458 



HISTORY OP THE BROWNEY VALLEY 



When the dam gave way, and the ice retreated by Garesfield 

 and Greenside,* Consett lake was drained, the Derwent resumed 

 its old course, and the water supply by Howen's Gill and 

 Knitsley Gill dwindled into its present insignificance. But 

 the depth of Howen's Gill at the Viaduct, considerably over 

 200 feet (156 + -^^ alluvium), shows that it so flowed for a 

 very long time.f 



Meanwhile similar glacial lakes were being drained else- 

 where, and one such by what is now the main stream of the 

 Browney, fed from a gut by the farm known as Lindisfarn. 

 This stream, rising by Tow Law, flows by Satley, and joins 

 the other source by the Roman camp at Lanchester. 



Sketch-map of the Derwent- Browney at the time when Howen'.s Gill 

 was in operation. 



The dotted areas mark the sites of glacial lakes. 



Still another lake demands attention, and one of a some- 

 what different character. Our Red Hills moraine, at first 

 helped by Wear ice, dammed up the Browney, and a lake was 

 formed around Lodge Hill between Witton Gilbert and Bear- 

 park, so that Witton Gilbert Church stands on what was 

 once a promontory jutting out into a lake. This lake probably 



* See Appendix I. 

 t See Appendix IL 



