Peasey Beck is a

beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

flowing through

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

, England. It rises on

Lambrigg Fell Lambrigg Fell is a hill, the highest point of the area of high ground between Kendal and the M6, in south-eastern Cumbria, England. It lies just outside the area normally defined as the Lake District, and the hill is not in the same mould as ...

where it is known as the Sparishaw Beck, flows through Killington Reservoir and converges with Stainton Beck to form the

River Bela The River Bela is a short (approximately ) river in the county of Cumbria, England. It is in the ancient county of Westmorland. The river is formed by the confluence of Peasey Beck and Stainton Beck at Overthwaite. It runs through Beetham wh ...

Milnthorpe Milnthorpe is a small market town on the southern border of Cumbria, 7 miles south of Kendal, civil parish and electoral ward are in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. Historically in the county of Westmorland and on the A6, the ...

. Prior to 1913, it was known as the River Beela throughout its length.

Course

The source of the beck is on

, close to the contour () between

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...

and

Sedbergh Sedbergh ( or ) is a town and civil parish in Cumbria, England. The 2001 census gave the parish a population of 2,705, increasing at the 2011 census to 2,765. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies about east of Kendal, no ...

, where it is known as the Sparishaw Beck. It heads towards the south, and is crossed by the

A684 road The A684 is an A road that runs through Cumbria and North Yorkshire, starting at Kendal, Cumbria and ending at Ellerbeck and the A19 road in North Yorkshire. It crosses the full width of the Yorkshire Dales, passing through Garsdale and the ful ...

, the

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at t ...

and Fairthorns Road to reach Killington Reservoir.Ordnance Survey, 1:25,000 map, Sheet OL7 Two dams impound the water of Killington Reservoir, and the main outflow for Peasey Beck runs through the longer of the two. The beck is crossed by Reservoir Road, a minor road that follows the southern shore of the reservoir, and then by another unnamed road at Low Bendrigg. Near Crooks Plantation, it turns to the east before sweeping round in a large loop to head westwards. It is joined by Gillsmere Sike on its left bank, which flows northwards, passing close to a small lake called Tarneybank Tarn, the outflow from which supplements that of Gillsmere Sike. Peasey Beck is crossed by another minor road as it approaches the hamlet of Little Brunthwaite, after which it is crossed by the M6 motorway. The next crossing is the B6254 at Bridge End, and there are waterfalls as it passes to the south of

Old Hutton Old Hutton is a village in South Lakeland, Cumbria, England. It is in the civil parish of Old Hutton and Holmescales In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 357, increasing at the 2011 census to 417. The parish church, dedicated to ...

. A minor road from Old Hutton crosses at Beckside, and then Popplemire Lane is carried over the waterway by Blaystone Bridge. Shortly afterwards, the beck turns to the south. Gatebeck Bridge carries Gatebeck Lane over the river at Gatebeck, and there is a weir to the south of the bridge. Beyond the bridge on the eastern bank of the river are the remains of Low Gatebeck gunpowder works. Although the northern part of the site has been demolished and levelled, much of the southern part of the site remains, and is one of the better preserved gunpowder works dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries in northern England. Many of the buildings still stand, as well as parts of the water management system. The weir by Gatebeck Bridge provided water power for some of the production processes, and fed waterwheels and turbines. The beck passes to the east of Endmoor, where there is another weir, and is crossed by a minor road carried by Challon Hall Bridge, near to Challon Hall. At Kaker Mill or Preston Patrick, there is another weir, and the beck turns to the south-west. The beck falls over a weir where the feeder for the

Lancaster Canal The Lancaster Canal is a canal in North West England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria (historically in Westmorland). The section around the crossing of the River Ribble was never completed, a ...

diverges, before it passes through a sluice, and runs parallel to the river for most of the way to the canal. Peasey Bridge carries the

A65 road A65 or A-65 may refer to: * A65 road (England), a major road in England * A65 motorway (France), a major road in France * A65 motorway (Germany), a road connecting Kandel and Wörth am Rhein * A65 motorway (Netherlands) * A65 motorway (Spain) * Ben ...

over the river, and immediately beyond it, Peasey Beck passes under the Lancaster Canal through an aqueduct. The aqueduct dates from around 1818, and consists of two shallow arches, built at an angle to the line of the canal, with curved retaining walls at either side. It is about wide, and is a

grade II 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 ...

structure. The canal feeder continues a little further south around the back of Crooklands coach garage, before passing under the A65 road and through the grounds of Mill Outstation, a depot for National Highways, to enter the canal. Beyond the canal there are weirs associated with a water mill at Millness and another at Milton. The mill at Millness was a corn mill, and was fed by a long lade which began at a weir at Crooklands. At Milton, the mill is attached to the rear of the former miller's house, built in the early 18th century, with an extension constructed in 1863 for Jacob Wakefield, whose initials appear on the end gable. The water wheel and internal machinery remain in situ. The beck passes under the

A590 road The A590 is a trunk road in southern Cumbria, in the north-west of England. It runs north-east to south-west from M6 junction 36, through the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness to terminate at Biggar Bank on Walney Island.Stainton Beck to the east of

Ackenthwaite Ackenthwaite is a hamlet in Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passag ...

and

, to become the

, which flows into the estuary of the

River Kent The River Kent is a short river in the county of Cumbria in England. It originates in hills surrounding Kentmere, and flows for around 20 miles (32 km) into the north of Morecambe Bay. The upper reaches and the western bank of the estuary ...

Killington Reservoir

Killington Reservoir or Killington Lake was built to supply water to the

. The proprietors for the Lancaster Canal were empowered 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 ...

obtained in 1807 to deviate from their original route, and to extract water from Farleton Beck, Stainton Beck and Crooklands Beck (later called Peasey Beck), rather than the

River Mint The River Mint is a river in Cumbria, England. The Mint starts life at Whelpside at the confluence of Bannisdale Beck, running south-east from Bannisdale Head, and a smaller stream draining a group of small valleys from headwaters in The Fores ...

. They bought of land in 1810, in order to build the reservoir, but over-stretched themselves, and construction had to wait until they had raised more money. William Crossley was the Canal company's engineer from 10 May 1817, while James Briggs was the superintendant. Crossley oversaw the construction of the reservoir. The contract was initially awarded to Millington, Bainbridge & Kelly, but there was a problem with their tender, and William Seed carried out the work. Two dams were required to impound the water, both of which had clay cores. The larger one () crossed the valley of the Peasey Beck, and was long and high. The second dam further to the west () was long and just high. The reservoir was eventually completed in 1819. It now covers an area of , as its banks have been raised twice. A wave wall was built along the top of the dams in the late 1970s, to prevent erosion of the face of the dam in high winds. When full the reservoir holds 3,236 Ml of water, and supplies around 22.7 Ml per day to the Lancaster Canal. Land for the reservoir consisted of parts of the parishes of

New Hutton New Hutton is a village and civil parish in South Lakeland, Cumbria, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 348. New Hutton is east of Kendal, and north of Old Hutton. The M6 motorway runs through the eastern edge of the parish, a ...

, to the west,

Old Hutton and Holmescales Old Hutton and Holmescales is a civil parish in the South Lakeland district, in the county of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 357, increasing at the 2011 census to 417. The parish is bordered by the civil pari ...

to the south-west, and Killington to the south-east. Landowners who had grazing rights on the land were compensated for their loss, and the rights of turbary were also lost, as the main peat workings for the villages were flooded. The New Hutton, Old Hutton, Killington, Mansergh and Lupton Enclosure Award Act was obtained in 1841, allowing further common land to be divided into fields which were given to those with grazing rights. The canal company obtained an additional at this time, and the original three parishes received payment. Old Hutton received £321 9s 3d (£321.46) as part of the deal, which they used to set up a Mole Fund, and to employ Thomas Woodhouse, a mole catcher resident in

Preston Patrick Preston Patrick is a village and civil parish in South Lakeland, Cumbria, England. It has junction 36 of the M6 motorway in its south west corner and extends north east on both sides of the motorway until just beyond the B2564 road. In the 2 ...

, from December 1853. Landowners in the three parishes maintained that although they had sold the land, that did not include the fishing rights, and appointed a bailiff to enforce this in 1840. However, the canal company claimed they owned the fishing rights in 1880, and a long-running dispute followed, which was finally settled in November 1912, when the High Court ruled that the canal company did not inherit the fishing rights. The rights are managed by the Killington Reservoir Fishery Charity, which has three trustees, one appointed by each of the parishes. They have been rented by the Kent Angling Association for many years, and the £750 income is split between the Old Hutton Mole Fund, the New Hutton Institute and Killington Village Hall. Residents of the parishes can obtain fishing licences at reduced fees. By 1976, Old Hutton's income from the fishing rights was no longer adequate to employ a full-time mole catcher, and the trust deed governing the Mole Fund was amended, with funds now being used for the benefit of residents in Old Hutton and Homescales. The

passes immediately to the west of the reservoir, and

Killington Lake Services Killington Lake Services is a motorway service station on the M6 motorway between Junctions 37 and 36 near Killington Lake in Cumbria, England. It was opened in 1972. Has rats outside in the front courtyard. It is owned by Roadchef. It compr ...

, which is only accessible to southbound drivers, is situated on the bank. When it was being planned, the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government age ...

were keen that service areas in Cumbria should be notable for their scenery, and the views over the reservoir were the main factor for the services only catering for southbound travellers. They were built in 1972, soon after the motorway opened, and were officially opened on 17 May 1972. The buildings were sited as far away from the motorway as possible, but were quite small, initially having parking for 64 cars and 13 heavy goods vehicles. The building was replaced in 1985, using a standard design, but with larger windows to take advantage of the views across the reservoir. The service area gained a hotel in 1994 and a tourist information centre in 1997. Planning permission to expand the amenity building was granted in 2019. The reservoir contains populations of both game fish and coarse fish, and fishing rights are rented by the Kent (Westmorland) Angling Association. For game fishing, the association stocks the reservoir with

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

between March and June each year, and the game fishing season runs from 15 March until 30 September. Coarse fishing is available all year round, and the reservoir contains

roach Roach may refer to: Animals * Cockroach, various insect species of the order Blattodea * Common roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), a fresh and brackish water fish of the family Cyprinidae ** ''Rutilus'' or roaches, a genus of fishes * California roach ...

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

and

bream Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including ''Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), ''Acanthopagrus'', '' Argyrops'', ''Blicca'', '' Brama'', ''Chilotilapia'', '' Etelis'', ''Lepo ...

. Season tickets and day tickets are available for those who are not members of the association, and fishing is only allowed from the banks of the reservoir, with no fishing from boats. Water sports also take place on the reservoir. The Killington Sailing Association has a clubhouse and floating jetty on the east side of the lake, next to the main dam, and has facilities for dinghy sailing, canoeing, paddle-boarding and wind-surfing. They are affiliated to the

Royal Yachting Association The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is a United Kingdom national governing body for sailing, dinghy sailing, yacht and motor cruising, sail racing, RIBs and sportsboats, windsurfing and personal watercraft and a leading representative for inl ...

and offer training to members, youth groups and people with disadvantages. Below the dam, the water is not carried to the canal in an aqueduct; the reservoir merely controls the flow in the beck. A small dam about downstream near

Crooklands Crooklands is a village in South Lakeland, Cumbria, England, south of Kendal on the A65 road. Historically part of Westmorland, the Lancaster Canal and Peasey Beck pass through Crooklands. The adjacent showfield of the Westmorland County A ...

diverts water into the canal.

Hydro-electric power

Discharge from Killington Reservoir 1036

Since 2017, the outflow from the reservoir has been used to generate

hydro-electric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

power. Killington was chosen as a potential site for a community hydro-electric project because of its size, as it impounds some 3.2 billion litres of water, rainfall data for over 30 years was available, and there was already an outflow pipe running through the dam below the surface level of the reservoir. The scheme was initiated by Cumbria Action for Sustainability, who funded the feasibility studies, with engineering design carried out by Ellergreen Hydro of nearby

Burneside Burneside () is a small village in South Lakeland in Cumbria, England. It is located to the north of Kendal and to the south east of Staveley, Cumbria, Staveley, on the River Kent, just upstream from the confluence of the River Sprint. It has a ...

. A lease for 40 years was negotiated with the

Canal and River Trust The Canal & River Trust (CRT), branded as in Wales, holds the guardianship of 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, together with reservoirs and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures, in England and Wales. Launched on 12 July 2012, the ...

, and planning permission was obtained in September 2013, to which there were no objections, in part due to the level of community involvement. Divers installed a fish pass to prevent bottom feeding fish from entering the outflow pipe during 2014, and in 2015 a community benefit society called Community Energy Cumbria was formed. Around 100 people subscribed to the share issue launched in July 2015, most from the local community. Construction of the scheme began in 2016, with 86 per cent of the materials and labour being procured locally. The total cost of the project was £240,000, including the design work. A crossflow turbine was installed into the existing drawdown pipe, designed to produce 30 kW from a flow of 300 litres per second. The scheme was switched on in January 2017, and formally opened by

Tim Farron Timothy James Farron (born 27 May 1970) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2015 to 2017. He has also served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005, before which he worked ...

MP. During its first year of operation it generated income of £33,500. Of this, £21,500 was available to fund interest payments and repayment of capital to the shareholders, as well as for community benefits, which are expected to be around £50,000 over the first 20 years.

Mills

Despite its relatively small size, the waters of Peasey Beck have powered at least eight

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

s. Furthest upstream was Hutton mill (), just above Bridge End Bridge. A mill race left the river on its left bank and fed a mill much closer to the bridge.Ordnance Survey, Six inch map, 1888-1913 In the late 1600s, it was a corn mill and some of the first machinery for cleaning grain to be used in the region was described by Thomas Machell, the rector of Kirkby Thore, who collected a huge amount of data about Cumbria until his death in 1698. At that time, the mill was used for grinding the barrels of guns as well as grinding, threshing and winnowing corn. It had become a bobbin mill and woollen

worsted Worsted ( or ) is a high-quality type of wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from Worstead, a village in the English county of Norfolk. That village, together with North Walsham and Aylsham, for ...

mill by the mid-19th century, and was processing Italian

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

in 1885. At Beckside Bridge (), a weir and mill race was constructed for a corn mill which was by the bridge. At Gatebeck, there was a network of weirs and channels which supplied water to industrial buildings to the north of the Gatebeck Bridge. Four weirs are marked on old maps, and the buildings are also served by the Gatebeck Tramway. Below Gatebeck Bridge there is another weir and a long mill race to the east of the main channel within the powder works. Gatebeck Mill produced gunpowder. Production of gunpowder for use in mines and quarries began in 1852 and around 20 tons were manufactured each week. It was shipped to northern England and Wales, and was also exported to West Africa and India. The site occupied around , with the area now occupied by Gatebeck Caravan Park and Millbrook Caravan Park being used first. Mills were built on both sides of Peasey Beck, which were linked together by internal tramways. Peasey Beck provided the power, but later on, steam engines were used. The finished product was packed into barrels, which were manufactured by Gatebeck Cooperage, and was transported to Milnthorpe railway station by closed horsedrawn carts. From 1874, a tramway was used to move the gunpowder to the station. It ran alongside Peasey Beck to the A65 road, but motive power was still provided by horses, which were shod with brass shoes to prevent the risk of sparks. The site closed in 1937, the last such facility in the area to do so, and the caravan parks opened in the early 1970s. Kaker Mill () is known to have been in existence since 1184, and during the 14th century was worked by monks who owned Challon Hall. It was a corn mill, and closed during the Second World War. The wheel was fed from a weir at Challon Hall, which ran along the eastern edge of the road, and passed under the road near the mill. The mill race was supplemented by water from Birks Beck. At Park End Mill, just below Kaker Mill, marble was cut and polished. Crooklands Mill () started as a corn mill. The wheel was driven by a long leat which left the beck around upstream, and provided a fall of . From 1805 it was used to mill flax and to produce ropes. This continued for 50 years, and it was then used to produce bobbins for the Lancashire cotton industry, until its closure in the 1930s. The mill race ran along the right bank of the river, and the weir was just downstream of the point at which the Lancaster Canal feeder left the river. Both Millness Mill () and Milton Mill () were corn mills, and were fed by long leats. The weir for Millness Mill was next to Peasey Bridge, which now carries the A65 road. The mill race for Milton Mill started at the point where the tail race of Millness Mill discharged water back into the river. Milton Mill was a lowder mill, where the high breast-shot water wheel is located inside the building. An annular ring was attached to the side of the wheel, which meshed with a wallower, fixed to a vertical shaft. On the floor above the wheel, a great spur wheel was attached to the vertical shaft, and a triangular lowder frame carried three smaller cogs or stone nuts, which drove the three pairs of stones resting on the frame. A fourth pair of stones was added around 1900, giving the lowder frame a bulge on one side. When the mill was listed in 1962, the mill wheel and all of the machinery were still in situ, and this was still the case in 1978.

Water quality

The Environment Agency measure 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 ...

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, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail. The water quality of the Peasey Beck was as follows in 2019. The data only includes a short section above Killington Reservoir. Like many waterways in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and mercury compounds, neither of which had previously been included in the assessment.

Bibliography

* * * * *

References

External links

Lancaster Canal
* {{authority control Rivers of Cumbria 2Peasey South Lakeland District