River Dove, Barnsley

River Dove, South Yorkshire
River Dove on the outskirts of Darfield
Country	England
Basin features
Main source	Worsbrough Reservoir 56 metres (184 ft) 53°31′34″N 1°28′27″W / 53.52611°N 1.47417°W / 53.52611; -1.47417
River mouth	River Dearne nr Darfield 53°31′43″N 1°22′9″W / 53.52861°N 1.36917°W / 53.52861; -1.36917Coordinates: 53°31′43″N 1°22′9″W / 53.52861°N 1.36917°W / 53.52861; -1.36917
Physical characteristics
Length	4.92 miles (7.91 km)

The River Dove is a river that extends through the Low Valley in Barnsley, England. It flows from Worsbrough Reservoir to its confluence with the River Dearne.

The River Dove starts at the outfall of Worsbrough Reservoir, which was built for the opening of the Dearne and Dove Canal in 1804. It supplied the Worsbrough Arm of the canal as well as the river. It is fed by a number of streams, the main ones being the Brough Green Brook and the Rockley Dike. Rockley Dike rises to the north of Thurgoland, close to the 660-foot (200 m) contour, and heads east. The upper reaches are called Crane Moor Dike on the Ordnance Survey map. Near Rockley Abbey Farm, it is joined by another branch which rises near Tankersley and runs parallel to the M1 motorway. The combined flow passes under the motorway to enter the southern end of the reservoir. These have a total length of 6.3 miles (10.1 km) and a catchment area of 6.51 square miles (16.9 km²).

The northern tributary is called Dodworth Dike by the Environment Agency. It consists of four main streams, two of which rise near Silkstone Common and Berry Moor. They join near a disused railway embankment, and are joined by the Bagger Wood Dike, further to the east. The Dove Valley Trail, a long distance footpath, runs along the northernmost railway embankment, having left the Trans Pennine Trail to the south west of Silkstone Common. The combined streams are known as Stainborough Dike, and are in turn joined by Dodworth Dike, which flows southwards from its source in Dodworth. It then becomes the Brough Green Brook, flows under the motorway, and enters the reservoir. This system has a total length of 8.64 miles (13.90 km) and a catchment area of 6.43 square miles (16.7 km²).

After its construction, Worsbrough Reservoir was extended in 1826. The shareholders of the Dearne and Dove Canal had wanted to build a completely new reservoir near Wentworth Castle, on the Stainborough Dike, but the House of Lords committee imposed certain conditions on the scheme, and the company withdrew the bill rather than accept the conditions. Instead the engineer George Leather suggested raising the water level of the existing reservoir by 4.5 feet (1.4 m), and this was carried out. It increased the surface area by 20 acres (8.1 ha). Although the Worsbrough Branch of the canal was closed to traffic in 1906, due to subsidence from coal mining, the reservoir continued to serve its function, as the closed branch was still used as a water feeder for the main canal. In order to comply with the Reservoirs Safety Act, two new spillways were constructed in 1984.