Driffield Navigation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Driffield Navigation
The restored swing bridge at Brigham
Specifications
Length	11 miles (18 km)
Maximum boat length	61 ft 0 in (18.59 m)
Maximum boat beam	14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Locks	6
Status	Partially restored
Navigation authority	Driffield Navigation Trust
History
Original owner	Driffield Navigation Commissioners
Principal engineer	Samuel Allam
Date of act	May 1767
Date of first use	12 December 1768
Date completed	25 May 1770
Geography
Start point	Driffield
End point	Aike
Connects to	River Hull

The Driffield Navigation is a waterway about 11-mile (18-kilometre) long. It runs through the Holderness Plain to the town of Driffield in East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The northern part of it is a canal, and the southern part is a section of the River Hull.

Building the waterway was approved in 1767. It was fully open for boats by 1770. At first, a small bridge at Hull Bridge made it hard for boats to pass. This bridge was owned by Beverley Corporation. After a long time, the bridge was replaced in 1804. A new lock was also built to help control water levels. For many years, the old and new parts of the waterway were managed separately. They finally joined up in 1888.

Over time, the navigation became more successful. Even when railways came to Driffield in 1846, the waterway continued to be busy until the 1870s. After that, traffic slowly decreased. It still made a small profit until the 1930s. The very last commercial boat used the navigation in 1951. In 1968, a group called the Driffield Navigation Amenities Association was formed. Their goal was to bring the waterway back to life for boats. A new group, the Driffield Navigation Trust, now looks after the waterway. Most of the navigation can now be used by boats again. However, some bridges built or lowered since the 1950s still cause problems.

Where is the Driffield Navigation?

The Driffield Navigation uses parts of the River Hull and a man-made canal section. It begins near Beverley, where Aike Beck used to meet the river. This part of the river has tides up to Struncheon Hill lock.

Above this lock, the waterway goes through an artificial channel. It then rejoins the river near Emmotland. The Corpslanding branch follows the river's old path. The main navigation channel follows Frodingham Beck to Fisholme junction. Frodingham Beck also has a branch to North Frodingham. The main waterway continues as a canal through the Holderness Plain to the town of Driffield. The Leven Canal used to connect to the navigation. It was about 2 miles (3 kilometres) north of Hull Bridge, but it is no longer connected.

How the Driffield Navigation Started

The River Hull has been used for transport for a long time. In the 1760s, small boats could reach Fisholme. But this was still about 5 mi (8 km) away from the town of Driffield. In 1765, merchants from Driffield and Kilham asked an engineer named John Smeaton for help. They wanted to know how their boats, called keels, could reach Driffield.

Smeaton suggested digging a 1+1⁄4 mi (2.0 km) channel from Wansford to Driffield Beck. He said one lock would be needed to handle different water levels. He thought it would cost about £2,586 to build. Nothing happened right away. Then, in 1766, John Grundy suggested a bigger plan. He proposed a channel from Fisholme to Driffield, with a basin (a small harbor) in the town. He also suggested improving Frodingham Beck to make it navigable.

Grundy's idea led to a special law passed in May 1767. This law allowed the building of the canal. It said:

An Act for improving the Navigation of the River Hull and Frodingham Beck, from Aike Beck Mouth to the Clough, on the East Corner of Fisholme, and for extending the said Navigation, from the said Clough, into or near the Town of Great Driffield, in the East Riding of the County of York.

People called Commissioners were put in charge. They could borrow money to pay for building the canal. They also had power over the River Hull below the canal, down to Aike Beck.

Building the Canal

There were some early problems. A local engineer, Richard Porter, was hired but replaced six weeks later. Samuel Allam took over, as suggested by Grundy. Two contractors started work in October 1767 but quit. James Pinkerton and James Dyson then took over. They built the entire canal, including a tunnel in Driffield for water supply.

The canal opened in stages. The first part was ready on December 12, 1768. The next part to Wansford opened by May 25, 1769. The whole canal officially opened on May 25, 1770. The canal route from Emmotland to Driffield was 5+3⁄4 mi (9.25 km). This was 3 mi (5 km) shorter than the old river route.

The work cost about £13,000, which was more than planned. There wasn't enough money to pay Pinkerton at first. He was paid interest until the full amount could be settled. The canal section was planned to have four locks. Each lock had a timber floor. They were built for "Driffield-sized" Humber keels. These boats were 61 by 14+1⁄2 ft (18.6 by 4.4 m). Keels could carry up to 100 tons, but were limited to 70 tons on the navigation due to water depth.

The first locks were:

• Sheepwash Lock (now called Town Lock)
• Whinhill Lock
• Wansford Lock
• Snakeholme Lock

In 1776, the Commissioners raised another £2,000. They wanted to build a new lock and dredge the river. Instead, they changed Snakeholme lock into a two-lock staircase. This allowed boats to use it with more varied water levels. They tried to get power to make Hull Bridge larger, but Beverley Corporation stopped them in 1777. Some dredging of Frodingham Beck did happen. The first recorded dredging between Emmotland and Aike Beck was in 1783. Dredging became a regular expense.

The expected 5 percent profits did not happen. But profits were paid most years after 1774. They started at 1.5 percent and rose to 4 percent by 1790. By 1784, the navigation was making enough money to build a warehouse and granary in Driffield.

When the Navigation Declined

As fewer boats used the navigation, profits dropped. The waterway was not maintained as well. By 1937, the locks and bridges were in bad shape. A report in 1939 said the canal was full of weeds. Water started leaking through the banks between Whinhill and Snakeholme Lock. This was a danger to the land nearby. Some dredging was done in the early 1940s, but it didn't help much.

The last commercial boat to reach Driffield was the Keel Caroline. It carried 50 tons of wheat on March 16, 1945. The very last commercial boat on the navigation was the Ousefleet. It delivered coal to Frodingham Wharf in December 1951.

After commercial boats stopped, the Commissioners lost interest. They didn't appoint new people to take their place. By 1949, there weren't enough Commissioners left to make legal decisions. In 1955, the swing bridge at Whinhill was fixed in place. But the Inland Waterways Association was told it would be removed if the navigation reopened. Another big problem happened in 1967. The County Council replaced the bridge at Wansford with a fixed bridge. Since the Commissioners couldn't agree to this (because they were too few to make a decision), it's unclear if this was legal.

Bringing the Navigation Back to Life

By 1956, the top three locks on the canal could no longer be used. But in 1959, Hull Corporation announced plans to use the channel for water supply. This made the Inland Waterways Association calculate how much it would cost to restore it for boats. They estimated £17,000. A local campaign began to push for this.

In 1968, the Driffield Navigation Amenities Association (DNAA) was formed. All the original Commissioners had died, and no new ones were appointed. This meant there was no legal owner of the navigation. So, the Amenities Association set up a charity. The Charity Commissioners approved it. The trustees of the Driffield Navigation Trust became the new Commissioners. They took on the job of looking after the waterway.

This allowed the two groups to start restoring the waterway in 1978. Access to the lower parts was already possible. This was because Bethels Bridge, a low swing bridge, was fixed by Easter 1977. Volunteers kept the working parts of the navigation open. This allowed boats to reach Brigham and North Frodingham. Since then, money has become available to restore new sections.

Recent Restoration Work

In 1996, Town Lock was fully restored by volunteers and fundraising. This helped get more money. In 2003, two major obstacles were officially reopened. Brigham swing bridge, which had been fixed in place, was restored. It had last opened in the 1960s. This allowed boats to reach Snakeholme Lock, about 1+1⁄4 mi (2 km) away. Snakeholme lock was officially opened later that year. However, a fixed bridge over the end of the lock limits how tall boats can be (6 ft (1.8 m)). There are plans to replace it with a swing bridge.

In the same year, experts suggested that the navigation should be restored all the way to Driffield. They thought this would cost about £6.4 million. But they also estimated that it would bring over £310,000 per year in benefits to the local area.

In 2005, Whinhill Lock was restored and opened for boats. But another fixed farm bridge had been built over the lock. This meant only boats 15 ft (5 m) long or less could use it.

Money to restore the lock at Wansford was secured in mid-2008. Work started later that year. The first job was to create a channel around the lock. This channel would carry extra water during heavy rain. This was finished in autumn 2008. The final parts of the restoration were completed in spring and early summer 2009. New gates were put in during April and May. A lot of restoration work was done on the north wall of the lock. The lock was opened on May 30, 2009. The first boat in over 60 years entered the lock that day.

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