Source of South Yorkshire's River Don

[JS2021]

Because River Don is the major river of South Yorkshire and flows right across it from the extreme west to the extreme east I have always had an interest in its source.
The location of the latter is somewhat complicated by the fact it is dammed very early in its course by the Winscar reservoir which is about 6 miles west of Penistone.
However, careful inspection of a large scale map shows that the Don, as a stream, flows into the reservoir's western arm (see pic 1) and its source being just over a mile further west from there at SE 119 027 (see pics 13 & 14).
By the time the Don flows into Winscar numerous streams have already converged into it including one from "Don Well" (see pic 6) which is situated at SE 133 027. Despite its name the well cannot really be thought of as the source because the Don is already a significant stream (see pic 5) before it reaches that area. Furthermore the quantity of water flowing into the Don from the well is relatively insignificant, or it was on the day I visited (see pic 8).
Arguably, because it is all a little subjective, the Don rises from an area of marshy ground around Withens edge and at that point it appears to be named Great Grain(s).  Interestingly the aforementioned area is the watershed for the Don and the River Etherow (see pics 13 to 16) , the latter flowing in the opposite direction and eventually ending up in the Irish sea via the rivers Goyt, Tame and Mersey. The Don's eventual destination is, of course, the North sea so, in this area, drops of rain landing just a few feet one way or the other determines which sea they flow into 140 miles apart.
It is not just coincidence that Holme Moss radio transmitter is situated less than 2 miles from this watershed (see pic 13) because transmitters are, ideally, situated at altitude to maximise their coverage. Holme Moss is purely a radio TX these days but when it was built in 1951 it transmitted TV (on VHF) over both sides of the Pennines, just like the Don/Etherow watershed does for water !
Also see : https://drtomsbooks.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/the-yorkshire-river-don-b.pdf

Pictures (in rough geographical order E to W) : 

1 - River Don entering the west end of Winscar reservoir
2 - River Don flowing down towards Winscar reservoir
3 - Confluence of Little Grain Clough (?) and the Don
4 - The River Don just downstream of Don Well

5 - Last confluence of the Don (or Great Grain) before Don Well
6 - Don Well
7 - Water rising from the marsh at Don Well
8 - Water from Don Well seeping into the Don

9 - Just down from the Don watershed, looking west
10 - Early course of the Great Grain
11 - Typical rising of a watercourse
12 - Great Grain as a brook

13 - River Don watershed facing WNW towards Holme Moss transmitter
14 - River Don watershed facing east
15 - River Etherow watershed facing SW
16 - River Etherow watershed facing SW (note Holme Moss transmitter to the right).

[Lysanderix]

Fascinating!🙂

[JS2021]

Is there something wrong with how pictures on this site are labelled ? The reason I ask is, as a test, I put "Source of South Yorkshire's River Don" (even in quotes) into Google > Images and none of the pics on this page came up !

Even more surprising, putting the exact title of this thread (i.e. Source of South Yorkshire's River Don) into Google and this thread does not appear on the first five pages of search results. Only be putting it into Google in quotes does it appear (and first) thus it must be crawled.

I know a little bit about SEO (search engine optimisation) and I do not understand it, can anyone else explain it ?

[JS2021]

On 05/06/2022 at 18:05, JS2021 said:

By the time the Don flows into Winscar numerous streams have already converged into it including one from "Don Well" (see pic 6) which is situated at SE 133 027. Despite its name the well cannot really be thought of as the source because the Don is already a significant stream (see pic 5) before it reaches that area. Furthermore the quantity of water flowing into the Don from the well is relatively insignificant, or it was on the day I visited (see pic 😎 :
5 - Last confluence of the Don (or Great Grain) before Don Well
6 - Don Well
7 - Water rising from the marsh at Don Well
8 - Water from Don Well seeping into the Don

My son and I were up at the Don Well this week, and, despite it being Spring not Summer and there having been significantly more rain than when I visited last June, the amount of water coming off / out of the Don Well was still relatively small. Thus confirming that, despite its name, the "Don Well" cannot be considered the source of the River Don !

[History dude]

I don't think you can credit one place as the source of the river, but a series of catchments from the Pennies.  While looking it up I found some facts about the river that amazed me. One gets the impression that because their are fish in the river now, whereas before it was dead some years before that's it clean now. But that's not the case. And the river in certain areas (especially the bit that runs through the city) is full of chemicals still.  Here's what was found at very high levels:

Copper, Iron, Manganese, Zinc.

Mercury and Its Compounds, Perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS), Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE).

Having looked at the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs lists. It seems that all the rivers in Sheffield suffer from the last three.  It seems one of the causes is transport!

Also on the River Moss American Crayfish are causing ecological problems.

 

[History dude]

Perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are perfluorinated chemicals which historically have had a wide range of uses including polymer precursors, certain fire-fighting foams and providing grease, oil and water resistance to materials such as textiles, carpets and paper.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a group of man-made organobromine compounds. They have been used as flame retardants in polyurethane foams in upholstery and in polymer resins and plastics used as components in electrical equipment.

[Bikeman]

On 05/06/2022 at 18:05, JS2021 said:

Because River Don is the major river of South Yorkshire and flows right across it from the extreme west to the extreme east I have always had an interest in its source.
The location of the latter is somewhat complicated by the fact it is dammed very early in its course by the Winscar reservoir which is about 6 miles west of Penistone.
However, careful inspection of a large scale map shows that the Don, as a stream, flows into the reservoir's western arm (see pic 1) and its source being just over a mile further west from there at SE 119 027 (see pics 13 & 14).
By the time the Don flows into Winscar numerous streams have already converged into it including one from "Don Well" (see pic 6) which is situated at SE 133 027. Despite its name the well cannot really be thought of as the source because the Don is already a significant stream (see pic 5) before it reaches that area. Furthermore the quantity of water flowing into the Don from the well is relatively insignificant, or it was on the day I visited (see pic 8).
Arguably, because it is all a little subjective, the Don rises from an area of marshy ground around Withens edge and at that point it appears to be named Great Grain(s).  Interestingly the aforementioned area is the watershed for the Don and the River Etherow (see pics 13 to 16) , the latter flowing in the opposite direction and eventually ending up in the Irish sea via the rivers Goyt, Tame and Mersey. The Don's eventual destination is, of course, the North sea so, in this area, drops of rain landing just a few feet one way or the other determines which sea they flow into 140 miles apart.
It is not just coincidence that Holme Moss radio transmitter is situated less than 2 miles from this watershed (see pic 13) because transmitters are, ideally, situated at altitude to maximise their coverage. Holme Moss is purely a radio TX these days but when it was built in 1951 it transmitted TV (on VHF) over both sides of the Pennines, just like the Don/Etherow watershed does for water !
Also see : https://drtomsbooks.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/the-yorkshire-river-don-b.pdf

Pictures (in rough geographical order E to W) : 

1 - River Don entering the west end of Winscar reservoir
2 - River Don flowing down towards Winscar reservoir
3 - Confluence of Little Grain Clough (?) and the Don
4 - The River Don just downstream of Don Well

5 - Last confluence of the Don (or Great Grain) before Don Well
6 - Don Well
7 - Water rising from the marsh at Don Well
8 - Water from Don Well seeping into the Don

9 - Just down from the Don watershed, looking west
10 - Early course of the Great Grain
11 - Typical rising of a watercourse
12 - Great Grain as a brook

13 - River Don watershed facing WNW towards Holme Moss transmitter
14 - River Don watershed facing east
15 - River Etherow watershed facing SW
16 - River Etherow watershed facing SW (note Holme Moss transmitter to the right).

We think of the Don as our own river, but I did some research last year into the Don, for a talk I was giving. This revealed that the ownership of the upper river Don and receipt of income from its users was the subject of long running legal disputes in the Victorian era between Sheffield town council and Dewsbury & Heckmondwike council, who owned and built the reservoirs which the river fed from the moors (in actual fact, Dewsbury & Heckmondwike are closer to Winscar dam, than Sheffield). What also surprised me was that I read that the weirs were built in Tudor times and just after, which fits in with the growth in cutlery and use of water mill-based grinding wheels.