The River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands. River engineering is the process of planned human intervention in the course characteristics or flow of a River with the intention of producing some defined benefit Hydrocotyle ranunculoides, known commonly as water pennywort or floating pennywort is an Aquatic plant in the Ranunculaceae. A tributary is a Stream or River which flows into a mainstem (or parent river The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire between Biddulph and Biddulph Moor. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The East Midlands is one of the Regions of England and consists of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands.
It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester (where it is joined by the Grand Union Canal at Aylestone), Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, and thence into the Humber and the North Sea. Hinckley is a town in south-west Leicestershire, England. It has a population of 43246 (2001 census Leicestershire (ˈlɛstəʃə(r or ˈlɛstəʃɪə(r abbreviation Leics The River Sence is a Leicestershire Tributary of the larger River Soar. Enderby is a village in the middle of Leicestershire, England. Leicester (ˈlɛstə is the largest city and Unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and is the traditional The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Aylestone is a Suburb of Leicester, England at. It is south-west of the city centre, but to the east of the River Soar. Barrow upon Soar is a large village in northern Leicestershire, in the Soar Valley between Leicester and Loughborough Loughborough (pronounced locally as either /lɘfbɘɹɘ/ "LUFF-burra" /lɘf Kegworth (pronounced locally as "Keggoth" or "kegg-wuth" is a Village on the River Soar, Leicestershire Nottinghamshire (abbreviated Notts) is an English county in the East Midlands, which borders South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire The Humber is a large tidal Estuary on the east coast of northern England The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. Its major tributary, the once navigable River Wreake, joins it near Syston. The River Wreake is a River in Leicestershire, England. It is a tributary of the River Soar. This article is on Syston in Leicestershire There is also a Syston in Lincolnshire &mdash see Syston Lincolnshire Syston
The Soar has been made navigable to boats and several shortcuts have been built. The section between Loughborough and Leicester was made navigable in 1784, and the Grand Union Canal connected it south to the southern canals network and to London, in 1814. Loughborough (pronounced locally as either /lɘfbɘɹɘ/ "LUFF-burra" /lɘf Leicester (ˈlɛstə is the largest city and Unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and is the traditional Year 1784 ( MDCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year This article is about the original Grand Union Canal For the modern canal of that name of which the old Grand Union forms part see Grand Union Canal. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Year 1814 ( MDCCCXIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
According to legend, the body of King Richard III of England was thrown into the Soar after his death. Richard III ( 2 October 1452 &ndash 22 August 1485) was King of England from 1483 until his death The bridge carrying the A47 across the Soar at Leicester is known as 'King Richard's Bridge'. The A47 is a Trunk road in England linking Birmingham to Great Yarmouth (although most of the section between Birmingham and Nuneaton has
It is believed the name "Leicester" is derived from the words castra (camp) of the Ligore, meaning dwellers on the 'River Legro' (an early name for the River Soar). In the early 10th century it was recorded as Ligeraceaster ("the town of the Ligor people"). The Domesday Book later recorded it as Ledecestre. The Domesday Book (ˈduːmzdeɪ bʊk also known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester) was the record of the great survey
The Soar passes
- west of Aylestone
- west of City Centre and east of Leicester's West End
- east of Woodgate
- west of Belgrave
- east of Birstall and west of Thurmaston
- it is joined by the River Wreake
- west of Sileby and east of Mountsorrel
- east of Quorn and west of Barrow-on-Soar
- east of Loughborough (a canalised short-cut runs through the town), passing through Cotes then Stanford on Soar
- past Normanton on Soar and Zouch
- west of Sutton Bonington
- east of Kegworth
- west of Kingston on Soar
- west of Ratcliffe on Soar
- joining the River Trent near the Trent Locks
Contents |
Chronology Of The River Soar In Leicester
- Leir of Britain is said to have been buried by his daughter Cordelia in an underground chamber beneath the River Soar near Leicester. Leir was the son of King Bladud and a legendary prehistoric king of the Britons, as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. Queen Cordelia was a legendary Queen of the Britons as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth.
- 1634 Thomas Skipworth of Cotes gained a grant from Charles I to make the river Soar "portable for barges and boats" though the scheme was never completed. Cotes is a small hamlet near the town of Loughborough in Leicestershire, England, with a population of about 50 Charles I, (19 November 1600 &ndash 30 January 1649 was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. BARGE, the Big August RecGambling Excursion is a yearly convention held in Las Vegas during the first weekend of August A boat is a Watercraft of modest size designed to float or plane on water and provide transport over it
- 1794 The Leicester Canal was opened making the Soar navigable for almost 40 miles. The western line was also opened - known as the Charnwood Forest Branch. The Charnwood Forest Canal sometimes known as the "Forest Line of the Leicester Navigation" was opened between Thringstone and Nanpantan, with a further However, most of the branch was made up of rail tracks rather than a waterway. A waterway is any navigable Body of water. These include Rivers Lakes Seas Oceans and Canals In order for a waterway This included a 2½ mile uphill climb from Loughborough Basin. Loughborough (pronounced locally as either /lɘfbɘɹɘ/ "LUFF-burra" /lɘf At the western end of the branch rail lines travelled towards Coleorton and Swannington. Swannington is a former mining village in Leicestershire, England. A track to Cloudhill, which would have connected to similar lines on the Ashby Canal, was proposed but never built.
- 1795 Another branch line (operated by a separate company) opened from the main line of the Leicester Canal (between Cossington and Syston) to Melton Mowbray. Melton Mowbray (known locally as Melton) is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. The line was 15 miles long and used the River Wreake for virtually the whole of its course. The River Wreake is a River in Leicestershire, England. It is a tributary of the River Soar. The line was sometimes known as the Wreak Navigation though it is better known as the Melton Mowbray Navigation. This new line was so successful that within a year William Jessop was appointed to survey another new line which would extend the Melton Mowbray Navigation to Oakham in Rutlandshire, a further 15 miles. William Jessop ( 23 January 1745 - 18 November 1814) was a noted English Civil engineer, particularly famed for his work Oakham is the County town of Rutland, England. It lies east from Leicester, and has a Rutland is a county of mainland England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire, and southeast by The extension would be called the Oakham Canal. An Act of Parliament was passed and work began.
- 1796 While the lines to Leicester and Melton Mowbray were doing very well, trade on the Charnwood Forest Branch was very slow to pick up. Leicester (ˈlɛstə is the largest city and Unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and is the traditional The company even put on demonstrations in an attempt to encourage its use. With no real success being gained from this the company went into the coal carrying and selling business itself.
- 1797 A proposal to extend the main line of the Leicester Canal much further south was announced. A new canal, the Leicestershire & Northamptonshire Union Canal would link the river Soar with the River Nene. The River Nene is a River in the east of England that rises from three sources in the English County of Northamptonshire. However, like many great ideas, the money ran out before the imagination did and the line reached just 17 of the proposed 44 miles, coming to a stop at Debdale Wharf near Kibworth Beauchamp. Kibworth Harcourt (kɪbwɜːθ hɑːkɔːt and Kibworth Beauchamp (kɪbwɜːθ biːtʃʌm are two villages in Leicestershire, south east of Leicester. Thus the Leicestershire & Northamptonshire Canal never even got close to Northamptonshire. Northamptonshire (or archaically the County of Northampton; abbreviated Northants In fact, the whole project had proved to be something of a failure, the company having spent thousands of pounds building a waterway which past nowhere in particular and ended in middle of the countryside miles from any major town. Meanwhile, the Charnwood Forest Branch was still struggling to attract any trade. Water supply was one reason for lack of use so the company built Blackbrook Reservoir. Following this, trade picked up but only very slightly.
- 1802 The Oakham Canal opened after costing almost £70,000 to build. It was 15 miles long, with 19 broad locks. Boats could now travel onto the River Soar from Rutland. Rutland is a county of mainland England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire, and southeast by
- 1809 The main line of the Leicestershire & Northamptonshire Canal was extended from its resting place near Kibworth Beauchamp to Market Harborough where once again the work came to a stop. Market Harborough is a Market town in Leicestershire, England. All the same, it was now a considerable navigation, linking the south of Leicestershire to the river Trent. However, there was still no link to the Grand Junction Canal. The Grand Junction Canal is a Canal in England from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford, with
- 1810 By now ideas of connecting Leicester to Northampton seemed pointless. The Grand Junction Canal was running a tramway into Northampton and would surely soon convert this to a full navigation. The obvious thing to do now was to connect the Leicester navigations to the Grand Junction Canal.
- 1814 The new link between the Leicester navigations and the Grand Junction Canal opened and was named the Grand Union Canal (not to be confused with the later canal route of the same name).
- 1848 The owners of the River Soar Navigation were finally able to officially abandon the Charnwood Forest Branch which had stood idle since 1801.
- 1877 After 80 years the Melton Mowbray (or Wreak) Navigation also closed leaving Melton Mowbray with no waterway outlet to the main canal system.
- 1886 Mr. Fellows of Fellows, Morton & Clayton (who were the main carriers on the Grand Union link) pushed the company to convert the canal to wide beam. When this was not done he tried to encourage the Grand Junction Company to buy the link.
- 1894 The Grand Union and the Leicestershire & Northamptonshire Union canals were purchased by the Grand Junction Canal Company. By now, though even the Grand Junction Company wasn't whole-heatedly in favour of widening the link. Instead they looked into methods of making the lock flights more efficient. The simple answer was to make a duplicate flight alongside the existing locks to make two-way traffic but this would cause other problems, especially water supply which was already a major headache.
- 1931 The whole stretch of waterway from Norton Junction through to Leicester and on to Long Eaton was merged with the Grand Junction Canal to form the Grand Union Canal.
History of the industry and development along the river
The River Soar before the late 1700 was too small and shallow to allow navigation of barges; however this was partially solved by the construction of the Leicester canal which allowed the Soar to be navigable for almost about 40 miles. (www. leicester. gov. uk/)
The expansion of the canal meant that industry could start to develop along the canal side, with the transport provided by the canal being “vital to the industry” (Grand Union Canal Company). Canals are artificial channels for water There are two types of canals water conveyance canals which are used for the conveyance and delivery of water and Waterways For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" This included buildings and industries like “wind and watermills; brewing and malting; bridges; canal and railway structures; public utilities. Brewing is the production of Alcoholic beverage and Alcohol fuel through fermentation. Malting is a process applied to Cereal grains in which the grains are made to Germinate by soaking in water and are then quickly halted from germinating further A bridge is a Structure built to span a Gorge, Valley, Road, railroad track, River, Body of water Canals are artificial channels for water There are two types of canals water conveyance canals which are used for the conveyance and delivery of water and Waterways "Railroad" and "Railway" both redirect here For other uses see Railroad (disambiguation. ” (Neaverson 2001)
“By 1895, there were 231 listed hosiery manufacturers in the county. In Leicester, the industry employed 10% of the population in 1851, and around 7% in 1881 and 1911” (Neaveson, 2001). This shows the importance of hosiery to Leicester’s economy. Hosiery is knitted coverings for the legs and feet Also referred to as legwear hosiery describes garments worn directly on the feet and Legs The term This industry needed a consistent supply of water and needed transport links, so was located alongside the canal. Due to the excellent transport links provided by the Grand Union Canal, the Hosiery industry was able to expand rapidly.
Many of these factories however soon outgrew themselves, moving to new larger sites, which vacated space for other trades such as boot and shoe manufacture, printing or box making.
Railway competition in the nineteenth century reduced canal profits. This was the beginning of the end for many of the companies who owned the canals; several of these companies converted their canals to railways while many of the others were bought out by railway companies looking to expand their businesses.
With the decline of industry in the 1960s, the warehouses and factories which were once the core of Leicester’s economy had fallen into dereliction. Leicester City Council has made a move towards re-developing the waterfront. “Offering one of the most exciting waterside regeneration opportunities in the country” (Leicester Regeneration Company, 2005). The Leicester Regeneration Company is a not-for-profit Urban Regeneration Company, funded by Leicester City Council (LCC East Midlands Development Agency The company is currently building luxury waterside apartments. This will enhance the areas aesthetic values. Research conducted by Newcastle University suggests that people’s desire to reside on the waterfront and enjoy recreation offered by the canal is upset by “visually unattractive features, such as run-down derelict areas and poor design” (Fisher 2003).
The re-development plan has included the building of the Walkers stadium, home to Leicester City F.C., along the canal in 2002, “from a barren, desolate piece of waste-ground has risen a stunning futuristic collaboration of steel and glass that dominates the skyline of Leicester” (www. PLEASE NOTE This section is the introduction Please do not add too much detail here lcfc. premiumtv. co. uk/page/StadiumOverview/0,,10274,00. html). Old warehouses have also been converted into student accommodation for De Montfort University increasing the value of the area. De Montfort University ( DMU) is a British university situated in Leicester, England.
Tourism
The Soar is now a hive of tourism rather than of industry. Barrow upon Soar is a large village in northern Leicestershire, in the Soar Valley between Leicester and Loughborough For Mount Sorrel Wiltshire see Broad Chalke. Mountsorrel is a Village in Leicestershire Water from the River Ganges is put into the River Soar upstream of Leicester “blessing the water” making it an alternative holy site to the river Ganges in India for performing funeral rites in Britain for the benefit of the Hindu, Sikh and Jain population. The Ganges (ˈgænʤiːz also Ganga, Devanāgarī: hi गंगा in most Indian languages) is the major river in the Indian subcontinent A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical Sikh (English or; ਸਿੱਖ sikkh, IPA) is the title and name given to an adherent of Sikhism. Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma / Shraman Dharma (जैन धर्म is an ancient religion of India. Holiday narrowboat cruises are extremely popular as it is a relaxing way to visit the country and get ‘in-touch’ with nature. The tow-paths next to the canal are used for “cycling, rambling, horse-riding and picnicking” (Leicester City Council, 2005). Cycling is the use of Bicycles or - less commonly - Unicycles Tricycles Quadricycles and other similar wheeled Human powered vehicles Walking (also called ambulation) is the main form of Animal Locomotion on land, distinguished from Running and crawling For the Roman class see Equestrian (Roman Equestrianism refers to the skill of riding or driving Horses This broad description In contemporary usage picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a Meal is eaten outdoors ( Al fresco or En plein air
The waterway is a popular location for match and occasional fishing. There are large carp, chub, bream, roach, and perch in the canal, plus dace and barbel on some stretches (www. waterscape. com/River_Soar).
Pollution
The River Soar is rich in wildlife with thriving bird, fish and plant populations being popular with wildlife enthusiasts. The river was once notorious for its unusual pink colour - a result of discharges from Leicester's prosperous textile industries. A textile is a flexible material comprised of a network of natural or artificial Fibres often referred to as thread or Yarn. However clean-up work by the Environment Agency has now largely restored it to its natural state. The Environment Agency (Asiantaeth yr Amgylchedd is a Non-Departmental Public Body of the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly
Industry now wanting to attempt to discharge any sewage waste into the river must now obtain an agreement from the Environment Agency. Several consents have been granted to companies to use the River Soar, however the quantity and quality of the sewage is controlled to a preset amount that is agreed on with the Environment Agency.
The quality of any water is determined by what is able to contaminate the river upstream, the River Soar is constantly monitored by the Environment Agency which keeps check on the level of pollution. The pollution in the water running through the Soar in the city of Leicester slightly improves in quality; however there is a significant decrease in the quality just downstream of the city, where the Wanlip sewage treatment works enters the river.
Unfortunately though new tourism industry has caused environmental problems; Barge hulls and propellers may cause “physical damage and uprooting” of plants and turbulence may increase water turbidity to the extent that light may not reach underwater plants, reducing photosynthesis (Murphy et al. 1983). Sewage works have an adverse effect on water life. (Alabaster, 1960)
References
- Alabaster, J (1960) The Effect of a Sewage Effluent on the Distribution of Oxygen and Fish in a Stream,
- British Waterways, (2006) River Soar <http://www.waterscape.com/River_Soar>
- Fisher (2003), Waterside Properties, <www. waterways. org. uk/library/restoration/tech_handbook/Chap5. pdf>
- Grand Union Canal Company (1932) Arteries Of Commerce: Grand Union Canal, Gloucester Printers, Gloucester
- Hardcastle, P (2003), Leicester and Soar Navigations, <http://www.canals.btinternet.co.uk/canals/leicesterandsoar.htm>
- LCFC Ltd (2006), Walkers Stadium Overview; History of the Build, <http://www.lcfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/StadiumOverview/0,,10274,00.html>
- Leicester City Council, <http://www.leicester.gov.uk/>
- Murphy, K. , Eaton, J (1983), Effects of Pleasure-Boat Traffic on Macrophyte Growth in Canals, Journal of Applied Ecology, 20, 713-729.
- Nicholls, D (2004) Leicester Environmental Partnership <http://www.environmentcity.org.uk/docs/les_master_apr05.pdf>
- Neaverson, P. (2001) An Archeological Resource Assessment Of Modern Leicestershire And Rutland (1750 onwards)
- Leicester Regeneration Company, (2005) Development Framework in Place and Two Projects on Site, <http://www.leicesterregeneration.co.uk/project_waterfront.html
See also
This article is a list of the longest rivers in the United Kingdom. The Soar Valley in Leicestershire, England is the basin of the River Soar, which rises south of Leicester and flows north through CharnwoodDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic