River Witham

River Witham
The Grand Sluice at Boston, where the River Witham empties into The Haven, which is tidal below this point
Path of the River Witham [1]
Location
CountryUnited Kingdom
Country within the UKEngland
CountiesLincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire
CitiesLincoln
TownsGrantham, Boston
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationSouth Witham, Lincolnshire
 • coordinates52°45′20″N 0°41′27″W / 52.755622°N 0.690858°W / 52.755622; -0.690858
 • elevation130 m (430 ft)
Mouth 
 • location
The Haven, Boston, Lincolnshire
 • coordinates
52°57′52″N 0°00′36″W / 52.964541°N 0.010042°W / 52.964541; -0.010042
 • elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Length132 km (82 mi)
Basin size3,817 km2 (1,474 sq mi)[1]
Discharge 
 • locationClaypole Mill
 • average1.86 m3/s (66 cu ft/s)[2]
 • maximum21.79 m3/s (770 cu ft/s)[3]
Discharge 
 • locationColsterworth
 • average0.23 m3/s (8.1 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftFoston Beck, Ease Drain, Shire Dyke, Fossdyke Navigation, Barlings Eau, Tupholme Beck, Bucknall Beck, Catchwater Drain, The Sewer, Engine Drain, Cut Dike, Newham Drain, Cowbridge Drain, Maud Foster, Hobhole Drain
 • rightHonington Beck, River Brant, Branston Delph, Middle Drain, Cathole Drain, Nocton Drain, Nocton Bankside Drain, Dunston Bankside Drain, Water Dike, Duns Dike, Metheringham Delph, Dales Drain, Blankney Town Drain, Black Horse Drain, Timberland Delph, Town Dike
Progression : River Witham – The HavenNorth Sea
River Witham is located in Lincolnshire
Source
Source
Lincoln
Lincoln
Boston
Boston
Grantham
Grantham
Claypole
Claypole
Dogdyke
Dogdyke
Kirkstead
Kirkstead
Bardney
Bardney
Map showing the course of the Witham and locations along its length

The River Witham is a river almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham at SK8818, passes through the centre of Grantham (where it may be closely followed using the Riverside Walk through Wyndham Park and Queen Elizabeth Park), passes Lincoln at SK9771 and at Boston, TF3244, flows into The Haven, a tidal arm of The Wash, near RSPB Frampton Marsh. The name "Witham" seems to be extremely old and of unknown origin.[4] Archaeological and documentary evidence shows the importance of the Witham as a navigable river from the Iron Age onwards. From Roman times it was navigable to Lincoln, from where the Fossdyke was constructed to link it to the River Trent. The mouth of the river moved in 1014 following severe flooding, and Boston became important as a port.

From 1142 onwards, sluices were constructed to prevent flooding by the sea, and this culminated in the Great Sluice, which was constructed in 1766. It maintained river levels above Boston, and helped to scour the channel below it. The land through which the lower river runs has been the subject of much land drainage, and many drains are connected to the Witham by flood doors, which block them off if river levels rise rapidly. The river is navigable from Brayford Pool in Lincoln to Boston. Its locks are at Lincoln, Bardney and the Grand/Great Sluice. Passage through the latter is restricted typically to 4-hour intervals during daylight when the tidal levels are suitable. The river provides access for boaters to the Witham Navigable Drains, to the north of Boston, and to the South Forty-Foot Drain to the south, which was reopened as part of the Fens Waterways Link, a project to link the river to the Nene flowing through the city of Peterborough. From Brayford Pool the Fossdyke Navigation links to the Trent.

  1. ^ "WFD Surface Water Classification Status and Objectives 2012 csv files". Environment-agency.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  2. ^ "30001 – Witham at Claypole Mill". Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  3. ^ "30001 – Witham at Claypole Mill peak flow data". National River Flow Archive. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  4. ^ Cameron 1998, p. 142; see Old European hydronymy