Tag Archives: Thorley Brook

Andrew Johnson: Thorley Marshes 1960s – 2000

Thorley Brook was once a navigable creek leading off the Western Yar almost as far as Thorley Manor until it silted up and a causeway was built across its entrance where a tide mill was established in the mid 17th century and the current one at the end of the 18th century.

Mill and stream 2013

Mill and stream 2013

The Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport railway was opened in1889 and ran across the marsh, under the Thorley Road and on the edge of the marsh, north of Thorley Manor before continuing on higher ground towards Newport.

The mill, the mill causeway and the railway line all had an effect on how Thorley brook and the marshes around it would operate in the future. The marshes act as a flood plain to the catchment area of the Thorley brook which in itself divides to the north of Thorley Manor, the main arm towards Thorley Street and the small watershed east of Broad lane, the lesser arm to Cranmore.

Old railway track 2013

Old railway track 2013

The drainage of the flood plain back to the main watercourse was laid out in a series of ditches fed by shallow runnels back to a feeder ditch running parallel to the Brook. This ditch is in turn emptied back to the brook by a series of hinged flap sluices which open when the brook level is low enough. The brook level lowers when the tide goes out allowing the two sets of sluices one at the station and one by the mill connected by the mill race to open. This was the original means of driving the mill wheel.

Mill low tide Robert Adams 1950s

Mill low tide :photo Robert Adams
1950s

My interest in the Marshes began in February 1969 when I arrived on the Island following a very wet autumn and winter, to manage the Thorley Manor Farm of which the marshes were an integral part.

At this point the marsh drainage system was in a poor state of repair and as the farm’s intention was to graze a single suckled beef herd on these marshes in the summer,  housing them in the winter when the marshes were flooded, it was essential to have it returned to its original state. The main brook course was controlled and maintained by the River Authority and so they dredged the brook using a tracked drag line on mats, putting the spoil along the banks raising the level of the banks and increasing the capacity of the brook.

Mill gates 1950s R Adams

Mill gates 1950s : photo R. Adams

The sluice gates were repaired and the feeder ditches were dug out  and fenced to prevent treading in by cattle. This in turn created a series of paddocks which allowed a rotational system of grazing for the livestock.

This made a great improvement to state of the ground at all times of the year, so that as it continued to act as a flood plain in winter, it dried out in a good condition in the Spring. Access for cattle and for footpath users was greatly improved.

marshes 1950s Robert Adams

Work on marshes 1950s :photo Robert Adams

In the Spring if heavy rainfall coincided with the neap tides the emptying time of the brook to the estuary was much reduced and increased during the time of the spring tides. This could result in delaying the cattle grazing in the Spring by up to 3 weeks, a critical factor in the management of the herd. A further improvement to the drainage was carried out to reduce this delay. The feeder ditch was dug deeper to increase its holding capacity from the station to the back of Thorley Manor. A series of three pumps controlled by level switches were installed near the station. This allowed water to be pumped from the marsh into the brook over the bank before the level of the brook had fallen to allow the minor sluices in the banks to open. (The difference in level between the pump site and the back of the Manor is only one foot. It is worth noting that if the main sluice gates at the mill and the station failed, the salt water would reach Hill Place lane and beyond, at high tide.) We had now gained in most years, 3weeks extra grazing in the Spring and two weeks in the autumn.

On the upper reaches of the brook the grazing was improved by re-seeding, and the major perennial weeds of dock, thistle and ragwort were controlled by topping before they seeded.

By this time the beef suckler herd had been increased to 100 cows, with half calving in the autumn and the other half in the spring, with two thirds of their grazing being on the marshes.

Marshes, track and stream

Marshes, track and stream

In the mid 1990’s a high percentage of the marshes were declared a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) and although the Thorley Brook remained as a main waterway under the River Authority the ultimate control passed to English nature. This affected the level and timing of the dredging and drainage. The amount of silt and plant growth which now accumulated in the brook meant that the banks of the brook now needed fencing to avoid cows and calves falling in and getting trapped there. This extra cost of erecting and maintaining these fences would eventually make the cattle an uneconomic venture. In 1999 all the cattle were sold following a change of the farm ownership, the pumps were switched off, and in time it is likely that the marshes will revert to its state of 30 years previously.

Andrew Johnson 28-5-2013

 

Sue Langford: Thorley holidays 1950s, 1960s

Thorley and Upper Lee
Thorley from above

Thorley from across the fields

Every holiday, the family would be sent to Granny Haigh’s at Bundys, until she got fed up with so many of us and my father bought Upper Lee. I have Granny’s notebooks, full of details of butterflies and insects, some of them you don’t see here now.  She made a point of teaching us about them – we’d only listen for so long – but I can still identify any that come our way.

We could run around the fields, between here and Retreat ( now ‘Molehills’), with no one supervising us. There was one rule – you did have to wear your Wellingtons in the fields because of the adders. I’d see maybe two or so a year. I remember once, on my way to look for orchids, coming across an adder curled up in a spiral, rearing up with its head pulled back. I ran!

Going through the fields to Retreat was always a bit of a nightmare because of the young stock. The grownups always used to say, just keep going and if they run towards you, just make yourself as big as you can, and shout at them. They’ll go away. I wasn’t confident about that!

We spent a lot of time in Thorley Brook, paddling about, making up games.
Sue Langford nee Haigh b 1946

Eileen Smith, Mary Henderson: Upper Lee, Thorley

Thorley houses  with Upper Lee and Thorley Brook

Thorley houses with Upper Lee and Thorley Brook


Mum said they loved going over to the Coopers at Upper Lee to Sunday School and then go in to the hall in Newport.  It was a treat for them.  They used to go and collect the milk in a jug from them at the farm. Mary Henderson b 1954

May Cooper used to do the dairy work for her brother. She made butter pats in the shape of swans, and cooled them in Thorley Brook, just where a little spring rises. When she made jellies and jams she’d cool them by floating them in the stream. Eileen Smith nee Lansdowne b 1921

Pam Cotton: Thorley 1950s

Primrose bank, Thorley

Primrose bank, Thorley


As children we played outside most of the time in the surrounding fields and in the stream across the road behind the barn where we would catch minnows and sticklebacks. Sadly I can also remember sitting in the field near this stream decorating the cow pats with buttercups and daisies! I liked collecting wild flowers and my dad made me a press so that I could put my collection in books. Sometimes we would go over to what was called the Rew, a small copse at the cross roads. It was a bit dark there so I didn’t go alone! Pam Bone nee Cotton b 1948

Peter Smith: Thorley 1950s

Thorley from above

Thorley from above

Thorley in the 1950’s had many things of interest for me. The small stream at the end of our houses contained hundreds of sand shrimps under the stones, and caddis fly larvae were quite often found. The bigger stream over the fields, Thorley Brook, held other delights such as sticklebacks, minnows, tadpoles and water beetles, all of which we used to catch and bring home in jam jars. One day I brought home a jar with some tadpoles and a water beetle, hoping eventually to see the tadpoles turn into frogs. The next morning I found, to my amazement, all the tadpoles had disappeared. Had they changed into frogs already and jumped out?  The water beetle, which was about 2” long, had made the most of a ready meal and eaten the tadpoles. Peter Smith b 1946