Mark Yeo

The Mark Yeo is a short river or rhyne in north Somerset, England. It starts near Mark on the Somerset Levels and flows north for about 6 kilometres (4 mi) under the M5 motorway to join the River Axe near Loxton. It provided a link between the Axe and the River Brue, as part of a waterway called the "Pilrow Cut"[1] probably canalised in the early 13th century.[2][3] It no longer connects to the Brue, but is used for drainage purposes, which is unlikely to have been the case in the Middle Ages.[3] Within the village of Mark, it is crossed by an iron bridge erected in 1824, which claims to be the oldest of its kind in the county.[4]

Mark Yeo
Location
CountryEngland
StateSomerset
DistrictNorth Somerset
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationMark, Sedgemoor, Somerset, England
 • coordinates51°14′06″N 2°53′27″W
MouthRiver Axe
 • location
Loxton, North Somerset, Somerset, England
 • coordinates
51°17′38″N 2°54′49″W

The river flows under the A38 road at Rooks Bridge. In the 5th and 6th centuries the Mark Yeo acted as a route from the small port of Rackley on the river Axe across the marshes to Glastonbury.[5] It is thought to have been used to transport goods and passengers to and from Glastonbury Abbey.[3] Excavations just north of York Farm in a field called 'Scott's Wharf' at Rooks Bridge uncovered 14th or 15th century pottery and worked stones, which represent the site of a wharf at a site where the Mark Yeo used to join the old river Axe before it was diverted.[6]

In 2008 an oil spill threatened some of the birds and other wildlife on the river.[7] A rescue operation was launched by local volunteers to save geese, swans and ducks who were affected.[8] The river has substantially recovered and now has a population of fish and eels.[9]

In 2015 a man was killed as a result of an accident in which a car overturned and was submerged in the Mark Yeo. Local roads were closed while the car was retrieved from the water.[10] The driver of the car was later charged with causing death by driving without due care and attention while over the alcohol limit.[11]

References
  1. "Mark Yeo River". Somerset Rivers. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  2. "Pilrow Cut". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  3. Border Archaeology (July 2013). "Rapid Appraisal of Engineering Impact (for Bristol Water) - Mark Yeo River Crossing" (PDF). Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  4. "Mark Yeo River". Somerset Rivers. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  5. "About us". Rooksbridge and East Brent. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  6. "Medieval wharf, N of York Farm, East Brent". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  7. "Environment Agency appeals for help after oil spill near Burnham". Burnham on Sea .com. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  8. "Environmental agency seek to identify oil spiller". thisisthewestcountry.co.uk. 26 February 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  9. "The Story of Mark". Mark Parish Council. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  10. "One dead after car crashes into rhyne at Mark near Burnham-on-Sea". Burnham-On-Sea.com. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  11. "Man charged over crash which killed Robert Goodwin in Mark, Somerset". Somerset Live. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
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