River Stort
| River Stort | ||
 The River Stort near Stansted Mountfitchet |
||
| Data | ||
| location | Hertfordshire and Essex , England | |
| River system | Thames | |
| Drain over | River Lea → Thames → North Sea | |
| source | north of Nuthampstead as the outflow of New Lake 52 ° 0 ′ 17 ″ N , 0 ° 3 ′ 33 ″ W |
|
| muzzle | in the River Lea coordinates: 51 ° 45 ′ 53 " N , 0 ° 0 ′ 52" W 51 ° 45 ′ 53 " N , 0 ° 0 ′ 52" W.
|
|
| Left tributaries | Stanstead Brook , Pincey Brook | |
| Right tributaries | Bourne Brook | |
| Medium-sized cities | Harlow | |
| Small towns |
Stansted Mountfitchet , Bishop's Stortford , Sawbridgeworth |
|
The River Stort is a watercourse in Hertfordshire and Essex , England .
River course
The River Stort arises north of Nuthampstead as a drain of the New Lake . It crosses the border with Essex in an easterly direction and then turns first to the south or in a south-easterly direction to finally flow in an easterly direction to the north of Clavering . In the east of the town, the town then turns south again. Between the south end of Stansted Mountfitchet and the north end of Bishop's Stortford it forms the border of Hertfordshire and Essex. It flows through Bishop's Stortford and is channeled from here as Stort Navigation to its confluence with the River Lea . It continues to flow through Sawbridgeworth in a southerly direction, but turns east of Harlow to the west and passes the place to the north. It flows into the River Lea on the east bank across from Hoddesdon on the west bank, together with the Tollhouse Stream . It forms the border between Essex and Hertfordshire almost continuously from the south of Bishop's Stortford to its confluence with the Lea.
The Stort is a shallow and partly winding river. In the 16th century, the malting industry in Bishop's Stortford experienced a great boom and supplied the breweries in London with malt . However, the transport had to be done by land to the River Lea, as the river was not navigable for barges. So in the 18th century the plan to canalize the river arose. A first plan was approved by parliament in 1759, but its implementation failed because of the high costs. A second parliamentary resolution was issued on April 30, 1766. Work then began in September 1766. The river was deepened, partially straightened and 15 locks built. The work was completed in 1769. Large warehouses and a harbor basin were built in the city, the malt houses benefited from the new water connection, but financially it was not a success. Nevertheless, it was considered to continue the expansion and operate a connection to Cambridge via the River Cam . However, the plan failed.
In the course of the 19th century, the Stort Navigation fell into disrepair due to the high maintenance costs. In April 1909, a lock partially collapsed and blocked shipping. As a result, the Lea Conservancy Board initially took over the reconstruction of the lock and the connection was opened again in November 1909. On September 8, 1911, the Lea Conservancy Board became the owner of the entire Stort Navigation for a symbolic sum of 5 shillings . 1912 began to deepen the course again and to rebuild all locks in stone. Interrupted by the First World War, the renovated Stort Navigation opened on July 4, 1924. The Stort Navigation was then used less and less for freight traffic and this finally came to a complete standstill by 1945.
Web links
- River Stort on River Lea Catchment Partnership