River Lyde, Hampshire

The Lyde River by Water End

The River Lyde or Lyde River is a small river six mile long in the north of Hampshire. It rises near Mapledurwell (51°15’21"N, 1°2’32"W), where the water is used in watercress beds before entering the main channel. It flows in a generally northerly direction, and used to supply power to watermills along its route. Near Sherfield on Loddon (51°18’46"N, 1°-0’31"W) it joins the River Loddon, which is a tributary of the River Thames.

The Lyde is a classic chalk stream, with clear water and an abundance of aquatic plants, including water-crowfoot, water starwort and water moss. In 2009 the water quality was rated class A, in the system used at the time, and the aquifer from which the water came was protected against further abstraction of groundwater. The river is populated by a number of fish species, including wild brown trout, bullhead and brook lamprey. It used to have a good population of white-clawed crayfish but this native breed has now been largely replaced by the invasive North American signal crayfish.

Route

The Lyde River rises as a series of springs on the chalk aquifer to the west of Mapledurwell. Almost immediately, it runs through a number of watercress beds, which are part of Huish Farm. The main house was built in 1909 for the Westray family, in Domestic Revival style, with a red brick ground floor, timber framing on the first floor, and an attic above that. Most of the internal features are in original condition. It is a grade II listed structure, as are the associated barn and granary. To the north of the farm, the river is crossed by the M3 motorway, but the bridge marks the location where the Basingstoke Canal once crossed, on its way to Basingstoke. The canal was never a commercial success, and the last boats to use this section did so in 1914. The section further east continued to be used until 1949, but when restoration began in the 1970s, progress was hampered by the partial collapse of the Greywall Tunnel, and the fact that the largest population of bats in Europe use it for hibernation in the winter. The construction of the M3 motorway sealed the fate of the western section.

Beyond the motorway are a network of drains and springs, which swell the flow, before it turns to the east to reach Priory Farm at Andwell. This was the site of Andwell Priory from around 1130 until 1391, when it was dissolved. It was an alien priory, under the control of the Tironensian Order in France. Parts of the priory have been incorporated into Priory Farmhouse, a grade I listed building, which was altered and extended in the 17th and 19th centuries. The adjacent barn, stable and cartshed are also listed structures. The river passes around the southern edge of the site, and is joined by another stream, which rises by the grade II* listed church of St Mary, Mapledurwell, which dates from the 13th and 15th centuries, with 19th century restorations.

The river then resumes its northward course, and there are a number of sluices and weirs, which were part of Andwell Mill. The mill building has survived, a massive structure dating from the 17th century, but heavily modernised around 1900. Andwell Mill Trout Farm now operated a little further downstream. It produces smoked trout, some from locally-grown fish and some from imported fish. The business began in 1979, and in 1993 won a planning appeal to allow them to extend, which had been declined because so much of the fish was imported. However, the amount of locally sourced fish that could be produced was restricted by the volume of water that their abstraction licence allowed them to take from the river. The name Andwell is derived from two words both meaning "well". "An" is from the Celtic language and "well" from Saxon. At Water End the river is crossed by the A30 road, passes a large mobile home park, and then is crossed by the South West Main Line railway. Just before a bridge carrying Newnham Lane is the site of Lyde Mill. The mill house dates from the 17th and late 18th centuries, with some modern extensions. The river then meanders across open countryside, passing very close to the Loddon, and then moving away to reach the early 19th century Hartley Mill. The mill itself had two storeys and an attic, with an attached two-storey mill house. Both parts have been adapted to form a single house, and although the water wheel has gone, a number of iron wheels from the original machinery have been retained as decoration. Shortly after the mill, the river joins the Loddon.

Milling

There is clear evidence of three water mills on the river, all of which were corn mills in 1873, but during the 17th century there were five operational mills powered by the Lyde. The present Andwell Mill building dates from the 17th century, it is Grade II listed. Lyde Mill, another Grade II listed building, also dates from the 17th century, although there is evidence for milling at Lyde from 1086. It is located in the parish of Newnham, which was part of the parish of Mapledurwell until 1178, and so did not appear in the Domesday Book. Mapledurwell was noted as having two mills at that time, one of which was probably at the site of Lyde Mill. Newnham has had two corn mills and a paper mill at various points in its history, as well as a foundry and two brickworks. It is unclear where the two mills were, as the eastern boundary of Newnham was once on the River Whitewater, which powered Hook corn mill, and so the two may have been one on each river. The village church was served by monks from West Sherborne Priory, and this was facilitated by Henry de Port, who gave money to the priory. A charter that he made in 1130 in this context mentions tithes from two mills in the parish, while in 1766, David Crimble of Lyde Mill was responsible for the upkeep of two panels of the churchyard fence. At the same time, Edward Chamberlain of Paper Mill was responsible for a further four panels, but this was the paper mill on the Whitewater at Wolson Bridge, now the Crooked Billet Bridge on the A30 road. Hartley Mill building dates from the 19th century and is a Grade II listed building.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about River Lyde, Hampshire)

References

Bibliography

• Bell, Nigel: Newnham - a history of its parish and its church: North Hampshire Churches
• Cumberlidge, Jane (2009). Inland Waterways of Great Britain (8th Ed.). Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson. ISBN 978-1-84623-010-3. 
• Hampshire Field Club & Archaeological Society:
  • Shore, T W: [http://www.hantsfieldclub.org.uk/publications/hampshirestudies/digital/1885-99/Vol_2/Shore.pdf Springs and Streams of Hampshire (1890)
  • Shorter, A H: Paper-Mills in Hampshire (Proceedings Vol 18 Part 1, 1953)
• Thomas, Andy: River Lyde – Manor Farm (Wild Trout Trust, July 2009)