The River Hertford is a river in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

in the north of England. It is part of the River Derwent catchment area. The River Hertford starts close to Muston near the seaside town of

Filey Filey () is a seaside town and civil parish in the Borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the East Riding of Yorkshire, it is located between Scarborough and Bridlington on Filey Bay. Although it was a fishing ...

. Despite being only from the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

(to its eastern side) the river flows westwards for into the River Derwent at Haybridge, North Yorkshire, near Wykeham. It has been referred to as a 'backward-flowing river' because it flows away from the sea. Ekwall suggests the name derives from a ford over the river, which became the name by back formation.

Star Carr Star Carr is a Mesolithic archaeological site in North Yorkshire, England. It is around five miles () south of Scarborough. It is generally regarded as the most important and informative Mesolithic site in Great Britain. It is as important to ...

, a Mesolithic archaeological site, lies close to the river. Star Carr was on the edge of a nine-thousand year old

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

wetland known as, 'Lake Flixton' (near Flixton). This area is now known as the River Hertford Floodplain and extends from Muston in the east to

Ganton Ganton is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the south side of the Vale of Pickering immediately north of the Yorkshire Wolds. Ganton lies west of the coastal town of Filey, and ...

in the west. Originally the river meandered, but the Muston & Yedingham Drainage Act 1800 resulted in the River Derwent and the River Hertford being straightened by cutting a new course for each. The Hertford was hand dug during the industrial revolution (local stories hold that the men who dug the new channel were prisoners from the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

). The River Hertford catchment suffers from the discharges of three sewage plants at

Folkton Folkton is a small village and civil parish at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds and on the edge of the Vale of Pickering on an area known as Folkton Carr ( carr meaning low lands) in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. Until 197 ...

Hunmanby Hunmanby is a large village and civil parish in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. It was part of the East Riding of Yorkshire until 1974. It is on the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds, south-west of Filey, south of Scarborough a ...

and Seamer. This not only affects the quality of the river but also that of the Derwent downstream of Haybridge.

References

External links

Rivers of North Yorkshire {{England-river-stub