Barlings Eau is a small river near
Barlings,
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It is a tributary of the
River Witham
The River Witham is a river almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham at , passes through the centre of Grantham (where it may be closely followed using the Riversid ...
, joining it near
Short Ferry. It acts as the central spine for a number of other small rivers, which drain the low-lying land to either side. Most of its course is within the area managed by the
Witham Third District IDB
Witham Third District IDB is an English internal drainage board set up under the terms of the Land Drainage Act 1930. The Board inherited the responsibilities of the Witham General Drainage Commissioners, who were first constituted by an Act of Pa ...
, an
Internal Drainage Board
An internal drainage board (IDB) is a type of operating authority which is established in areas of special drainage need in England and Wales with permissive powers to undertake work to secure clean water drainage and water level management withi ...
responsible for land drainage. One of their pumping stations is on the banks of the river.
There is also an
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...
pumping station, which is used to pump water from the
River Witham
The River Witham is a river almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham at , passes through the centre of Grantham (where it may be closely followed using the Riversid ...
system to the
River Ancholme
The River Ancholme is a river in Lincolnshire, England, and a tributary of the Humber.
It rises at Ancholme Head, a spring just north of the village of Ingham and immediately west of the Roman Road, Ermine Street. It flows east and then north ...
, to maintain flows and water quality when required.
Route
Barlings Eau rises as three streams which join together near the medieval village of
Cold Hanworth
Cold Hanworth is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated north-north-east from the city and county town of Lincoln, and just north of the A46. It is combined with Hackthorn to form the ...
. One rises to the east of
Spridlington
Spridlington is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately north from the city and county town of Lincoln, and just off the A15 road. According to the 2001 Census the village ...
and flows in a south-easterly direction. A second rises to the north of
Faldingworth
Faldingworth is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A46, and approximately south-west from Market Rasen. Spridlington parish lies to the west, and Friesthorpe parish to the so ...
, flows to the west under the
A46 road
The A46 is a major A road in England. It starts east of Bath, Somerset and ends in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, but it does not form a continuous route. Large portions of the old road have been lost, bypassed, or replaced by motorway developm ...
, and then turns to the south. A third rises to the west of Faldingworth, and again flows west and south to the junction. The first is below the contour, while the other two start above the contour. The second one is known as Faldingworth Beck by the Environment Agency, and runs down to
Snarford Bridge, but is labelled Barlings Eau on the Ordnance Survey map. At
Snarford
Snarford is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately north-east from the city and county town of Lincoln and south-west from the town of Market Rasen. It is in the civil p ...
, it is joined by two other streams from the west, and passes under the A46 at Snarford Bridge.
[Ordnance Survey, 1:50,000 map]
Below the bridge, it is joined on the left bank by Legsby Beck, which rises in Legsby Wood, to the east of Linwood, and flows in a south-western direction between Faldingworth and
Friesthorpe
Friesthorpe is a settlement and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish (including Snarford and Snelland) at the 2011 census was 204. It is situated south-west from the town of Ma ...
.
Welton Beck
Welton Beck is a small local stream which originates from Old Man's Head Spring in the west of Welton civil parish and flows eastwards through Welton and Dunholme in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire for approximately to a confluence ...
begins at Old Man's Head Spring, and flows through
Welton and
Dunholme
Dunholme is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A46 road, and north-east of Lincoln. The earliest written evidence concerning Dunholme is found in the 1086 Domesday Book.
The v ...
to join on the right bank. Scothern Beck rises to the west of
Scothern
Scothern is a small village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated north-east of the county town of Lincoln, and has approximately 1000 inhabitants (892 according to the 2001 Census). At the 201 ...
, and flows easterly through the village to reach the right bank. When it reaches
Stainton by Langworth
Stainton by Langworth is a hamlet and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated less than north-west from the A158 road, north-east from Lincoln and north-west from Horncastle.
There is a war memoria ...
, it passes under a minor road to Scothern and the to railway.
[
Stainton Beck begins near the higher ground at ]Sixhills
Sixhills is a village in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, about south-east from Market Rasen. It lies just south of the A631 between Market Rasen and Ludford. It is in the civil parish of North Willingham.
The Church of A ...
, and flows past Legsby
__NOTOC__
Legsby (otherwise Legesby) is a small village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 193. It is situated approximately north-east from the c ...
, Lissington
Lissington is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 154. It lies south from the town of Market Rasen, and about 4 miles north from the town o ...
, Wickenby
Wickenby is a hamlet and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately south-west from the town of Market Rasen.
The name 'Wickenby' derives from the Old English ''vikingr-by'' meaning 'farm/s ...
, Snelland
Snelland is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately north-east from the city and county town of Lincoln and about from the town of Market Rasen. The civil parish includes ...
, and Stainton to join on the left, while Nettleham Beck rises near Lincolnshire Showground
The Lincolnshire Showground is an agricultural showground and exhibition centre in North Carlton, north of Lincoln in England. It is the chief exhibition centre of the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society, and has been used for large events such a ...
, and passes through the university complex at Riseholme
Riseholme is a small village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish was 450 at the 2011 census. It is situated approximately north from the city and county town of Lincoln.
R ...
, Nettleham
Nettleham is a large village and civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, north-east from the city of Lincoln between the A46 and A158.
The population of the civil parish was 3,437 at the 2011 census.
History ...
, and Sudbrooke to join on the right near Langworth
Langworth is a small village in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated north-east from the city and county town of Lincoln, and on the A158 road Lincoln to Skegness road. It is in the civil parish of Barlings.
Commu ...
. Barlings Eau passes under the A158 road, crosses Newball Common, and flows along the eastern edge of Barlings Abbey
Barlings Abbey, Lincolnshire, was a Premonstratensian monastery in England, founded in 1154, as a daughter house of the Abbey of St. Mary and St. Martial in Newsham.
History
Its founder was Ralph de Haye, son of the constable of Lincoln Castle ...
.[ The Abbey was founded by the ]Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...
order, known in Britain as the White Canons, in 1156. The remains are quite fragmentary, but parts of the Abbey Church are grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
and the remains of the Abbey are grade II listed. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
. Two more tributaries join on the let bank, Goltho Beck before the abbey, and Stainfield Beck after it. Just before the river crosses under Ferry Road at Short Ferry Bridge, there is a large Environment Agency pumping station, and a small electric pumping station maintained by the Witham Third District Internal Drainage Board
An internal drainage board (IDB) is a type of operating authority which is established in areas of special drainage need in England and Wales with permissive powers to undertake work to secure clean water drainage and water level management withi ...
below it. Finally, the river joins the old course of the River Witham
The River Witham is a river almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham at , passes through the centre of Grantham (where it may be closely followed using the Riversid ...
, which joins the new course just below Bardney Lock.[ The old course and the start of Barlings Eau up to Short Ferry Bridge is navigable, and there was a marina at Short Ferry, but the connection to the river channel has been filled in. The former basin is now a lake in a caravan park.
]
Land drainage
With the exception of a tiny section of two of the streams at the source of the river, its entire course lies within the jurisdiction of the Witham Third District Internal Drainage Board. The upper reaches to below Snarford Bridge and most of the tributaries below that are maintained by the Drainage Board. The main channel below Snarford is a designated main river and is the responsibility of the Environment Agency
The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...
. The Board was originally constituted by an Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
passed in 1762, which created six drainage districts, with responsibility for ''Draining and Preserving certain Low Lands, called the Fens, lying on both Sides of the River Witham, in the County of Lincoln''. On 1 November 1934, the Witham Third District Commissioners amalgamated with the Bardney Drainage Board, the Greetwell District Drainage Commissioners, the Kirkstead Drainage Board, and the River Bain Drainage Board, as a result of the passing of the Land Drainage Act of 1930. The Board was again re-organised following the passing of the Land Drainage Act of 1991, and now consists of 31 members, 15 who are elected by those who pay drainage rates, 14 nominated by councils, and two joint appointments. They are responsible for the drainage of an area which covers .
The area around Short Ferry is called Stainfield Fen, and it was first drained as a private venture by landowners. It became part of the Greetwell Drainage District, and a steam engine was installed some time before 1881. This was replaced by a engine in 1896, which had been scrapped by 1953. There are now no traces of the original buildings, which were located close to the junction with the old course of the Witham. The present Stainfield pumping station, which is situated next to Short Ferry Bridge, contains a Allen-Gwynnes electric pump, which was installed in 1959, and which can pump 9.7 million gallons
The gallon is a unit of volume in imperial units and United States customary units. Three different versions are in current use:
*the imperial gallon (imp gal), defined as , which is or was used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Austral ...
per day (44 Megalitres per day (Mld)). In 1991 this was supplemented by two submersible pumps, each capable of pumping 1.1M gal per day (5 Mld), which are located a little to the south-east of the 1959 station.
Water transfer
Just above Short Ferry bridge, the Environment Agency maintain Short Ferry pumping station, which forms part of the Trent Witham Ancholme Transfer Scheme. This is designed to manage flows and levels in the River Ancholme
The River Ancholme is a river in Lincolnshire, England, and a tributary of the Humber.
It rises at Ancholme Head, a spring just north of the village of Ingham and immediately west of the Roman Road, Ermine Street. It flows east and then north ...
during dry weather and the summer months, so that the large volume abstracted from the river, particularly for the public drinking water supply, can be maintained, and the water quality is not compromised by ingress of salt water from the Humber. The pumping station pumps water through an pipeline to Toft Newton
Toft Newton is a civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It consists of the small villages of Toft next Newton and Newton by Toft, and the hamlet of Newtoft. It is west from Market Rasen. According to the 2001 Cens ...
reservoir, on the upper reaches of the Ancholme. The reservoir covers an area of and can hold enough water to maintain the Ancholme for up to seven days, in the event of a failure of the pumps at Short Ferry.
If flows in Barlings Eau or the Witham are insufficient to supply the required volumes, extra water is delivered to the Witham by Trent pumping station, near Torksey Lock. This pumps water through a short pipeline and into the Foss Dyke
The Foss Dyke, or Fossdyke, connects the River Trent at Torksey to Lincoln, the county town of Lincolnshire, and may be the oldest canal in England that is still in use. It is usually thought to have been built around AD 120 by the Romans, ...
. It then flows for along the Foss Dyke to Brayford Pool and so into the Witham, to supplement the water available for pumping. The scheme was commissioned in 1974, and the volume of water transferred varies with the weather conditions. In 1987, it was , while in 1979 it was .
Water quality
The Environment Agency measures the water quality of the river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of invertebrate
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
s, angiosperm
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s and fish. Chemical status compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations and is rated good or fail. Barlings Eau and all of its tributaries are designated as "heavily modified", which means that the channels have been altered by human activity, and the criteria for this designation are defined by the Water Framework Directive
The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC is an EU directive which commits European Union member states to achieve good qualitative and quantitative status of all water bodies (including marine waters up to one nautical mile from shore) by 2015. ...
.
The water quality of the Barlings Eau system was as follows in 2019.
Like many rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs, are a class of organobromine compounds that are used as flame retardants. Like other brominated flame retardants, PBDEs have been used in a wide array of products, including building materials, electronics, ...
(PBDE) and mercury compounds
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver and was formerly named hydrargyrum ( ) from the Greek words, ''hydor'' (water) and ''argyros'' (silver). A heavy, silvery d-block element, me ...
, neither of which had previously been included in the assessment.
Points of interest
Bibliography
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References
External links
{{authority control
Rivers of Lincolnshire
Land drainage in the United Kingdom
West Lindsey District