River Don Navigation

The River Don Navigation was the result of early efforts to make the River Don in South Yorkshire, England navigable between Fishlake (now on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal) and Sheffield. It lost its separate identity in 1895, when it became part of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation.

Early History

Initial attempts to seek powers to make the River Don navigable were hampered by opposition from local landowners and disunity between the authorities in Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster. Proposed Acts of Parliament in 1698, 1703 and 1722/3 were all lost.cite book|author=Willan, Prof T S|title=The Early History of the Don Navigation|publisher=Manchester University Press|year=1965]

However, in 1726 Sheffield's Company of Cutlers sought parliamentary approval to make the river navigable from Holmstile in Doncaster to Tinsley, on the edge of Sheffield. The Act of Parliament was passed on 6 May 1726 giving them powers to make cuts and to make the river deeper and wider so that boats of 20 tons could reach Tinsley. There were a number of restrictions, intended to protect existing water-powered installations.

The Corporation of Doncaster sought powers in 1727 to improve the river below Holmstile, as far as Wilsick House in Barnby Dun. The Bill passed through parliament uneventfully, and again included detailed restrictions on what could and could not be done, designed to protect the landowners.

Both acts were unusual in that they gave the bodies powers to borrow money, but did not create the companies to do the work. In October 1730, the two groups decided to amalgamate, but a 1731 Act to formalise the agreement was defeated because it also included powers to make further changes to the river, including the section below Barnby Dun. Finally an Act of 1733 created The Company of the Proprietors of the Navigation of the River Don, with powers to create a new cut from Bromley Sands above Rotherham to Ickles Dam. Work continued, and it appears that Aldwarke was the head of navigation for some years, but Rotherham was reached in 1740.

A further Bill in 1740 sought powers to improve the river from Barnby Dun to Fishlake Ferry. Despite serious opposition the Bill was passed, giving the company new powers to make the river deeper and create a cut to avoid the shallows at Stainforth and Bramwith. Work on this section started almost immediately. The southern section to Tinsley was navigable by 1751, although the wharf and warehouse had not been completed by that date, and the towpath from Rotherham was not completed until 1822.

In 1737, the navigation was leased to three of the company shareholders for 14 years, and a new 7 year lease was made in 1751. After 1758, the Company managed the navigation itself. Tolls for the next 10 years raised an average of £7006 per annum, indicating healthy traffic levels.

Later Developments

The Company bought out the Dearne and Dove Canal in 1846, the Sheffield Canal in 1848, and leased the Stainforth and Keadby Canal in 1849. They then amalgamated with the South Yorkshire, Doncaster and Goole Railway in 1850, to become the South Yorkshire Railway and River Dun Company. This in turn was leased to the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1864. The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation Company was set up in 1888Nicholson Waterways Guide Volume 6 (2006), Harper Collins Publishing Ltd, ISBN 0-00-721114-7] to purchase all of the canals owned by the MSLR, and eventually succeeded in doing so in 1895. Many of their ambitious plans were hindered by a lack of capital, although some further developments took place.

One improvement that was completed was the construction of the New Junction Canal. This leaves the original navigation at Bramwith Junction, runs over the River Don on an aqueduct, and continues in a straight line for 5.5 miles (8.8km), to join the Aire and Calder Navigation. It provided a much more direct route from Sheffield to Goole, and was opened on 2 January 1905.

The navigation was the subject of one of the last major attempts in the UK to attract commercial freight to the waterways. In 1983, it was upgraded to the 700-tonne Eurobarge standard by deepening the channels and enlarging the locks as far as Rotherham. Conisborough lock was removed altogether, and the two Eastwood locks were combined into one. The new lock was initially named the Sir Frank Price Lock, after the chairman of the British Waterways Board who formally opened it on 1 June 1983. The expected rise in freight traffic did not occur, however. There are several locations where the new larger locks were built alongside the original locks, and so a comparison of the two can easily be made.

The new locks are 60m by 6m, and the navigation accommodates boats with a draught of 2.5m and needing headroom of 3.2m. Beyond Rotherham, the locks are 21.3m by 4.6m, and so can accommodate a 70ft broad boat, but Rotherham lock is smaller, being only 18.7m long, and so the upper reaches are effectively restricted to 60ft boats.

The Route

The River Don Navigation ended at Tinsley Wharf, but it forms a convenient place to start a description of the route. The wharf was on the river, just upstream from the present junction with the canal to Sheffield. It was close to the site of the Meadowhall Shopping Centre and the Tinsley Viaduct, which carries the M1 motorway over the valley of the River Don. From here there is a towpath along the canal to Victoria Quays (formerly Sheffield Basin) in Sheffield City Centre, or the Five Weirs Walk [ [http://www.fiveweirs.co.uk/ Five Weirs Walk] ] follows the course of the River Don to the same destination. The towpath extends to Rotherham in the opposite direction, passing the large Jordans Weir and the three locks on the Holmes Cut.

The towpath continues to Rotherham Lock, where the Rotherham cut starts, but from here to Conisborough, the only way to see the navigation is from a boat or from one of the bridges which cross it. Eastwood lock marks the end of the Rotherham Cut, to be followed by Aldwarke Lock, in the shadow of the A6123 road bridge, and Kilnhurst flood lock, which marks the start of the Kilnhurst Cut. In Swinton, the stub of the Dearne and Dove Canal turns off to the left, and there are three more locks before the cut ends. Immediately following this, the River Dearne flows into the Don, and the towpath resumes, where the Dearne Way footpath ends. [ [http://www.barnsley.gov.uk/bguk/Leisure_Culture/Tourist_Information/Walking%20in%20Barnsley Dearne Way footpath] ]

The route continues through a wooded valley, past the site of the Sprotborough Flash [ [http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/doncaster/places/163636/ RSPB Sprotborough Flash] ] Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), with the towpath forming part of the Trans Pennine Trail. [ [http://www.transpenninetrail.org.uk/ Trans Pennine Trail] ] Sprotborough lock and weir are situated just before Sprotborough, but soon the edge of Doncaster is reached. Here amongst the railway marshalling yards, the River Don leaves the navigation for the final time, as does the towpath. Doncaster Town Lock is situated close to Doncaster railway station, and between here and Long Sandall Lock, some of the changes which have occurred over the years can be visualised, with the river on the left and ox-bow lakes on the right, severed by the course of the Wheatley Cut. The final section to Bramwith is usually called the River Dun Navigation. At Bramwith, the waterway splits, with the New Junction Canal heading north-east for the Aire and Calder Navigation and Goole, and the Stainforth and Keadby Canal heading east to the River Trent at Keadby.

References

External links

* [http://www.rotherhamunofficial.co.uk/thetown/riversandcanals/donsync.htm Details and Route]
* [http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/sheffield Photos and virtual cruise]