A Review of Large-Scale Man-Made River and Stream Diversions in the Humberhead Region

Abstract

Geological evidence shows that many Humberhead rivers and streams have been widely diverted artificially from their original natural courses, initiated about 10,600±1,100 years ago. Unfortunately, geology cannot date these course changes. Some such courses already existed by the 1570s, being shown on Saxton’s relevant county maps. No dates of their construction are recorded but some idea of their antiquity can be gleaned from the earliest references to their existence. Certain diverted courses pre-date the 1086 Domesday Survey (one being mentioned in a charter of 959). They suggest a Roman origin, possibly as part of an inland waterways system (and locally for building-stone transport). Other diverted courses, post-Domesday but pre-Saxton, may have been constructed at varying times and for more diverse purposes such as bulk transport (e.g. of building stone and peat), drainage, powering watermills and marking boundaries. The more recent major man-made diversions, those resulting from the Vermuyden Drainage and Wentworth Judgement in the 1620s and 1630s, are well documented in historical texts and maps, so only a short summary is included here.‘for here we may read the last page of the earth’s story, where geology merges into history’ H.Franklin Parsons. 1878. The alluvial strata of the lower Ouse valley. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological and Polytechnic Society, volume 6, p. 214.