The River Eye is a slender, slow-flowing river in north-eastern

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The river is known to flood periodically; especially within the town

Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a market town in the Borough of Melton, Melton district in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, Leicestershire, River Eye, known below Melton as the Rive ...

. Fine sediments from agricultural fields, the biggest known cause for the floods, have been recognized as a major source to the channel's supply. The river meanders throughout north-east Leicestershire where is it primarily flanked by

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

, and only crosses a handful of villages/towns. The primary wooded area it crosses is the fox covert. The farming in the district is largely made up of pasturing sheep and cows.

Stilton Stilton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, about north of Huntingdon in Huntingdonshire, which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as a historic county of England. History There is evidence of Neo ...

and

Red Leicester Red Leicester (also known simply as Leicester or Leicestershire cheese) (, ) is an English cheese similar to Cheddar cheese, but crumbly in texture. It is typically aged 6 to 12 months. The rind is reddish-orange with a powdery mould on it. Since ...

cheeses originally came from the villages and dairy farms in the Eye basin.

History

The name Eye comes from the Old English word ''ēa'', meaning "the river". Wreake is Danish in origin, meaning the twisting or meandering one.

Iron Age Remains

The river has been the center of human activity for many centuries. To the north-east, at Saltby Heath, are King Lud's Entrenchments, which may date from prehistoric times. The Entrenchments lie just inside the county boundary with

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, possibly a territorial frontier. The county boundary follows the watershed between the River Eye and

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 Riversi ...

, and is marked by the ancient route from south-east England to the north, known as Sewstern Lane or The Drift. About six miles south of the river at

lie the remains of an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

Burrough Hill Burrough Hill is an British Iron Age, Iron Age hillfort in Burrough on the Hill, south of Melton Mowbray in the English county of Leicestershire. Situated on a promontory about above sea level, the site commands views over the surrounding cou ...

. This may have been the tribal center for the

Corieltauvi The Corieltauvi (also the Coritani, and the Corieltavi) were a Celtic tribe living in British Iron Age, Britain prior to the Roman conquest of Britain, Roman conquest, and thereafter a ''civitas'' of Roman Britain. Their territory was in what is ...

people who lived in the East Midland counties of Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham, and Rutland. There is a presumed prehistoric trackway from Burrough Hill northward towards Melton Mowbray, where it crosses the River Eye and heads north towards the

Vale of Belvoir The Vale of Belvoir ( ) is in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, England. The name is from the Norman-French for "beautiful view". Extent and geology The vale is a tract of low ground rising east-north-east, drained by the ...

. In

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times, the tribal centre was moved to

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, which the Romans named Ratis (or Ratae) Corieltauvorum.

Danish and Saxon villages

Nine of the villages bordering the river have Danish names, with the rest being Saxon. It is likely that these incomers used the river to reach their new homes. All these villages are likely to have been sited on dry ground close to a good source of water. The River Eye provided this source. Stapleford means 'the ford (over the River Eye) marked by posts' and indicates that the lanes around the Eye were in use twelve hundred years or so ago. Melton Mowbray appears to have become the Eye basin's trading centre in Saxon times. Its market probably predates the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

and is one of the few in

listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

(1085). Melton continues as the main trading centre in the area throughout medieval times, up to the present day.

Nineteenth century

The Eye valley was used by the

Oakham Canal The Oakham Canal ran from Oakham, Rutland to Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It opened in 1802, but it was never a financial success, and it suffered from the lack of an adequate water supply. It closed after 45 y ...

when it was built early in the nineteenth century. The stretch of the river from Stapleford to Sysonby (about six miles, 10 km) was canalised. There are a few sparse remains of the canal, although the river has largely reverted to its natural state. In 1844 the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

built the Syston and Peterborough Railway alongside the canal. It had to buy out the canal company as part of the agreement to build the railway. The Midland Railway allowed the canal to fall into disrepair because it was the major competitor to its new route.

Flow and locations

The Eye rises at Bescaby, about six miles north-east of

. It flows east towards

Saltby Saltby is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sproxton, Leicestershire, Sproxton, in the Melton (borough), Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It lies close to the River Eye, Leicestershire, River Eye and the border wit ...

, where it turns south and flows past Sproxton, Coston and Garthorpe. At Saxby it turns west and flows by Stapleford,

Freeby Freeby is a village and civil parish in the Melton district of Leicestershire, England, about east of Melton Mowbray. As well as the village of Freeby the civil parish includes the villages of Brentingby, Saxby, Stapleford and Wyfordby. The ...

, Wyfordby,

Brentingby Brentingby is a village in Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the ...

and

Thorpe Arnold Thorpe Arnold is a farming village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Waltham on the Wolds and Thorpe Arnold in the district of Borough of Melton, Melton, which is approximately northeast of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England. ...

. At Swan's Nest it enters Melton Mowbray, where it flows under bridges at Burton Road and Leicester Road. It then passes Sysonby, where, at Egerton Lodge, it changes its name to the River Wreake, which then flows into the

River Soar The River Soar () is a major tributary of the River Trent in the East Midlands as well as the principal river of Leicestershire, England. The source of the river is midway between Hinckley and Lutterworth. The river then flows north throug ...

. Its full journey is about 13 miles (21 km).

Present

Today, the River Eye is a relatively unknown part of the English landscape. It is still vital as a water source and drainage route, and has a leisure focus for fishermen and anyone who walks along rights of way nearby. The Eye has given its name to the UK's radio station 103, which has been broadcasting to Melton Mowbray and Vale of Belvoir since 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eye Rivers of Leicestershire