View source for Hatfield Chase

{{Infobox UK place 
 |static_image=Idle Bank - geograph.org.uk - 910503.jpg
 |static_image_caption=<small>The South Idle Bank drain looking towards Tunnel Pits</small>
 | official_name=         Hatfield Chase
 | country=               England
 | map_type=              South Yorkshire
 | label_position=        left
 | region=                Yorkshire and the Humber
 | os_grid_reference=     
 |coordinates={{Coord|53.528|-0.893|display=inline,title}}
 | post_town=             
 | postcode_area=         
 | postcode_district=     
 | dial_code=             
 | shire_county=          [[South Yorkshire]]
 |population=             
 |hide_services=          Yes
 }}
'''Hatfield Chase''' is a low-lying area in [[South Yorkshire]] and North [[Lincolnshire]], [[England]]. It was often flooded. Hatfield chase was a royal hunting ground until [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] tried to have it drained. He hired a [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[engineer]] to drain the water in 1626.<ref>''Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology'', eds.  Lance Day, Ian McNeil (London; New York: Routledge, 1996), p. 725</ref> The engineer's name was Cornelius Vermuyden. He also changed the courses of the rivers [[River Don, South Yorkshire|Don]], [[River Idle|Idle]] and [[River Torne|Torne]]. This included making drainage channels. But the project was not completely successful. More work was done in the 1760s to see to the problem of winter flooding. Modern pumps now work to drain the area. The history of Hatfield chase goes back to the end of [[Roman Britain]].
== Location ==
On the west Hatfield Chase is bordered by the M18 motorway. The [[River Ouse, Yorkshire|River Ouse]] is its northern border. The [[River Idle]] is to the south, and the Isle of Axholme borders the area to the east.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.doncaster.gov.uk/Leisure_and_Culture/Outdoor_Life/Woods_and_Country_Parks/Discover_Hatfield_Water_Park.asp |title=Discover Hatfield Water Park |publisher=Doncaster Council |accessdate=2012-04-11 |archive-date=2012-08-02 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120802100911/http://www.doncaster.gov.uk/Leisure_and_Culture/Outdoor_Life/Woods_and_Country_Parks/Discover_Hatfield_Water_Park.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref> It covers an area of around {{convert|110|sqmi|km2}}, including two large peat bogs known as [[Thorne and Hatfield Moors]]. Hatfield chase is part of the once vast [[Humberhead Levels]], a [[wetland]] which originally covered some {{convert|770|sqmi|km2}}.
== History ==
Originally the region was called ''Haethfieldlande'' or Hatfield. It was another minor [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] kingdom listed in the [[Tribal Hidage]].<ref name=Higham87.88>N. J. Higham, ''The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350–1100'' (Dover, NH: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1993), pp. 87–88</ref> Very little is known about Hatfield and nothing of its kings. Unlike other petty kingdoms in this area of Britain, the name here is of Anglo-Saxon origin and not [[Britons (Celtic people)|British]].<ref name=Higham87.88/> According to the Tribal Hidage, 'Hatfield-land' was merged with [[Lindsey (kingdom)|Lindsey]] into a single kingdom.<ref name=Higham87.88/> Afterwards it became known simply as Hatfield Chase, an area on the west part of Lindsey, later part of [[Yorkshire]] and [[Lincolnshire]]. Hatfield was the site of a synod held by Theodore, the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] {{circa|680}}. It was a royal residence of several kings of Northumbria. [[Edwin of Northumbria]] was killed here at the [[Battle of Hatfield Chase]] on 12 October 633.<ref>Bede, ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'', trans. Leo Sherley Price, revsd. R. E. Latham (London; New York: Penguin, 1990), p. 140</ref> Later, Hatfield chase became a part of the [[East Riding of Yorkshire]].<ref name=Higham87.88/>

Before the drainage and lowering of the water levels Hatfield chase was home to large numbers of [[aquatic]] birds.{{efn|At the royal manor there, [[Swainmote court]], there were strict laws in the 1600s that covered royal [[swan]]s. Every swan found in the area had to be brought to the [[:manor|manor]] where he or she received twelve-pence for their trouble.<ref name=Stonehouse64n>William Brocklehurst Stonehouse, ''The History and Topography of the Isle of Axholme'' (London: Longman, Rees, Orme, & Company, 1839.), p. 64 note</ref>}} The waters were full of fresh-water fish.{{efn|[[Bede]] tells a story of how Bishop Wilfred of [[Lindisfarne]] taught the local [[:inhabitants|inhabitants]] how to take fish from these waters. Before this they were unskilled and could only catch [[eel]]s. He taught them to catch other kinds of fish including [[salmon]]. Apparently the older custom was to tie a bit of bait to a string. This method did not work with fish since there was no hook.<ref name=Stonehouse64n/>}}<ref>William Brocklehurst Stonehouse, ''The History and Topography of the Isle of Axholme'' (London: Longman, Rees, Orme, & Company, 1839.), p. 63</ref>

== Hatfield Chase Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:Hatfield Chase map.jpg|The Internal Drainage Board area showing modern high-level carriers and pumping stations

File:BullHassocksPumpingStationHatfieldChase.jpg|The pumping station at Bull Hassocks. The South Engine Drain runs from behind the station to the River Trent

File:DirtnessPumpingStationHatfieldChase.jpg|The pumping station at Dirtness, at the start of the North Engine Drain

File:HatfieldChaseKeadbyPumpingStation.jpg|Keadby Pumping Station, where water drained from Hatfield Chase enters the River Trent
</gallery>
== Notes ==
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== References ==
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[[Category:History of England]]
[[Category:South Yorkshire]]