263 



centurv. The sandbank itsolf was firsl buill upon about 



|(l(HI A. I>. The Souiller n inouï h. \\ llich is now tlie V.'i l'in ou I II 



Haven, was pushed further and further sou th by Lhe drifting 

 sand till ii reached nearly toCorton, lhe présent haven being 

 eul througb in 1658, Lhe lasl of a séries of efforts lo maintain 

 an open ehannel. 



With tlie narrowing of the Estuary mouth the scour of the 

 tide was, of course, rapidly and greatly diminished, with Llic 

 resuit thaï lhe channels quickly siltedupandshrank. The final 

 blow to the ancienl conditions was deall by lhe embanking— 

 probably in lhe twelfth centurv — ofthe river cliannels, which 



Fig. :}. — View, froin the laboratory, over Sutton brçad. 



reclaimed atonce ail those widefiatson either sideand conflned 

 tlie rivers in their présent courses. This reclaimed marshland is 

 drained by wind or sfceam mills which throw the h\>o<l water 

 backinto the river through sluicesin Lhe river walls, and much 

 of il is below the levé! of Iiigh water in the river. 



Under présent conditions 1 1 »+ * Broads District is said to con- 

 tain about 200 miles of navigable rivers and 5,000 acres of open 

 water. With the exceptionof Oui ton Broad near Lowestof t, 

 the Waveney and Yare possess but two Broads of any size — 

 Rockland and Surlingham, The Hure and its tributaries, 

 io which. so l'ar. our investigations hâve been clrieflv confined, 



