The Leen

Drawing on the archives of the Trent River Authority and its predecessor bodies, the materials on display show the challenges created by the growth of places like Bulwell and Basford and the expansion of industry. These included pollution from chemicals and sewage, and changing flood risk from urban expansion.

New management challenges shaped the redrawing of Nottingham’s political and economic boundaries, and in the 1960s a substantial engineering ‘Improvement Scheme’ diverted the river and fixed the channel behind steel pilings and flood walls. The exhibition evaluates the legacies of historic interventions along the Leen for those who manage and live beside it today.

This exhibition has been jointly curated by Dr David Beckingham and Dr Rachel Dishington (School of Geography) and Manuscripts and Special Collections at the University of Nottingham, with additional input from the Environment Agency’s Trentside Office, Nottingham.

Image: Flooded Basford crossings, Nottingham, 1947. University of Nottingham RE/DOP/H2/43. Detail.