Beverley Beck
Beverly beck is a short canal in the East Ridings of Yorkshire, running from Grove hill lock (River Hull) to the town of Beverly, in all a distance of about half a mile.
Interestingly enough it pre-dates most other canals in the country being first mentioned in 1296 when the Archbishop of York, seeking free access to Beverly by boat requested the removal of the fish weirs from the river Hull. An agreement was eventually confirmed with the weir owners for passage of boats, which then passed to the Burgesses of the Beverley Corporation leaving the Beck navigable by 1344. The burgesses managed the Beck as if they had a monopoly
leasing right od use to various tenants, who then had the obligation to acquire and maintain two boats on which all cargo on the Beck was carried. This was replaced by a toll system in 1704 allowing other boats into the Beck.
In 1726 an Act of Parliament allowed renovations and repairs to the Beck, which included widening and deepening the canal including repairs to the wharfs and their access roads. These works were paid for by increasing Tolls with the work being overseen by the civil engineer William Palmer, the work being complete by 1731.
A second Act in 1744 allowed for further work to be done, with the corporation carrying out general maintenance such as dredging and weed clearance. One method of weed clearance used involved the use of an engine boat that dragged up
weeds and loose mud, which were then flushed from the canal at low tide using water from the resevoirs.
Beverley Beck was originally tidal and a stop gate was at one time used to retain water, which was a replaced by a lock in 1802, during the construction of a large local land drainage scheme, which also required the construction of a tunnel under the Beck to take the run off water, the engineer for this work being William Chapman.
Tolls for 1838 totaled £594, from 31,185 tons of cargo, which increased to 101,540 in 1905, though the Beverley
Corporation still made a loss as Toll charges were restricted by an 1894 Act of parliament, depriving the Corporation of the option of making the most of the situation.
A steam pumping station was installed in 198 to raise water from the Hull, which was a major expenditure at that time and must have reflected the importance of the small waterway.
Commercial use of the canal has survived to the present day allowing some larger vessels access to the town of Beverley.
Gravehill lock was constructed as late as 1958 to carry vessels up to 65ft x17ft with a draft of 6.ft. So in all by the standards of canal history the Beck has had a remarkably long and happy history.