Editing River Ouse, Sussex (section)

==Ouse navigation==
The is some evidence that the Ouse was used for navigation in the early 18th century, as boats are marked on a map published in 1724, travelling to Maresfield Forge, to the north of Shortbridge. There is also a lock marked on the river, though this was presumably a [[flash lock]]. Smeaton's plan for a sluice and navigation lock at Piddinghoe had not been carried out, and the river remained free of tolls. The preamble to the River Ouse Navigation Act 1790 ([[30 Geo. 3]]. c. 52) indicated that the river was only used from the sea to Barcombe Mills at that time.{{sfn |Hadfield |1969 |p=31}}
 
In 1788, the engineer [[William Jessop]] was asked to survey the river with a view to extending navigation. He suggested that the river could be made navigable to Pilstye Bridge, near the road from Cuckfield to Balcombe. It would be {{convert|4|ft|m}} deep, and at least {{convert|24|ft|m}} wide, enabling it to accommodate boats {{convert|45|by|12|ft|m}}, which could carry 30 tons. The work would involve easing sharp curves, widening the channel in places, making cuts to straighten some sections, and constructing 25 [[Lock (water navigation)|locks]]. He estimated that the work would cost £14,400, in addition to the costs associated with obtaining an act of Parliament, but was not entirely convinced that making the upper stretch navigable was sensible, and suggested that stopping the navigation at [[Lindfield, West Sussex|Lindfield]] would result in only 18 locks being needed, with the cost dropping to £9,271.{{sfn |Hadfield |1969 |p=31}} Navigation of the river between Lewes and Newhaven was only normally possible when there were spring tides, and so he also suggested that this could be resolved by making the channel wider, deeper and straighter. This work would include a new cut some {{convert|1000|yd|m}} long, and would cost an additional £1,980, which included the cost of a towpath from Lewes to Piddinghoe, just to the north of Newhaven.{{sfn |Hadfield |1969 |p=32}}

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = River Ouse Navigation Act 1790
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title            = An Act for improving, continuing, and extending the Navigation of the River Ouse, from Lewes Bridge, at the Town of Lewes, to Hammer Bridge, in the Parish of Cuckfield, and to the Extent of the said Parish of Cuckfield; and also of a Branch of the said River to Shortbridge, in the Parish of Fletching, in the County of Sussex.
| year                  = 1790
| citation              = [[30 Geo. 3]]. c. 52
28 April 1790
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Lower Ouse Navigation Act 1791
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title            = An Act for improving the Navigation of the River Ouse, between Newhaven Bridge and Lewes Bridge, in the County of Sussex, and for the better draining of the Low Lands lying in Lewes and Laughton Levels, in the said County.
| year                  = 1791
| citation              = [[31 Geo. 3]]. c. 76
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 6 June 1791
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
An act of Parliament, the '''{{visible anchor|River Ouse Navigation Act 1790}}''' ([[30 Geo. 3]]. c. 52) was obtained on 28 April 1790, covering improvements to the river between Lewes Bridge and Hammer Bridge in [[Cuckfield]], with a branch to Shortbridge. The Company of Proprietors of the River Ouse Navigation was created by the act, and they had powers to raise £25,000, by issuing £100 shares. Work on the river could not start until the proprietors had raised £10,000, and tolls could not be charged until some work had been done. On 6 June 1791 a second act of Parliament, the '''{{visible anchor|Lower Ouse Navigation Act 1791}}''' ([[31 Geo. 3]]. c. 76) was obtained, covering the work between Lewes and Newhaven, for the purposes of improving navigation and also improving the drainage of the low-lying lands of the Lewes and Laughton Levels. The work was to be jointly supervised by some Trustees and the Commissioners of the Levels, who could then collect tolls for use of their part of the river.{{sfn |Priestley |1831 |pp=487-488}}

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = River Ouse Navigation (Sussex) Act 1806
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = 
| year                  = 1806
| citation              = [[46 Geo. 3]]. c. cxxii
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 12 July 1806
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo3/46/122/pdfs/ukla_18060122_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
Contracts for work on the river above Lewes were advertised in May 1790, and were awarded to Pinkertons, who had worked with Jessop on a number of projects. However, by mid-1791, the committee was complaining that Pinkertons' work had been sub-standard and that some parts had failed. By April 1793, the navigation was open from Lewes to Sheffield Bridge, and some work on increasing the size of the channel had been carried out between there and Hammer Bridge. The construction costs had reached £20,000, but the tolls were meagre, averaging just £236 per year between 1793 and 1796. The navigation was in the hands of a receiver from 1797, but by 1805, enough funds had been raised to open another {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} to Freshfield Bridge. Tolls increased sufficiently for the Proprietors to obtain another act of Parliament,{{sfn |Hadfield |1969 |p=32}} the '''{{visible anchor|River Ouse Navigation (Sussex) Act 1806}}''' ([[46 Geo. 3]]. c. cxxii) on 12 June 1806, which allowed them to raise another £30,000, and to abandon plans to proceed beyond Hammer Bridge.{{sfn |Priestley |1831 |pp=487, 490}} With new motivation, the Proprietors found an engineer in [[William Smith (geologist)|William Smith]], the geologist who had formerly worked for the [[Somerset Coal Canal]], and engaged Dymoke Wells to carry out the construction work. Wells was a local man, and agreed to take one-third of the payment as cash and the remainder as bonds and shares. The creditors who had installed a receiver were given bonds, and control of the navigation passed back to the Proprietors, who collected £751 in tolls during 1809. By the end of the year, the navigation had been extended to Lindfield Mill.{{sfn |Hadfield |1969 |pp=32-33}}

The proprietors then faced a dispute with [[John Baker Holroyd, 1st Earl of Sheffield|the first Lord Sheffield]], who, in their opinion, had overseen a period of stagnation, once the navigation had reached his wharf at Sheffield Bridge. Subsequently, he had quarrelled with the other proprietors and had sought to obstruct the project. The difficulties endured for several years, but eventually there was reconciliation with the [[George Holroyd, 2nd Earl of Sheffield|second Lord Sheffield]], who had a seat on the committee by 1823. The navigation reached its greatest extent of {{convert|22.5|mi|km}} in 1812, when Wells constructed a further extension to Upper Ryelands Bridge at [[Balcombe, West Sussex|Balcombe]], with similar payment terms to his previous contract. There was a {{convert|0.75|mi|km|1|adj=on}} branch to Shortbridge, and some shorter branches.{{sfn |Hadfield |1969 |p=33}} There were 19 [[canal lock|locks]],<ref>{{cite web | title=River Ouse Navigation, Sussex | url=http://www.sussex.co.uk/waterways/ouse.htm | access-date=9 October 2007}}</ref> although Hadfield only quotes 18, perhaps because there were two at Barcombe, identified as Pikesbridge Upper and Lower Lock on the 1875 map.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.old-maps.co.uk/#/Map/543284/114832/12/100315https://www.old-maps.co.uk/#/Map/543284/114832/12/100315 |title=1:2500 map |year=1875 |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref> Each was {{convert|52.5|by|13.5|ft|m}}, and the barges used on the navigation could carry 18 tons, suggesting that the channel was not as deep as Jessop had suggested, since his plan was for boats {{convert|45|by|12|ft|m}} with a draught of {{convert|3.5|ft|m}} which could carry 30 tons. Almost no records of the tolls collected are known to exist, but it appears that they were sufficient to pay interest on the money borrowed, but not to pay any dividends to the shareholders.{{sfn |Hadfield |1969 |p=33}}

===Lower river===
[[File:Southease Swing Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1092218.jpg|thumb|right|Southease swing bridge dates from 1880. It no longer opens.]]
Several attempts were made to improve the tidal river below Lewes. In March 1730, the engineer John Reynolds had surveyed the state of the timber pier at Newhaven, and reported to Parliament. An act of Parliament{{which|date=August 2024}} was obtained in 1731, and the Harbour Commissioners employed him to carry out renovation work, at a cost of £3000. Over the next four years, piers were repaired and extended to control the channel, but Reynolds sluice at Piddinghoe, constructed between 1731 and 1733 and designed to hold back the water so that it could be used to scour the channel, failed and was removed in 1736.{{sfn |Skempton |2002 |p=571}}

The act of Parliament{{which|date=August 2024}} obtained in 1791, to straighten the channel below Lewes, was managed by Trustees and the Commissioners of the Lewes and Laughton Levels. Funding came from tolls on the river, and a drainage charge for landowners within the levels. There were clauses in the act to ensure that tolls could not be varied significantly without corresponding variations in the land drainage rates.{{sfn |Priestley |1831 |p=489}} The work on straightening and enlarging the lower river was carried out between 1791 and 1795, and Jessop's plans were overseen by a schoolmaster and civil engineer from Lewes called Cater Rand.{{sfn |Brent |1993 |p=21}} The provision of a bridge at Southease was a requirement of the act, as the re-routing of the river divided farmland.<ref name=Southease/> In practice the costs to the landowners on the levels were too high, and another act of Parliament{{which|date=August 2024}} was obtained on 20 June 1800, which repealed the river tolls, and replaced them with higher tolls, to redress the balance.{{sfn |Priestley |1831 |pp=489-490}}

From 1783, [[John Ellman]], better known for his agricultural achievements, became the Expenditor for the Lewes and Laughton Levels, and as well as carrying out the tradition role of collecting the water scot tax and spending it, he worked tirelessly to organise and supervise work on the Glynde Reach and the lower Ouse, which enabled a 120-ton ship named ''Kitty'' to unload stone at Lewes Bridge in the late 1820s. He retired in 1828, and the following year the river flooded, but the results of the improvements were seen when the meadows drained in just 48 hours. Tapsfield's Shallow, near to Lewes Bridge, was finally removed by the engineer [[William Cubitt]] in 1838.{{sfn |Brent |1993 |p=21}} Work on the west breakwater, a huge construction to protect the mouth of the river and enable ships to access the port of Newhaven at all states of the tide, began after a tramway link was constructed in 1866. It was completed in 1889, and the tramway was subsequently used to maintain the breakwater, until the tracks were lifted in 1963. For many years the locomotive used on the tramway was No. 72 ''Fenchurch'', now preserved on the [[Bluebell Railway]], which runs from {{rws|Sheffield Park}} on the upper river to {{rws|East Grinstead}}.{{sfn |Blackwell |2002}}

===Operation===
[[File:Newhaven Lighthouse - geograph.org.uk - 943676.jpg|thumb|right|The west breakwater prevents shingle from blocking the mouth of the river at Newhaven]]
Trade along the Ouse Navigation consisted mostly of lime, chalk, manure, aggregates and coal. Whilst in 1801 there were 51 barges registered as trading on the river, of which 21 worked on the section above Lewes, the navigation was never a huge commercial success.<ref name=SORT>{{cite web|title=History of the Sussex Ouse Navigation |work=The Sussex Ouse Restoration Trust |url=http://sxouse.users.btopenworld.com/history.htm |access-date=2007-10-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041206050201/http://sxouse.users.btopenworld.com/history.htm |archive-date=6 December 2004 }}</ref> In 1825 there was a proposal for a canal from Lewes to Brighton, which would have left the river at Lewes, risen through 29 locks, and required a {{convert|2.5|mi|km|adj=on}} tunnel to reach Brighton, but no further action was taken. Competition arrived in the early 1840s, when the [[London and Brighton Railway]] was built. Initially, this provided some trade,{{sfn |Hadfield |1969 |pp=33-34}} as 11 million bricks from the Netherlands were transported along the Ouse for the construction of the [[Ouse Valley Viaduct]] at Haywards Heath.{{sfn |Body |1989 |p=141}} There is some evidence that goods were carried up the navigation and transferred to the railway, but this practice was short lived, as the coastal railway from [[Brighton Lewes and Hastings Railway|Brighton to Lewes]] opened in 1846. Receipts in that year were about £800, a drop from around £1,200 in the 1810s, and despite significant reductions in tolls, traffic dwindled rapidly. The death-knell occurred in 1858, when the [[Wealden Line|Lewes to Uckfield]] branch line opened, running parallel to the river for much of its route, and in 1859, the company stopped keeping records. The navigation above Lindfield was disused by 1861, and the last barge to Lindfield sailed in 1868,{{sfn |Hadfield |1969 |p=34}} after which there was no trade above Lewes, although boats continued working on the Lower Ouse below Lewes.<ref name=SORT/>

A major user of the lower river was the Southerham Cement Works, located on the east bank of the river just above Lewes railway bridge. A chalk pit is known to have existed there since at least 1725, and it became a cement works in the 19th century, as the demand for building materials grew. The works had its own fleet of barges, which were used to transport coal, coke and clay to the site, and to carry lime and cement away from it. Although it had been connected to the railway by sidings <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nickwates.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Shoreham-Cement-Works-Report-V.3-lo.pdf |title=Shoreham Cement Works Collaborative planning project |publisher=Hargreaves Group |date=8 October 2013 |page=50 |access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref> since at least 1875,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.old-maps.co.uk/#/Map/542591/109475/12/100315 |title=1:2500 map |publisher=Ordnance Survey |year=1875}}</ref> barges continued to serve the works until the 1950s.{{sfn |Cumberlidge |2009 |p=238}}

===Management===
With the passing of the [[Land Drainage Act 1930]], most rivers were managed by a [[catchment board]], with the land drainage functions handled by an [[internal drainage board]] (IDB). The Commissioners of the Lewes and Laughton Levels effectively became an IDB until a new structure could be created. This happened in 1939, but rather than creating an independent IDB, flood management of the Ouse became the responsibility of the River Ouse Catchment Board (internal drainage).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/b716a796-7614-4d0b-9f20-59a4ab418913 |title=The Commissioners of Sewers for the Lewes and Laughton Levels |publisher=National Archives |access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref> During the successive reorganisations of the water industry, responsibility passed to the East Sussex [[river board|River Board]], the Sussex [[river authority|River Authority]], and the [[Southern Water|Southern Water Authority]]. When the water companies were privatised in 1989, rivers became the responsibility of the [[National Rivers Authority]], and when the Environment Agency replaced that organisation in 1995, they managed the River Ouse Internal Drainage District (IDD), together with five other IDDs in Sussex. In 2012, the Environment Agency decided that these functions would be better served by locally accountable organisations, and consulted local authorities as to how best this could be achieved.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/internal-drainage-districts-in-southern-england/internal-drainage-districts-in-southern-england |title=Internal Drainage Districts in southern England |publisher=Environment Agency |access-date=23 April 2018}}</ref>

Lewes District Council, who contributed £131,000 annually to the work of the IDD, opposed the setting up of an independent Internal Drainage Board. East Sussex County Council, who act as the local flood authority, were initially worried that this might result in their costs rising, but Lewes Council stated that they would use any savings made from not supporting an Internal Drainage Board to fund flood and coastal erosion management.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://democracy.eastsussex.gov.uk/documents/s4661/LMTE%20Sept%202015%20-%20Environment%20Agency%20Proposals%20for%20IDDs%20-%20Report.pdf |title=Environment Agency proposals for the Ouse, Cuckmere and Pevensey Levels Internal Drainage Districts |publisher=East Sussex CC |date=14 September 2015 |page=2 |access-date=23 April 2018}}</ref> Subsequently, The River Ouse (Sussex) Internal Drainage District Order 2016 was passed by Parliament on 18 July 2016, which abolished the River Ouse Internal Drainage District as from 31 March 2017, without creating a formal body to replace it.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/791/pdfs/uksi_20160791_en.pdf |title=The River Ouse (Sussex) Internal Drainage District Order 2016 |publisher=Stationery Office |date=18 July 2016 |access-date=23 April 2018}}</ref>

The work carried out to improve the river has not removed the risk of flooding, and there have been major flood events in 1960, 1979, 1987, 1993 and 2000, which have affected people living in Lewes, Uckfield, Haywards Heath and Lindfield.{{sfn |Agency |2009 |p=8}} The river is embanked below Barcombe Mills, and although this primarily protects agricultural land, it also offers some protection to around 2,000 properties.{{sfn |Agency |2009 |p=9}} Following the floods of 1960, a further round of widening the channel and raising the banks below Lewes occurred, and where gravity drainage of the levels has proved ineffective, water is pumped into the river from land drainage ditches.{{sfn |NRA |1991 |p=6}} Tidal water has been unable to enter the Laughton Level since 1973, when a dam and pumping station was constructed across the Glynde Reach at Beddingham.{{sfn |NRA |1991 |p=5}} There are land drainage pumping stations at Stoneham, Offham, Rodmell, ET Wadham, Ranscombe, Denton and Beddingham, with an eighth station at Lewes which pumps water into the Malling Drain.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geosmartinfo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sfra/Sfra_ldc_final_Appendicies_A-C.pdf |title=Lewes District Strategic Flood Risk Assessment |publisher=GeoSmart Information |date=October 2009 |page=34 |access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref>

===Legacy===
On the upper river, the remains of most of the old locks are still visible, although all are gradually deteriorating. The Sussex Ouse Conservation Society promotes awareness of the navigation, and publishes details of circular walks which include river sections. For serious walkers, the [[Sussex Ouse Valley Way]] is a long-distance footpath which follows the course of the river. It begins near its source at Horsham, and is {{convert|42|mi|km}} long, ending at the sea near Seaford. The Sussex Ouse Restoration Trust was formed in 2001, with the long-term aim of seeing navigation restored to the upper river,{{sfn |Cumberlidge |2009 |pp=238-239}} and have completed work on restoring Isfield Lock.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sxouse.org.uk/PdfPages/Newsletters/SORT%20News%202018.1%20Spring%202018.pdf |title=What Direction Next For SORT |publisher=Sussex Ouse Restoration Trust |date=Spring 2018 |access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref> However, the Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust see this aim as a threat to the ecology of the river.<ref name=oart/>