Editing Humber

{{Short description|Large tidal estuary in north-east England}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox river
| name               = Humber
| native_name        = 
| native_name_lang   = 
| name_other         = 
| name_etymology     = 
<!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP -->
| image              = Humber Bridge.png
| image_size         = 
| image_caption      = [[Humber Bridge]] viewed from the south-east
| image_alt          = A long suspension bridge over a large expanse of water
| map                = 
| map_size           = 
| map_caption        = 
| pushpin_map        = Lincolnshire
| pushpin_map_size   = 
| pushpin_map_caption = Mouth of the Humber
| mapframe           =
| mapframe-zoom      = 
<!---------------------- LOCATION -->
| subdivision_type1  = Country
| subdivision_name1  = [[England]]
| subdivision_type2  = 
| subdivision_name2  = 
| subdivision_type3  = Counties
| subdivision_name3  = [[East Riding of Yorkshire]], [[Lincolnshire]]
| subdivision_type4  = Cities
| subdivision_name4  = [[Kingston upon Hull]]
| subdivision_type5  = Towns
| subdivision_name5  = [[Brough, East Riding of Yorkshire|Brough]], [[Grimsby]], [[Immingham]], [[Barton upon Humber]], [[Cleethorpes]]
<!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS -->
| length             = {{convert|38.5|mi|km|abbr=on}}<ref name=humcat>{{cite web|url=http://www.iia.cnr.it/big_file/EUROCAT/publications/EUROCAT%20WD04.pdf |title=The Humber Catchment and its Coastal Area |publisher=University of East Anglia |year=2002 |first=Rachel |last=Cave |access-date=12 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202105806/http://www.iia.cnr.it/big_file/EUROCAT/publications/EUROCAT%20WD04.pdf |archive-date=2 February 2014 }}</ref> 
| width_min          = 
| width_avg          = 
| width_max          = 
| depth_min          = 
| depth_avg          = 
| depth_max          = 
| discharge1_location= [[freshwater inflow]]<ref name=humcat/>
| discharge1_min     = 
| discharge1_avg     = {{convert|250|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name=humcat/>
| discharge1_max     = {{convert|1500|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name=humcat/>
<!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES -->
| source1            = 
| source1_location   = [[Trent Falls]]
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|53.7008|-0.6911|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation  = 
| mouth              = 
| mouth_location     = [[North Sea]], between [[Spurn Head]]
| mouth_coordinates  = {{coord|53.5427|0.0923|display=inline,title}}
| mouth_elevation    = 
| progression        = 
| river_system       = 
| basin_size         = {{convert|24240|km2|abbr=on}}<ref name=humcat/>
| tributaries_left   = [[River Ouse, Yorkshire|River Ouse]], [[River Hull]]
| tributaries_right  = [[River Trent]], [[River Ancholme]], [[River Freshney]]
| custom_label       = Designation
| custom_data        = {{Designation list
| embed = yes
| designation1 = Ramsar
| designation1_offname = Humber Estuary
| designation1_date = 28 July 1994
| designation1_number = 663<ref>{{cite web|title=Humber Estuary|website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/663|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref>}}
| extra              = 
}}

{{Humber}}
The '''Humber''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ʌ|m|b|ər}} is a large [[tidal estuary]] on the east coast of [[Northern England]]. It is formed at [[Trent Falls]], [[Faxfleet]], by the confluence of the [[tidal river]]s [[River Ouse, Yorkshire|Ouse]] and [[River Trent|Trent]]. From there to the [[North Sea]], it forms part of the boundary between the [[East Riding of Yorkshire]] on the north bank and [[North Lincolnshire]] on the south bank. Also known as the '''River Humber''', it is tidal its entire length. <ref>{{cite web
|url=http://getamap.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/getamap/frames.htm 
 |title=Get-a-map online 
 |publisher=[[Ordnance Survey]] 
 |access-date=6 March 2009 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131129143647/http://getamap.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/getamap/frames.htm 
 |archive-date=29 November 2013 
}}</ref>

Below Trent Falls, the Humber passes the junction with the [[Market Weighton Canal]] on the north shore, the confluence of the [[River Ancholme]] on the south shore; between [[North Ferriby]] and [[South Ferriby]] and under the [[Humber Bridge]]; between [[Barton-upon-Humber]] on the south bank and [[Kingston upon Hull]] on the north bank (where the [[River Hull]] joins), then meets the [[North Sea]] between [[Cleethorpes]] on the Lincolnshire side and the long and thin headland of [[Spurn|Spurn Head]] to the north.

Ports on the Humber include the [[Port of Hull]], the [[Port of Grimsby]] and the [[Port of Immingham]]; there are lesser ports at [[New Holland, Lincolnshire|New Holland]] and [[North Killingholme Haven]]. The estuary is navigable for the largest of deep-sea vessels. Inland connections for smaller craft are extensive but handle only a quarter of the goods traffic handled in the [[Thames]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/excel/173025/221412/221658/347057/section1and209.xls|title=Department of transport figures for 2009. See table 2-1.|format=Excel|publisher=Department of Transport|access-date=24 January 2013|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110504133815/http://www.dft.gov.uk/excel/173025/221412/221658/347057/section1and209.xls|archive-date=4 May 2011}}</ref>

==Names==
There are numerous theories for how the [[hydronym]] of ''Humber'' is derived from [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] or [[Pre-Celtic]] languages. For example, it may be a [[Common Brittonic|Brittonic]] formation containing ''-[a]mb-ṛ'', a variant of the element ''*amb'' meaning "moisture", with the prefix ''*hu-'' meaning "good, well" (cf. [[Welsh language|Welsh]] ''hy-'', in ''Hywel'', etc).<ref name="BLITON">{{cite web |last1=James |first1=Alan |title=The Brittonic Language in the Old North |url=https://spns.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Alan_James_Brittonic_Language_in_the_Old_North_BLITON_Volume_II_Dictionary_2020_Edition.pdf |website=Scottish Place Name Society |access-date=29 April 2021}}</ref>

The first element may also be ''*hū-'', with connotations of "seethe, boil, soak", of which a variant forms the name of the adjoining [[River Hull]].<ref name="BLITON" />

The estuary appears in some [[Latin language|Latin]] sources as {{lang|la|Abus}} (A name used by [[Edmund Spenser]] in ''[[The Faerie Queene]]''). This is possibly a Latinisation of the Celtic form {{lang|cy|Aber}} ([[Welsh Language|Welsh]] for river mouth or estuary) but is erroneously given as a name for both the Humber and [[River Ouse, Yorkshire|The Ouse]] as one continuous watercourse.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rivet |last2=Smith |title=The Place-Names of Roman Britain |date=1979 |location=London |isbn=9780713420777 }}</ref> Both {{lang|la|Abus}} and {{lang|cy|Aber}} may record an older [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] word for water or river, (as in the 'Five Rivers' of the [[Punjab]]). An alternative derivation may be from the Latin verb {{lang|la|abdo}} meaning "to hide, to conceal". The successive name ''Humbre''/''Humbri''/''Umbri'' may continue the meaning via the Latin verb {{lang|la|umbro}} also meaning "to cover with shadows".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.monumenta.ch/latein/text.php?tabelle=Beda_Venerabilis&rumpfid=Beda%20Venerabilis,%20De%20Temporum%20Ratione,%20%20%2066&level=3&domain=&lang=0&links=&inframe=1&PHPSESSID=507769d9d55c951c412fee36a76d09c2 |author=Beda |title=De Temporum Ratione |page=CAPUT LXV, number 269 |no-pp=y |access-date=24 January 2013 }}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Hull and Humber Estuary 2013-03.jpg|250px|thumbnail|right|The Humber from the [[International Space Station]]]]
Although it is now an [[estuary]] its entire length, the Humber had a much longer freshwater course during the [[Last Glacial Period|Ice Age]], extending across [[Doggerland]], which is now submerged beneath the [[North Sea]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cowper Reed|first1=F R|title=The geological history of the rivers of East Yorkshire|date=1900|publisher=Clay & Sons|location=London|pages=65–66|oclc=11368522}}</ref>

==History==
The Humber features regularly in medieval British literature. In the [[Welsh Triads]], the Humber is (together with [[the Thames]] and the [[River Severn]]) one of the three principal rivers of Britain, and is continually mentioned throughout the [[Brut y Brenhinedd]] as a boundary between the southern kingdom ([[Lloegyr]]) and various northern kingdoms. In [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]'s 12th-century historically unreliable chronicle ({{lang|la|[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]|italic=yes}}), the Humber is named for "[[Humber the Hun]]", an invader who drowned there during battle in the earliest days of the chronicle.

The Humber remained an important boundary throughout the [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] period, separating [[Northumbria]] from the southern kingdoms. The name ''Northumbria'' derives from the [[Anglo-Saxon language|Anglo-Saxon]] {{lang|ang|Norðhymbre}} (plural) = "the people north of the Humber".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Northumbria&allowed_in_frame=0 |title=Northumbria |work=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=12 August 2017 }}</ref>

The Humber is recorded with the abbreviation ''Fl. Abi'' (The Abus river, {{langx|grc|Ἄβος}}) in [[Ptolemy]]'s [[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geographia]], discharging into the German Ocean (the [[North Sea]]) south of [[Ocelum Promontorium]] (Spurn Head). Ptolemy also gives the [[Celts|Iron Age tribes]] of the area as the [[Coritani]] south of the Humber and the [[Parisi (Yorkshire)|Parisi]] to the north.<ref>{{cite DGRG|title=Abus}}</ref><ref>[[Ptolemy]], ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]]'', 2.3.6.</ref>

In the 1719 novel ''[[Robinson Crusoe]]'', Crusoe leaves England on a ship departing from The Humber.

On 23 August 1921, the British [[airship]] [[R38-class airship|R38]] crashed into the estuary near Hull, killing 44 of the 49 crew on board.<ref>{{cite PastScape|mnumber=1512866|mname= Airship Memorial in Hull|access-date=14 January 2013 }} Entry includes considerable details about the ship, flight, and crash.</ref>

From 1974 to 1996, the areas now known as the [[East Riding of Yorkshire]], [[North Lincolnshire]] and [[North East Lincolnshire]] constituted the county of  [[Humberside]]. The Humber, from 1996, forms a boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire (to the north) and North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire, to the south.

==Fortifications==
The [[Humber Forts]] were built in the mouth of the estuary for the [[First World War]]. Planned in 1914, their construction started in 1915 and they were not completed until 1919.<ref name=ps1>{{cite PastScape|mnumber=915963|mname= Bull Sand Fort|access-date=14 January 2013 }}</ref><ref name=ps2>{{cite PastScape|mnumber=1429147|mname= Haile Sand Fort|access-date=14 January 2013 }}</ref> A coastal battery at Easington, ''Fort Goodwin'' or ''Kilnsea Battery'', faced the Bull Sands Fort.<ref>{{cite PastScape|mnumber=929478|mname= Fort Godwin|access-date=14 January 2013 }}</ref> They were also garrisoned during the Second World War, and were finally abandoned for military use in 1956.

[[Fort Paull]] is further upstream, a Napoleonic-era emplacement replaced in the early 20th century by ''Stallingborough Battery'' opposite [[Sunk Island]].<ref>{{cite PastScape|mnumber=1429224|mname= Stallingborough Battery|access-date=14 January 2013 }}</ref>

==Crossings==
The [[Humber Bridge]] was the longest single-span [[suspension bridge]] in the world from its construction in 1981 until 1998. It is now the [[List of longest suspension bridge spans|twelfth longest]].

Before the bridge was built, a series of [[paddle steamer]]s operated from the [[Corporation Pier railway station]]<ref name=cp>{{cite PastScape|mnumber=498352|mname= Hull Corporation Pier station|access-date=14 January 2013 }}</ref> at the [[Victoria Pier, Kingston upon Hull|Victoria Pier]] in Hull to the [[New Holland Pier railway station|railway pier in New Holland]]. Steam ferries started in 1841, and in 1848 were purchased by the [[Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway]]. They, and their successors, ran the ferry until the bridge opened in 1981.<ref name=cp/> Railway passenger and car traffic continued to use the pier until the end of ferry operations.<ref>{{cite PastScape|mnumber=498365|mname= New Holland Pier station|access-date=14 January 2013 }}</ref>

The line of the bridge is similar to an ancient ferry route from [[Hessle]] to [[Barton upon Humber]], which is noted in the ''[[Domesday Book]]'' and in a charter of 1281. The ferry was recorded as still operating in 1856, into the railway era.<ref>{{PastScape|mnumber=79005|mname= Barton Ferry|access-date=14 January 2013 }}</ref> The Humber was then {{convert|1|mi|spell=in}} across.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50783#s9|quote=The ancient ferry to Hessle, across the Humber, which is here about a mile broad, is appurtenant to the manor, which is vested in the crown...|title=A Topographical Dictionary of England|editor-first=Samuel|editor-last=Lewis|year=1848|pages=164–168 'Barton, St Michael – Basing'|publisher=Samuel Lewis & Co.|location=London|access-date=24 January 2013}} (entry for Barton-upon-Humber)</ref>

===Foot===
Graham Boanas, a Hull man, is believed to be the first man to succeed in wading across the Humber since [[Roman Britain|ancient Roman]] times. The feat in August 2005 was attempted to raise cash and awareness for the medical research charity, [[DebRA]]. He started his trek on the north bank at [[Brough, East Riding of Yorkshire|Brough]]; four hours later, he emerged on the south bank at [[Whitton, North Lincolnshire|Whitton]]. He is {{convert|6|ft|9|in|m|2}} tall and took advantage of a very low tide.<ref>
{{cite web
|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/4173118.stm
|title = Humber crossing after 1,000 years
|work = [[BBC News Online]]
|publisher = [[BBC]]
|access-date = 28 July 2008
|date = 22 August 2005
}}
</ref> He replicated this achievement on the television programme ''[[Top Gear (2002 TV series)|Top Gear]]'' (Series 10 Episode 6) when he beat [[James May]] who drove an [[Alfa Romeo 159]] around the inland part of the estuary in a race without using the Humber Bridge.

=== Swimming===
On Saturday 26 August 1911, Alice Maud Boyall became the first recorded woman to swim the Humber. Boyall, then aged 19 and living in Hull, was the Yorkshire swimming champion. She crossed the Humber from Hull to New Holland Pier swimming the distance in 50 minutes, 6 minutes slower than the existing men's record.<ref>{{cite news|work=Yorkshire Post & Leeds Intelligencer |date=28 August 1911|title=Annual Humber Swim|page=5}}</ref>

Since 2011, Warners Health have organised the 'Warners Health Humber Charity Business Swim'. Twelve swimmers from companies across the Yorkshire region train and swim in an ellipse from the south bank to the north bank of the estuary under the Humber Bridge over a total distance of approximately {{convert|1+1/2|mi|km|1|round=5}}.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Business-people-swim-Humber-charity-challenge/story-16641429-detail/story.html#axzz2XLVgoNro|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130628033515/http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Business-people-swim-Humber-charity-challenge/story-16641429-detail/story.html%23axzz2XLVgoNro|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 June 2013|title=Business people to swim the Humber for charity challenge|date=4 August 2013|work=Hull Daily Mail|access-date=26 June 2013}}</ref> Since then, an organised group crossing at the Humber Bridge has become an annual event, with a small number of pre-selected swimmers crossing in a 'pod' which remains close together, in aid of Humber Rescue.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-48900113|title=Countryfile star takes Humber challenge|date=7 July 2019|access-date=30 July 2019|work=BBC News}}</ref>

In 2019, Hull-based competitive open water swimmer Richard Royal became the first person to attempt and complete a two-way swim across the estuary,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2019-07-28/man-from-hull-completes-first-swim-across-the-humber-and-back-in-aid-of-rescue-charity/|title=Man from Hull completes 'first swim across the Humber and back' in aid of rescue charity|website=ITV News|access-date=30 July 2019}}</ref> beginning and finishing at Hessle foreshore, with Barton on the south bank as the mid-way point, fulfilling the land-to-land criteria, covering a total of {{cvt|4,085|m|yd}}. Royal holds the record for the fastest one-way swim across the Humber (35 minutes 11 seconds) and the fastest two-way swim (1 hour, 13 minutes, 46 seconds), certified by Guinness World Records and the World Open Water Swimming Association.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/richard-royal-humber-swim-solo-3143685|title=Hull man becomes first to swim solo across River Humber and back|first=Phil|last=Winter|date=27 July 2019|newspaper=Hull Daily Mail|access-date=30 July 2019}}</ref> He raised over £900 for Humber Rescue, who provided safety support during the swim.

==Ecology==
The Humber is home both to resident fish and those returning from the sea to their spawning grounds in Yorkshire,<ref>{{cite web |title=Salmon are spawning along the River Burn in North Yorkshire for the first time in 100 years |url=https://www.theriverstrust.org/2017/06/21/salmon-spawning-along-river-burn-north-yorkshire-first-time-100-years/ |website=The Rivers Trust |access-date=23 March 2019 |date=21 June 2017 |archive-date=2 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402110822/https://www.theriverstrust.org/2017/06/21/salmon-spawning-along-river-burn-north-yorkshire-first-time-100-years/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Lincolnshire]] and [[Derbyshire]]. [[Salmon]], [[Sole (fish)|sole]], [[cod]], [[eel]], [[flounder]], [[plaice]], [[sprat]], [[lamprey]] and [[sand goby]] have all been caught within the estuary.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Potts |first1=Geoffrey |last2=Swaby |first2=Silja |title=Review of the status of estuarine fishes |journal=English Nature Research Report |date=1993 |issue=34 |pages=68–69 |publisher=Marine Biological Association |location=Plymouth |oclc=182887652}}</ref> It is also used by over-wintering birds,<ref>{{cite web |title=Humber Management Scheme Fact sheet: Wintering and passage birds |url=http://www.humbernature.co.uk/admin/resources/wintering-and-passage-birds-fact-sheet.pdf |website=humbernature.co.uk |access-date=23 March 2019 |page=2 }}</ref> is a good breeding ground for [[bitterns]], [[marsh harrier]]s, [[little tern]]s and [[avocets]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Humber Management Scheme Fact sheet: Breeding birds |url=http://www.humbernature.co.uk/admin/resources/breeding-birds-fact-sheet.pdf |website=humbernature.co.uk |access-date=23 March 2019 |pages=4–6 }}</ref> and forms part of the [[Severn-Trent flyway]], a route used by [[bird migration|migratory birds]] to cross [[Great Britain]].<ref name="WtgW">{{cite book |title=RSPB Where To Go Wild in Britain |date=2009 |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |isbn=978-1405335126 |page=265}}</ref>

In 2019 the [[Yorkshire Wildlife Trust]] and the [[University of Hull]] re-introduced the [[oyster|river oyster]]{{which|date=July 2024}} into the Humber after a sixty-year absence.<ref>{{cite news |title=River oysters come back out of their shell|editor-last=Mitchinson|editor-first=James |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=19 March 2019 |page=1|issn=0963-1496}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Industry of the South Humber Bank]]
*[[North Wall, Lincolnshire]]
* ''Humber'', the name of one of the sea areas of the British [[Shipping Forecast]].
*[[Lagoon Hull]]

===Navigable tributaries and connections===
*[[River Hull]]
*[[River Trent]]
*[[River Ouse, Yorkshire]]
*[[River Don, South Yorkshire]]
*[[Aire and Calder Navigation]]
*[[River Ancholme]]
*[[Market Weighton Canal]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Humber estuary}}
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Humber}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120229134622/http://members.multimania.co.uk/humberferries/ River Humber Ferries]—Private web site about the Steam era ferries
*[http://www.humber.com/ www.humber.com]—Associated British Ports, Humber group. Includes daily details of major shipping movements
*[http://www.humberpacketboats.co.uk/ www.humberpacketboats.co.uk]—Extensive private web site about history of river trading in Humber and tributaries.
*{{cite book|first=Alun|last=D'Orley|title=The Humber Ferries|location=Knaresborough|publisher=Nidd Valley Narrow Gauge Railways|year=1968}}
*{{cite book|first=Arthur |last=Storey |title=Hull Trinity House: Pilotage and Navigational Aids of the River Humber, 1512–1908 |publisher=Ridings Publishing Co |date=December 1971 |isbn=978-0-901934-03-1}}

<!--{{coord|53|35|N|0|0|E|region:GB_type:waterbody|display=title}}-->
{{Rivers of Yorkshire}}
{{Rivers and Watercourses of Lincolnshire}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Humber| ]]
[[Category:Humber drainage basin| ]]
[[Category:Estuaries of England]]
[[Category:Landforms of the North Sea]]
[[Category:Ramsar sites in England]]
[[Category:River navigations in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Rivers of Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:Rivers of the East Riding of Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Natural regions of England]]