Lesson plan
Bourne Eau
Bourne Eau is a short river which rises from an artesian spring in the town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, England, and flows in an easterly direction to join the River Glen at Tongue End. Within the town, it once powered three water mills, one of which is now a heritage centre. At Eastgate, it becomes much wider as it was navigable in the 18th and 19th centuries, and this was the location of the terminal basin. Below the town it is an embanked river, as its normal level is higher than that of the surrounding Fens. Navigation ceased in the 1860s and the river now forms an important part of the drainage system that enables the surrounding fen land to be used for agriculture. The artesian spring is fed by a limestone aquifer, which has been extensively used to supply drinking water to the locality and to Spalding. After a period of low rainfall in the late 1980s, the spring and hence the upper river dried up completely. A remediation project was implemented in 1992/93 to repair wild boreholes, where artesian water was uncontrollably running to waste. 30 boreholes were plugged or repaired, and water returned to the spring and river. The river divides North Fen from South Fen. Both were enclosed in the 1770s, and surplus water from the North Fen was fed to the South Forty-Foot Drain.…
Article summary
Bourne Eau is a short river which rises from an artesian spring in the town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, England, and flows in an easterly direction to join the River Glen at Tongue End. Within the town, it once powered three water mills, one of which is now a heritage centre. At Eastgate, it becomes much wider as it was navigable in the 18th and 19th centuries, and this was the location of the terminal basin. Below the town it is an embanked river, as its normal level is higher than that of the surrounding Fens. Navigation ceased in the 1860s and the river now forms an important part of the drainage system that enables the surrounding fen land to be used for agriculture. The artesian spring is fed by a limestone aquifer, which has been extensively used to supply drinking water to the locality and to Spalding. After a period of low rainfall in the late 1980s, the spring and hence the upper river dried up completely. A remediation project was implemented in 1992/93 to repair wild boreholes, where artesian water was uncontrollably running to waste. 30 boreholes were plugged or repaired, and water returned to the spring and river. The river divides North Fen from South Fen. Both were enclosed in the 1770s, and surplus water from the North Fen was fed to the South Forty-Foot Drain.…
Key claims
- date of foundation: 1138 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- The record states that the date of foundation is "1138". What evidence would count against this claim?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
- Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373262295
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.