Editing River Glen, Lincolnshire

{{Short description|River in Lincolnshire and Rutland, England}}
{{Other uses|River Glen (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox river
| name              = River Glen
| image             = RiverGlenTongueEnd.jpg
| image_size        = 320px
| image_caption     = The pumping station at [[Tongue End]], which marks the head of navigation, and the point at which the Bourne Eau joins the River Glen.
| source1_location  = [[Ropsley]] and [[Boothby Pagnall]]
| mouth_location    = [[River Welland]], below [[Spalding, Lincolnshire|Spalding]]
| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = [[England]]
| length            =
}}
{{River Glen Lincolnshire map}}
The '''River Glen''' is a [[river]] in [[Lincolnshire]], [[England]] with a short stretch passing through [[Rutland]] near [[Essendine]].

The river's name appears to derive from a [[Brythonic languages|Brythonic]] Celtic language but there is a strong early [[English people|English]] connection.

==Naming==
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2010}}
In the language of the [[Celtic Britons|Ancient Britons]], which survives today as [[Welsh language|Welsh]], [[Cornish language|Cornish]] and [[Breton language|Breton]], the neighbouring rivers, the Glen and the [[River Welland|Welland]] seem to have been given contrasting names. The Welland flowed from the area underlain by the [[Northampton Sand]]s which in many places are bound together by [[Rust|iron oxide]] to form [[ironstone]]. In the Roman period, the sands were easily worked as [[arable land]] and the ironstone was dug for [[smelting]]. In both cases, the ground was exposed to [[erosion]] which meant that [[silt]] was carried down to [[The Fens]] by the [[river]]. In modern Welsh, ''gwaelod'' (from Late Proto-British ''*Woelǫd-'')<ref>Schrijver, Peter, Studies in British Celtic Historical Phonology, Rodopi, 1995, p. 115</ref> means bottom and its plural, ''gwaelodion'' means [[sediment]]. Among the [[medieval]] forms of the name 'Welland' is Weolod; the river could have thus been named from its silty nature. In contrast, the Glen flowed from [[clay]]s and [[limestone]]. Areas with clay-based soils tended to remain as [[woodland]] whilst the limestone areas provided [[grassland]] for [[pasture]]. Consequently, the River Glen did not carry much sediment. The modern Welsh for clean is ''glân''. The relative amounts of silt deposited in the fens around [[Maxey, Cambridgeshire|Maxey]] and around [[Thurlby by Bourne|Thurlby]] respectively, by the two rivers, support this view.

==Course==
[[File:East Glen River - geograph.org.uk - 312126.jpg|thumb|left|140px|The East Glen river between Edenham and Lound]]
The river has two sources, both in the low ridge of [[Jurassic]] rocks in the west of the [[county]]. The East Glen rises as a number of small streams near to [[Ropsley]] and [[Great Humby|Humby]], close to the {{convert|300|ft|m|adj=on}} contour. It flows in a southerly direction, passing to the east of [[Ingoldsby]] and to the west of [[Bulby]], to arrive at [[Edenham]]. The East Glen is sometimes called the River Eden, derived as a back-formation from its passing through the parish of Edenham. It continues south through [[Toft, Lincolnshire|Toft]], where a [[Grade II listed]] bridge built in the early 1800s crosses,<ref>{{NHLE |num=1165586 |desc=Bridge over East Glen River, Toft |access-date=29 December 2010}}</ref> and [[Manthorpe, Bourne|Manthorpe]], where there is another listed bridge with a single elliptical arch built in 1813,<ref>{{NHLE |num=1165592 |desc=Manthorpe Bridge |access-date=29 December 2010}}</ref> before turning east to join the West Glen at [[Wilsthorpe, Lincolnshire]]. The West Glen also has a number of sources, near to the {{convert|330|ft|m|adj=on}} contour at [[Old Somerby]] and [[Boothby Pagnall]]. It flows more or less parallel to the East Glen, passing through [[Bitchfield]], [[Burton Coggles|Burton-le-Coggles]], [[Corby Glen]] and [[Creeton]] to reach [[Essendine]], where it turns east towards [[Greatford]].<ref name=osmap>{{cite book |publisher=Ordnance Survey |title=1:25000 map, Sheets 234, 247, 248, 249}}</ref> In the village, a two-arched stone bridge built in the late 1700s carries Church Lane over the river.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1062685 |desc=Bridge over West Glen River, Greatford |access-date=29 December 2010}}</ref>

Most of the water from the West Glen river no longer joins that from the East Glen, as it now flows along the Greatford Cut to join the River Welland upstream of [[Market Deeping]]. The re-routing was devised by E. G. Taverner, the chief engineer for the Welland and Deepings Drainage Board, towards the end of the [[Second World War]], and was part of a much larger project which involved the digging of the Coronation Channel, a flood relief channel to divert the Welland around the south-eastern edge of Spalding, and the construction of Fulney lock, to exclude tidal water from the upper Welland. The whole scheme cost £723,000, and the Coronation Channel, which was completed in 1953, was named to commemorate the crowning of [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] in the same year.<ref name=boyes248>{{harvnb |Boyes |Russell |1977 |pp=248–250}}</ref>

By the time the East and West rivers join, they are only just above the {{convert|35|ft|m|adj=on}} contour.<ref name=osmap/> Once joined, the river flows in a northerly direction, past Fletland Mill, a former grain mill which was built in 1759,<ref>{{cite web |title=Fletland Mill cottage |publisher=Explore Lincolnshire |url=http://www.explorelincolnshire.co.uk/accommodation/fletland-mill-cottage-greatford-36439.html |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130092051/http://www.explorelincolnshire.co.uk/accommodation/fletland-mill-cottage-greatford-36439.html |archive-date=30 November 2010 }}</ref> and [[Kate's Bridge]] weir, where a modern bridge carries the [[A15 road (England)|A15 road]] over it. This bypasses a single-arched bridge built in the late 1700s, which has a female head carved on the keystone of the western face, presumed to be the Kate after whom the bridge is named.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1062703 |desc=Kate's Bridge, Baston |access-date=29 December 2010}}</ref> Beyond the bridges, the river becomes a typical Fens high level carrier, embanked on both sides and partially straightened, with counter drains on both sides of the channel, to collect seepage through the banks, as the normal water levels are higher than the surrounding land. At [[Tongue End]] the waters of the [[Bourne Eau]] join. The river below here is navigable for its last {{convert|11.5|mi|km}}, and there was once a navigable connection to the Bourne Eau, but the Tongue End pumping station now sits between the two rivers, to aid drainage of the land to the west.<ref name=boyes>{{harvnb |Boyes |Russell |1977 |pp=251–253}}</ref> The Weir Dyke drain runs along the north bank of the Bourne Eau and then the west bank of the Glen, to join the [[South Forty-Foot Drain]] near [[Guthram Gowt]]. For some distance either side of Tongue End, the Counter Drain runs a considerable distance to the east of the channel,<ref name=osmap/> creating washlands between them which can be flooded if water is not able to dischange from the river into the Welland estuary, as a result of the state of the tides. A little before Guthram Gowt, the Counter Drain turns to the east to reach [[Pode Hole]] pumping station,<ref name=osmap/> which plays an important part in the drainage of [[Deeping Fen]].

Beyond Guthram Gowt, the river flows in a north-easterly direction, and is flanked on both sides by drainage ditches because the land is low-lying. It passes through [[Pinchbeck, Lincolnshire|Pinchbeck]] and [[Surfleet]] to reach the [[tide|tidal]] entrance [[sluice]] where it joins the River Welland.<ref name=osmap/> The sluice is only navigable when the tidal level is the same as the river level.

==History==
''[[Historia Brittonum]]'', an ancient history of Britain traditionally attributed to [[Nennius]], a ninth-century Welsh monk, records that Arthur, the war leader of the [[Britons (historic)|Britons]] fought his first battle against the [[Anglo-Saxons]] at the mouth of the River Glein {{sic}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/nennius.htm |title=From: The History of the Britons by Nennius |author=The Camelot Project |publisher=University of Rochester |access-date=21 March 2011}}</ref> Thomas Green presents a case for the Glein being the Glen, based on the identification of ''Linnuis'', the district for four subsequent battles, being [[Lindsey (government district)|Lindsey]], although he acknowledges that other locations, including the [[River Glen, Northumberland]] for example, have been suggested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arthuriana.co.uk/notes&queries/N&Q3_ArthLincs.pdf |title=Lincolnshire and the Arthurian Legend |author=Thomas Green |pages=2–4 |access-date=21 March 2011}}</ref> This aerial photo<ref name="aerial">{{Cite web|title=Aerial photograph of Guthram Gowt |url=http://www.multimap.com/maps/?mapType=aerial&zoom=14&countryCode=GB&lat=52.7864131704851&lon=-0.259150901741578&dp=904 |publisher=[[Microsoft Bing|Bing]] Multi-Map |access-date=23 January 2010}}</ref> shows the River Glen at Guthram, halfway between Twenty and West Pinchbeck. To the south, the [[Roman road]] across the fen lies hidden, buried in Baston Fen and Pinchbeck Common.  In Arthur's time, around the year 500, the north-flowing section of the Glen entered [[tidal flats]] lying in [[Pinchbeck North Fen]], to the north-east of Guthram. The line of the river to the east of Guthram appears to have originated as a sea bank but when [[sediment]]ation and fen enclosure caused the [[sea]] no longer to reach it, the river was led away along the bank so that the sea bank became one of river's banks instead. The section of the [[A151 road]] on the 'seaward' side of the Glen was not built until 1822.

Close to the year 500, the spread of [[Angles (tribe)|Anglian settlement]] had recently reached [[Baston]], at the other end of this Roman road, on the landward side of this fen but burial at the Urns Farm cemetery alongside [[King Street (Roman road)|King Street]] then stopped abruptly.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}}

[[Image:Surfleet Sluice geograph 1755263.jpg|thumb|right|Surfleet Sluice, built in 1879, where the Glen meets the River Welland]]
[[File:"The Map of Lindsey Level" (1662).jpg|thumb|"The Map of the Lindsey Level" from "The history of imbanking and drayning" by [[William Dugdale]] (1662).]]
Compared to its neighbour, the Welland, there are few records of the history of the Glen. Dugdale, writing his book ''The History of Imbanking and Drayning of divers Fenns and Marshes'' in 1662, which was based on personal observations he made during a trip to the Fens in May 1657, and the records of the Fens Office, most of which were destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, thought it was the least of the rivers he had seen, and recorded that it "serveth almost to none other use, but to carry away so much of its own water, with the rill descending from Burne, as can be kept between two defensible banks." The embanking of the lower river had thus already been done by the time of his account.<ref name=boyes/>

Both the Bourne Eau and the Glen were affected by flooding, causing failure of the banks, which was addressed in the [[Black Sluice Act 1765]] ([[5 Geo. 3]]. c. ''86'' {{small|Pr.}}). The history of navigation is intimately tied up with that of the Bourne Eau, since Bourne was the main centre of population above Spalding. The [[Bourne Eau Act 1781]] ([[21 Geo. 3]]. c. 22) appointed trustees, who were to scour and cleanse the river, and could charge tolls to fund the operation. Corn and wool passed down the river, bound for [[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston]], while coal and groceries were the principal cargo in the opposite direction. In 1792, Thomas Hawkes wrote about trade in timber, which was carried from Bourne to Spalding, and there was a boat which carried passengers to the market at Spalding on Tuesdays, but he comments that the service was erratic, as there was often too little or too much water for the vessels to operate. The Black Sluice Commissioners installed flood doors between the Glen and the Bourne Eau at Tongue End, to prevent high water levels in the Glen passing up the river to Bourne.<ref name=boyes/>

Breaching of the banks by floodwater was a continual problem, with six breaches of the north bank recorded between 1821 and 1882, and eight of the south bank in the same period. Measurement showed that the river level rose by {{convert|9|or|10|in|cm}} for every {{convert|0.25|in|mm}} of rain falling on the river's catchment area. The arrival of railways in the area resulted in a rapid decline of river traffic. A railway from Boston to Spalding opened in 1848, while the line from Spalding opened to Bourne in 1866 and on to [[Sleaford]] in 1872. Although occasional boats were still reaching Bourne in 1857, the self-acting doors at Tongue End were replaced by a sluice in the 1860s, which prevented passage from the Glen to the Bourne Eau, although the right of navigation was not officially revoked until 1962,<ref name=boyes/> as part of flood defence measures which included the replacement of the sluice by a pumping station in 1966.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.blacksluiceidb.gov.uk/the-drainage-board/history.html |title=History of the Draining of the Fens in the Black Sluice Area |publisher=The Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board |access-date=29 December 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428032212/http://www.blacksluiceidb.gov.uk/the-drainage-board/history.html |archive-date=28 April 2011 }}</ref>

Once the route to Bourne was closed off, there was little trade on the river, although a short section of about {{convert|1|mi|km}} was used by barges until the 1920s. Although the present head of navigation is at Tongue End, there is evidence that lighters capable of carrying 15 tons used to navigate to Kate's Bridge, where the [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]] to [[Peterborough]] turnpike road crossed the river, and there are the remains of moorings at Greatford Hall, although navigation to there must have ceased after Kate's Bridge was rebuilt.<ref name=boyes/>

In 1734, John Grundy, one of the pioneers in applying scientific principles to the solution of civil engineering problems, was asked by the Adventurers of [[Deeping Fen]] to consider the drainage of {{convert|47|sqmi|km2}} of fenland to the west of Spalding. His plans included the construction of a reservoir which covered {{convert|10|acre|ha}}, impounded by a sluice at Surfleet. At low tide, the water would be released, and the scouring action would deepen the channel, with a consequent improvement in drainage. Humphrey Smith directed the construction, with Grundy acting as engineer, which was completed in 1739, according to a plaque fixed to it at the time. The sluice had three openings, each {{convert|8|ft|m}} wide, with pointed doors on the downstream site, which closed as the tide rose, and lifting gates on the upstream side, which would be raised to discharge the water.<ref>{{harvnb |Skempton |2002 |p=277}}</ref> The present sluice was erected by the trustees of the [[Deeping Fen Drainage Act 1856]]. The first stone was laid by Lord Kesteven on 17th February 1879 and the sluice opened in November 1879 at a total cost of £15,000.

==Development==
[[Image:RiverGlenGuthramGowt.jpg|thumb|left|The bend in the river at Guthram Gowt, where the junction with the proposed Fens Link will probably be located.]]
The [[Environment Agency]] are the [[navigation authority]] responsible for the river. They issue licences for its use, and operate Surfleet sluice when required. While the river is navigable for {{convert|11.5|mi|km}} to Tongue End, the upper reaches above [[Pinchbeck Bars]] are only suitable for smaller boats, as there are no locations where it is possible to turn a boat which is over {{convert|30|ft|m}} long.{{sfn |Cumberlidge |2009 |pp=124–125}} However, the {{convert|8.9|mi|km|adj=on}} section of the river from its source to [[Guthram Gowt]] forms part of the proposed [[Fens Waterways Link]], which will ultimately link the [[River Witham]] to the [[River Nene]], via the [[South Forty-Foot Drain]], the River Glen, the [[River Welland]] and some upgraded drains near Peterborough. Phase One, the connection of the South Forty-Foot Drain to [[The Haven, Boston|The Haven]] at [[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston]] by a new lock,<ref>IWA Head Office Bulletin – March 2008 – Issue 134</ref> was completed by December 2008, and was officially opened on 20 March 2009.<ref name=lwp19>{{cite journal
 |title=Newsletter 17 |pages=3, 13
 |publisher=Lincolnshire Waterways Partnership
 |date=March 2009
}}</ref>
Construction of the second phase of the project, which will involve making the South Forty-Foot Drain navigable from [[Donington, Lincolnshire|Donington]] to Guthram Gowt, where a connection with the River Glen will be made, has been delayed by the change in the economic climate, and the complexity of the task.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Newsletter 23 |publisher=Lincolnshire Waterways Partnership |page=12 |date=October 2010}}</ref>
{{clear left}}

==Water quality==
The Environment Agency measure the water quality of the river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of [[invertebrate]]s, [[angiosperm]]s and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/help/glossary |website=Catchment Data Explorer |title=Glossary (see Biological quality element; Chemical status; and Ecological status) |publisher=Environment Agency |access-date=15 May 2017}}</ref>

The water quality of the River Glen system was as follows in 2019.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Section !! Ecological Status !! Chemical Status !! Length !! Catchment !! Channel
|-
| {{waterqual_title |desc=West Glen – Upper |asset=GB105031055510 |accessdate=13 July 2018}} 
| {{waterqual_poor}} 
| {{waterqual_fail}} 
| {{convert|14.0|mi}}
| {{convert|28.55|sqmi}}
|
|-
| {{waterqual_title |desc=The Tham |asset=GB105031050650 |accessdate=13 July 2018}} 
| {{waterqual_mod}} 
| {{waterqual_fail}} 
| {{convert|6.9|mi}}
| {{convert|9.38|sqmi}}
|
|-
| {{waterqual_title |desc=West Glen – conf West Glen trib to conf East Glen River |asset=GB105031050770 |accessdate=13 July 2018}} 
| {{waterqual_mod}} 
| {{waterqual_fail}} 
| {{convert|18.8|mi}}
| {{convert|32.56|sqmi}}
|
|-
| {{waterqual_title |desc=Grimsthorpe Park Brook |asset=GB105031050450 |accessdate=13 July 2018}} 
| {{waterqual_good}} 
| {{waterqual_fail}}  
| {{convert|2.1|mi}}
| {{convert|8.82|sqmi}}
|
|-
| {{waterqual_title |desc=East Glen River |asset=GB105031055480 |accessdate=13 July 2018}} 
| {{waterqual_poor}} 
| {{waterqual_fail}} 
| {{convert|17.9|mi}}
| {{convert|41.25|sqmi}}
| 
|-
| {{waterqual_title |desc=Glen |asset=GB105031050720 |accessdate=13 July 2018}} 
| {{waterqual_mod}} 
| {{waterqual_fail}} 
| {{convert|16.7|mi}}
| {{convert|22.02|sqmi}}
| artificial
|}

The reasons for the quality being less than good include sewage discharge affecting most of the river, physical modification of channels, ground water abstraction, and poor management of agricultural and rural land adjacent to the river system. Like most rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and mercury compounds, none of which had previously been included in the assessment.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/help/usage#chemical-status |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314040920/https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/help/usage#chemical-status |archive-date=14 March 2024 |url-status=live |title=Chemical Status |publisher=Environment Agency |year=2023}}</ref>

==Points of interest==
{{geoGroup}}{{PoIgb start|type=collapsed}}
{{PoIgb|Surfleet Seas End sluice|52.8458|-0.1012|TF279292|close to mouth}}
{{PoIgb|A16 bridge, Surfleet|52.8409|-0.1226|TF265286|}}
{{PoIgb|Pinchbeck railway bridge|52.8179|-0.1684|TF235260|}}
{{PoIgb|Guthram Gowt|52.7869|-0.2624|TF172224|}}
{{PoIgb|Tongue End pumping station|52.7544|-0.2894|TF155187|outfall from Bourne Eau}}
{{PoIgb|Fletland Mill|52.7165|-0.3677|TF103144|}}
{{PoIgb|Junction of East and West Glen|52.7066|-0.3804|TF095133|}}
{{PoIgb|Edenham bridge|52.7849|-0.4293|TF060219|East Glen}}
{{PoIgb|East Glen source|52.8915|-0.5270|SK991336|Ropsley}}
{{PoIgb|Start of Greatford Cut|52.6919|-0.3990|TF083116|to Welland at Market Deeping}}
{{PoIgb|Essendine bridge|52.7019|-0.4473|TF050127|West Glen}}
{{PoIgb|Corby Glen bridge|52.8120|-0.5247|SK995248|West Glen}}
{{PoIgb|West Glen source|52.8919|-0.5596|SK970336|Old Somerby}}
{{PoIgb end}}

==See also==
*[[Rivers of the United Kingdom]]
{{commons}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book
  |first1=John |last1=Boyes
  |first2=Ronald |last2=Russell
  |title=The Canals of Eastern England
  |year=1977
  |publisher=David and Charles
  |isbn=978-0-7153-7415-3
  }}
* British Geological Survey, (solid & drift) 1:50,000 Series, Sheet 144.
*{{cite book
  |first=Jane |last=Cumberlidge
  |year=2009
  |title=Inland Waterways of Great Britain (8th Ed.)
  |publisher=Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson
  |isbn=978-1-84623-010-3
  }}
*{{cite book
  |first1=P. |last1=Mayes
  |first2=M.J. |last2=Dean
  |title=An Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Baston, Lincolnshire
  |year=1976
  |publisher=The King's England Press
  |isbn=0-904680-05-3
  }}
*{{cite book
  |first=C.W. |last=Phillips
  |title=The Fenland in Roman Times
  |pages=Map 3 and the corresponding part of the gazetteer
  |publisher=Royal Geographic Society
  |year=1970
  |isbn=978-0-902447-02-8
  }}
*{{Cite book
  |first=Sir Alec|last=Skempton
  |title=A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: Vol 1: 1500 to 1830 
  |publisher=Thomas Telford 
  |year=2002 
  |isbn=0-7277-2939-X
  |display-authors=etal}}
*{{Cite book
  |first=W.H.|last=Wheeler
  |title=A History of The Fens of South Lincolnshire 
  |publisher=Reprinted 1990 - Paul Watkins 
  |year=1896 
  |isbn=1-871615-39-9
  }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|River Glen, Lincolnshire}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120312090346/http://www.fenswaterways.com/portals/0/plans/Wel_Glen/R_Welland_and_Glen_Waterway_Plan_Document.pdf Environment agency document explaining development plans]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120312090454/http://www.fenswaterways.com/portals/0/plans/Wel_Glen/R_Welland_and_Glen_WWPV2_Map10_Develop.pdf Environment agency map outlining proposed changes (no real detail)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20091027111415/http://geocities.com/vortigernstudies/articles/guestdan2a.htm A case for placing Arthur's first battle outside Lincolnshire]

{{coord|52.7864|N|0.2592|W|region:GB_type:river|display=title|name=Confluence of River Glen and Bourne Eau}}
{{Rivers and Watercourses of Lincolnshire}}
{{Rivers and watercourses of Rutland}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Rivers of Lincolnshire|Glen]]
[[Category:Rivers of Rutland|Glen]]
[[Category:South Kesteven District]]