River Maun facts for kids

Quick facts for kids River Maun
The urban nature of the River Maun in Mansfield can be clearly seen here in the Rock Valley area with the deep-culverting, part of the town centre flood-alleviation scheme
Country	England
County	Nottinghamshire
Physical characteristics
Main source	Kirkby in Ashfield
River mouth	River Idle Markham Moor
Basin features
Tributaries	Left: River Meden Right: Cauldwell Water, Vicar Water, Rainworth Water

The River Maun is a river located in Nottinghamshire, England. It starts in Kirkby-in-Ashfield and flows northeast. The river passes through towns like Mansfield (which gets its name from the river), Edwinstowe, and Ollerton. These areas are in the heart of Sherwood Forest. Near Walesby, it's sometimes called Whitewater. It briefly joins the River Meden before splitting again. Finally, near Markham Moor, it merges with the River Meden once more to form the River Idle. Its main smaller rivers that flow into it are Rainworth Water, Vicar Water, and Cauldwell Water.

For a long time, the River Maun has been important for power. As early as 1086, there was a watermill in Mansfield. More mills were built starting in the 1780s. This happened when the frame knitting industry faced problems because of new water-powered machines. William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland encouraged building textile mills. This helped reduce joblessness and poverty. Many mills later changed to make hosiery (socks and stockings). When watermills stopped grinding corn, windmills were built instead. Today, most water power is no longer used, but one watermill in Ollerton still works.

Journey of the River Maun

The River Maun begins north of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, near Sutton Parkway railway station. It flows under a railway line and roads. Then, it reaches King's Mill Reservoir. This reservoir used to be a medieval mill pond. In 1837, William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland decided to build a dam. This created a larger water supply for the mills downstream. The dam was finished in 1839, flooding about 72 acres of land.

A 1.5-mile walking path goes around the lake. You can see many waterfowl there, and people also use it for sailing. Where the river leaves the reservoir, the Kings Mill viaduct crosses it. This bridge was built around 1819 for the Mansfield and Pinxton Railway. It was described as a "beautiful five-arched bridge." Today, it's a grade II listed structure and is used as a footpath.

Through Mansfield and Beyond

The railway line, now part of the Robin Hood Line, crosses another millpond. This pond supplied Hermitage Mill, an old textile mill. After passing under several roads, the river goes under the Drury Dam railway viaduct. This viaduct was built in 1875 and is also a grade II listed structure. It was restored in 1989 and is now a footpath. Part of it crosses the Quarry Lane nature reserve.

The river continues through eastern Mansfield, sometimes flowing through underground tunnels called culverts. At Bridge Street, the former Town Mill public house was once the mill owner's house. It was next to a watermill built around 1775. Further north, there's a disused textile mill from the 1820s. It used water power and later became a hosiery mill until 1984. Some parts of it are now apartments. The river then flows through Carr Bank, with woodlands and a large sewage treatment works nearby. The treated water from this plant adds a lot to the river's flow.

After passing under the A6117 road, the river enters Maun Valley Park. This is a nature reserve covering 42 acres. It has water meadows and other wet areas. The river then flows through more countryside. Near Clipstone, Vicar Water joins the Maun. A railway crosses the river at Clipstone Junction. The Maun flows east, south of Edwinstowe. Rainworth Water joins it on the western edge of Ollerton. East of the A614 road is Ollerton Watermill. This mill still works and is open to visitors on Sundays in summer.

The river then flows north through open land to join the River Meden. For a short distance, two channels are formed by a weir. The southern channel is still called the River Maun. Both channels flow east, then north near the A1 road at Markham Moor roundabout. They then join again to form the River Idle. There are two old watermills on this stretch, one at Haughton and Jacket Mill at Rockley.

The River's Mills and Industries

The River Maun was a very important source of power in the past. The Domesday Book from 1086 mentions a watermill in Mansfield. Many more watermills were built over time. In 1292, a "fulling" mill was noted. This mill helped make woollen cloth.

Mansfield had a home-based knitting industry around 1800. About 700 knitting frames were used by families. Many workers were orphaned children or from poor families. Then, in 1771, Richard Arkwright invented the "water-frame." This machine used water power to spin cotton, and it was used in his mills at Cromford. The home-based industry couldn't compete, leading to many people losing their jobs in Mansfield.

To help with this problem, William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, who owned much of the land, started a plan. He encouraged building water-powered spinning mills along the river.

• Hermitage Mill was built in 1782 and still stands today.
• Little Matlock Mill was built three years later and also still stands.
• Field Mill was changed to work with cotton in 1785.
• Town Mill, built in 1744 for grinding corn, was also changed to process cotton in 1785. The mill owner, William Smith, even started a Sunday School in 1786 for his young workers. This helped them learn reading, math, and good behavior. Mansfield became known for its well-educated young people.
• Stantons Mill was built in 1795. Later, it was used to make workmen's boots.
• Bath Mill started in 1792, making woollen cloth. It later became a cotton mill and was one of the first places to use a steam engine.

Because many corn mills became textile mills, more windmills were built to grind corn into flour. The number of windmills in Mansfield grew from three to thirteen between 1774 and 1824.

South of Mansfield, Cauldwell Water joins the Maun at Bleakhills. In 1795, Charles and George Stanton built a new mill and cottages for workers there. By 1887, many textile mills were "cotton doubling" mills. This process twisted multiple cotton strands together to make thicker threads. Later, most became "Hosiery" (sock and stocking) mills.

Other Industries Along the Maun

Besides textile mills, other businesses used the river's power.

• Meadow Foundry was an iron foundry built in 1852. It was on the site of an older water-powered mill. The foundry operated until 1960.
• Borough Mills was a saw mill.
• Rock Valley Mill was a mustard mill in the early 1800s. In 1873, the company started making decorated tin boxes for their mustard. Soon, they made tin boxes for other companies too. This led to the creation of the Rock Valley Tin Works in 1889. Later, they added a printing works to print on the metal sheets. This company, after some changes, is still in business today as Carnaud Metal Box Engineering.

River Health: Water Quality

The Environment Agency checks the water quality of rivers in England. They give each river an "ecological status" (how healthy the environment is) and a "chemical status" (how clean the water is from chemicals).

• Ecological status can be high, good, moderate, poor, or bad. It looks at things like insects, plants, and fish in the water.
• Chemical status is either good or fail. It checks for harmful chemicals.

The River Maun is called "heavily modified." This means that people have changed its channels, for example, by building dams or culverts.

In 2015, here's how the Maun and its smaller rivers were rated:

• Maun from Source to Vicar Water: Moderate ecological status, Good chemical status.
• Vicar Water from Source to Maun: Poor ecological status, Good chemical status.
• Maun from Vicar Water to Rainworth Water: Moderate ecological status, Good chemical status.
• Rainworth Water from Gallow Hole Dyke to Maun: Poor ecological status, Good chemical status.
• Maun from Rainworth Water to Poulter: Moderate ecological status, Good chemical status.
• Bevercotes Beck Catchment (a small river flowing into the Maun): Poor ecological status, Good chemical status.

Points of interest

See also

In Spanish: Río Maun para niños