River Beane

Beane
River
Weir on the River Beane, Hartham Common
Country	United Kingdom
Source
- location	Nr. Sandon, Hertfordshire
- elevation	90 m (295 ft)
Mouth
- location	Hertford, Hertfordshire into River Lea
Length	17.8 km (11 mi)

The River Beane is a short river in the county of Hertfordshire, England. A tributary of the River Lea, it rises to the south-west of Sandon in the hills northeast of Stevenage and joins the Lea at Hartham Common in Hertford.

In medieval times there were a number of watermills along the course of the Beane. A few of the buildings and mill races survive. Perhaps the most noteworthy site is Sele Mill, upstream of Hertford. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book. Its main claim to fame is that it was temporarily converted for use as a paper mill and was, as far as is known, the earliest paper mill in England. It is not clear when paper production began there, although 1488 has been suggested, but it was certainly underway in the 1490s. Paper from Sele Mill was used in publications from that decade, and the mill was visited by Henry VII. Despite this sign of royal favour, paper production did not continue there for long.

The Beane valley remains mainly rural in character. However, Hertfordshire's population increased substantially in the second half of the twentieth century, and the consequent demand for water has affected rivers such as the Beane and the Mimram. In the case of the Beane, a licence was given to abstract water near Aston for Stevenage's water supply. The river has since been adversely affected by over-exploitation of the chalk aquifer in its upper reaches.

The photo shows a dry section south of Walkern where from the 1990s until about 2014 there was only seasonal flow. An indication of the scale of the decline in flow is that the section at Walkern was once big enough to power a watermill and to support watercress beds.

The lower Beane is more robust and there has continued to be regular flow through Watton-at-Stone, Stapleford and Waterford until the confluence with the River Lea. However, overall the river has performed badly in assessments by the Environment Agency of flow level.