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Lower Ouse Navigation

Records of the Lower Ouse Navigation: data concerning the river 1911-1951, details concerning the appointment of a river constable 1917, plan of Naburn Locks 1985.

1911-1985

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The River Ouse was difficult for small craft to navigate, and navigation was restricted to when the tides were favourable. As vessel sizes increased, trade at York suffered. Between 1621 and 1700, several surveys were made, but the improvement Bills either failed, or passed but no action was taken. It took until 1727 before the Act passed and work began. William Palmer, who had surveyed for the Act, became engineer. Members and officials of the Corporation of York were entrusted with managing the river. The tolls they levied were amended in a 1732 Act. Attempts at dredging and building jetties to increase the scour were unsuccessful. John Smith, engineer on the Dun Navigation, agreed with William Palmer that building a lock would be necessary. Revenue from tolls was insufficient to fund the lock and so the city had to raise money from shares. A lock at Naburn of 90 feet by 21 feet 6 inches was opened in 1757 and this did have the desired effect and traffic increased. Above Naburn the depth increased by over 4 feet, but below it the flow was reduced. Revenue from tolls was more-or-less steady from then until the Selby Canal opened in 1778, then fell to a lower, but constant, figure. In 1802 the Stainforth & Keadby Canal opened, providing vessels an alternate route that bypassed the lower river. Two years later, traffic was boosted by the completion of the Foss Navigation. Steamers ran between Hull and York from April 1816 and the service was extended with a twice-weekly run between York and Gainsborough in 1820. Steamers, however, were fairly unusual on the Lower Ouse because many were too large for Naburn Lock. Passenger services lasted until the 1870s when direct railway services were introduced. York was prompted to make further improvements to the Ouse by Goole's success as a port after the Knottingley & Goole Canal opened in 1826, and York's consequent decline. Traders also began to pressurise for improvements. Thomas Rhodes was approached and in his 1834 report he suggested dredging, bank protection and enlarging Naburn Lock. The two-mile shoal below Naburn hindered larger vessels from reaching York. Having already bought a steam dredger and with only modest profits, the trustees realised that Rhodes' recommendations were too ambitious. With a loan from the Exchequer Bill Loan Commissioners, bank protection, towpath improvement and dredging works were carried out, the result of which was that 60 ton craft now had unhindered access to York. The arrival of railways damaged trade on the Ouse from 1839. Appreciating the threat, the trustees raised tolls during the period immediately before the railways opened, when construction materials were being carried on the river, and then dropped them in 1839.York & North Midland Railway was completed in the May of that year, the Great North of England Railway followed two years later. Immediately tonnages plummeted. By 1845 income was only just above expenditure. The trustees' dredger sank whilst on loan to the Severn Commissioners; instead of using the compensation money to replace it, the trustees repaid some debts. Trade recovered somewhat in 1850 when Henry Leetham's flourmills opened at York. Naburn Lock was still creating problems in 1866 and 1871 when W H Bartholomew was asked his advice. He too reported that the trustees should concentrate on dredging below the lock, necessitating buying or borrowing a dredger to replace the one sunk, and enlarging the lock chamber. Five years later another survey by Sir John Coode revealed the river was silted up to 1834 levels. The trustees finally purchased another dredger and a steam tug, as previously there had been no steam towing. Despite all the advice given, the trustees did not do anything to the lock until 1886. Then a new lock of 150 feet by 26 feet was constructed next to the smaller Naburn Lock and opened in 1888. It was only built then because the trustees hoped to attract War Office traffic in military supplies, then unaware that such traffic was exempt from tolls. Traffic increased from then into the early 20th century. Most was handled by either the trustees' four tugs or Leetham's steam keels. The Royal Commission's conclusions agreed with those of several engineers who had independently examined the river in that there was room for improvement in the condition of the river. Repeatedly the idea of a half-tide weir below the River Wharfe was put forward, but this was far beyond the resources of the trustees. In 1909 the Commission also recommended dredging, bank straightening and training works. Little was done before the outbreak of World War One in 1914. By 1918 the Ouse was in poor condition and the trustees were unable to raise enough money to adequately maintain it. The Ministry of Transport rejected their proposals that the Ministry should take over the river. Leetham's traffic stopped in 1930 after the Ministry pointed out the special trader's rates it was charged contravened the Act. Although traffic to Selby increased, tonnages to York decreased and so did the trustees' revenue. In 1989 British Waterways took over from the trustees. For further information on the River Ouse see Edward Paget-Tomlinson's 'The Illustrated History of Canals & River Navigations' and Charles Hadfield's 'The Canals of Yorkshire and North East England Volumes 1 and 2'.

It has not been possible to ascertain any original structure of record-keeping from the small number of records held for this company. The subfonds has therefore been arranged in chronological order.