Rainworth Water

Rainworth Water
River
Rufford mill and lake, which is fed by Rainworth Water
Country	England
County	Nottinghamshire
Tributaries
- left	Foulevil Brook
- right	Gallow Hole Dyke
Source
- location	Ravenshead
Mouth	River Maun
- location	Ollerton

[ v t e ] Rainworth Water

Legend A614 bridge River Maun Railway bridge A614 bridge Rufford ford Rufford sawmill Rufford Lake Rufford LNR Gallow Hole Dyke disused railway Robin Dam Bridge Bilsthorpe Sewage Works A614 Red Bridge Inkersall lakes mineral railway Rainworth Sewage Works A617 Rainworth Bypass bridge B6070 Kirklington Road Foulevil Brook L Lake (Rainworth Water LNR) B6070 Blidworth Lane bridge Cave Pond Ponds A60 bridge source

Rainworth Water is a watercourse that is a tributary of the River Maun near Rainworth, Nottinghamshire, England. It is also a Local Nature Reserve^[1][2] owned and managed by Nottinghamshire County Council.

Nature Reserve

Rainworth Water LNR was once part of Rufford Colliery, which created the spoil heaps that form a bowl around the watercourse. The spoil heaps were restored after the colliery closure and the planting of thousands of broadleaved trees and other woodland species have stabilised the ground. The Water itself is a wetland habitat consisting of artificial pools, shallows and meanders that appear natural and support dragonflies and damselflies. Marshy areas have developed naturally alongside the watercourse since restoration, as have open grassland and dense scrubland. A colony of Dingy Skipper butterflies, which are rare within Nottinghamshire, inhabits the open grasslands.^[3]

The area was declared a Local Nature Reserve in 2005. Most maintenance work on the reserve is conducted by Nottinghamshire County Council but some is undertaken by the Friends of Tippings Wood.^[3]

River course

The river rises in Normanshill Wood, to the north-west of Ravenshead and flows eastwards, passing under the A60 road, and to the south of Portland Training College. There are two lakes created by dams, which were once fish ponds,^[4] before the river turns to the north-east to reach another artificial lake called Cave Pond. Passing under Blidworth Lane on the outskirts of Rainworth, it enters an 'L'-shaped lake, called "L Lake", the other branch of which is fed by Foulevil Brook.^[5] It forms part of the Rainworth Lakes Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which covers an area of 36.2 acres (14.6 ha) and has been designated because of the variety of plant species which grow in the open water and adjacent marsh.^[6] The river passes through the centre of Rainworth village, under the B6020 and the A617 Rainworth bypass. Rainworth Sewage Treatment Works is located on its north-east bank, after which it is culverted to pass under a railway embankment associated with Rufford Colliery. By Inkersall Manor there are ponds on both sides, where the name of the woodland, which is Damside Covert, and the presence of earthworks, suggests they were part of a larger lake at one time.^[5]

Another lake is located to the east of the woodland, and then Red Bridge carries the A614 over the river. Beyond the road, it turns north, passing under a minor road and a disused railway embankment to the west of Bilsthorpe, with Bilsthorpe Sewage Works on its east bank. Robin Dam Bridge carries another minor road over it, after which it reaches the southern boundary of the country park at Rufford Abbey. Gallow Hall Dyke joins it from the east.^[5] Parts of Gallow Hall Dyke and some ponds on the eastern edge of Rufford Lake form the Rufford Country Park Local Nature Reserve. In addition to supporting aquatic and marginal plants, it supports a population of water voles and breeding waterfowl.^[3] The Cistercian Abbey was founded in 1147 by Gilbert de Gant, but was partly demolished in 1560 and converted into a country house. After extensions were added in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, it was partly demolished again in 1959. It is a grade I listed structure and an ancient monument, managed by English Heritage.^[7] Beyond the ruins of the Abbey, a large lake has been created by a dam at the northern edge of the park, which supplied a water-powered saw-mill. The main building was erected around 1740, and an undershot waterwheel with its gearing is still in situ.^[8] Outside the mill, the road to Wellow crosses by a ford. On the southern edge of Ollerton, the A614 road crosses again, as does a railway track, and the river joins the River Maun close to another bridge carrying the A614 over the combined flow.^[5]

Points of interest

References

Coordinates: 53°07′41″N 1°06′18″W / 53.128°N 1.105°W / 53.128; -1.105

v t e Rivers and Watercourses of Nottinghamshire Rivers Devon Erewash Farleys Brook Greet Idle Kingston Brook Leen Maun Meden Poulter Rainworth Water Ryton Soar Trent Vicar Water Whyburn