River Dove, Barnsley

River Dove, South Yorkshire
River Dove on the outskirts of Darfield
Country	England
Basin
Main source	Worsbrough Reservoir 56 metres (184 ft) 53°31′34″N 1°28′27″W / 53.52611°N 1.47417°W
River mouth	River Dearne nr Darfield 53°31′43″N 1°22′9″W / 53.52861°N 1.36917°WCoordinates: 53°31′43″N 1°22′9″W / 53.52861°N 1.36917°W
Physical characteristics
Length	4.92 miles (7.91 km)

River Dove
Legend Brough Green Brook Rockley Dike Worsbrough Reservoir Start of River Dove A61 Worsbrough Bridge Black Dike Station Road bridge Swaithe Bridge(Barnsley - Rotherham Rly) Former railway bridge Former railway bridge Former railway bridge A633 Aldham Bridge Former railway bridge B6096 Stonyford Bridge Wombwell Ings River Dearne

The River Dove is a river that extends through the Low Valley in Barnsley, England. It flows from Worsbrough Reservoir to its confluence with the River Dearne.

Course

The River Dove starts at the outfall of Worsbrough Reservoir, which was built for the opening of the Dearne and Dove Canal in 1804.^[1] It supplied the Worsbrough Arm of the canal as well as the river. It is fed by a number of streams, the main ones being the Brough Green Brook and the Rockley Dike. Almost immediately, it is crossed by the A61 road at Worsbrough Bridge. The Black Dike joins from the south, and then Station Road crosses on a bridge.^[2] The station which gave the road its name was Wombwell Central railway station, which was on the South Yorkshire Railway line between Barnsley and Mexborough. It closed in 1959.^[3] There are then a series of railway bridges. Swaithe Bridge is the first and still carries the Barnsley to Rotherham Railway, while the next three were part of a complex railway junction, but all the tracks have been removed.^[2]

The A633 Barnsley Road crosses at Aldham Bridge, which is followed by another unused railway bridge. Next Stonyford Bridge carries the B6096 road over the river, and Wombwell Ings, an area of low-lying ground and lakes, is located to the south.^[2] Wombwell Ings is used as a washland, which is flooded in a controlled way when the river is unable to discharge into the Dearne because of high water levels, which are themselves often the result of high levels in the River Don. They were engineered to act as washlands in 1973, as part of the River Dearne Improvement Scheme.^[4] A little further on, the river joins the River Dearne.

Points of interest

Point	Coordinates (Links to map resources)	OS Grid Ref	Notes
Source of Brough Green Brook	53°30′50″N 1°34′15″W / 53.5140°N 1.5708°W	SE285020
Source of Rockley Dike	53°30′41″N 1°33′36″W / 53.5114°N 1.5601°W	SE292017
Outflow from Worsbrough Reservoir	53°31′34″N 1°28′30″W / 53.5262°N 1.4750°W	SE349034
Swaithe railway bridge	53°31′44″N 1°26′15″W / 53.5288°N 1.4375°W	SE373037
A633 Aldham Bridge Wombwell	53°32′06″N 1°25′06″W / 53.5349°N 1.4182°W	SE386044
B6096 Stoneyford Bridge	53°31′44″N 1°23′18″W / 53.5290°N 1.3883°W	SE406037
Junction with River Dearne	53°31′44″N 1°22′08″W / 53.5289°N 1.3689°W	SE419037	mouth

Bibliography

• Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens. ISBN 1-85260-508-1.
• Firth, Christopher (1997). Domesday to the dawn of the New Millennium - 900 years of the Don fishery. Environment Agency. (This is available online at The Don Catchment Rivers Trust in 5 parts. Page numbers show the part number and the page number within the pdf file).
• Hadfield, Charles (1973). The Canals of Yorkshire and North East England (Vol 2). David and Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5975-4.

References

1. Hadfield 1973, pp. 283–285
2. Ordnance Survey, 1:25,000 map
3. Butt 1995, p. 253
4. Firth 1997, Part 1:23-24

Sources

• Environment Agency - Barnsley
• Map of River Dove in Barnsley, Streetmap