More improvements planned for the River Welland through Welland Park, Market Harborough

The East Mercia Rivers Trust (EMRT) is to carry out improvement work on the River Welland where it flows through Welland Park in Market Harborough.

HFM News reports that the EMRT will increase water flow during the summer by clearing weeds and adding gravel and small structures to the river. It will also create better access points for education and community use and install new interpretation boards.

The report quotes the EMRT as describing the Welland through the park as "a heavily modified urban watercourse, with weed growth restricting flow and causing both visual and ecological concerns".

So I went to the park today to take some pictures of the unimproved river in the sun. Rewilding work on the Welland through Market Harborough previously took place in 2014.

Secret Northamptonshire on the building of the Welland Viaduct

I wouldn't call the Welland Viaduct exactly secret: it's nearly three-quarters of a mile long, 60 feet hight, contains 30 million bricks and is really quite hard to miss.

But having been inspired to write posts by the BBC's Secret Shropshire and Secret Leicestershire pages, I though I would have a look at Secret Northamptonshire. And this is the story that caught my eye:

Northants' "Grandest and Most Perfect" Structure

The Harringworth or Welland Viaduct is one of the longest of its kind in Britain.

Stradling the picturesque Northamptonshire valley, it is a magnificent example of Victorian construction and ambition.

But the story of its construction is even more remarkable... and terrifying.

Helen Blaby tells that story.

The Joy of Six 1454

"At its core, A Christmas Carol is the transformation of a man without empathy, to a man with empathy. It accomplishes this through forcing the character Ebenezer Scrooge to remember the past, witness the present, and to consider the future. It is through seeing other human beings as human beings with lives equal in worth to his own, that forms the basis of Scrooge's transformation." Scott Santens sets out the science behind Charles Dickens' famous story.

Barbara Speed on the shocking scale of the abuse perpetrated by the Jesus Army: "The ... coroner returned an open verdict, but noted his 'concern' about the two strange deaths and the letters he had received from parents of young people in the fellowship, who were worried about their children’s safety. These incidents were closely reported by local media but never became national news."

Welcome to the working week - Microsoft Teams will soon start telling your boss where you are, reports Zak Doffman.

"I think, therefore I am" isn’t the best translation of Descartes’s famous pronouncement "cogito, ergo sum", argues Galen Strawson.

Owen Hatherley has been watching a new box set of immediately post-war films from the DDR: "'Rubble films' were sponsored by the Soviet occupiers of Eastern Germany and East Berlin as part of the project of de-Nazification, with the theory being that mass market film was uniquely suited to forcing ordinary Germans to understand and come to terms with what they had done. It was a brief moment, necessarily compromised ... but the films are fascinating as attempts to make antifascist commercial blockbusters, in a devastated society that would have preferred to think about almost anything else."

Gavin Speed looks at the latest research into Saxon Leicestershire: "Along the River Welland in south-east Leicestershire, extensive fieldwalking surveys have identified several settlements close to the north of the river, and close to former Roman roads."

The 17th-century Stamford Canal

The Stamford Canal was an artificial cut that paralleled the River Welland between Stamford and Market Deeping. It was nine and a half miles long and had 12 locks.

It was opened in 1670, and so predates the canals of the Industrial Revolution. I believe it was constructed by the Dutch engineers who were responsible for the draining of the Fens.

This video from Jay Naylor Films – like and subscribe – shows the Stamford end of the canal.

Rewilding Harborough project attracts interest from government and national organisations

Representatives from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Natural England, the Environment Agency, Anglian Water, Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust and the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts were in Market Harborough today to hear about Harborough District Council's Rewilding Harborough project. 

They attended a briefing at the council offices before visiting the rewilding site, which lies to the north and east of Great Bowden.

The Harborough Mail quotes Cal Hatley, Harborough DC's director of communities and wellbeing:

"Establishing effective partnerships is going to be the key to making this rewilding project successful. I am looking forward to welcoming these organisations and showing them that we are taking action to address the nature crisis in the region with the engagement of local communities."

And Mat Carter, chief executive of Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, said:

"This project is an opportunity to restore nature and create a landscape where people and wildlife can thrive. We work best together and are delighted to welcome our partners to see this project."

Harborough DC is run by a Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green administration - my old Liberal and Lib Dem council colleague Phil Knowles is its leader.

The wildlife trust owns land adjacent to the council's land at Great Bowden and I've walked that land with one of their team. I intend to write something about Rewilding Harborough when I've got my head round the project properly.

Now The Bonkers Arms is in The Notswolds

Remember The Notswolds? There's another article on the concept, this time in the Evening Standard:

The Welland Valley is part of an area often dubbed 'the Notswolds' on account of it being as beautiful as the Cotswolds, but without the price tag. 

Residents of this stretch of south Leicestershire and north Northamptonshire flanking the River Welland will tell you there’s no comparison, though - it’s more picturesque, more accessible and more affordable.

As to exactly where the region is:

Debate rages over exactly where the Welland Valley starts and finishes, but the stretch between Market Harborough and Harringworth represents the "heart" of this beautiful area to Ellie.

Ellie is Ellie Upall from Three Goats, a company that owns three pubs in this part of the world.

One of them is mentioned in the article:

Convinced of its potential as a getaway spot for capital-dwellers, the Three Goats has invested £3m in The Nevill Arms, a boutique country hotel and pub in Medbourne, one of the Valley’s most iconic villages. 

"Medbourne epitomises this region," she says. "It has a brook, lots of stone and thatched houses, a village hall, a shop-cum-post office, a pre-school, a church and a sports club. 

"There’s a strong sense of community and many residents work from home or commute to London. Having Market Harborough and Uppingham nearby is a big bonus, plus you don’t have to travel too far to be in Leicester or Nottingham."

Ellie has noticed an upturn in visitors to The Nevill Arms on "scouting missions" ahead of potentially relocating here. "They’re always surprised how easy it is to get to," she says.

If, as most scholars maintain, Nevil Holt Hall is the model for Bonkers Hall, then Medbourne must be "the village" Lord Bonkers talks about and The Nevill Arms must be The Bonkers Arms.*

Of course, I was on to The Notswolds before it was fashionable. In a Guardian article from 2008, I quoted W.G. Hoskins on eastern Leicestershire: "a landscape of sharp hills, woodland, stone-built villages and many fine churches".

And I quoted Peter Ashley, who is mostly on Instagram these days:

On his blog Unmitigated England, the writer and photographer Peter Ashley describes one of his favourite Midlands locations, the lane that circles Cranoe church in a hairpin bend as it drops into the Welland valley: "I once used to say to companions on this road 'Look at this. You could be in Dorset. Or Devon. You'd never think you were in Leicestershire.'" 

But he has managed to raise his consciousness: "I have now realised what a fatuous remark this is. This is Leicestershire, and in fact very typical of the eastern side of the county."

* To be honest, I envisage the Hall being closer to the village than this. Bonkers Hall has an impressive drive, but I'm sure the pub is no more than a pleasant stroll away if you nip out of a back gate. The fact that there is is a secret passage from the Hall that comes out in the cellar of The Bonkers Arms strengthens the case for their not being far apart. A visit to The Bell Inn at East Langton, handy for J.W. Logan's home at East Langton Grange, will give you an idea of what I have in mind.

Otters playing in the Welland at Market Harborough

The Welland, which only a few weeks ago was threatening to flood the town, is becoming overgrown for the summer.

And here, posted yesterday, are an otter and her pups playing in the narrowing channel.

Thanks to The hedge finding missile for the video.

Raw sewage was dumped into the Welland in Market Harborough for over 1300 hours last year

A shocking report from HFM News:

There has been a big increase in the amount of raw sewage dumped into the River Welland in Market Harborough.

117 separate incidents were recorded last year – a 44% rise on 2022.

Sewage flowed into the watercourse for over 1,300 hours, which is nearly double the amount of time it did during the year before and equates to 54 days continuously.

Water companies are permitted to allow untreated waste to be released into rivers during heavy rainfall to stop sewers backing up.

The data has been released by the Environment Agency, which monitors three points along the river through the town where sewage can enter the water.

We phoned Ofwat for a comment:

"I'm just the cleaner. dear. They've all gone home."

Neil O'Brien is 45.

Little Bowden Police Station and Magistrates Court - and my political career

This attractive building stands in Northampton Road, Market Harborough, and the Prison History site gives you its early history:

In the Northampton Mercury of Saturday 5th September 1863 was an advertisement for builders to submit tenders for the building of a new Police Station and Magistrates Room at Little Bowden, with separate tenders needed for both. 

In the Northampton Mercury of Saturday 22nd October 1864 it was stated that the Chief Constable had taken possession of the station and placed an inspector and constable there. In the Northampton Mercury of Saturday 7th January 1865 it was reported that the Magistrates took possession of the Magistrates Room on 13th December 1864. 

Little Bowden Police Station on Northampton Road, Market Harborough is still standing and, I believe, is now used for private offices.

The building was used for private offices until recently, but was then put on the market. I'm not sure if it found a buyer.

The Chief Constable who took possession of the police station here in 1864 was the head of the Northamptonshire Constabulary, because the boundary between that county and Leicestershire followed the River Welland through Market Harborough until the 1890s. So a fair percentage of the town's population and offenders lived in Northants.

At some point after that boundary change the police station closed and became the offices of Market Harborough Urban District Council. I'm told there are still cells beneath it.

Little Bowden Magistrates Court continued to sit until about 1960, hearing cases from the Northamptonshire villages south of the town. It also served as the UDC's council chamber until the authority was abolished in 1974.

When, in 1984. I returned from working in Birmingham and London, the building was occupied by a sports club, The Olympian. It took its name from its owner, Brian Kilby, who had finished fourth in the Marathon at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. By some reckonings, he also held the world Marathon record for over a year in 1963-4.

In 1984 Brian Kilby was a Conservative member of Harborough District Council, but we noticed that he had stopped attending meetings - I believe he was having business problems - and selected a candidate for a possible by-election in his ward. That candidate was me.

I forget whether Kilby was disqualified as a councillor or decided to resign, but the by-election duly took place in May 1986 and I gained the seat for the Liberal Party, appearing as 'Liberal Alliance' on the ballot paper.

My memory may be faulty on some of these points, local readers, so please let me know if I've got anything wrong.