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Home , Barlby, Beadlam, Ganton, Helmsley, Nunnington, Old Malton

Documentary records of floods in the

These records are taken from the British Hydrological Society Chronology of Hydrological Events. As they are documentary records, their content is partly a function of the recording of events coupled to the extent to which documents have been found. However, they show a notable phenomenon, often found in other flood records, of a flood rich period in the late-nineteenth century followed by a flood poor period in the early 20 th century. There then follows the textual descriptions that accompanies each flood.

Figure 1. Dates of documented flood records before 1950. Note that these are documented which means that they are not equivalent to the continual record of a water level recorder and reflect time-varying trends in the extent to which documents were recorded.

1750 1770 1790 1810 1830 1850 1870 1890 1910 1930 1950

" A sudden inundation of the river Rye happened at in , such as had never been known by the oldest people in those parts, probably occasioned by the late heavy rains.Two houses were entirely washed away , the one inhabited by James Holdforth, he and his whole family drowned, except his wife, who being sick in her bed, was carried down the stream half a mile, and at last washed off into a field, where she was found the next morning very little hurt. The other house belonged to John Sunley, was also drowned, and all his family. In the whole thirteen persons.(sic) Two other houses were greatly damaged, as was also the stone bridge at the entrance to the town; fourteen hay-stacks were driven down the river a mile, on one of which was a half year old calf, who kept its footing, and was taken off alive. The kitchen-garden walls, and part of those of the park, belonging to the fine seat of Thomas Duncombe esq were washed away. Two large bridges, one of stone, 1754 10 the other of wood, at Rivaulx, were driven down, as were several more lying upon the river Rye, and others damaged. A malt-kiln, with a large quantity of malt and cinders at Rivaulx, belonging to Robert Berry, were utterly destroyed. The water formed a vent for itself, by forcing through the wall of his kitchen, which prevented the house from being driven down; the man and his family saved their lives by getting up into the chambers. There had also been terrible havock among the inhabitants at Rivaulx, as well as at Helmsley, by damaging of houses and drowning of cattle. One Simpson, a farmer at Rivaulx, had seven calves drowned; and Robert Sandwith's tanyard at Helmsley, were utterly destroyed, and leather washed out of the pits to a great value. The river Derwent was never known higher in the memory of man. Mr Creasor, of Ferby, near Malton, was drowned near , in his return home from fair. bridge was entirely washed away, and the inhabitants suffered great damage, but no lives lost." 1754 October 28 Appendix M (p464) refers to Cooper’s account from John Pape’s diary [with its original spelling] “October the 28th, 1754:- A great and trable flud of water came by the rever Reye to Helmslay blakeymour, which came with such veamancy that it drove to the ground 8 houses, 5 dwelling houses. Thorten poure creaters wear dround besides a great deal of catel, hey and corn staks. It drove down most part of Helmsla Bredg ... and Revolx bredg down to the ground, and part of Bow bredg and Shacan bredg and abondance of damage in the country 1754 10 besides... A while after a flood came by Borrow Beck, which filed William Ward and John Bentley’s selars, and was very ney running down the market place, and water came on Bondgate as beg as Rey Bek...... in addition on p 174 it states “...at the time of the Rye Flood (1754), Robert Sandwith suffered severe loss when his [Helmsley] tanyard was swamped ‘the leather being washed out of the pits to great value’. The Universal Magazine for November 1754 has some details, including damage at Thirsk Bridge. 1787 1787 p464 states, after coverage of the 1754 Rye flood, that Cooper (p12) describes‘another Borobeck flood in 1787’ [R. Rye] 1826 "... a detailed account of what I may call a Geological Reservoir of water made in the hills near Scarborough in the dryest summer this 1826 country has experienced for sixty years ..." [ha 027, Sea Cut] 1846 1846 Extensive flooding in [R.Derwent] "the late heavy rain"..."in the neighbourhood of and in the North and East Ridings, thousand of acres of lowland have been under water, 1846 04 the consequence of which was felt on the York and Scarborough Railway near to Malton where the Derwent overflowed its banks and the line for some distance" In Yorkshire, on the 20th, there were some tremendously heavy but very local falls of rain and hail, along the vale of Pickering. The Rye and 1864 05 Derwent, which previously were lower than for years, were filled with flood-water on the 21st, and carrying down stones, trees, &c. 1866 August 30 "Floods in the North Riding of Yorkshire: Destruction of a railway bridge: Malton, Thursday August 20th.The continuous rains of Wednesday have (for the second time this summer) caused great districts of the North Riding valleys to be inundated, causing a destruction of farm property, from which the county has not suffered since 1857, when a similar flood occurred. The late rainy season has so 1866 08 saturated the land that the whole of the last extraordinary rainfall ran rapidly off into the streams, and in that short period the North Riding rivers have risen from summer level to a state of flood. So heavy was the rain of Wednesday that the return railway journey from the Agricultural Show to Malton was made through an infinite array of cascades, every glen of the romantic Newton Dale being overcharged with water from countless contributory streamlets. On the eastern side of the moors the waters drain to the sea by the Esk , a meandering stream which the Malton and Whitby Railway crosses some dozen times in half-a-dozen miles. This stream receives the drainage of the Ellerbeck and the Gothland valleys, and rose to a state of flood in a few hours. The wooden bridge No 9 from Whitby, being old, was about to be restored or replaced, and the railway company had commenced operations for a permanent structure This bridge was watched with some anxiety all last night, the traffic of Wednesday (much of it excursion traffic) having all passed the bridge in safety. During the night, however, the flood literally floated the bridge and had drawn the piles, so that the trains could no longer pass. In Ryedale the rivers have risen rapidly, and above Newsome Bridge have either burst or overflowed the banks. This morning large tracts of country under crop are flooded, and in some places so deeply that the heads of the growing crops are only just above water. Of course all the pastures will again be spoilt for a time by the mud left by the flood water. The old Derwent, with the rapid flow of the moor streams, has again overflowed, and a railway journey to Pickering shows the extensive grazing lands one sheet of water for miles. At noon, the waters were still rising and it was feared the country of the Derwent proper, from Malton downwards, would also become extensively flooded. " [ha 027, Yorkshire Derwent, R. Esk] 1866 August Rainfall observer, J.H.Phillips, noted at Grange: "Total in August 4.13 [inches]; on 29th 1.50* (*approximate only, 1866 08 gauge not kept regularly owing to absence from home). From July 25th to September 3rd (6 weeks) we have had 8.2 inches" [ha 027, Yorkshire Derwent] 1866 August 31 "Malton, Friday: It is thirty-five years since any approach to the scene of desolation witnessed to-day in the fertile vales of has occurred. The constant rains of the last fortnight, culminating in the enormus rainfall of Wednesday, have carried destruction along the course of every river. Every valley has suffered from flood, more or less, but the greatest destruction has been in Ryedale, and among the Rye tributaries. In the upper part of the wide vale, a great lake has been formed by the rivers Rye and Riccal, which met, completely overflowing the whole intermediate country, inundating houses, and rendering roads impassable. suffered much from this disaster, whole crops of stooked corn being floated away. The Kirkdale beck (always impetuous) rose with unexampled rapidity, and the ford was no longer safe. A pony and cart, with two persons in it, were carried some distance, and rescued with difficulty...... The beck rose equally quickly, and at Yawdsworth Mill much timber was carried away, and a newly built house washed down. At the Leven [ sic, but means R. Seven, west of Pickering] flooded the , and floated large timber about in great confusion. Mr Carter, of Kirbymoorside, with another gentleman, on horseback, were obliged to return to Pickering, and took refuge in the inn near the bridge. The 1866 08 house being full, they were compelled to sit by the fire till daylight, but the water entered during the night, and flooded the house, confining the inmates to the upper story, necessaries having to be given them from the street. The low part of the town of Pickering was much flooded. Between Kirbymoorside and Malton, miles of road were flooded, and the inhabitants were prisoners in their houses in various places. At Marton the water was believed to be five feet deep in the village. From Normanby corn has been floated out of the fields, as far as Barugh Hill, three miles. The damage in Ryedale cannot be estimated ; whole farms are flooded. Not only corn-fields, but pastures, in splendid trim, are under water, and this morning stock were standing belly deep in the flooded lands. Near Malton the flood is increasing . By some accident the self-acting clough, in the Rye had been propped open, and in consequence the flood obtained access to Moor, which, for the first time since the enclosure, half a century ago, is flooded. Farmers are busy fishing for their corn ricks in the flood waters. At Norton some pastures are overflowed, and much property has been destroyed in the brick-fields. Hundreds of acres are flooded by the bursting of the banks above Newsham. The bridge near Grosmont, which failed yesterday morning, has become a total wreck, and a stationary engine erected to pump the water from the coffer-dam of the intended new bridge has been washed away, and is not yet found." [ha 027, Yorkshire Derwent] "The self-acting clough in the Rye, which shuts off water from Old Malton Moor, had been propped open, so water obtained free access to the 1866 08 land and much valuable property destroyed, houses innundated and raods under water between Malton and Kirby Moorside" 1866 September 1 Malton correspondent wrote "The inundations in North Yorkshire were rapidly lessened on Saturday [1/9/1866], and on that day the North-Eastern Company had succeeded in throwing a temporary bridge across the Esk at Grosmont in place of that washed away on Wednesday night. During the floods it appears that, in addition to the damage to crops, many cattle and sheep were drowned, and some 1866 09 carcases were floating down the Derwent on Friday. Much land is still under water, and since the last report the banks above have burst and several farms are flooded, one farmer at Binnington having 100 acres of corn under water. The towns of , Pickering, and Thirsk have suffered most." [ha 025, Leven; 027] "Floods on Thursday in the Old Derwent and Rye Valleys and about and Gilling. Up to Thursday night the waters were rising and threatened to overflow the county of the Derwent proper. Yesterday morning the flood at Malton was within 4 or 5 inches of that of the first 1867 01 week in the year and the waters were still rising." "The Rye and Derwent and all the North Ridings rivers are transferred again into immense lakes. It is worthy to note that this is the eighth flood in the low county of the Ridings since last July." 1870 October 7 Rainfall observer at Beadlam (Grange), N Yorks., noted [p84] "The summer drought ended on the 7th of October, when it 1870 10 rained steadily for fifty-one consecutive hours" [R Ricall, upper trib of upper Yorkshire Derwent] 1871 09 1871 September 6 Daily fall at Warter, East Riding, of 3.62 in. [ha 027, upper Yorkshire Derwent] 1872 06 "Disasterous effects of repeated flooding..." [Malton, Pickering] "But the river continued to overflow its banks following heavy or prolonged rainfall, and so an Act of 1846 authorized the elimination of the old mill weirs at Old Malton and Malton. This increased the river's gradient ...above Malton, but the Act made no provision for improving the 1878 river's channel below Malton. As a result the Derwent rose higher there than previously in high-flow conditions; in 1868 the railway had to be raised, and neglect of the river's channels contributed to 'the worst flood ever known' in 1878...." 1878 11 "Mind of living man cannot recall a flood so terrible and destructive" [Malton] "The market place has water for a considerable distance and people waiting to pass over the railway have had to be carted across"....."should 1880 10 the river arise any higher the inhabitants will have to turn out of their homes as several have water to a very great depth." [Pickering] "On Tuesday we had the highest flood of the year in this District. Rains on Saturday night quickened the removal of the melting snow from 1882 12 the moors and wolds and a vast volume of water was sent down the valleys of the Rye and Derwent. The Derwent rose to 11.5 foot by Tuesday evening." [Malton] "A large volume of water was seen to rush over the Scar near the Yew Inn" "Such a terrible storm had not been witnessed in the moor and 1884 08 district within the memory of man" [Pickering] 1886 05 1886 May 15th "pm, the Derwent had risen to nearly 11 feet above summer level" 1886 May "... rivers and their tributaries which were flooded and overflowed their banks: ... the Aire, Calder, Derwent (Yorks), Rye, Cod, 1886 05 Wiske..." [ha 027] 1890 January 25/26 Rainfall observer at Elvaston noted, p[5], "Strong S.W. gale, with heavy rain, followed by a flood on River Derwent on 1890 01 27th" [Yorkshire Derwent] Observer at Elvaston noted for 23rd and 24th : "Heavy rain and westerly gale, high flood on Derwent, many fields and roads submerged." 1890 11 [Yorkshire Derwent] "The district was much flooded because of a heavy downfall of rain, serious damage being done to crops especially on low-lying lands. In 1892 10 some instances stock was standing in 10-12 inches of water and sheaves were totally covered. The lower part of the town near the river on Saturday was much flooded. Benches were put up at the lower end of the Market Place for people to walk over" [Pickering] 1900 February 26 Rainfall observer at Scarborough (Scalby) noted (p[12]) "Blizzard; snow melted as it fell. Wind very high. Severe floods 1900 02 followed with the immediate thaw." [Upper Yorkshire Derwent] 1906 September Rainfall observer, Donald Walker, for Malton (Welham) noted (p[83]) "The springs from the underground water supply of 1906 09 the East were lower at the end of September than at any previous time since 1868." [Derwent] Malton: Photograph p 138 with caption "July 1976. One of Malton's few riverside warehouses which survived from the hey-day of 1930 commercial navigation. Note the height of the stone wharf, presumably adequate when built, but over-topped by the floods of 1930, 1931, 1947, and 1999. " [Yorkshire Derwent] Malton: Photograph p 138 with caption "July 1976. One of Malton's few riverside warehouses which survived from the hey-day of 1931 commercial navigation. Note the height of the stone wharf, presumably adequate when built, but over-topped by the floods of 1930, 1931, 1947, and 1999. " [Yorkshire Derwent] "A depression ....on the 21st and 22nd caused heavy falls of rain [ largest 3.96 inches at Ecclesfield Sewage Works, West Yorkshire] in the Midlands and Yorkshire and considerable flooding ensued....More than 2 inches fell over some 3,580 square miles between Nuneaton and Malton and over some 430 square miles in the North Yorkshire Moors. More than 3 inches was recorded over 22 square miles near , 14 square miles to te east of Matlock, 53 square miles to the north of Sheffield, 116 square miles near Doncaster, 190 square miles to the south- 1932 05 east of York and 130 square miles in the North Yorkshire Moors.Serious flooding occurred in the Birmingham district and at Castle Bromwich a number of families were temporarily rendered hoeless. At Bedworth, Warwickshire, water reached almost to the ceilings of the lower rooms. Much damage was caused at Derby and the floods smashed shop windows and put the electric light, tram-ways and telephone services out of commission. The most serious flooding was in the Don Valley. The floods invaded several factories and collieries in Rotherham and Sheffield and in Bentley more than 2,000 houses were flooded." Malton: Photograph p 138 with caption "July 1976. One of Malton's few riverside warehouses which survived from the hey-day of 1947 commercial navigation. Note the height of the stone wharf, presumably adequate when built, but over-topped by the floods of 1930, 1931, 1947, and 1999. " [Yorkshire Derwent] Map of flooded area in upper estuary of the Yorkshire Ouse,capotioned: " Flooding from four rivers combines to invade thirty thousand acres of farm land, the town of and an industrial district. The Ouse breach at (I) and floods the Wistow area, later this water re-enters the river at (2). From two breaches at (3) the food-processing factories of the New Barlby district become flooded and flooding extends eastward over a large agricultural area to the right bank of the Derwent, through which more water is escaping (4). Later the Barlby flood waters breach back into the river at (5) (Newhay). Selby is swamped not only from the north by Wistow area water but also from the south by waters from the Aire which have broken through a barrier bank at (6) and overloaded the canal. The flooding spreads eastwards into the whole triangle between the two rivers and the canal. Other breaches occur on the Ouse at (7), the Aire at (8) and (9), and the Derwent at (10), and at one time or another all the areas indicated in white become flooded to a depth varying from a few inches to several feet. All four rivers are tidal in the reaches shown, and the difficulties were aggravated by the tides." ..."In York itself there is a plaque on the City Wall near Tower Street which records the level of historic floods. To discover one which reached a higher level than that of 1947, it is necessary to go back to the year 1831 ; and there had been no flood greater than that since the year 1636.....an exceptional fall of snow in the hills during the first quarter of the year, and a sudden thaw during which all this accumulation ran off into the rivers. In the upper reaches the flooding, though severe, was not exceptional. Not until the water reached the agricultural and industrial plain that lies west of the , and there met exceptionally high tides flowing inland, did the rivers burst or overtop their banks and spread into wide lakes....The volume of fresh water from these floods was vastly augmented by overblown tides of exceptional strength which came up from the Humber and which, during the week beginning March 23, rose over three feet higher than had been expected. At Barlby this combination of waters tore two breaches in the left bank of the Ouse and flooded not only a vast new area eastward almost as far as the River Derwent~from breaches in which also water entered the same area, but also the factories and factory-workers' houses at New Barlby...... a very large cake and oil works, in which roughly one- third of the nation's supply of margarine is manufactured. This factory was put out of action, as its main floor was flooded to a height of 1947 03 several feet, in spite of efforts by the workers to check the water with sandbags. Some 250 tons of edible oil were released from storage tanks and processing vessels ; this oil floated on top of the water and covered everything near with a thick layer of grease. For two days nobody could get into the factory ; then workers were brought back, some by boat, to begin the task of clearing away the debris. Even so, it was a month before any part of the factory could start work again, and two months before its normal production of food was restored.... Some four or five miles downstream there is a farm set close against the bank at a point called Newhay. The farmer and his wife were living in the upper storey of their house, and the few cattle and horses they had not managed to evacuate in time were marooned on the top of the bank. The swirl of water around the house was so strong that the farmer could reach his front door from his gate only by clinging to a post, a water butt, a drainpipe, thus dragging himself along.From the window of his bedroom, where he was standing one morning when the flood was at its height, he saw that the bank was sagging lust downstream. It was sagging into the river, for the floods behind it were higher than the level of the river it contained. The farmer turned round to draw his wife's attention to this, and when he looked back the bank had already collapsed it happened so swiftly. A great breach had been torn in the bank, through which the floods were pouring back into the main stream of the river, tossing before them several willow trees.... The Derwent, which drains the Yorkshire moors, broke through its left bank near the village of Wressell and flooded a big area in the angle between itself and the Ouse as far as . The breach at Wressell was closed, however, without undue difficulty and the water pumped away...... This unfortunate town [Selby]is the only one of any size which stood right in the path of any of the fenland floods. It is for the most part a , New Barlby across the river is mainly industrial and it was practically drowned. Of its 2,800 houses, about 2,000 were flooded. Attacked by the Ouse from the north and by the Aire from the south, Selby became a little Venice almost overnight. The only traffic that could pass along its narrow streets was that of boats and Army "ducks ". All that remained above water was the old Abbey, the nearby market square, and a few streets around it.....By mid-July here, as in the Fens, the visiting stranger could not have told to what point the waters had reached, and the fields were green with ample, but tardy, crops." "...during the period 10-12th flooding was reported along the Thames and in both the Ouse and Derwent valleys in Yorkshire, partly due to the 1951 01 melting of earlier snow. " Thirsk to Helmsley area: "Sunday 4 p.m: thunderstorms hit North Yorkshire.... 6 p.m: 68 mm of rainfall recorded in approximately two hours.... 8 p.m. reports reach [North Yorkshire County] council of river flooding 10-11 p.m: River Rye, Cod Beck and Sutton Beck burst 2005 06 banks.... Midnight: water levels thought to be at a maximum, in some places 3m higher than previous levels...'Even in the storms of 2000 (NCE 9 November 2000) , I never saw [bridge and road surface] damage like this' said [acting divisional engineer] Pimperton, referring to 2 km of road between Thirley and Sutton-under-Whitestonecliff' " Thirsk area: "Timeline of Severe Flood of Sunday 19 June-Monday 20 June 2005:- Sunday 4pm: Thunderstorms hit North Yorkshire 5pm: North Yorkshire highway engineers respond to localised flooding in and Thirsk as drainage systems struggle to cope 6pm: 68mm of rainfall recorded in approximateley two hours - the equivalent of a month's rain. 8pm-11pm: River Rye, Cod Beck and Sutton Beck burst banks. Emergency services respond...... Midnight: Water levels thought to be at maximum, in some places 3m higher than previous 2005 06 levels. Monday 5am: Highways North Yorkshire engineers head out to close roads, erect signs and conduct clearance operations. Several roads and bridges are closed. Throughout the day, divers are on standby to inspect flooded bridges, and water levels recede in all areas. 5pm: Two major bridges on A170 are reopened. The road itself, the main route between Thirsk and helmsley, is also reopened. Clear-up operations and repairs are ongoing. Timeline and map courtesy NCE magazine (23 June 2005) "