Page:Rivers, Canals, Railways of Great Britain.djvu/517



OUSE RIVER, BEDFORD LEVEL.
22 Char. II. C. 16, R. A. 11th April, 1670.

24 Geo, II. C. 12, R. A. 22nd May, 1751.

35 Geo. III. C. 77, R. A. 19th May, 1795.

36 Geo. III. C. 73, R. A. 7th Mar, 1796.

45 Geo. III. C. 72, R. A. 27th June, 1805.

50 Geo. III. C. 166, R. A. 9th June, 1810.

56 Geo. III. C. 38, R. A. - - - - 1816.

58 Geo, III. C. 48, R. A. - - - - 1818.

59 Geo. III. C. 79, R. A. 14th June, 1819.

2 Geo. IV. C. 64, R. A. 28th May, 1821.

7 &amp; 8 Geo. IV. C. 47, R. A. 28th May, 1827.

11 Geo. IV. C. 53, R. A. 29th May, 1830.

LITTLE OUSE OR BRANDON AND WAVENEY RIVER.
COMMENCING with the head of this navigation at Thetford, it runs from thence in a northerly direction about three miles and a half; thence westerly, passing Santon, Downham and Brandon, a distance of thirteen miles, and thence by a north-westerly course for six miles, to its junction with the River Ouse at Brandon Creek Bridge, making the whole about twenty-two miles and a half, in the greater part of which distance it divides the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Its elevation above the level of the sea is very slight, the country through which it passes being generally flat.

The first act relating to this river was passed in 1670, and entitled, 'An Act for making navigable the Rivers commonly called Brandon and Waveney.' This was followed in 1751, by an act, entitled, 'An Act for appointing Commissioners to put in Execution an Act made in the Twenty-second Year of the Reign of King Charles the Second, for making navigable the Rivers commonly called Brandon and Waveney; so far as the same relates to the Navigation of the River commonly called the Lesser Ouse, from Thetford to Brandon, and from Brandon to a Place called the White House, near Brandon Ferry, in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk;' which states that disputes have arisen amongst the land-owners on this river respecting the navigation, and the commissioners appointed under the act of Charles II. being dead, it is necessary to appoint fresh commissioners, and it then goes on to name a number of persons, amongst whom are the Duke of Grafton, Lord Cornwallis, the Marquis of Granby, Lord Euston, and Lord Henry Beauclerk, to be the commissioners for putting the act in execution.