Beverley Beck

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Beverley Beck

Grovehill Lock

Beverley Beck is a short canal in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The beck runs from Grovehill Lock on the River Hull at Beverley west for about ½ mile into the town of Beverley.

Beverley Beck was first mentioned in the reign of King Henry VIII. Grovehill, formerly known as Grevale, was used as a mooring place for barges but was later converted into a lock.^[1]

The first Act obtained for making the waterway suitable for transport was passed in 1726. William Palmer, a civil engineer, advised on the work to the beck.^[2] Another was passed in 1744 for "more effectually cleansing, deepening, widening, and preserving, a Creek, called Beverley Beck, running into the River Hull, ... and for regulating the carriages to and from the said Beck and the River Hull."^[3]

Various cleaning methods were proposed including the use of an "engine boat" which would clear the weeds and loosen the mud. After this, the beck would be flushed out at low tide by one or more reservoirs constructed along the upper course.^[4]

Beverley Beck was constructed to enable larger vessels to reach the growing town of Beverley. Now it is home to a good number of leisure boats, as well as the historic barge 'Syntan' owned by the Beverley Barge Preservation society. Beverley Beck is popular among fishermen holding good sized pike, and is the home of the Beverley Beck Boating Association most of whose members keep boats on the beck.

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[edit] References

^ Notices Relative to the Early History of the Town and Port of Hull, Charles Frost, 1827, J. B. Nichols
^ A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland, A. W. Skempton, 2002, Thomas Telford (ISBN 072772939X)
^ Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals, and Railways of Great Britain, Joseph Priestley, 1831, Longman, Green
^ The Development of Transportation in Modern England, W. Turrentine Jackson, W. H. Chaloner, 1962, Routledge (ISBN 0714613266)