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Hedon Haven
Hedon Haven is a waterway that connected the Humber Estuary with the port of Hedon, in Holderness, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The waterway allowed ships to unload at the port in Hedon, which was also known as Hedon Haven and had, at its peak, three canalised arms that stretched into the town. The port at Hedon was the main port for south Holderness between the 12th and 13th centuries, and was the busiest port in Holderness before the docks at Hull were built.
The port suffered several downturns in business, first with the siltation of the waterways, then being eclipsed by the newer docks at Hull. Later with the building of the turnpike road through Hedon, and when the railway connecting Hull with Withernsea was opened, port traffic went into a decline. After the waterway kept silting up, the decision was taken in the 1970s to abandon the haven and fill parts of it in. Large swathes encircling the town are designated as a scheduled monument, including the previous areas of canalised waterways, whilst the main area of the haven to the south of the town, is designated as a conservation area.
The western end of Hedon Haven still exists as an outfall into the Humber Estuary, and this watercourse is fed by the Burstwick Drain (Humbleton Beck) and other smaller becks and stream. Ordnance Survey (OS) mapping shows Hedon Haven starting just west of the town of Hedon, whereas the county council state that the term Hedon Haven only applies to the watercourse in its tidal reach. In antiquity, the river feeding the watercourse was known as the River Hedon and the Haven, was the canalised sections around the town of Hedon used as port facilities.
A plan that was formulated in the 21st century, has proposed the revival of the haven as a pleasure waterway with a marina and a country park located at the southern end of Hedon.
The Hedon Haven was essentially a drain for the River Hedon, which rose at Burstwick and travelled past Hedon westwards towards the Humber Estuary. From Hedon to the Humber was described as a "long and winding creek", that extended for 2 miles (3.2 km). A large part of the former River Hedon east of the town, is now known as the Burstwick Drain, and is maintained by the South Holderness Internal Drainage Board. The waterway that is west of Hedon now forms the border between Salt End, Hedon and Paull in its lower reaches, and was furnished with a swing bridge on the road to Paull. Due to flooding in Burstwick and Hedon in 2007, the Environment Agency agreed to undertake a dredge of the 1.2 miles (1.9 km) from Salt End to Hedon.
Historically, the river/drain has had many names, with either the River Hedon, Hedon Fleet, Burstwick Drain, or Burstwick Old Drain being most common. This waterway approached Hedon from the east then turned north, then west in a horseshoe shape to enter the edge of the medieval town from the north, picking up several smaller watercourses on the way. This ran alongside the eastern edge of town as The Fleet, and the Hedon Haven started when the watercourse turned a sharp 90° degrees to the west. The Fleet was navigable as far as the northern edge of town (though records exist of ships transiting to Burstwick), and was expanded under a 1774 Act of Parliament. Essentially, Hedon Haven referred to the tidal reach up to the port of Hedon and of the three canalised arms that encircled the town; the western haven (the Fore Bank, which curved around the town to a point where the old railway station was located), a central haven (The Fleet) which had the majority of the wharfage and was fed by the River Hedon from the north, the eastern haven, which bordered St Nicholas Church, and the southern haven, which all other sections fed into and was isolated from its headwaters in the early 1800s when a new cut of the Burstwick Drain was made through the town.
Between 1802 and 1807, the Keyingham Internal Drainage Board employed William Chapman to create a new cut in the watercourse, and it was diverted to approach Hedon from the east directly and ran alongside the very southern edge of the town. This has been suggested as at the same time as the Keyingham Drainage Board's redirection of some of the other streams, so that the Keyingham Fleet went due south to the Humber with much of the headwaters of the River Hedon being sent to sea via the Keyingham Fleet (or Drain). The result of directing much of the water away from Hedon Haven was a lack of the scouring action on the riverbed, which then allowed silt to build up.
The town of Hedon is not mentioned in the Domesday Book, yet by the 12th century, its port was the eleventh busiest in England. The haven, as the name suggests, was also a sheltering place for boats sitting out of the tidal estuary. Efforts were made to improve the connection between the town and the Humber Estuary, and in the 12th century, a new cut of the haven was made which extended for 1.5 miles (2.4 km). This new cut provided the best route into Hedon from the west, as the land between Hedon and what is now Kingston upon Hull, was marshy and was riddled with creeks. The only overland travellers to Hedon were from the north and the east. Many writers have suggested different dates for the founding of the town, but it is believed that it was created in the early 12th century by the Earls of Aumale.
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Hedon Haven
Hedon Haven is a waterway that connected the Humber Estuary with the port of Hedon, in Holderness, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The waterway allowed ships to unload at the port in Hedon, which was also known as Hedon Haven and had, at its peak, three canalised arms that stretched into the town. The port at Hedon was the main port for south Holderness between the 12th and 13th centuries, and was the busiest port in Holderness before the docks at Hull were built.
The port suffered several downturns in business, first with the siltation of the waterways, then being eclipsed by the newer docks at Hull. Later with the building of the turnpike road through Hedon, and when the railway connecting Hull with Withernsea was opened, port traffic went into a decline. After the waterway kept silting up, the decision was taken in the 1970s to abandon the haven and fill parts of it in. Large swathes encircling the town are designated as a scheduled monument, including the previous areas of canalised waterways, whilst the main area of the haven to the south of the town, is designated as a conservation area.
The western end of Hedon Haven still exists as an outfall into the Humber Estuary, and this watercourse is fed by the Burstwick Drain (Humbleton Beck) and other smaller becks and stream. Ordnance Survey (OS) mapping shows Hedon Haven starting just west of the town of Hedon, whereas the county council state that the term Hedon Haven only applies to the watercourse in its tidal reach. In antiquity, the river feeding the watercourse was known as the River Hedon and the Haven, was the canalised sections around the town of Hedon used as port facilities.
A plan that was formulated in the 21st century, has proposed the revival of the haven as a pleasure waterway with a marina and a country park located at the southern end of Hedon.
The Hedon Haven was essentially a drain for the River Hedon, which rose at Burstwick and travelled past Hedon westwards towards the Humber Estuary. From Hedon to the Humber was described as a "long and winding creek", that extended for 2 miles (3.2 km). A large part of the former River Hedon east of the town, is now known as the Burstwick Drain, and is maintained by the South Holderness Internal Drainage Board. The waterway that is west of Hedon now forms the border between Salt End, Hedon and Paull in its lower reaches, and was furnished with a swing bridge on the road to Paull. Due to flooding in Burstwick and Hedon in 2007, the Environment Agency agreed to undertake a dredge of the 1.2 miles (1.9 km) from Salt End to Hedon.
Historically, the river/drain has had many names, with either the River Hedon, Hedon Fleet, Burstwick Drain, or Burstwick Old Drain being most common. This waterway approached Hedon from the east then turned north, then west in a horseshoe shape to enter the edge of the medieval town from the north, picking up several smaller watercourses on the way. This ran alongside the eastern edge of town as The Fleet, and the Hedon Haven started when the watercourse turned a sharp 90° degrees to the west. The Fleet was navigable as far as the northern edge of town (though records exist of ships transiting to Burstwick), and was expanded under a 1774 Act of Parliament. Essentially, Hedon Haven referred to the tidal reach up to the port of Hedon and of the three canalised arms that encircled the town; the western haven (the Fore Bank, which curved around the town to a point where the old railway station was located), a central haven (The Fleet) which had the majority of the wharfage and was fed by the River Hedon from the north, the eastern haven, which bordered St Nicholas Church, and the southern haven, which all other sections fed into and was isolated from its headwaters in the early 1800s when a new cut of the Burstwick Drain was made through the town.
Between 1802 and 1807, the Keyingham Internal Drainage Board employed William Chapman to create a new cut in the watercourse, and it was diverted to approach Hedon from the east directly and ran alongside the very southern edge of the town. This has been suggested as at the same time as the Keyingham Drainage Board's redirection of some of the other streams, so that the Keyingham Fleet went due south to the Humber with much of the headwaters of the River Hedon being sent to sea via the Keyingham Fleet (or Drain). The result of directing much of the water away from Hedon Haven was a lack of the scouring action on the riverbed, which then allowed silt to build up.
The town of Hedon is not mentioned in the Domesday Book, yet by the 12th century, its port was the eleventh busiest in England. The haven, as the name suggests, was also a sheltering place for boats sitting out of the tidal estuary. Efforts were made to improve the connection between the town and the Humber Estuary, and in the 12th century, a new cut of the haven was made which extended for 1.5 miles (2.4 km). This new cut provided the best route into Hedon from the west, as the land between Hedon and what is now Kingston upon Hull, was marshy and was riddled with creeks. The only overland travellers to Hedon were from the north and the east. Many writers have suggested different dates for the founding of the town, but it is believed that it was created in the early 12th century by the Earls of Aumale.
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