The River Tutt is a long tributary of the
River Ure
The River Ure in North Yorkshire, England is approximately long from its source to the point where it becomes the River Ouse. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only major dale now named after a village rather than its ...
in
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
, England. The river rises near to the villages of
Nidd
Nidd is a small village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. The population of the village taken at the 2011 census was 168. It is situated 3 miles north of Harrogate, east of Ripley on the B6165 Pateley ...
and
Scotton draining mainly arable land north eastwards before emptying into the Ure at
Boroughbridge
Boroughbridge () is a town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of the county town of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on the mai ...
. Where the river joins the Ure in Boroughbridge, has been the site of significant historic flooding. 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 ...
project to alleviate flooding on the river has seen diversion schemes and pumps added to prevent this.
Toponymy
The river is known as the Tutt for only about of its length, and is variously known as Jumwell, Shaw and Occaney Beck in its early stages. It is also known as Tutt Beck, Fleet Beck and Minskip Beck. The derivation of the name ''Tutt'' for the river has many explanations; one theory is that it is from a
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
word, another states that it comes from the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
goddess
Tutelina, who looked after corn when it was in storage.
A H Smith, writing in ''The Place Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire'', lists the name as being badly translated down the centuries. Smith does postulate that due to a
metathesis, the original listing from 1439, ''Riovolum de Ptruth'', could derive through errors in writing from the Old English for ''Conduit''.
Course
The river rises to the east of the village of Nidd as Jumwell Beck, about north east of the
River Nidd
The River Nidd is a tributary of the River Ouse in the English county of North Yorkshire. In its first few miles it is dammed three times to create Angram Reservoir, Scar House Reservoir and Gouthwaite Reservoir, which attract a total of aroun ...
, but flows east towards
Staveley Staveley may refer to:
Places
* Staveley, Cumbria, village in the former county of Westmorland and now in Cumbria, England
** Staveley railway station
* Staveley-in-Cartmel, village formerly in Lancashire, now in Cumbria, England
* Staveley, D ...
, instead of south. It flows inbetween the villages of
Brearton
Brearton is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate borough of North Yorkshire, England, situated about north of Knaresborough. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book and its name derives from the Old English ''Brer-Tun'', which mean ...
and Scotton, where it takes on Percy Beck from the south. It then absorbs other becks around
Farnham
Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a trib ...
and in the process becomes Shaw Beck before being named Occaney Beck as it pass the hamlet of Occaney.
As it passes north of Staveley Nature Reserve, it appears on
Ordnance Survey
, nativename_a =
, nativename_r =
, logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg
, logo_width = 240px
, logo_caption =
, seal =
, seal_width =
, seal_caption =
, picture =
, picture_width =
, picture_caption =
, formed =
, preceding1 =
, di ...
mapping as ''River Tutt or Fleet Beck'' for the first time, though the Environment Agency list it as starting at Nidd.
It flows north west of
Minskip
Minskip is a village in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Boroughbridge. It is on the A6055 road and 1 mile south-west of Boroughbridge. Minskip appears in the Domesday Book as Minescip, a n ...
, under the
A1(M)
A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate motorway sections in England. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1, a major north–south road which connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the capit ...
and the
A168 road
The A168 is a major road in North Yorkshire, England. It runs from Northallerton to Wetherby, acting as a local access road for the A1(M).
History
The majority of it was built during A1 upgrades as parts of it between Dishforth and Walshford a ...
before entering
Boroughbridge
Boroughbridge () is a town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of the county town of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on the mai ...
and then running into the River Ure.
Though it is only a small river, it is a main tributary of the River Ure and is prone to floodwaters backflowing upstream from the River Ure and inundating Boroughbridge. In 1987, after a history of significant flooding in 1899, 1901, 1968 and 1982, The Tutt Diversion Scheme was implemented which would prevent water flowing up the river from the Ure when either, or both, were in flood. However, pumps installed on the river to prevent the Ure flooding the Tutt were accidentally reversed in January 2005, putting Boroughbridge at risk of a flooding event. The drainage basin covers an area of
and as it a lowland catchment, it experiences a lower rainfall average than most of the tributaries of the River Ure as they drain off the adjacent moorlands.
In the 13th century, the end of the river was the location of one of two corn mills in Boroughbridge.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, fishermen worked on the river near to where it empties into the Ure at Boroughbridge. Their trade lives on in the names of the road by the rivermouth; Fishergate.
Geology
In its early stages, the beck meanders over a
magnesian limestone
The Magnesian Limestone is a suite of carbonate rocks in north-east England dating from the Permian period. The outcrop stretches from Nottingham northwards through Yorkshire and into County Durham where it is exposed along the coast between Ha ...
landscape, though as it passes Staveley, it drains a mainly arable landscape which is largely devoid of woodland. The area around Occaney beck has been historically quarried for fluvio-glacial terrace deposits of sand and gravel. Other tests have proved the existence of sand in the area around the beck.
Natural history
The river is classified as being heavily modified, and much work has been undertaken by the Environment Agency and local volunteers to raise the watercourses' standard.
Work by the
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is a charitable non-governmental organisation, one of the UK's 46 county-based Wildlife Trusts. It's focus is nature conservation and it works to achieve a nature-rich Yorkshire with healthy and resilient ecosystems ...
has seen the return of many animals such as otters and herons. They have also installed logs in the river around the lakes in Staveley to provide shelter for fish. Whilst the presence of
Cyprinid fish
Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest vert ...
and brown trout in the watercourse is "likely", despite the poor chemical composition of the water, the river is noted for its
Himalayan Balsam
''Impatiens glandulifera'', Himalayan balsam, is a large annual plant native to the Himalayas. Via human introduction it is now present across much of the Northern Hemisphere and is considered an invasive species in many areas. Uprooting or cutt ...
and
Giant Hogweed
''Heracleum mantegazzianum'', commonly known as giant hogweed, is a monocarpic perennial herbaceous plant in the carrot family Apiaceae. ''H. mantegazzianum'' is also known as cartwheel-flower, giant cow parsley, giant cow parsnip, or hogsb ...
. Mink faeces have also been observed on the river.
The Environment Agency have stated that they wish to divert water from the Tutt into the lakes at Staveley in times of heavy rainfall to help alleviate the possibility of flooding in Boroughbridge.
Crossings
In 17th century, one of the
Devil's Arrows
The Devil's Arrows are four standing stones or menhirs in an alignment approximately to the east of the A1(M), adjacent to Roecliffe Lane, Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire, England, near to where the A1 road now crosses the River Ure (). The ...
was felled and the stone used to make a bridge over the river in Boroughbridge. This is widely believed to be the St Helena Bridge as an order of the Justices from 1621 at
Knaresborough
Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate.
History
Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...
, details its purpose.
The bridge also had eel traps installed on the upstream side.
The Fishergate Bridge was built by
Blind Jack Metcalf in 1754. The bridge and a retaining wall, were washed away in the Great Flood of 1883.
Notes
References
Sources
*
External links
Yorkshire Dale's Rivers Trust page on the TuttStaveley Nature Reserve webpageRiver Levels realtime information on the River Tutt
{{authority control
Tutt
Ouse catchment