Water Wars in East Yorkshire

We take for granted, in this country, the availability of clean and safe water. 

It's just there in the tap and on demand. 

This is in stark contrast to many parts of the world where there are significant issues over water supplies in terms of volume and quality and with all of the risks to health that arise. 

Under the emerging threat of climate change we can expect the security and dependability of water supplies to be a catalyst for conflict in many regions. 

This was certainly the state of affairs in England in the Middle Ages and in particular in and between the occupants of settlements close to the Port Town of Kingston Upon Hull. 

There is a Civic Information Display in the village of Cottingham, which sits on the western boundary of Hull, telling the story of pitched battles, often with fatalities, as its population tried to prevent the folk from Hull from accessing their natural water sources or as we call them today- streams and ditches. 

It got to the stage of an Appeal being made to Rome by the Elders of Hull to try to prevent the villagers of Cottingham from either poisoning their neighbours or cutting off freshwater completely. 

The same sort of ill feeling and suspicion persisted in the East Yorkshire area for centuries and in the 1840's this brought about some decisive actions by the Town Council of Beverley, the well to do historic town just to the North of Hull. 

Under a self taxation measure amongst its residents a Committee of Sewers was formed to investigate the condition of the existing foul drainage arrangements. The main conduit for sewage and waste was into the watercourse of Beverley Beck, itself an important area with industrial and ship building employment along its banks. 

However, the Beck flowed out into the River Hull and this led, downstream to the reservoirs and water supplies serving the much larger urban population of the town of the same name. 

A Parliamentary Bill to allow waters to be drawn for the people of Beverley had been vociferously opposed because of the very real possibility of sewage from Beverley entering the large Hull reservoirs at Stoneferry. 

There were justifications for this. 

The Committee found that a reservoir at Potter Hill Bridge had not been cleaned out for at least 30 years and was a major source of mud and filth entering the Beck. The description of "receptacles of the greatest nuisance" accumulated in the water conjurs up all kinds of horrific images of insanitary and unhealthy items. It was proposed that a new reservoir be created and cleaned out at least twice yearly. 

In order to stop the passage of weeds and rubbish an iron gate and grille was installed. 

This saw some quite rapid improvement in the water quality entering the River Hull from the Beck and flowing downstream to what the Beverley folk referred to as "our aquatic neighbours".

The initiation of the Committee of Sewers and the resultant plan for improvements was regarded by the Council as being an example of amazing social progress although cleaning up the foul outfalls was evidently, given their poor upkeep and maintenance, an obligation and not a concession. 

This elitist and self promoting attitude persisted and there were expectations that such an exceedingly kind and neighbourly act was deserving of the lasting gratitude of the people of Hull and that some form of reciprocal benefit was expected. 

To some extent these undertones of social friction continue to the present day between Beverley and Hull although to those who have lived and worked in these places these are completely unfounded.