, which is 215 miles (346 km) in length. There are many lakes in England ; the largest is Windermere , within the aptly named Lake District . Most of England's landscape consists of low hills and plains, with upland and mountainous terrain in
8085-402: 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
8250-443: The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation Act 1889 ( 52 & 53 Vict. c. cxc) 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
8415-416: The South East , and conurbations in the Midlands , the North West , the North East , and Yorkshire , which each developed as major industrial regions during the 19th century. The name "England" is derived from the Old English name Englaland , which means "land of the Angles ". The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages . They came from
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#17327733719168580-479: The State Opening of Parliament by the British monarch when the doors of the House of Commons are slammed in the face of the monarch's messenger, symbolising the rights of Parliament and its independence from the monarch. With the founding of the Royal Society in 1660, science was greatly encouraged. In 1666 the Great Fire of London gutted the city of London, but it was rebuilt shortly afterward with many significant buildings designed by Sir Christopher Wren . By
8745-451: The Stuart dynasty England expanded in trade, finance and prosperity. The Royal Navy developed Europe's largest merchant fleet. After the parliaments of England and Scotland agreed, the two countries joined in political union , to create the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. To accommodate the union, institutions such as the law and national churches of each remained separate. Under the newly formed Kingdom of Great Britain, output from
8910-433: The Trinovantes . The Romans invaded Britain in 43 AD during the reign of Emperor Claudius , subsequently conquering much of Britain , and the area was incorporated into the Roman Empire as Britannia province . The best-known of the native tribes who attempted to resist were the Catuvellauni led by Caratacus . Later, an uprising led by Boudica , Queen of the Iceni , ended with Boudica's suicide following her defeat at
9075-412: The United Kingdom (green) England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom . It is located on the island of Great Britain , of which it covers about 62%, and more than 100 smaller adjacent islands . It has land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, and is otherwise surrounded by the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south, the Celtic Sea to
9240-419: The Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years. After the last ice age only large mammals such as mammoths , bison and woolly rhinoceros remained. Roughly 11,000 years ago, when the ice sheets began to recede, humans repopulated the area; genetic research suggests they came from the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula . The sea level
9405-470: The canal age in Britain . In 1825 the world's first permanent steam locomotive-hauled passenger railway – the Stockton and Darlington Railway – opened to the public. During the Industrial Revolution , many workers moved from England's countryside to new and expanding urban industrial areas to work in factories, for instance at Birmingham and Manchester , with the latter the world's first industrial city. England maintained relative stability throughout
9570-435: The decline of the Roman Empire , Britain was left exposed by the end of Roman rule in Britain and the withdrawal of Roman army units, to defend the frontiers in continental Europe and partake in civil wars. Celtic Christian monastic and missionary movements flourished. This period of Christianity was influenced by ancient Celtic culture in its sensibilities, polity, practices and theology. Local "congregations" were centred in
9735-434: The golden age in English history that represented the apogee of the English Renaissance and saw the flowering of great art, drama, poetry, music and literature. England during this period had a centralised, well-organised, and effective government. Competing with Spain , the first English colony in the Americas was founded in 1585 by explorer Walter Raleigh in Virginia and named Roanoke . The Roanoke colony failed and
9900-473: The jet engine led to wider air travel . Residential patterns were altered in England by private motoring, and by the creation of the National Health Service in 1948, providing publicly funded health care to all permanent residents free at the point of need. Combined, these prompted the reform of local government in England in the mid-20th century. Since the 20th century, there has been significant population movement to England, mostly from other parts of
10065-426: The 32 London Boroughs and the 25 Wards of the City of London . Geographically, England includes the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus such offshore islands as the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly . It is bordered by two other countries of the United Kingdom: to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. England is closer than any other part of mainland Britain to
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#173277337191610230-435: The 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century and has had extensive cultural and legal impact on the wider world since the Age of Discovery , which began during the 15th century. The Kingdom of England , which included Wales after 1535, ceased to be a separate sovereign state on 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union brought into effect a political union with the Kingdom of Scotland that created
10395-516: The 6th century. Contemporary texts describing this period are extremely scarce, giving rise to its description as a Dark Age . Details of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain are consequently subject to considerable disagreement; the emerging consensus is that it occurred on a large scale in the south and east but was less substantial to the north and west, where Celtic languages continued to be spoken even in areas under Anglo-Saxon control. Roman-dominated Christianity had, in general, been replaced in
10560-407: The A633 Rotherham Road (from Rotherham to Parkgate). The A633 crossing of the River Don is called Grafton Bridge. Eastwood Footbridge 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 a high-level footbridge in
10725-434: 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
10890-407: The Don from the retaining wall of the factory site to the north. Corporation Bridge is a single-span metal bridge which 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 Railway into Westgate Station . It was demolished in 1952. Prior to the re-routing of the canal in 1864,
11055-663: 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 River Dun Navigation Act 1725 ( 12 Geo. 1 . c. 38) was passed on 24 May 1726 giving the Cutlers powers to make cuts and to make the river deeper and wider so that boats of 20 tons 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
11220-448: The English kingdom of Northumbria . The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that the Domesday Book of 1086 covered the whole of England, meaning the English kingdom, but a few years later the Chronicle stated that King Malcolm III went "out of Scotlande into Lothian in Englaland", thus using it in the more ancient sense. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus , Germania , in which
11385-416: The European continent. It is separated from France ( Hauts-de-France ) by a 21-mile (34 km) sea gap, though the two countries are connected by the Channel Tunnel near Folkestone . England also has shores on the Irish Sea , North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The ports of London, Liverpool , and Newcastle lie on the tidal rivers Thames , Mersey and Tyne respectively. At 220 miles (350 km),
11550-403: The Great was left as the only surviving English kingdom, and under his successors, it steadily expanded at the expense of the kingdoms of the Danelaw . This brought about the political unification of England, first accomplished under Æthelstan in 927 and definitively established after further conflicts by Eadred in 953. A fresh wave of Scandinavian attacks from the late 10th century ended with
11715-421: The Holmes Cut to the north. Midland Railway bridges are two parallel railway bridges. The western one 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
11880-900: The National Rivers Authority for the conversion to navigable status of the 6-mile (9.7 km) section of the River Rother from Killamarsh to Rotherham . The link has been adopted as an official goal by the Chesterfield Canal Partnership, a group of Councils at District and County level, working together with British Waterways and the Chesterfield Canal Trust. The councils consist of Derbyshire County Council, Chesterfield Borough Council, North East Derbyshire District Council, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, Bassettlaw District Council and Nottinghamshire County Council. While
12045-602: The North, and the successful Norman Conquest in October 1066, accomplished by an army led by Duke William of Normandy invading at Hastings late September 1066. The Normans themselves originated from Scandinavia and had settled in Normandy in the late 9th and early 10th centuries. This conquest led to the almost total dispossession of the English elite and its replacement by a new French-speaking aristocracy, whose speech had
12210-682: The Pope. During the 14th century, the Plantagenets and the House of Valois claimed to be legitimate claimants to the House of Capet and of France; the two powers clashed in the Hundred Years' War . The Black Death epidemic hit England ; starting in 1348, it eventually killed up to half of England's inhabitants . Between 1453 and 1487, a civil war known as the War of the Roses waged between
12375-648: 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
12540-596: The River Trent to West Stockwith , and back along the Chesterfield Canal to the country park. The idea of a link between the Chesterfield Canal and the River Don system is not new. Benjamin Outram , reporting to those planning the Sheffield Canal in 1793 proposed an extension to his Eckington, Beighton, Attercliffe and Tinsley route, which would use five narrow locks to join up with the Chesterfield Canal, at
12705-1015: The Royal Society and other English initiatives combined with the Scottish Enlightenment to create innovations in science and engineering, while the enormous growth in British overseas trade protected by the Royal Navy paved the way for the establishment of the British Empire . Domestically it drove the Industrial Revolution , a period of profound change in the socioeconomic and cultural conditions of England, resulting in industrialised agriculture, manufacture, engineering and mining, as well as new and pioneering road, rail and water networks to facilitate their expansion and development. The opening of Northwest England's Bridgewater Canal in 1761 ushered in
12870-491: The Trans Pennine Trail. Sprotborough lock and weir are situated just before Sprotborough . Below the lock on the north bank are the remains of an engine house, built in the 1690s for Sir Godfrey Copley of Sprotborough Hall. A water wheel pumped river water some 100 feet (30 m) upwards to supply a fountain in the grounds of the hall, a swimming pool, and also provided a water supply for the village. The pump
13035-432: The United Kingdom has moved towards devolved governance in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. England and Wales continues to exist as a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. Devolution has stimulated a greater emphasis on a more English-specific identity and patriotism. There is no devolved English government, but an attempt to create a similar system on a sub-regional basis was rejected by referendum . England
13200-607: The United Kingdom as part of the Allies . Two decades later, in World War II , the United Kingdom was again one of the Allies . Developments in warfare technology saw many cities damaged by air-raids during the Blitz . Following the war, the British Empire experienced rapid decolonisation , and there was a speeding-up of technological innovations; automobiles became the primary means of transport and Frank Whittle 's development of
13365-585: 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 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
13530-630: 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, the River Dun Navigation Act 1732 ( 6 Geo. 2 . c. 9), 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
13695-577: The area, the Beaker culture people made bronze , and later iron from iron ores. The development of iron smelting allowed the construction of better ploughs , advancing agriculture (for instance, with Celtic fields ), as well as the production of more effective weapons. During the Iron Age , Celtic culture , deriving from the Hallstatt and La Tène cultures , arrived from Central Europe. Brythonic
13860-767: The auspices of James VI and I the Authorised King James Version of the Holy Bible was published in 1611. It was the standard version of the Bible read by most Protestant Christians for four hundred years until modern revisions were produced in the 20th century. Based on conflicting political, religious and social positions, the English Civil War was fought between the supporters of Parliament and those of King Charles I , known colloquially as Roundheads and Cavaliers respectively. This
14025-460: The authorities in Sheffield , Rotherham and Doncaster . The first bill to try to obtain an 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
14190-513: 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 carries Steel Street,
14355-708: 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 the junction 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
14520-682: 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
14685-538: The connection between the Chesterfield Canal and the River Rother would have been difficult to achieve when the canal followed its original route, the need to create a diversion around housing development in Killamarsh, which has destroyed the former course, makes it much simpler. The current plans for the Chesterfield Canal reinstatement envisage the canal turning to the north and dropping down through five locks to reach Nethermoor Lake, one of four lakes that are part of
14850-585: The conquered territories by Anglo-Saxon paganism , but was reintroduced by missionaries from Rome led by Augustine from 597. Disputes between the Roman- and Celtic-dominated forms of Christianity ended in victory for the Roman tradition at the Council of Whitby (664), which was ostensibly about tonsures (clerical haircuts) and the date of Easter, but more significantly, about the differences in Roman and Celtic forms of authority, theology, and practice. During
15015-541: The conquest of this united kingdom by Sweyn Forkbeard in 1013 and again by his son Cnut in 1016, turning it into the centre of a short-lived North Sea Empire that also included Denmark and Norway . However, the native royal dynasty was restored with the accession of Edward the Confessor in 1042. A dispute over the succession to Edward led to an unsuccessful Norwegian Invasion in September 1066 close to York in
15180-454: The course of the fifth and sixth centuries, initially in the eastern part of the country. Their advance was contained for some decades after the Britons' victory at the Battle of Mount Badon , but subsequently resumed, overrunning the fertile lowlands of Britain and reducing the area under Brittonic control to a series of separate enclaves in the more rugged country to the west by the end of
15345-883: The custom of calling the Germanic people in Britain Angli Saxones or English Saxons to distinguish them from continental Saxons (Eald-Seaxe) of Old Saxony in Germany. In Scottish Gaelic , the Saxon tribe gave their name to the word for England ( Sasunn ); similarly, the Welsh name for the English language is Saesneg . A romantic name for England is Loegria , related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr , and made popular by its use in Arthurian legend . Albion
15510-637: The early 2010s England was divided for a few purposes into regions; a 1998 referendum for the London Region created the London Assembly two years later. A failed 2004 North East England devolution referendum cancelled further regional assembly devolution with the regional structure outside London abolished. Ceremonially and administratively, the region is divided between the City of London and Greater London ; these are further divided into
15675-424: 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-15-foot (15.2 by 4.6 m) 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
15840-763: 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
16005-622: 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 ( 10 & 11 Geo. 6 . c. 49). 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 22 feet (65.5 by 6.7 m). The new lock
16170-538: The hierarchy, which must follow its directions. The Secretary of State for Justice is the minister responsible to Parliament for the judiciary , the court system and prisons and probation in England. Crime increased between 1981 and 1995 but fell by 42% in the period 1995–2006. The prison population doubled over the same period, giving it one of the highest incarceration rates in Western Europe at 147 per 100,000. His Majesty's Prison Service , reporting to
16335-457: 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
16500-616: The internal railway system at the Blackburn Meadows sewage treatment plant. The former railway viaduct at Conisbrough now carries cyclists 113 feet (34 m) above the Don, as part of the National Cycle Network . The final section to Bramwith is known as the River Dun Navigation . Before 1626 the River Don had two outlets, an eastern branch that meandered across Hatfield Chase to enter
16665-564: The late 1900s. To the south of Eastwood Footbridge is a bailey bridge crossing of the River Don. Wash Lane Bridge is situated immediately downstream of Aldwarke Weir and upstream of Aldwarke Lock. It was rebuilt in 1834. In more recent times, it has been superseded by the A6123 (Aldwarke Lane) road bridge, a concrete flyover spanning both river and navigation. The bridge is now gated at both ends to prevent access to pedestrians and traffic. Steelworks access (road) bridge provides access to
16830-456: The locks are 70 by 15.1 feet (21.3 by 4.6 m), and so can accommodate a 70 feet (21 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-foot (18 m) boats. Kilnhurst Lock and Doncaster Town Lock are both located at the head of a canal section of the navigation, and are used to regulate water levels within those sections. When not in use by boats,
16995-453: The metropolitan counties have different types of status to other ceremonial counties. The second tier is made up of combined authorities and the 27 county-tier shire counties . In 1974, all ceremonial counties were two-tier; and with the metropolitan county tier phased out, the 1996 reform separated the ceremonial county and the administrative county tier. England is also divided into local government districts. The district can align to
17160-707: The mid-to-late 17th century, two political factions had emerged – the Tories and Whigs . Though the Tories initially supported Catholic king James II , some of them, along with the Whigs, during the Revolution of 1688 invited the Dutch Prince William of Orange to defeat James and become the king. Some English people, especially in the north, were Jacobites and continued to support James and his sons. Under
17325-678: 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
17490-569: The monastic community and monastic leaders were more like chieftains, as peers, rather than in the more hierarchical system of the Roman-dominated church. Roman military withdrawals left Britain open to invasion by pagan, seafaring warriors from north-western continental Europe, chiefly the Saxons, Angles , Jutes and Frisians who had long raided the coasts of the Roman province. These groups then began to settle in increasing numbers over
17655-611: The nation, many by Natural England themselves, but also by non-governmental organisations, including the members of The Wildlife Trusts partnership, the National Trust , and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds . There are 221 NNRs in England covering 110,000 hectares (1,100 square kilometres). Often they contain rare species or nationally important populations of plants and animals. . The Environment Agency
17820-432: 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
17985-475: 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 25 feet (68.6 by 7.6 m), to replace the existing 12 locks. The new main line would then have been the same size as
18150-464: 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,
18315-424: The new larger lock, allowing a comparison of their relative sizes to be made. The new lock has three sets of gates, and pleasure craft normally use the bottom and middle sets, while the original lock is used for moorings. The new locks are 198 by 20 feet (60.4 by 6.1 m), 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,
18480-409: 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
18645-613: The north and west of the country. The northern uplands include the Pennines , a chain of uplands dividing east and west, the Lake District mountains in Cumbria, and the Cheviot Hills , straddling the border between England and Scotland. The highest point in England, at 978 metres (3,209 ft), is Scafell Pike in the Lake District. The Shropshire Hills are near Wales while Dartmoor and Exmoor are two upland areas in
18810-478: The north of the River Don, and one to the south, and the southern route was preferred because it would make a future link to the Chesterfield Canal easier to construct. The idea was revived in June 1832, with a proposal for a Sheffield and Chesterfield Junction Canal, which would run from the top of the locks at Sheffield to Killamarsh forge on the Chesterfield Canal. The 7.7-mile (12.4 km) canal, requiring two locks,
18975-420: 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 ,
19140-425: 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 m ) 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 there to Conisbrough
19305-407: The other two being at Wakefield , 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 almshouses 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
19470-407: The paddles at both ends of the locks may be raised automatically to maintain water levels. When a boat needs to use the lock, the paddles close automatically before the normal operating procedure can be followed. 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
19635-422: The project goes ahead, old washlands and waterlogged wooded carrs would be reinstated, features that were lost when the present flood control measures were installed. The route of the river is quite easy to follow, as the Trans Pennine Trail runs along the river bank from Rotherham to the A631 bridge, and then follows the valley to Rother Valley Country Park, on its way to Chesterfield . The Trans Pennine Trail
19800-428: 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
19965-401: 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 22 feet (82.3 by 6.7 m), to replace the existing 62-by-16-foot (18.9 by 4.9 m) locks. The locks would have multiple gates, and be capable of holding four 110-tonne barges or one 300-tonne barge. The estimated cost
20130-433: The river below Holmstile, as far as Wilsick House in Barnby Dun. The bill passed through Parliament uneventfully as the River Dun Navigation Act 1726 ( 13 Geo. 1 . c. 20), 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
20295-413: 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
20460-444: 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
20625-509: The road to Hooton Roberts. The bridge over the Navigation adjoins the bridge over the railway. The bridge over the railway is original, but that over the Navigation is a modern replacement. Kilnhurst Central railway station was immediately downstream of the bridge, until it closed in 1968. The road continues to the east to cross the Don at Kilnhurst Bridge, and continues to the west as Victoria Street and Kilnhurst West railway station , which also closed in 1968. Kilnhurst Burton Ings Bridge
20790-446: 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
20955-450: The settlement period the lands ruled by the incomers seem to have been fragmented into numerous tribal territories, but by the 7th century, when substantial evidence of the situation again becomes available, these had coalesced into roughly a dozen kingdoms including Northumbria , Mercia , Wessex , East Anglia , Essex , Kent and Sussex . Over the following centuries, this process of political consolidation continued. The 7th century saw
21120-401: 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 seven-year lease
21285-422: The signing of Magna Carta , an English legal charter used to limit the sovereign's powers by law and protect the privileges of freemen. Catholic monasticism flourished, providing philosophers, and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge were founded with royal patronage. The Principality of Wales became a Plantagenet fief during the 13th century and the Lordship of Ireland was given to the English monarchy by
21450-524: The south-west of the country. The approximate dividing line between terrain types is often indicated by the Tees–Exe line . The Pennines, known as the "backbone of England", are the oldest range of mountains in the country, originating from the end of the Paleozoic Era around 300 million years ago. Their geological composition includes, among others, sandstone and limestone , and also coal. There are karst landscapes in calcite areas such as parts of Yorkshire and Derbyshire . The Pennine landscape
21615-403: The south-west, and the Irish Sea to the west. Continental Europe lies to the south-east, and Ireland to the west. At the 2021 census , the population was 56,490,048. London is both the largest city and the capital . The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic . It takes its name from the Angles , a Germanic tribe who settled during
21780-436: The standing of the British military and navy – was prestigious. Technologically, this era saw many innovations that proved key to the United Kingdom's power and prosperity. Political agitation at home from radicals such as the Chartists and the suffragettes enabled legislative reform and universal suffrage . Power shifts in east-central Europe led to World War I; hundreds of thousands of English soldiers died fighting for
21945-408: 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
22110-441: The threat: Spain launched two further armadas, in 1596 and 1597 , but both were driven back by storms. The political structure of the island changed in 1603, when the King of Scots , James VI , a kingdom which had been a long-time rival to English interests, inherited the throne of England as James I, thereby creating a personal union . He styled himself King of Great Britain , although this had no basis in English law. Under
22275-475: 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
22440-473: The two branches of the royal family, the Yorkists and Lancastrians . Eventually it led to the Yorkists losing the throne entirely to a Welsh noble family the Tudors , a branch of the Lancastrians headed by Henry Tudor who invaded with Welsh and Breton mercenaries, gaining victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field where the Yorkist king Richard III was killed. During the Tudor period , England began to develop naval skills , and exploration intensified in
22605-405: The two steelworks from the A630 road at Dalton. Don (rail) Bridge forms part of the internal rail network of the two steelworks. It was constructed in 1901 as part of what was called locally John Brown's Private Railway . This railway connected the Silverwood and Roundwood Collieries of John Brown & Company with wharves on the Don Navigation. The girder bridge crossing the Don Navigation
22770-428: The warming of the sea by the Gulf Stream . Rainfall is higher in the west, and parts of the Lake District receive more rain than anywhere else in the country. Since weather records began, the highest temperature recorded was 40.3 °C (104.5 °F) on 19 July 2022 at Coningsby , Lincolnshire , while the lowest was −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F) on 10 January 1982 in Edgmond , Shropshire. The fauna of England
22935-543: 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 Long Sandall, there used to be two locks side by side, and one of these still exists beside
23100-404: 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 18 feet (18.3 by 5.5 m), 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
23265-415: 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 bill to formalise
23430-425: The world's first industrialised nation. England is home to the two oldest universities in the English-speaking world: the University of Oxford , founded in 1096, and the University of Cambridge , founded in 1209. Both universities are ranked among the most prestigious in the world. England's terrain chiefly consists of low hills and plains , especially in the centre and south . Upland and mountainous terrain
23595-404: 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
23760-453: Was an interwoven part of the wider multifaceted Wars of the Three Kingdoms , involving Scotland and Ireland . The Parliamentarians were victorious, Charles I was executed and the kingdom replaced by the Commonwealth . Leader of the Parliament forces, Oliver Cromwell declared himself Lord Protector in 1653; a period of personal rule followed. After Cromwell's death and the resignation of his son Richard as Lord Protector, Charles II
23925-406: Was completed was the construction of the New Junction Canal . This had been authorised by an act of Parliament, the Aire and Calder and Diver Dun Navigation Junction Canal Act 1891 ( 54 & 55 Vict. c. clxx) 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
24090-495: Was costed at £46,204 by the engineer Joseph Burke. A further report was made in October 1832 by George Leather, who included some improvements and revised the cost to £75,870. With no interest being shown by the River Don Navigation , the project foundered due to the failure to raise the necessary finance. Download coordinates as: [REDACTED] Media related to Rother Link at Wikimedia Commons England – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in
24255-401: Was established with the Bill of Rights in 1689. Among the statutes set down were that the law could only be made by Parliament and could not be suspended by the King, also that the King could not impose taxes or raise an army without the prior approval of Parliament. Also since that time, no British monarch has entered the House of Commons when it is sitting, which is annually commemorated at
24420-399: Was invited to return as monarch in 1660, in a move called the Restoration . With the reopening of theatres, fine arts, literature and performing arts flourished throughout the Restoration of the "Merry Monarch" Charles II. After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, it was constitutionally established that King and Parliament should rule together, though Parliament would have the real power. This
24585-400: 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
24750-402: 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 Corporation 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
24915-572: Was lower than the present day and Britain was connected by land bridge to Ireland and Eurasia . As the seas rose, it was separated from Ireland 10,000 years ago and from Eurasia two millennia later. The Beaker culture arrived around 2,500 BC, introducing drinking and food vessels constructed from clay, as well as vessels used as reduction pots to smelt copper ores. It was during this time that major Neolithic monuments such as Stonehenge (phase III) and Avebury were constructed. By heating together tin and copper, which were in abundance in
25080-459: Was made in 1751. After 1758, the company managed the navigation itself. Tolls for the next 10 years raised an average of £7,006 per annum, indicating healthy traffic levels. The early 19th century saw the completion of a number of canals which linked to the Don. The first was the Stainforth and Keadby Canal , which had been proposed by the Don Navigation shareholders in 1792. Construction was started in 1793 and completed in 1802, with John Thompson,
25245-437: Was more easily accessible to boaters for which the transit of the tidal River Trent is daunting. A further benefit for walkers, cyclists and boaters would be the creation of a South Yorkshire Ring, which would be around 108 miles (174 km) long. This would follow the new link from the Rother Valley Country Park to Rotherham, pass down the River Don Navigation to Bramwith, along the Stainforth and Keadby Canal to Keadby , up
25410-413: 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
25575-423: 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
25740-418: Was opened in 1870. The line is now freight-only. Lockhouse Bridge , located just east of Ickles Lock, 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) carries the A630 Centenary Way dual carriageway over the navigation, which has now been re-joined by
25905-508: 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
26070-460: Was powered by a water wheel which was removed in the 1970s. Soon the edge of Doncaster is reached, where 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 there and Long Sandall Lock, some of
26235-405: Was quite challenging for full-size barges to negotiate since the bridges are immediately adjacent to a right-angle bend in the canal, which was created when the railways to Mexborough were built in the late 1840s. Further work was required in the 1980s, when the navigation was upgraded, to allow larger barges to negotiate the bridges. Mexborough Station Road Bridge is bridge number 52 and carries
26400-399: 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 as the River Dun Navigation Act 1739 ( 13 Geo. 2 . c. 11), giving the company new powers to make the river deeper and create a cut to avoid
26565-568: Was subsequently proclaimed emperor a century later. There is debate about when Christianity was first introduced; it was no later than the 4th century, probably much earlier. According to Bede , missionaries were sent from Rome by Eleutherius at the request of the chieftain Lucius of Britain in 180 AD, to settle differences as to Eastern and Western ceremonials, which were disturbing the church. There are traditions linked to Glastonbury claiming an introduction through Joseph of Arimathea , while others claim through Lucius of Britain. By 410, during
26730-418: Was the main engineering work on this railway line. It was built by Newton, Chambers & Company. Thrybergh (rail) Bridge carried the former Great Central and Midland Railways' joint line across the River Don. This line was double track. It was essentially a colliery line and never carried a regular passenger service. Kilnhurst Station Road Bridge or Hooton Road Bridge is bridge number 46 and carries
26895-476: 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
27060-401: Was the spoken language during this time. Society was tribal; according to Ptolemy 's Geographia there were around 20 tribes in the area. Like other regions on the edge of the Empire, Britain had long enjoyed trading links with the Romans. Julius Caesar of the Roman Republic attempted to invade twice in 55 BC; although largely unsuccessful, he managed to set up a client king from
27225-400: Was £1,483,426, but the government was unwilling to support the scheme, and Sheffield Corporation 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,
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