River Beane
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The River Beane is a short river in the county of Hertfordshire, England. A tributary of the
River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...
, it rises to the south-west of Sandon in the hills northeast of
Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...
and joins the Lea at Hartham Common in
Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a Ford (crossing), ford on ...
.


Watermills

In medieval times there were a number of
watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...
s along the course of the Beane. A few of the buildings and
mill race A mill race, millrace or millrun, mill lade (Scotland) or mill leat (Southwest England) is the current of water that turns a water wheel, or the channel ( sluice) conducting water to or from a water wheel. Compared with the broad waters of a m ...
s survive. * Water power appears to have been used in the upper reaches of the Beane valley from an early date, as the place-name Walkern is believed to refer to a
fulling mill Fulling, also known as tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelt waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven cloth (particularly wool) to eliminate (lanolin) oils, dirt, ...
. The current mill building at Walkern was rebuilt in the 19th century and is
grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
. It has not been used for milling since the 1930s. * Sele Mill, Hertford, is perhaps the site with the most historical interest. It was mentioned 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 ...
. However, its main claim to fame is that in the 15th century the facility was converted for use as a
paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...
and was, as far as is known, the earliest paper mill in England. It is not clear when paper production began there, although 1488 has been suggested, but it was certainly underway in the 1490s. Paper from Sele Mill, supplied by John Tate, was used in publications from that decade, and the mill was visited by Henry VII in 1498 and 1499. Despite this sign of royal favour, paper production did not continue there for long, and appears to have ceased by the time the paper maker John Tate made his will in 1507.


Abstraction

The Beane valley remains mainly rural in character. However, Hertfordshire's population increased substantially in the second half of the twentieth century, and the consequent demand for water has affected rivers such as the Beane and the Mimram. In the case of the Beane, a licence was given to abstract water near
Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Located immediately to the north-west of Birmingham city centre, Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a wards of the United Kingdom, war ...
for Stevenage's water supply. The river has since been adversely affected by over-exploitation of the chalk
aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...
in its upper reaches. The photo shows a dry section south of
Walkern Walkern is a village and civil parish in East Hertfordshire, England. It is about from Stevenage. The village has several shops, including a convenience store, a hair and beauty salon, a craft shop, a shop that features homestyle products, a t ...
where from the 1990s until about 2014 there was only seasonal flow. An indication of the scale of the decline in flow is that the section at Walkern was once big enough to power a watermill and to support
watercress Watercress or yellowcress (''Nasturtium officinale'') is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae. Watercress is a rapidly growing perennial plant native to Eurasia. It is one of the oldest known leaf vegetabl ...
beds.Walkern Mill
/ref> The lower Beane is more robust and there has continued to be regular flow through
Watton-at-Stone Watton-at-Stone is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, and is midway between the towns of Stevenage and Hertford in the valley of the River Beane. History Etymology The name Watton first appeared in writing in an 11th-cent ...
, Stapleford and
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
until the confluence with the River Lea. However, overall the river has performed badly in assessments by 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 enha ...
of flow level.


Restoration

The state of the upper Beane resulted in calls for the river's restoration. The management plan for the river includes the objective that there is adequate flow along the length of the river to support a ‘good status’
chalk stream Chalk streams are rivers that rise from springs in landscapes with chalk bedrock. Since chalk is permeable, water easily percolates through the ground to the water table and chalk streams therefore receive little surface runoff. As a result, th ...
ecology (as defined by the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
's
Water Framework Directive The Water Framework Directive (WFD; 2000/60/EC) is an EU directive to establish a framework for the protection of all water bodies (including marine waters up to one nautical mile from shore) by 2015. The WFD establishes a programme and timeta ...
). River Beane: Catchment management plan
www.riverleacatchment.org.uk
One possible approach to the restoration of the upper Beane which was discussed was to use recycled water from
sewage treatment Sewage treatment is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable to discharge to the surrounding environment or an intended reuse application, thereby preventing water p ...
works. For decades sewage from the Stevenage area has bypassed the river, being pumped down the Beane valley to Rye Meads near Hertford for treatment and eventual discharge into the
River Stort The River Stort is a river in Essex and Hertfordshire, England. It is long and flows from near the village of Langley to the River Lea at Hoddesdon. The river's name is a back-formation from the name of the town of Bishop's Stortford. The 1 ...
. However, the water could theoretically have been discharged into the Beane if treated further upstream. In the event another option was chosen. Affinity Water was told to take less water from its pumping station near Aston, even though obtaining water from a less environmentally damaging source was difficult as the River Lea's catchment area as a whole is under pressure. There have been initiatives to improve the condition of lower stretches of the river, where there are issues regarding water quality and weirs. For example, where it passes through the Woodhall Park estate (near Watton) the river has been modified by an 18th-century landscaping project. This had the adverse consequence of impeding
fish passage A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon, is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, Lock (water transport), locks and waterfalls) to facilitate Fish migration#Classification ...
and a channel has now been constructed which by-passes the obstruction.


Access

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust (HMWT) has launched a circular trail at
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
, which includes some scenic sections of the River Beane.


References


External links


Press release for WWF report "Riverside Tales"
2010-04-28,
WWF-UK The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the ...

''Launch of the WWF report on the Rivers Beane and Mimram''
Oliver Heald Sir Oliver Heald, (born 15 December 1954) is a British barrister and Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Hertfordshire, formerly North Hertfordshire, from 1992 to 2024. Early life and ca ...
MP comments on WWF report.
''River Beane Catchment'', River Lea Catchment Partnership

River Beane Restoration Association
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