Navigation on the River Hull Before the Canal
The retreat of the Ice Sheet from the South Wolds, some 10,000 years ago left a low lying marshy region covered with clay and drained by a profusion of Becks and Meres. The main drainage channel of the region was the River Hull. Early settlement in this rather inhospitable area was restricted to the small hummocks that lay above the marsh, at sites where the modern villages of Brigham, Foston, and Eske are now found. Early settlers possibly used the Becks for primitive transport. The first real evidence of the use of the River Hull for larger craft lies in the discovery of Scandinavian Warrior remains at an old battle site near Corps Landing. One can picture the Viking longboat making its way up river to this point.
As the fertile nature of the region became recognised, artificial drainage cuts were made between the Becks and Mares. Records show how the Monks of Meaux Abbey drained their lands and transported their produce in the twelfth and thirteenth Centuries.
With the growth of the number of craft on the River Hull, and the chance to raise money from Tolls, the Archbishops of York claimed privilege over the River as early as 1213. The limit of navigation at that time was Emmotland, where Frodingham Beck joined the main stream. Records of 1360 indicate that Wansford was the limit of navigation; Bales of wool being carried from there to Hull for 64. During the Middle Ages seagoing vessels regularly reached the Beverley outport at Grovehill. By 1641 regular traffic had developed to Wansford carrying a variety of goods.