River Leen - stories and info


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Hi All

The River Leen has always interested me sadly and strangely I have read a few articles and looked over some interesting sites about the Leen, but I would be fascinated in hearing members stories and facts about the river, I feel its like a forgotten river at times but I appreciate that its not everyone's cup of tea and not the most easiest on the eye.

Have spent many hours walking by the Leen and sometimes even had a go at fishing it.

Kind Regards

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The River Leen has always interested me

I always fancied walking the Leen in stages from it's source. Although it's not particularly scenic through it's urban travels and at times underground I reckon there's a nice history project there. I'd be interested to read an account - particularly pictorial - of somebody doing this. Of particular interest to me are the Linby and Papplewick areas of child labour and also where it enters Nottingham in the Canal Street area.

There's mention of the Leen being visible and used from the tanneries depicted in the Caves of Nottingham in Broad Marsh. I've also heard somewhere recently that prisoners from the gaol on High Pavement were taken directly to the Leen, the Trent, then deported to Tasmania. Not sure about the validity of that though.

There are a few examples of the old mill houses up around the aforementioned villages and one very noticeable one to the right of the entrance to Bestwood Mill Lakes. A friend knew the people who lived in the now-private house and apparently she has records of over thirty youngsters in child labour living in the loft area of the house.

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Hi

I spoke once to a chap that owned the mill pond or just the fishing rights to the pond, which is fenced off above the water fall/weir shall we say at Papplewick, he claimed if you follow the Leen towards the Newstead direction there are old building ruins so he said , the Leen round that part was very overgrown on the bank sides.I tried my best to talk my way into fishing this private pond 8-).

On a much smaller note always remember reading a note left in a guest book at a Raleigh exhibition at the Lakeside about some guy that used to fish the Leen during his dinner time LoL love those little stories.

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if you google lenton times and go to bottom of the page to lenton listner archives you will find an article on the leen at lenton i have just been on to check its still thereand it is

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Hi burtkt, 'love those little stories' you say. Here's just a snippet of one, regarding the River Leen:

After the Battle of Blenheim (1704), Marshal Tallard was taken prisoner and spent many years of captivity in Newdigate House, Nottingham. He was a cultured gentleman, became well liked and decided to make the best of his 'stay'.

He was allowed the freedom of the City, walking miles; he chanced upon wild celery growing on the banks of the River Leen and being a good gardener, cultivated the plant into the celery that we know today. :)

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The only bit of The Leen that I know is from Mill Street Old Basford, a lot has been said of the mill just above the murco garage on that road but today of course the river goes nowhere near it, however it's course can still be easily traced by the still there trees that grew (and still do) along that, my dad spoke of the "3 Bens" (big,middle and small) being bends in the river, big being at the time 1920's deep enough to swim in. A similar rerouting has took place after it's 2nd crossing under Vernon Rd it now running alongside the train and tram lines whereas when I first saw it it took it's own route at the back of the shops on Lincoln Street that bordered Billy Bacon's Field where Basford Wakes were held before it went underground beneath Nottingham Rd and Basford Vernon station site ,it's original exit from such can still seen from Church Street Bridge

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There's a google map of the River Leen from start to finish, also photos of it in different places if you use Google search engine with the search parameter of "River Leen, Nottingham UK"

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Hi burtkt, 'love those little stories' you say. Here's just a snippet of one, regarding the River Leen:

After the Battle of Blenheim (1704), Marshal Tallard was taken prisoner and spent many years of captivity in Newdigate House, Nottingham. He was a cultured gentleman, became well liked and decided to make the best of his 'stay'.

He was allowed the freedom of the City, walking miles; he chanced upon wild celery growing on the banks of the River Leen and being a good gardener, cultivated the plant into the celery that we know today. :)

There's a google map of the River Leen from start to finish, also photos of it in different places if you use Google search engine with the search parameter of "River Leen, Nottingham UK"

Thank you Both 8-) and cheers Ash

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  • 7 months later...

Hi All

Sorry to drag up an old post but I have just fount this very interesting blog about the Leen & surrounding areas , sorry if others are already in the know , but I thought it would be nice to share this with other people :)

http://internetcurtains.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/river-leen-greenway-bulwell-basford-car.html

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Back in the 50's there was a big tree that used to overhang the river Leen at the end of the street where the Three Crown pub was and in the summer a gang of us 9 & 10year olds had put a rope hanging from the tree and we would swing out into the river and drop in where it was 3 or 4ft deep actually l think the rope we used was my Grandma's washing line,triple tied no bathing suits in them days,just our underpants.We also made a wooden raft which we used to play pirates in that spot,but some old guy called Jumbo Herod collered it and chopped it up because he said "it was bothering HIS ducks that he kept on the Leen" a few times l remember seeing the Leen red and blue from dyes that came from one of the factories up the road At the road bridge just down from Bulwell crossings you could look over and see fish that were over a foot long or more that hung around that area probably full of toxins from the dyes.

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I shall study the original document when sober, esp the bit re the railways and various dates, The route of The Leen has been changed over the years, esp in the area from Bulwell south, My father told me of the "3 Bens" (bends) or the original route around the Acton Avenue area, each had a certain normal depth and kids of all ages stuck to their own "Ben" according to age, size and swimming ability, However certain times of the year there was The Leen Drill, similar to the Severn Bore only caused by heavy rain when it was possible to surf from Bulwell to Radford using old doors, dustbins, car bonnets and in the one time I attempted it an advertising hoarding (did I mention I had been to the pub earlier?)

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at the lenton end of the leen it ran through the grounds of nazareth house piggy helped his dad make swimming hole for the children to swim in when he was youndin fact there is a photo of this in lenton times magazine with mainly girls on but dave is on itaand one other boy who we think could be chad a biker who lived at nazereth house untill he was about 10 and was then moved to a boys home.

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A mention of the Leen in a recent Facebook Nottingham group posting

http://www.facebook....&type=1

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'Mortimer’s Hole is probably Nottingham’s most famous cave, and is reputed to have a vital role in British medieval history.

The cave is a 105m-long tunnel which runs from the top of the Castle Rock - the Upper Bailey of the medieval castle - down to the Brewhouse Yard. In the middle ages the River Leen ran close to the bottom of the Castle Rock, and Mortimer’s Hole would have probably been used as a quick route from the river to the Castle.

It is perhaps most famous as the tunnel through which Edward III’s soldiers entered the Castle and captured the dastardly Roger de Mortimer in 1330'

423063_561930123823258_166160295_n.jpg

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One thing we (far as I know) haven't touched on is the route of The Leen through Hucknall? I knew someone in the 1980's who lived on Ogle Street who said it was piped underground through the back gardens there and often after storms a manhole lid would blow off and the yard would be flooded, can well believe it having seen a heavy cast iron one "floating" about 4ft off the ground on a column of water, (like the ping pong balls on air rifle ranges at goose fair) coming from a drain leading to the leen off Whitemoor Ave, back of Gerards soap works

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  • 4 years later...

There was a hole in the Rock face just up from the Lower Entrance of Mortimer's Hole where we young lads used to climb up to and then drop down into Mortimer's Hole and then make our way up to the Castle. In an effort to prevent us doing that, they put wire Mesh over it. That didn't work so they bricked it up (Miserable Sods).

I also have a memory of a few (just under the surface tunnels) that ran adjacent to the Rock Face. They had a wooden door at each end and the tunnels were only about 3 ft high and about 40 feet long. I have no idea what they were used for but they were an adventure for us young lads from the old Medduz to scramble through on our hands and knees. Sometime since the 1960's, the entrances to those tunnels were filled in and the surrounding bushes cut down. It would satisfy my curiosity to know more about them Can anyone enlighten me about those tunnels please?

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