Site record MDR23125 - Possible Dam or Eroded Causeway, River Trent, West of Tanner's Lane, Repton

Possible dam or eroded causeway, River Trent, west of Tanner's Lane, Repton, of unknown date. A local resident reported the presence of a stone feature on the bank of the river, and supplied photographs, in 2019: 'I have been aware for some time of a stone feature on the Repton side of the bank of the River Trent. It is a sloping ‘wall’ of cut stone that had obviously been put there with a purpose in mind. In recent discussions… mention was made of the diversion of flow from paleo channels back into the main channel to provide for better boat access – strengthening the flow towards the Willington side of the floodplain. I quote his email to me from an article he has written for the local Repton Village History Group Newsletter: "In recorded time, there were at least two channels to the river and at least one island between Repton and Willington. An Act of Parliament enabling navigation was passed in 1699, and it seems that the Willington channel was less circuitous than via Repton so the Repton channel was deliberately blocked. However, antiquarians record that the Old Trent at Repton was navigable to Twyford until 1777 and for pleasure boats till 1816. Hipkin locates the forking of the river as near the ferry and the dam that restricted the Repton channel as near the bridge. Another credible location is based on stone still in situ. A paper ‘Historical channel-floodplain dynamics along the River Trent’ by A Large and G Petts identifies 1705 as the date when the Repton Channel ceased to be the main channel." I believe I may have located the dam, which after this length of time is being slowly but surely eroded. What is slightly confusing is that running off it, in an upstream direction, is another stone built feature that curves out towards the centre of the current main channel. A lot of stone and effort were obviously expended when these features were constructed. Common sense suggests that if this feature were to help block the flow of water into the paleo channel it should curve in the other direction. Even as a ‘protection’ to the dam [if it IS the dam] itself it does not seem right but given that a lot of bank has been eroded it might make sense. I wonder if it was the base of something else – perhaps at the time designed to pull a boat up against – but the lack of a visible track to that point makes that unlikely.' (pers comm, linked to Resource)