Aberford Bridge over Cock Beck, Aberford 31 May 2017

Cock Beck is a stream in the outlying areas of East

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exis ...

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 ...

, which runs from its source due to a

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

north-west of

Whinmoor Whinmoor is a residential area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is 5 miles (8 km) to the north-east of the city centre and adjacent to Swarcliffe and Seacroft in the LS14 Leeds postcode area. Historically, the area was wit ...

, skirting east of

Swarcliffe Swarcliffe, originally the Swarcliffe Estate, is a district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is east of Leeds city centre, and within the LS14 and LS15 Leeds postcode area. The district falls within the Cross Gates and Whinmoor ward of ...

and Manston (where a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

has been named 'The Cock Beck'), past Pendas Fields, Scholes, Barwick-in-Elmet, Aberford,

Towton Towton is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England. It was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974. History In 2010 and 2011 a pair of gold torcs dating ...

, Stutton, and

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England, east of the Great North Road, north-east of Leeds, and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the ...

, where it flows into the

River Wharfe The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfeda ...

. It is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...

of the River Wharfe, formerly known as the River Cock or Cock River, having a much larger flow than today. The name 'cock' may refer to a mature

salmon Salmon () is the common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of ...

, as it was a spawning ground for salmon and trout. Industrial pollution reduced the fish stock, but it has been recovering in the 21st century, aided by work from 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 en ...

. In places the beck was relatively narrow, but too deep to cross unaided; a feature which can still be seen today at many points. Cock Beck

History

The Great North Road crossing at Aberford was first a Celtic trackway and later a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman R ...

. It is defended on the north side by 4.5 miles of

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

fortifications known as the Aberford Dykes which run from a

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post- ...

at Barwick-in-Elmet, through Aberford and a mile east, consisting of a ditch and ridge. It is believed that this was a defensive construction of the

Brigantes The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geogr ...

against southern tribes and the Romans.Leslie Alcock (1954) ''Antiquity'' Volume 28, Issue 111 September 1954, pp. 147-154 "Aberford Dykes: the first the Brigantes? The river may have been engineered to increase the barrier. Cock Beck is identified as a likely site of the

Battle of the Winwaed The Battle of the Winwaed (Welsh: ''Maes Gai''; lat-med, Strages Gai Campi) was fought on 15 November 655 between King Penda of Mercia and Oswiu of Bernicia, ending in the Mercians' defeat and Penda's death. According to Bede, the battle ...

on 15 November 655, a decisive victory of

Oswiu of Bernicia Oswiu, also known as Oswy or Oswig ( ang, Ōswīg; c. 612 – 15 February 670), was King of Bernicia from 642 and of Kingdom of Northumbria, Northumbria from 654 until his death. He is notable for his role at the Synod of Whitby in 664, which ult ...

over King

Penda of Mercia Penda (died 15 November 655)Manuscript A of the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' gives the year as 655. Bede also gives the year as 655 and specifies a date, 15 November. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology and History'', 1934) put forward the theo ...

. The beck is thought to be the one after which

Becca Hall Becca Hall is a country residence situated in Aberford, Leeds, West Yorkshire, Yorkshire, at Ordnance Survey, OS grid reference Lat.53:50:35N Lon.1:22:08W. It is situated on Becca Lane within the old Gascoigne baronets, Gascoigne estate. The hou ...

, whose name is first attested, as ''Becca'', in 1189, is named.Harry Parkin, ''Your City's Place-Names: Leeds'', English Place-Name Society City-Names Series, 3 (Nottingham: English Place-Name Society, 2017), p. 22. In the aftermath of the 1461

Battle of Towton The Battle of Towton took place on 29 March 1461 during the Wars of the Roses, near Towton in North Yorkshire, and "has the dubious distinction of being probably the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil". Fought for ten hours between a ...

remnants of the Lancastrian forces fleeing the victorious Yorkists were forced to try to cross the Cock Beck, having already disposed of most of their

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

.Towton Battlefield Society (2007) Battle of Towton Map and Guide (3rd ed) Many drowned in the Beck, and soon the survivors were reported to be crossing the Cock Beck on bridges of their fallen comrades. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...

, the Royalists defeated the Parliamentarians under

Sir Thomas Fairfax Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented comman ...

at the Battle of Seacroft Moor in 1643. The ensuing massacre of the Parliamentarians is said to have been of such magnitude that the beck ran crimson with blood.

John Ogilby John Ogilby (also ''Ogelby'', ''Oglivie''; November 1600 – 4 September 1676) was a Scottish translator, impresario and cartographer. Best known for publishing the first British road atlas, he was also a successful translator, noted for publish ...

's 1675 map indicates the major crossing for the Cock was sited along the Tadcaster-

Ferrybridge Ferrybridge is a village in West Yorkshire, England. Ferrybridge lies at a historically important crossing of the River Aire which borders the North Yorkshire village of Brotherton. It is linked to other communities by the A1, which follows ...

road.

References

* {{authority control Rivers of Leeds Rivers of North Yorkshire