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THE
RIVER EMS AND ITS RELATED
WATERCOURSES
The waterways of the
River Ems are very complex and we must be grateful to
David Rudkin for his painstaking research into its many
twists and turns. Copies of David Rudkin's book "The
River Ems and Related Watercourses" (1984) may still be
found in the Emsworth Bookshop. The following is a
summary based on Rudkin's research and some of my own
observations. The course of the river can be traced using
OS Explorer Map 120.
Stoughton
to Walderton
According to Rudkin the
River Ems has its source about a mile and a half east of
Stoughton, at approximately grid ref SU808122. I have
never tried to confirm this, but he seems pretty sure
about it. Most maps trace the Ems up to Mitchamer Pond
which is about half way between Stoughton and Walderton.
The Ems then runs alongside the road through Walderton,
behind the Barley Mow and under the B2146 road at
Walderton Bridge. There is sometimes a small pond to the
north of the bridge which appears to be fed from another
stream.
The Ems then goes onto
Walderton Pumping station where, Rudkin says, up to 8
million gallons of water a day may be extracted, though
it is usually much less than this. From the pumping
station the water from the Ems is raised to three
reservoirs, two by the Racton Monument which supply the
Havant area and one on the hillside opposite the pumping
station which supplies Walderton.
Walderton
to Broadwash Bridge
From the pumping station
the Ems runs parallel to the road to Lordington where it
widens into a pond. It passes under the B2146 just north
of its junction with Hare's Lane and then goes under
Hare's Lane and onto the meadows of Racton Park Farm. The
Ems continues to flow along the eastern side of the road
where it is enhanced by a tributary stream before it
reaches Ell Bridge. Rudkin says the name Ell was probably
derived from Eel, suggesting that Eels came up the Ems at
least to this point. From Ell Bridge the river goes
through more meadows to pass under Common Road at
Broadwash Bridge. The old narrow bridge, which stands
beside the new one, is useful as a lay-by to watch for a
Little Owl. The area on the south side of the bridge was
known as "Sheepwash" because farmers used to bring their
sheep here in June for their annual wash before
shearing.
Broadwash
Bridge to Westbourne Millpond
The river meanders
through the meadows until it reaches "Lord's Fishpond"
which Rudkin says was shown on Richard Lumley's survey
map of 1640. The pond is behind the old slaughterhouse,
which was pulled down in 2000 in favour of new houses.
Just below the pond the river passes through a small
woodland referred to as "Racton Park Dell" by Rudkin
where it is joined and reinforced by another stream. At
this point Rudkin noticed a red deposit over the flints
in the river which he had not seen before; these were
subsequently identified as a red algae called
Hildenbrandia rivularis. At the lower end of the Dell the
Ems is crossed by an old and derelict footbridge which
once gave access from Foxbury Lane to the inner meadows.
The river and meadows can be easily viewed from Foxbury
Lane. The river, having reached the open meadows,
straightens and heads for Deep Springs. Here, there is a
plentiful supply of water below the surface and, in
certain conditions, the Portsmouth Water Company are
required to discharge water into the Ems to compensate
for the extraction at Walderton. Rudkin observes when he
was there in the middle of November a pump was raising
and discharging water into the Ems. At this point the Ems
turns sharply to the right into a broad, straight canal.
It then passes under River Street where it is joined by
the stream that flows down from Aldsworth Pond and both
feed water into Westbourne Millpond.
Diversion
of the Ems above Westbourne
This canal, Rudkin
thinks, was a deliberate diversion of the waterway to
provide water for Westbourne millpond, and was
constructed prior to 1640. The original course of the Ems
would have continued alongside Foxbury Lane, through the
village and along what was then appropriately called
Water Lane, now called New Road, to the old watercress
beds in Vicarage Meadow. There is also a fair-sized pond
behind the houses on the south side of New Road. Rudkin
thinks it is highly likely that the river still flows
along this route below ground level to emerge at the head
of the watercress beds.
Westbourne
Millpond to Lumley Mill
From Westbourne Millpond
the river and the millstream separate. The millstream
keeps to the side of River Street and flows under North
Street and down the bottom of the gardens on the west
side of the village. This stream can be seen from the
garden of the Good Intent pub. The Ems flows to the north
of Norman House and under the hump-back bridge in North
Street from where it crosses the fields and joins up with
the millrace again at the bottom of King Street near the
centre of the village.
A little further on
behind Westbourne Church the millstream leaves the Ems in
a sharp turn to the left from where it flows under
Westbourne Road and into the brick-sided channel leading
to Mill Lane. The millstream continues alongside Mill
Lane at a much higher level than the river to the west.
When the millstream floods water cascades westwards down
the fields and into the old watercourse of the Ems (see
details of this below); there are now several channels
which have been created by this overflow from the
millstream. The millstream then passes under the A27 and
follows Mill Lane down to to Lumley Mill where falls to
meet up again with the River Ems.
From its divergence from
the millstream behind Westbourne Church the River Ems
passes under Westbourne Road at the Hampshire Bridge and
flows through the meadows to the east of Westbourne
Avenue. Green Sandpipers can often be seen along this
stretch of river in winter. To the west of the river is a
ditch which forms the county boundary. With the
construction of the A27 in 1989 (after Rudkin wrote his
book) the River Ems was diverted to make it run alongside
the northern embankment of the new road and through a
culvert under the road. From there it flows towards
Lumley Mill where it briefly meets up with the millstream
before going through the garden of Constant
Springs.
Diversion
of the River Ems below Westbourne
After consulting old maps
Rudkin concluded that the main course of the River Ems
south of the Hampshire Bridge was different from what it
is today. The original course of the river is shown on
the Deposited Plan of 1875 which Rudkin reproduces on
p.56 of his book. Then, the river used to have a more
easterly course, but it was diverted by a dam about 50
yards below the Hampshire Bridge, probably to irrigate
the water meadows. The original course of the Ems,
flanked by trees and bushes, can clearly be seen today to
the east of the main river.
The original watercourse
of the Ems usually has a small flow of water which comes
from two sources: (a) a small amount comes from the main
river via a culvert which appears to go through the dam
referred to above, just below the Hampshire Bridge; and
(b), more vigorously, from a stream which runs down from
the old watercress beds to the north east. This latter
stream appears to originate from the large pond behind
New Road in Westbourne from where it runs through the
fields to the north of the Lumley Millstream and then
passes beneath the Millstream and down through the old
watercress beds to the meet the original watercourse of
the Ems.
Lumley
Mill to Emsworth Harbour
The Ems and the
millstream come together briefly just below Lumley Mill
and then almost immediately divide again into two
branches below the footbridge. The eastern branch (the
Lumley Stream) turns sharp left and then right before
flowing in front of Constant Springs, under the railway
and down Lumley Road into Peter Pond. There is a sluice
near the footbridge at Lumley Mill which controls how
much water goes down the Lumley Stream. The Lumley Stream
is partly tidal, being influenced by the tides which come
over the Slipper Millpond sluice gate and into Peter
Pond.
Rudkin wondered whether
the Lumley Stream was a natural overflow or a constructed
watercourse. Although it is built up with retaining walls
as it passes in front of the Lumley Road cottages, below
that, where it skirts Brook Meadow, the stream is clearly
a natural one. Rudkin thinks that long ago the estuary of
the Ems was more expansive than it is today and reached
further upstream. He refers to a coastal map of 1665
which shows the Ems estuary to include what are now
Slipper Millpond and Peter Pond. The Lumley Road stream
could have been one of the small channels left by the
receding shoreline.
From Lumley Mill the
western branch of River Ems flows under the footbridge
and through the garden of Constant Springs, from where it
turns sharp left to pass under the railway embankment
through a tunnel and into Brook Meadow, from where it
turns sharply to the right to flow alongside the railway
embankment, before turning sharply to the left to flow
down the western side of Brook Meadow. Rudkin shows how
these sharp turns were created when the railway was
constructed in the 1850s. See below for a detailed
description of the diversion of the River Ems. The Ems
then flows south through Brook Meadow, with industrial
buildings to the west of the river and the meadow to the
east. There is now a raised footpath alongside the river,
allowing good views of the river and its inhabitants,
including Water Voles. About 100 mature Crack Willow
trees line the river along this stretch.
At the lower end its
passage through Brook Meadow, Rudkin discovered that the
Ems originally opened out into a millpond which provided
a head of water for the old mill at the bottom of Queen
Street. The mill's building has been converted into
offices and workshops and is now called the The Old Flour
Mill. From the mill the main river passes under Queen
Street to exit into Dolphin Lake between Dolphin House
and the Dolphin Boat Yard. However, there is a second
exit point in the eastern corner of Dolphin Lake between
the Lord Raglan pub and the the Chequers Quay housing
development. This, says Rudkin, is an overflow from the
millrace of the Flour Mill which also passes under Queen
Street. There must be a gate in the mill preventing water
from the harbour going up stream since, unlike the Lumley
Stream, this branch of the Ems is not tidal.
Diversion
of the River Ems at the railway
The sharp turns in the
western branch of the river in the garden of Constant
Springs and in Brook Meadow clearly indicate that yet
another diversion was made during the construction of the
railway in 1847. The Deposited Plan of 1844, (Plate 79 in
Rudkin's book), shows the original course of the river
continuing in a westerly direction through what is now
what is now the garden of Constant Springs and curving
round to the south. This original course of the river can
still clearly be seen in the garden of Constant Springs
where there is also a substantial pond. Rudkin thinks the
railway company probably made this diversion to avoid
having to make two tunnels under the railway. The
Deposited Plan of 1875 (Plate 80 in Rudkin's book) shows
the diversion of the Ems under the railway. This map also
shows a dimunitive watercourse which branched south from
the Ems near the Lumley Footbridge and ran down the east
side of Brook Meadow to drain into Slipper Millpond at
its head. Traces of this ditch, which marks the County
boundary, can still be seen, though following the
diversion of the river, no water runs in it.
How
the River Ems divides at The Old Flour
Mill
Following a conversation
with Fred Portwin about Trout and how they get from the
River Ems into the harbour I went into the car park
behind The Old Flour Mill in Queen Street to have a look
at the sluice mechanisms at the back of the car park.
This is where the Ems divides into two channels to pass
under the road and into Dolphin Lake. The eastern branch
of the river, which comes out by the side of the Lord
Raglan pub, is controlled by two sluice gates, which were
open at the time. The western branch which enters Dolphin
Lake beside Dolphin Quay goes through a grill with no
obvious sluice mechanism to control its flow. What is
quite clear is that fish are able to leave and enter the
River Ems through these two points.