tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86140814123613238242024-02-07T05:22:07.274+00:00Seven StreamsSimon Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00963922713571829664noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614081412361323824.post-43438193777699092922011-01-18T10:02:00.002+00:002011-01-18T10:05:47.179+00:00Films onlineThe 4 films made last summer for <span style="font-style:italic;">Seven Streams</span> will be available to view on the City Park website from the week beginning 24 January.Simon Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00963922713571829664noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614081412361323824.post-86012293330200067212011-01-10T17:50:00.004+00:002011-01-11T20:55:07.867+00:00Courtroom Drama<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLzbbNRqiu0cQre6DH1XRoQCMHHEzA6dUWYynFEkkDwZmNoj-mUxebc5CdB5AdbyIqiiQ_9ix_opjd76UvzjIKVK5w-y5NEQdezjZ6SzGr2oIfK_Dkkapweha4Q4GwIkGoGlFc9LmDXYM3/s1600/BdCourtroom001.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLzbbNRqiu0cQre6DH1XRoQCMHHEzA6dUWYynFEkkDwZmNoj-mUxebc5CdB5AdbyIqiiQ_9ix_opjd76UvzjIKVK5w-y5NEQdezjZ6SzGr2oIfK_Dkkapweha4Q4GwIkGoGlFc9LmDXYM3/s400/BdCourtroom001.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560632682104904210" /></a><br />The Seven Streams project included 3 illustrated lecture/performances based on my research into Bradford Beck. These took place in the City Hall Courtroom, chosen both for its historic atmosphere and for its suitability, since so much of the Beck's story concerns court cases and legal disputes.<br /><br />I was joined by Worth Valley actor Julie McConnell and by composer/musician David Wilson, whose virtuoso saxophone and flute playing accompanied the proceedings.<br /><br />My most dramatic story, perhaps also the least known, recounts the worst case of pollution recorded on the Beck. In December 1911 a pair of explosions wrecked a number of works situated on the Beck near Water Lane, downstream of a wool-scouring plant at Fieldhead Mills. 3 men were killed in the blasts and ensuing fires:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Julie</span><br />Jonathan Bartle, aged 60<br />John Lumley, 33<br />Francis Greenwood, 23<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Simon</span><br />...and there were many injuries.<br />The Coroner’s Enquiry heard from Dr Fowler of Manchester University that...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Julie</span><br />...The effluent in the watercourse was very highly charged with petrol and was a source of danger to the public safety. Fieldhead Mills had various tanks containing over 56,000 gallons of mixed petrol and water used for the purpose of extracting grease from wool.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Simon</span><br />Dr Fowler: it has been stated that 900-1000 gallons of petrol taken into the building disappeared every week. Are you really saying this can all be accounted for in wool sediment and evaporation?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Julie</span><br />I don’t know, your honour. We have heard evidence that some 25 gallons may have entered the Beck all at once. It would be impossible to give the source of the petrol coming down the Beck, as there are so many pipes that have not been investigated.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Simon</span><br />Is the Beck itself liable to explode?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Julie</span><br />Yes, your honour. That is what caused the loss of life and damage. Several premises are built directly over the Beck.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Simon</span><br />Alright. I have heard enough. I grant an injunction restraining Messrs John Smith and Son from working, or permitting to be worked, a degreasing plant in which petrol is used, and from discharging into any beck, drain or sewer in Bradford any effluent containing petrol or other volatile spirit.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Julie</span><br />What happened next? Was there a prosecution?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Simon</span><br />I don’t know. There’s more research to be done. It sounds to me pure luck it didn’t happen all the time.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Source:</span> Bradford Daily ArgusSimon Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00963922713571829664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614081412361323824.post-25810478782893419132011-01-09T18:23:00.001+00:002011-01-10T17:47:07.966+00:00Bradford Beck – The Album<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHgNNT6ncL6kXWgKRqGWG4bZRdXv9md5_ap8rGr8jUKB1RTblQhrRL8JLcif2gzDFGQq_yn1DojPISS6O5jtjWBwl0X9tlu11iqKEKkdt39wdn0hVMlf0a2ADA46G8jJhvTP9FqPpNg4P/s1600/SevenStreams_blog_EddieLawler.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 343px; height: 339px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHgNNT6ncL6kXWgKRqGWG4bZRdXv9md5_ap8rGr8jUKB1RTblQhrRL8JLcif2gzDFGQq_yn1DojPISS6O5jtjWBwl0X9tlu11iqKEKkdt39wdn0hVMlf0a2ADA46G8jJhvTP9FqPpNg4P/s400/SevenStreams_blog_EddieLawler.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560306402220893202" /></a><br />The title track of Saltaire singer-songwriter Eddie Lawler's CD <span style="font-style:italic;">Bradford Beck</span> gets the measure of the beck. At last it has a champion.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.eddie-lawler.co.uk">www.eddie-lawler.co.uk</a>Simon Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00963922713571829664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614081412361323824.post-15022402899888619172011-01-09T17:56:00.000+00:002011-01-09T18:17:27.732+00:00Stories of Bradford flooding<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWqwUO2D_VKeHLIhdiJspazLpmJSkVUPoQOcE1Hz-c-yJD4ixubyvJ4HtM2DWT0QJc6RdSh2UsIFfHsR_RjxJ3hNxQu6EngUNJBqSARl-s9uQMfce69HinpbLvgalmXEeompxikRaDIhqd/s1600/7Str_BdFlood_Sept1946.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWqwUO2D_VKeHLIhdiJspazLpmJSkVUPoQOcE1Hz-c-yJD4ixubyvJ4HtM2DWT0QJc6RdSh2UsIFfHsR_RjxJ3hNxQu6EngUNJBqSARl-s9uQMfce69HinpbLvgalmXEeompxikRaDIhqd/s400/7Str_BdFlood_Sept1946.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560250213321397026" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">by Ted Maskell, former Leading Fireman</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Picture</span>: City centre floods 1947<br /><br />During the winter of 1947, very heavy snow fell on Bradford. The vast amount of snow cleared from the city centre streets was moved using horse and carts, and tipped through open manholes into the Beck flowing under the city. Later in spring when the snow on the hills melted the Beck which had been so useful to get rid of the snow earlier, now overflowed and flooded the city.<br /><br />2 July 1968: once again the city was flooded, following a violent storm which broke mid morning on what had earlier been blue cloudless skies. No doubt the beck was in flood after the storm but due to the vast amount of water cascading down the drains from upper levels it was impossible to know where the water, which flooded the city, was originating. The scene at Forster Square that morning was of 18 inches of water across the roads and the subways flooded. It was thought someone was trapped in the subway shop or toilets, and frogmen were sent down, but later all persons were accounted for.<br /><br />The amount of water flowing out of the ramps at the Canal Road side of the subways was such that a 4 foot wave formed against the old station wall at the end of Valley Road, now the Post Office car park. It looked as though the rivers Aire and Wharfe had been diverted along Canal Road.<br /><br />Early one evening in 1975 or 1976 a violet thunder storm broke over the Thornton area. The Shearbridge area of the city was hit by very heavy rain. Three teenage girls took shelter in the entrance to a tunnel through which the beck was quietly flowing. A sudden flood of water down the valley swept the girls away. Their bodies were subsequently found in the beck at the lower end of Thornton Road. (More detail probably available in T&A archives)<br /><br />In more recent times, where the beck passes through Shipley at Low Well before draining into the river Aire, a range of old mill buildings was demolished to make way for the construction of a McDonald’s and Aldi store. The wall of the old mill, which was demolished almost to water level, formed a solid barrier to contain the beck in times of flood. A new wall was built much higher than planned when it was realized that the beck in flood would not be confined by the originally planned decorative feature.Simon Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00963922713571829664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614081412361323824.post-7425770205014865372011-01-04T17:28:00.003+00:002011-01-11T16:13:49.407+00:00Flooding and Water quality – the Council's perspective<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBxUWKuM-D_meLBJgfQLb2V0Q1f5S-ezpKEPulVrnLGs9OFkrR2rQzKUJ-A4ifDBwbVplBMdF0xSsAUXDm1Kf4CKOMGE3NQqoNU_clBqWoRNaysJYjwYMqSjzZRuSv1cYa6iKhE4y2D43Y/s1600/Kirsty_logo4.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 57px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBxUWKuM-D_meLBJgfQLb2V0Q1f5S-ezpKEPulVrnLGs9OFkrR2rQzKUJ-A4ifDBwbVplBMdF0xSsAUXDm1Kf4CKOMGE3NQqoNU_clBqWoRNaysJYjwYMqSjzZRuSv1cYa6iKhE4y2D43Y/s200/Kirsty_logo4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560960475715678322" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNPG45d7ZuFgbFlRcLawg6Z9yKYETVlzOHg_nixlQlctOiMyUODHtJe9inSuC9MqQ4Y9CVPMKRhtrOYd6xXnldZL1nGF5nJsBe2SQO77B3JZQ4wevqjglaxvpDrNx0xVCUKKjwvhhHXE4h/s1600/Kirsty_logo3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 138px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNPG45d7ZuFgbFlRcLawg6Z9yKYETVlzOHg_nixlQlctOiMyUODHtJe9inSuC9MqQ4Y9CVPMKRhtrOYd6xXnldZL1nGF5nJsBe2SQO77B3JZQ4wevqjglaxvpDrNx0xVCUKKjwvhhHXE4h/s200/Kirsty_logo3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560960467890506978" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjm-x1UaZtwrPx1cotMlzjmUm66sHffo0RjLgsLyTft2K21Hk7wghizSzZYAXLRJVJn_2QeX0JQxhQq6DTleEYqmJueuSoAqTwT73eBQu1k-uK6neWOp-RVy-7MC6rPMBPZRm9oHXOYWs/s1600/Kirsty_logo5.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjm-x1UaZtwrPx1cotMlzjmUm66sHffo0RjLgsLyTft2K21Hk7wghizSzZYAXLRJVJn_2QeX0JQxhQq6DTleEYqmJueuSoAqTwT73eBQu1k-uK6neWOp-RVy-7MC6rPMBPZRm9oHXOYWs/s200/Kirsty_logo5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560960476715268642" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExZ9JuJubnjgzdzoggHTFjeKLRCLnZpWVRYpIbtffNN_F1WT1PelEriIKDvAhNbAwdzESZWG7gzy-a2B2m3rmsdF1FEDh3mSGCK4WeDyt9sUKy2tLRyRrNF0GLqVqrtm1CXgDVa_AMKnO/s1600/Kirsty_logo2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 129px; height: 158px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExZ9JuJubnjgzdzoggHTFjeKLRCLnZpWVRYpIbtffNN_F1WT1PelEriIKDvAhNbAwdzESZWG7gzy-a2B2m3rmsdF1FEDh3mSGCK4WeDyt9sUKy2tLRyRrNF0GLqVqrtm1CXgDVa_AMKnO/s200/Kirsty_logo2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560960467307080418" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0skNmjCuuIL2teJ5L9lYZzZCtfNAnrQ1t5WOcI0Zu9CEvbQi9zRcnwd-oJVBNWXfIjCYERHv5P2J3WEpq7QVODeb3E4gJfNEYgJ-SNWjjXkIG1fQBFPu_GbnNBWHMZni7VqpjaCKC9fP2/s1600/Kirsty_logo1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 95px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0skNmjCuuIL2teJ5L9lYZzZCtfNAnrQ1t5WOcI0Zu9CEvbQi9zRcnwd-oJVBNWXfIjCYERHv5P2J3WEpq7QVODeb3E4gJfNEYgJ-SNWjjXkIG1fQBFPu_GbnNBWHMZni7VqpjaCKC9fP2/s200/Kirsty_logo1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560960462430996690" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaPa0fBXTMkJNwe7YCkeOVBBcq2zcafE2rtuMvgsmk82hbtfx-o56a3KkrlmqAZa63I-_ED6Z5LtfxmS_4UW-g1Lwikmlg7GvZngWAbosrerH8Zry-gk4p2KROIENc2_PsWGuPuT4R2yKP/s1600/MVI_8215_InletWorkss.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaPa0fBXTMkJNwe7YCkeOVBBcq2zcafE2rtuMvgsmk82hbtfx-o56a3KkrlmqAZa63I-_ED6Z5LtfxmS_4UW-g1Lwikmlg7GvZngWAbosrerH8Zry-gk4p2KROIENc2_PsWGuPuT4R2yKP/s400/MVI_8215_InletWorkss.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559174101262425618" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrELSjnvqcgZCqS3MHZuj5u11VK6xSPXmLkk-xnMI1mE1R6GGDbQbAqxbtSlp_esrUJ-fW-b3A7IN99-p6xgFxAI-Ig0V482bSu91i1Ngyc4GgqFKQJRe8VHSJx8KAhmOHyMa1519mfMH8/s1600/MVI_8148_ChDeneWetl.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrELSjnvqcgZCqS3MHZuj5u11VK6xSPXmLkk-xnMI1mE1R6GGDbQbAqxbtSlp_esrUJ-fW-b3A7IN99-p6xgFxAI-Ig0V482bSu91i1Ngyc4GgqFKQJRe8VHSJx8KAhmOHyMa1519mfMH8/s400/MVI_8148_ChDeneWetl.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559137804037549538" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"> by Kirsty Breaks PhD BSc, Senior Drainage Officer</span><br /><br />Bradford District has a population of 477,800 (Office of National Statistics, 2003) and whilst two thirds of the District's 36,642 hectare area is rural, around 60% of the population live in the urban areas. The River Aire and the River Wharfe cut through the District and there are an abundance of other watercourses in the form of becks and streams; the most notable of these being Bradford Beck, which flows through Bradford city centre. Bradford Beck and its tributaries comprise a total stream length of 35km; 21 km of which is found within the urban area with a large proportion fully enclosed in culverts.<br /><br />The Environment Agency’s flood maps show that many areas adjacent to the Aire and the Wharfe are at medium to high risk of flooding. Lengths of Bradford Beck are also shown to have a high risk, and the devastating effects of flooding were seen in September 1946, May 1947 and July 1968. The flood of 1968 was the final straw and triggered the construction of the Bradford Beck diversion tunnel, which diverts peak flows around the City centre. The diversion tunnel runs under Bradford from Preston Street to Queens Road and takes flows from Westbrook Beck as well as Bradford Beck. The tunnel's maximum depth is 60 metres between White Abbey Road and Manningham Lane.<br /><br />Numerous areas in Bradford are also regarded as being susceptible to risk of surface water (flow over land and down roads) flooding and these are not just limited to the low, flatter areas of the District. Development reduces the space for water and reduces the natural drainage into the ground. The problem is further exacerbated in areas where ground permeability is naturally low; or the water table is naturally high, due to the geological make-up of the ground. Areas in Haworth, Oakworth, Keighley, Ilkley and Bradford have all been subject to surface water flooding. <br /><br />Flooding also affects water quality. Where highways drain to watercourses, or Yorkshire Water have combined sewer overflows (CSOs), high discharge rates in storm weather can lead to an increase in the levels of pollutants entering natural watercourses.<br /><br />Bradford Council (<a href="http://www.bradford.gov.uk">www.bradford.gov.uk</a>) is striving to improve water quality and understand flood risk within the Bradford District. Some work is driven by current legislation (e.g. Water Framework Directive, (2000/60/EC), Floods Directive (2007/60/EC), Water Framework Directive, (2000/60/EC), Flood & Water Management Act, 2010); however, the Local Authority has been proactive in undertaking and continuing research through EU projects. For example, working with partner European nations via the Urban Water Cycle (UWC: <a href="http://www.urbanwatercycle.org">www.urbanwatercycle.org</a> ) project, Bradford established two natural pilot wetlands on tributaries of Bradford Beck that were subject to discharge from Highways drainage (Pitty Beck) and a CSO (Chellow Dean Beck – <span style="font-style:italic;">see lower photo</span>). These wetlands were established to determine their effectiveness at removing associated pollutants from the water and results were compared to a more ‘high tech’ method utilising a vortex separator at the Bradford Beck inlet works at Preston Street <span style="font-style:italic;">(see top photo)</span>. The wetlands were a great success, not only for pollutant removal but also in providing attractive amenity areas for local residents. The sites are thriving, both ecologically and in the support they have from the local communities. They have demonstrated that urban areas can successfully incorporate multi functional water. <br /><br />We are currently involved in two further projects: FloodResilienCity (FRC: <br /><a href="http://www.floodresiliencity.eu">www.floodresiliencity.eu</a> ) and Skills, Integration and New Technologies (SKINT: <a href="http://www.skintwater.eu">www.skintwater.eu</a> ). The FRC project enables responsible public authorities in eight cities in North West Europe to better cope with floods in urban areas. This is being done through a combination of transnational cooperation and regional investments. Partners of the FRC project are learning from each others’ flood management and urban planning approaches, not only at the level of technological experts, but more importantly, at the level of the political decision makers and the general public. Bradford is developing new ways of modelling flood risk within the District and is seeking to determine and heighten the public's level of awareness through questionnaires and workshops. <br /><br />The use of appropriate spatial planning processes can address many urban water management problems. The SKINT project aims to facilitate the implementation of sustainable urban land and water management by improving the integration of water management in spatial planning processes. The results from the project will be used for a permanent water web-portal and a web-based face-to-face training programme for water and urban land use professionals. The permanent portal for urban water and land use in Europe will be complementary to, and will interact with portals developed by other projects. After the completion of the SKINT project, the water portal will continue to be a dynamic user-driven website for multidisciplinary stakeholders and a source of communication about truly sustainable urban water management.<br /><br />Flood risk cannot be entirely removed. It is hoped that through these projects, everyone in Bradford will improve their understanding of how the risk can be managed and what we need to do, now and in the future, to help minimise these risks and provide sustainable communities for future generations. <br /><br />If you live in Bradford District and have experienced flooding; if you wish to contribute, as a resident, to these projects, or if you would simply like more information then please contact Kirsty Breaks on 01274 432507 or e-mail me at kirsty.breaks@bradford.gov.ukSimon Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00963922713571829664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614081412361323824.post-13343834583453883852010-10-26T16:55:00.000+01:002010-10-27T10:39:34.234+01:00The Bradford Canal<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOsU3bhjVrFn45CHmwgAsSVCtUw6VPtMUJG6Lb_1n4g3GwKaj8WnrQC969yPq94vALTcvsF73VYhwdrPCeHK2m6-glF3pAKQFboygbCDLOJKakiwmerIVS4YhW85y2cybeNJdgZf_pzc7Z/s1600/7Str_BdCanal_Engr_scan.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 253px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOsU3bhjVrFn45CHmwgAsSVCtUw6VPtMUJG6Lb_1n4g3GwKaj8WnrQC969yPq94vALTcvsF73VYhwdrPCeHK2m6-glF3pAKQFboygbCDLOJKakiwmerIVS4YhW85y2cybeNJdgZf_pzc7Z/s400/7Str_BdCanal_Engr_scan.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532657776646784546" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">by John Allison, historian and writer, Bradford</span><br /><br />What has Bradford Canal to do with Bradford Beck?<br /><br />It was a marriage of convenience. Like many marriages it ended in an acrimonious divorce.<br /><br />In 1770 Bradford Beck was a very pleasant, clean stream running down Bradford Dale through the town and down the valley to join the River Aire at Shipley. None of it was covered except by a few bridges. For many years it had powered local corn mills along its length. It must have been very pretty and have had a good stock of fish.<br /><br />The canal was planned and built in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Originally it used water from Bowling Beck, a tributary of Bradford Beck that joins it in the city centre. This soon proved insufficent. The canal owners decided to dam Bradford Beck where it passed the side of the canal basin below the Cathedral ( then St. Peter`s Parish Church). This would raise the beck`s level to that of the canal basin.<br /><br />In the nineteenth century Bradford became the centre of the wool textile industry. As first water powered mills used the beck water to drive water wheels to power machinery, later using water to drive the engines when steam power was introduced. The textile processes involved washing and dyeing the wool prior to spinning and weaving, and used vast quantities of water. The waste water went back into the beck. A nineteenth century map shows one corn mill, a brewery, two woolcombing mills (using water to wash the wool before combing it), and five dyeworks,all adjacent to the beck, from Cemetery Road to Norcroft Street. Besides this industrial pollution the population of Bradford grew very rapidly between 1800 and 1850. There were no proper sewers and the beck was the only way to dispose of human waste.<br /> <br />By 1850 the beck was known as "The Mucky Beck" and the canal was called "River Stink". The best way to hide the sewer that the beck had become was to put it underground and virtually all of it in the town centre was culverted.<br /> <br />The foul state of the town`s watercourses caused much concern. In those days it was thought that diseases were caused by bad smells. By 1849 many regarded the canal as a public nuisance. Mills along it used canal water to feed their boilers and the hot waste water was returned to the canal. 406 people died in 1849 of cholera. Letters in the papers called for the canal to be closed. Nothing was done as many businesses relied on the canal, either for transport or water. Eventually some industrialists in the town, not dependent on the canal for transport (the railway came to Bradford in 1844), formed a committee to force some action. They suggested that the use of Bradford Beck's water by the canal was illegal. Eventually the council went to Court and in 1865 the case was heard at the Yorkshire Spring Assizes. The Canal Company defended themselves on the grounds that the problem was the Beck, which should be cleaned up They lost the case. An appeal was made to the House of Lords and on March 22nd 1866 Vice Chancellor, Sir W. Page Wood, granted an injunction against the canal from taking water from the Beck. The divorce was complete.<br /> <br />The Bradford Canal was resurrected in May 1st 1872 under new owners. It was shortened, with a new terminus at North Brook Bridge. No water was taken from the beck. it was fed by water pumped back up from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal junction at Shipley. That canal closed in 1922.<br /> <br />But in the 21st century there are proposals to rebuild the third Bradford Canal. Maybe Bradford Beck`s water will feed the new canal again!Simon Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00963922713571829664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614081412361323824.post-20313423555008192432010-10-26T16:29:00.000+01:002011-01-09T21:16:06.157+00:00Bradford Beck – A rejuvenated stream<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Hs3PWsu0XcF6_jh_Gtn257dt7nzqcbI_CNlZCD9Dobf-YokjmuQh3070wAbvy_UqjhRZKKC0uphNPYewcOHp8myUfo4hA1ZHnCVtNAPyd6BkU0kpots4FQo5aZUNca6wJHfv-CuvGqEV/s1600/SevenStreamsBlog_Queensbury+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Hs3PWsu0XcF6_jh_Gtn257dt7nzqcbI_CNlZCD9Dobf-YokjmuQh3070wAbvy_UqjhRZKKC0uphNPYewcOHp8myUfo4hA1ZHnCVtNAPyd6BkU0kpots4FQo5aZUNca6wJHfv-CuvGqEV/s400/SevenStreamsBlog_Queensbury+copy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534927849174649954" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">by William Varley, geographer, Addingham</span><br /><br />Gathering its tributaries on the uplands to the west of the city centre Bradford Beck initially flows to the east before taking an abrupt turn and flowing in a north-north-westerly direction towards Shipley and the Aire Valley. <br /><br />Flowing north from the city centre the Beck occupies a valley that has only in part been formed by the actions of the stream itself. Glacial action in the Pleistocene ice age also helped to form this valley. During the Pleistocene ice spread down from the north covering the whole area and a large glacier occupied the Aire Valley. Water became bound up as land ice and sea levels fell. This lowering of the base level gave renewed energy to ice and water and the Aire Valley was over-deepened by the moving glacier. The valley was eroded to a much lower level than the current valley floor. A tongue of ice also pushed up the Bradford Beck valley eroding the valley as it went. <br /><br />As the ice retreated glacial till (boulder clay) was left behind. The flat land on which the city centre is built, the floor of the valley to the north and the Aire Valley are underlain by this material. As ice melted the stream was ‘rejuvenated’. Its capacity to erode renewed by the lowering of base level, it cut down through the earlier glacial deposits deepening its valley. The Aire Valley was occupied by lakes of glacial meltwater held back by a series of terminal moraines, for example at Tong Park, Hirst Wood and Marley. Huge thicknesses of sands and gravels were deposited in these lakes. At Bingley there are 130 feet of sands, gravels and glacial till filling the present valley.<br /><br />Although Bradford Beck was never large enough or reliable enough to sustain large-scale water-powered industrial development, it did provide the water supply for the Bradford Canal. The canal served as a link from the city to the Leeds Liverpool Canal. It is interesting to note that the development of the Leeds Liverpool Canal was led by Bradford merchants. A Bradford entrepreneur John Stanhope paid for the first survey in 1766. The initial propose of the canal was to bring limestone from the Craven district which could be burned with local coal to make quicklime. The quicklime made the mortar used to build the growing city.Simon Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00963922713571829664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614081412361323824.post-45616058706729006512010-10-17T22:54:00.001+01:002010-10-26T16:28:59.774+01:00Acknowledgments<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8v9t1RKupXYVItECbk1k380LUTiFyt_udVLHOG_YK77as97ccrVaQJ8yD4VEDVFpxmiNGFDVaIg1zZ0tNIV2Cw5drvpamEDOVx_UemWnhKq1txxyJSwRasnlYPBJmwLe3_P0DySjFsPAZ/s1600/Seven+Streams_visitors+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8v9t1RKupXYVItECbk1k380LUTiFyt_udVLHOG_YK77as97ccrVaQJ8yD4VEDVFpxmiNGFDVaIg1zZ0tNIV2Cw5drvpamEDOVx_UemWnhKq1txxyJSwRasnlYPBJmwLe3_P0DySjFsPAZ/s400/Seven+Streams_visitors+copy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529146786794074642" /></a><br />I would like to thank the following people who were instrumental in creating the project:<br /><br />Jill Kelly and Kate Watson at beam<br />Karenna Wood, Communications Mgr, Key Corporate Projects, Bradford Council<br />Anne McNeill, Director, Impressions Gallery<br />Tony Poole, Principal Engineer (Drainage), Bradford Council<br />Kirsty Breaks, Senior Drainage Officer, Bradford Council<br />David Oldcorn, Senior Land Drainage Officer, Bradford Council<br />Lizzie Norfolk, Assistant Engineer, Bradford Council<br />Calvin Williams, Drainage Technician, Bradford Council<br />Russell Connell, Land Drainage Officer, Bradford Council<br />Sydney Simpson, Land Surveyor, Bradford Council<br />Phil Holmes, CCTV Operations Manager, Bradford Council<br />Mark Hancock, CCTV Engineer<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">for the Courtroom performance</span><br />Julie O’Connell, actor<br />David Wilson, composer/musician<br />Megan Kearney, project assistant/Front of House Manager<br />James Brumfitt, Facilities Manager, City Hall<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">for the Pop Up installation and display</span><br />Ann Rutherford and staff (FABRIC)<br />Phil Slocombe and Stuart Bannister at Lumen<br />John Allison, historian & writer<br />William Varley, geographer<br />Bob Duckett, historian & writer<br />Bradford Local Studies Library – their ever-helpful staff<br />Michael Callaghan, Collections Officer, Bradford Museums & Galleries<br />Jill Iredale, Museums Officer, Bradford Museums & GalleriesSimon Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00963922713571829664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614081412361323824.post-67655546483984714712010-10-17T19:19:00.000+01:002010-10-26T16:23:33.425+01:00The Goit<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUugPNPr8qBWf0z4n1rwUG9-4S_pwTkouZxgo5Mp0nlkFWv2GgSzHwcqauAHhXxR5qODP2m3PrRxpK7eGHPafh5dGIZEoN8noPA7cM0SwEeEDSm-lLMmot15zvlZItO12LEnqUJ0wRpdSU/s1600/Goit2+00000406.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUugPNPr8qBWf0z4n1rwUG9-4S_pwTkouZxgo5Mp0nlkFWv2GgSzHwcqauAHhXxR5qODP2m3PrRxpK7eGHPafh5dGIZEoN8noPA7cM0SwEeEDSm-lLMmot15zvlZItO12LEnqUJ0wRpdSU/s400/Goit2+00000406.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529124673688566658" /></a><br />Bradford Goit was a medieval millrace, redirecting water from Bradford Beck to power manorial cornmills probably situated between Aldermanbury and Godwin Street. It seems that Bradford's first steam-powered factory, Holme Mill, was built alongside the Goit, and other early industrial development was concentrated in this area, which lies between Thornton Road and Sunbridge Road, just west of the city centre.<br /><br />John Johnson's 1802 map of Bradford and Rapkin's 1854 map both show the Goit as a major feature, branching off the Beck near Water Lane. <br /><br />An area of notorious slums until the 1850 Bradford Improvement Act, Goitside was designated a Conservation Area in 1992, and featured in the Allsop Masterplan. But despite the renovation of some individual properties, the area as a whole remains extraordinarily undeveloped and derelict, with Victorian and later industrial buildings in varying states of decay.<br /><br />Most remarkably of all, it is still possible to trace the line of the Goit for about a quarter of a mile as it approaches the city centre. From the bottom of Lower Grattan Road steps lead down to an alley between dilapidated buildings, and you can walk over enormous flagstones covering the brick-lined channel of the old watercourse. Further on, in the vicinity of Soho Street and Tetley Street, the Goit runs beneath loosely laid metal plates. It makes a fascinating if insalubrious exploration. Further progress is prevented by the New Southgate multi-storey car park, which has presumably swept away all underground features, but the location of this car park on a street called Goitside indicates the original continuation of the Goit's route towards the city centre. <br /><br />A photographic survey of Bradford Beck undertaken by C.H.Wood in 1962-63 includes a shot of the Goit's underground outfall to the Beck at Aldermanbury.Simon Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00963922713571829664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614081412361323824.post-34208683519163691742010-10-16T13:32:00.000+01:002010-11-11T16:57:04.541+00:00Underground river<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29DxUCbEY2h-n2fH50AQjbXiuk5trQOOrNgumk8k55M79kGtQIpIUJUBPQascglOkMvtTMr2LlqIzW_mi-ee2mBuFnMg0_S3bYkkJqjWsKUEcbeKAdcEjJTmxbX-IH30tYLZyduUa2_hO/s1600/BankStreet002_detail+copy.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29DxUCbEY2h-n2fH50AQjbXiuk5trQOOrNgumk8k55M79kGtQIpIUJUBPQascglOkMvtTMr2LlqIzW_mi-ee2mBuFnMg0_S3bYkkJqjWsKUEcbeKAdcEjJTmxbX-IH30tYLZyduUa2_hO/s320/BankStreet002_detail+copy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538337113887237714" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAncVnMvtGMMvrndd-VYQiXt4yqXjyjwLsnj6XCvdwijvhskYmUlOMw13t50xMxtAGTlFJKm4cX7DtAF4xLVErDTc8yDWrrvopUiS5mFIvoViRpsyysJCaUAVAwubX2tRpAsUyekElF9sW/s1600/BeckUndergroundStil.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAncVnMvtGMMvrndd-VYQiXt4yqXjyjwLsnj6XCvdwijvhskYmUlOMw13t50xMxtAGTlFJKm4cX7DtAF4xLVErDTc8yDWrrvopUiS5mFIvoViRpsyysJCaUAVAwubX2tRpAsUyekElF9sW/s400/BeckUndergroundStil.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528741191712344018" /></a><br /><br />John Johnson's 1802 map of Bradford shows the Beck flowing openly through the town, crossed by two bridges: Ive Bridge (later Sun Bridge) at the bottom of Ivegate and Church Bridge at the bottom of Kirkgate below the cathedral. This latter site is probably also the location of the 'broad ford' from which Bradford originally got its name.<br /><br />By the time of Atkinson's 1825 survey the Beck had already been substantially covered through the town centre, particularly on the western side between Thornton Road, Market Street and City Hall. Later maps indicate that its route through the town was almost completely covered by 1850.<br /><br />There is always a mystique and fascination about tunnels, even where they run as close to the road surface as this one. Only in its final stretches along Canal Road does the tunnel run deeper than 10 or 12 feet. Its different sections were built at different times, and some sections have been renewed, but the brick arches shown in the above picture (which cover the double channel of the main Beck at its confluence with Bowling Beck, more or less underneath Market Street) seem to date from an early period of construction.<br /><br />It would be fascinating to discover who initiated the culverting, and whether later covering-over was done in a piecemeal fashion, or in accordance with some general plan. In the period of Bradford's hectic industrialization the Beck was the responsibility of riparian landowners (and indeed still is) so in the century before planning constraints no 'permission' to tunnel the river would necessarily have been required. A number of industrial premises were built directly over the Beck (one reason for the disastrous explosion of 1911) and this policy was taken up by town centre development as well. <br /><br />There must exist company archives showing plans for alterations to the Beck, and their unearthing would be an interesting piece of research.<br /><br />My underground expeditions were made possible by the Council Drainage Department, and several trips were postponed due to wet weather. In such conditions the Beck runs too high for safe passage, as there is no walkway. And the <span style="font-style:italic;">threat</span> of rain is another hazard, as water levels can rise extremely fast. Breathing apparatus is required because of the danger of gas, and for the same reason lighting has to be triple-insulated and intrinsically safe to guard against sparks.Simon Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00963922713571829664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614081412361323824.post-25485556152246108062010-10-15T16:37:00.000+01:002010-10-16T13:09:53.007+01:00A network of watercourses<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDSMy14bc7nGFlzUBTLNVjTd8opjqn1EwsQXJXfVdXyG6QcyTwlj_P67o9tXaro2Kv8yPU4s-sOruTXVpRDp9Nb430LLsSHrGzSzLkU-2TBk6WRSUJgwazmLff8jK556zMMHPKfEeCiDR/s1600/BullGreaveBeck.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDSMy14bc7nGFlzUBTLNVjTd8opjqn1EwsQXJXfVdXyG6QcyTwlj_P67o9tXaro2Kv8yPU4s-sOruTXVpRDp9Nb430LLsSHrGzSzLkU-2TBk6WRSUJgwazmLff8jK556zMMHPKfEeCiDR/s400/BullGreaveBeck.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528312275634103346" /></a><br />The Beck and its tributaries drain the Bradford basin. My project title <span style="font-style:italic;">Seven Streams </span><br /> denotes the seven named tributaries that rise to the west of the city and form the course of the Beck. These are Pinch Beck, High Birks Beck, Hole Bottom Beck, Pitty Beck, Chellow Dean Beck, Bull Greave Beck and West Brook. The main channel is first called Clayton Beck, then (briefly) Middle Brook and finally Bradford Beck.<br /><br />The sequence of tributaries, as I understand them, is as follows:<br /><br />• High Birks Beck and Hole Bottom Beck join Pinch Beck in the valley between Thornton and Clayton to form Clayton Beck<br />• Pitty Beck runs south-east through Bell Dean from Egypt, and joins Clayton Beck to form Middle Brook<br />• Bull Greave Beck joins Middle Brook from Scholemoor<br />• Chellow Dean Beck joins Middle Brook from the north to create Bradford Beck<br />• West Brook flows through Bradford University beside Theatre in the Mill, joining Bradford Beck below Bradford College<br /><br />However Alfred Robinson in an article 'The Water Which Runneth to Bradford' in the Bradford & Dales Bystander (Sept. 1974) refers to West Brook as Horton Beck, and claims that it divides into two branches at Shearbridge.<br /><br />There are also tributaries further downstream that join the Beck as underground watercourses and are not part of my video coverage. Bowling Beck is a substantial stream with its confluence under the brick arches near Market Street. This is followed by East Brook. On its final section between Canal Road and Shipley the Beck is joined by Bolton Beck, Trap Syke, Red Beck and Northcliff Dike.<br /><br />Numerous unnamed drains and channels also discharge into the Beck, notably the outfall from Bradford Goit – the old millrace that runs on the top side of Thornton Road from Bradford's medieval mill. It joins the Beck underground at the bottom of Sunbridge Road.Simon Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00963922713571829664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614081412361323824.post-23197494668627938802010-10-15T12:35:00.000+01:002010-10-27T10:52:51.143+01:00Seven Streams - Introduction<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhojg0xw8A-CL8BUy9a2kH17C5qHvgpm6JORNRmwRdq0T1eLL66VtufGSVFxyUZsH3swBDqgCfZQobyvIfjzZckMjA30YsND0Y6-yMH0WPOu012VAmkAM7f13HLx8JnHMzDrJlVFkWRHZ__/s1600/7Streams_PittyBeck.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhojg0xw8A-CL8BUy9a2kH17C5qHvgpm6JORNRmwRdq0T1eLL66VtufGSVFxyUZsH3swBDqgCfZQobyvIfjzZckMjA30YsND0Y6-yMH0WPOu012VAmkAM7f13HLx8JnHMzDrJlVFkWRHZ__/s400/7Streams_PittyBeck.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528243493923786274" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Seven Streams</span> is an investigation of Bradford Beck, its tributaries, history, possible future and its relationship with the former Bradford Canal.<br /><br />The project was commissioned for The Arts of Place, a programme of new media works celebrating the birth of Bradford's City Park, shown in various locations around the city centre in October 2010. See <a href="http://www.artsofplace.org.uk/bradford">www.artsofplace.org.uk/bradford</a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Seven Streams</span> was presented as a video installation and display at Pop Up art space in Centenary Square, and as a dramatised lecture with musical and video accompaniment at the historic Courtroom in City Hall.<br /><br />The display included:<br /><br />• 4 films showing the course of Bradford Beck and its tributaries<br />• Live CCTV feed from a camera mounted on Bradford College's Garden Mills building upstream of Westholme Street bridge, showing a view of the Beck just before it goes underground<br />• Large up to date OS Steeetview map of Bradford showing watercourses<br />• Historical maps showing the progressive covering-over of the Beck during the 19th century<br />• Pictures from a comprehensive photographic survey of the Beck, made by C.H.Wood in 1962-3<br />• Before & after photographs of the recently established Chellow Dean and Pitty Beck Wetlands<br />• Information on the Bradford Canal supplied by John Allison<br />• Reports and information from Bradford Council tracing the history of City Park proposals, and an information stand/survey about flood protection<br />• C.H.Wood's 1947 aerial photograph of the city centre, overlaid with the underground route of the Beck<br /><br />The films were made over the summer of 2010 and work as a video diary of my explorations, presented as linear journeys. Whilst it could be claimed that, in close-up, one stream is much like another, I hope that the individual films add up to a classification of the seven tributaries by character and topography, a taxonomy of Bradford's watercourses. <br /><br />This blog records my main research findings, and includes contributions from experts on local history and geography, as well as stories contributed by exhibition visitors. It is intended as a legacy of the exhibition, and I hope will lead to a developing conversation about the future of the Beck.Simon Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00963922713571829664noreply@blogger.com0