Driffield Navigation

Driffield Navigation
The restored swing bridge at Brigham
Specifications
Length	11 miles (18 km)
Maximum boat length	61 ft 0 in (18.59 m)
Maximum boat beam	14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Locks	6
Status	Partially restored
Navigation authority	Driffield Navigation Trust
History
Original owner	Driffield Navigation Commissioners
Principal engineer	Samuel Allam
Date of act	May 1767
Date of first use	12 December 1768
Date completed	25 May 1770
Geography
Start point	Driffield
End point	Aike
Connects to	River Hull

v t e Driffield Navigation
Legend
Feeder River Head bridge Driffield Basin Town Lock Whinhill Lock Wansford Lock Wansford bridge Snakeholme Locks (2) Brigham bridge  B1249  Frodingham Bridge Frodingham Beck Fisholme Junction Corpslanding Bridge River Hull Emmotland Junction Bethells Bridge Skurf Dyke Driffield Navigation Beverley & Barmston Drain Struncheon Hill Lock and weir Wilfholme Landing River Hull (from here to Humber) Aike Beck Leven Canal Arram Beck  A1035  Hull Bridge Beverley Beck Beverley & Barmston Drain Humber Estuary

The Driffield Navigation is an 11-mile (18-kilometre) waterway, through the heart of the Holderness Plain to the market town of Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The northern section of it is a canal, and the southern section is part of the River Hull. Construction was authorised in 1767, and it was fully open in 1770. Early use of the navigation was hampered by a small bridge at Hull Bridge, which was maintained by Beverley Corporation. After protracted negotiation, it was finally replaced in 1804, and a new lock was built to improve water levels at the same time. One curious feature of the new works were that they were managed quite separately for many years, with the original navigation called the Old Navigation, and the new works called the New Navigation. They were not fully amalgamated until 1888.

The navigation gradually became more profitable, and although railways arrived at Driffield in 1846, the navigation continued to prosper and increase its traffic until the 1870s, after which there was a gradual decline. It continued to make a small profit until the 1930s, and the last commercial traffic was in 1951. Following proposals to use it as a water supply channel in 1959, the Driffield Navigation Amenities Association was formed in 1968, with the aim of restoring the waterway to a navigable condition. One problem was that there was no longer a legal body responsible for the assets, and so the Driffield Navigation Trust was formed, which took over the role of the original commissioners. Since that time, most of the navigation has been returned to a navigable condition, although there are still some obstacles to its full use, caused by bridges which have been lowered or built since the 1950s.