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93-673: Symonds Yat is a village in the Wye Valley and a popular tourist destination , straddling the River Wye in the English county of Herefordshire , close to the Gloucestershire border. It is within a few miles of Monmouthshire and the Welsh border. The two settlements either side of the river are known as Symonds Yat West and Symonds Yat East and are linked by a footbridge and passenger ferries. Nearby

186-571: A mecca for experienced cavers. Lancaut and Ban-y-Gor are Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust nature reserves. They both have SSSI status being part of the nationally important Lower Wye Gorge SSSI and within the Wye Valley National Landscape . The Wye Valley is important for its rich wildlife habitats including ancient gorge woodland, saltmarsh and limestone cliffs. The area has three sites of international importance, designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) under

279-518: A smelting works are located down stream of the Symonds Yat Rapids . The ironworks at New Weir date from the 1590s and were operated by the White family until 1753, when George White leased the site to John Partridge, an ironmonger from Ross on Wye . Partridge combined the ironworks at New Weir with his forge at Lydbrook which smelted pig iron from his furnace at Bishopswood . The works closed when

372-512: A Poem in Four Books' providing account of an 1807 trip made by him and a party of friends down the River Wye and surrounding areas. The first of Britain's great landscapes to be 'discovered', the Wye Valley's particular attraction was its river scenery, and the many guidebooks, engravings and paintings ensured a continuing steady stream of visitors. Viewpoints were specially constructed, including

465-700: A century later the village became one of the world's major tinplate manufacturing centres. This industry survived until the 1960s and was renowned for producing the thinnest, highest quality plate in the world. The Lydbrook valley was also a thriving centre for metal industries, such as the manufacture of telegraph cables. The valley woodlands were carefully managed to produce mature trees for shipbuilding , or by coppicing for charcoal , and to provide bark for tanning . The valley industries were also massive consumers of timber. A ship of 150 tons, for example, required 3,000 wagonloads of timber to complete – and in 1824, 13 ships were launched at Brockweir alone. The river

558-399: A large head compared to other types of wheel which usually means significant investment in constructing the headrace. Sometimes the final approach of the water to the wheel is along a flume or penstock , which can be lengthy. A backshot wheel (also called pitchback ) is a variety of overshot wheel where the water is introduced just before the summit of the wheel. In many situations, it has

651-446: A mill pond, which is formed when a flowing stream is dammed . A channel for the water flowing to or from a water wheel is called a mill race . The race bringing water from the mill pond to the water wheel is a headrace ; the one carrying water after it has left the wheel is commonly referred to as a tailrace . Waterwheels were used for various purposes from things such as agriculture to metallurgy in ancient civilizations spanning

744-553: A number of country pubs and guest houses. Symonds Yat Rapids are a grade 2 man-made feature at Symonds Yat used by canoeists and kayakers for whitewater training and playboating . There is extensive and popular rock climbing on the cliff faces of Carboniferous limestone , with long single pitches at all grades. Symonds Yat station , on the east side of the river, was on the Ross and Monmouth Railway that ran from Ross-on-Wye to Monmouth Troy between 1873 and 1959 through

837-544: A poem by Antipater of Thessalonica , which praises it as a labour-saving device (IX, 418.4–6). The motif is also taken up by Lucretius (ca. 99–55 BC) who likens the rotation of the waterwheel to the motion of the stars on the firmament (V 516). The third horizontal-axled type, the breastshot waterwheel, comes into archaeological evidence by the late 2nd century AD context in central Gaul . Most excavated Roman watermills were equipped with one of these wheels which, although more complex to construct, were much more efficient than

930-449: A reversible water wheel was by Georgius Agricola and dates to 1556. As in all machinery, rotary motion is more efficient in water-raising devices than oscillating motion. In terms of power source, waterwheels can be turned by either human respectively animal force or by the water current itself. Waterwheels come in two basic designs, either equipped with a vertical or a horizontal axle. The latter type can be subdivided, depending on where

1023-414: A vertical axle. Commonly called a tub wheel , Norse mill or Greek mill , the horizontal wheel is a primitive and inefficient form of the modern turbine. However, if it delivers the required power then the efficiency is of secondary importance. It is usually mounted inside a mill building below the working floor. A jet of water is directed on to the paddles of the water wheel, causing them to turn. This

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1116-478: A water wheel. The mechanical engineer Ma Jun (c. 200–265) from Cao Wei once used a water wheel to power and operate a large mechanical puppet theater for the Emperor Ming of Wei ( r. 226–239). The technological breakthrough occurred in the technologically developed Hellenistic period between the 3rd and 1st century BC. A poem by Antipater of Thessalonica praised the water wheel for freeing women from

1209-529: Is Symonds Yat Rock, a scenic hilltop viewpoint. The Seven Sisters Rocks are an outcrop of rocks forming cliffs above the Wye at Symonds Yat. The first recorded use of Symonds Yat in connection with the area is in a Patent Roll of 1256, where the place appears as Symundesyate and Symondesyate . This may contain the Old English personal name Sigemund , or a very early surname deriving from it. Yat represents

1302-410: Is Whitchurch with a village shop, The Crown pub and The Potting Shed restaurant, which is in a large 1850s reading room with vaulted ceiling. This was built by Lucy Panter, whose sister Amelia commissioned the, now Grade II listed, clock tower in 1867 of red brick with a hipped pyramidal slate roof. Two hand ("pull") cable ferries enable foot passengers to cross the river, powered by ferrymen who pull

1395-407: Is a simple system usually without gearing so that the vertical axle of the water wheel becomes the drive spindle of the mill. A stream wheel is a vertically mounted water wheel that is rotated by the water in a water course striking paddles or blades at the bottom of the wheel. This type of water wheel is the oldest type of horizontal axis wheel. They are also known as free surface wheels because

1488-586: Is assumed that the scientists of the Museum of Alexandria , at the time the most active Greek research center, may have been involved in its invention. An episode from the Alexandrian War in 48 BC tells of how Caesar's enemies employed geared waterwheels to pour sea water from elevated places on the position of the trapped Romans. Around 300 AD, the noria was finally introduced when the wooden compartments were replaced with inexpensive ceramic pots that were tied to

1581-563: Is likely that many of these marked the edges of disputed tribal pre-Roman territories. Watling Street ran through the Roman settlements of Ariconium (just north of modern Ross-on-Wye ) and Blestium (Monmouth), and a number of other small Roman settlements are known. The first evidence of the exploitation of iron and coal in the valley is found in the Roman period, with iron working known from sites at Monmouth , Trellech and elsewhere, as well as in

1674-507: Is needed. Larger heads store more gravitational potential energy for the same amount of water so the reservoirs for overshot and backshot wheels tend to be smaller than for breast shot wheels. Overshot and pitchback water wheels are suitable where there is a small stream with a height difference of more than 2 metres (6.5 ft), often in association with a small reservoir. Breastshot and undershot wheels can be used on rivers or high volume flows with large reservoirs. A horizontal wheel with

1767-408: Is the overhead timber structure and a branch to the left supplies water to the wheel. The water exits from under the wheel back into the stream. A special type of overshot/backshot wheel is the reversible water wheel. This has two sets of blades or buckets running in opposite directions so that it can turn in either direction depending on which side the water is directed. Reversible wheels were used in

1860-488: Is used for wheels where the water entry is significantly above the bottom and significantly below the top, typically the middle half. They are characterized by: Both kinetic (movement) and potential (height and weight) energy are utilised. The small clearance between the wheel and the masonry requires that a breastshot wheel has a good trash rack ('screen' in British English) to prevent debris from jamming between

1953-473: The Ancient Near East before Alexander's conquest can be deduced from its pronounced absence from the otherwise rich oriental iconography on irrigation practices. Unlike other water-lifting devices and pumps of the period though, the invention of the compartmented wheel cannot be traced to any particular Hellenistic engineer and may have been made in the late 4th century BC in a rural context away from

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2046-573: The England-Wales border and becoming a broader vale through Hereford . The lower part of the valley meanders past Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth , where it becomes the England-Wales border, before reaching the Severn Estuary at Chepstow . Much of this section features limestone gorge scenery and dense native woodlands, which made the Wye Valley historically important as one of the birthplaces of

2139-534: The European Union 's Habitats Directive . These are the River Wye ( Afon Gwy ), the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Bat Sites ( Safleoedd Ystlumod Dyffryn Gwy a Fforest y Ddena ) and the Wye Valley Woodlands ( Coetiroedd Dyffryn Gwy ). It supports a population of lesser horseshoe bats , a growing population of peregrine falcons , goshawks , ravens , rare whitebeam , nightjar and lesser known fish like

2232-615: The Hellenistic Greek world , Rome , China and India . Waterwheels saw continued use in the post-classical age , like in medieval Europe and the Islamic Golden Age , but also elsewhere. In the mid- to late 18th century John Smeaton 's scientific investigation of the water wheel led to significant increases in efficiency, supplying much-needed power for the Industrial Revolution . Water wheels began being displaced by

2325-575: The Iron Age the forts on the Great Doward and Yat Rock provided secure, defensible settlements for the local residents. During Roman times these forts became focal points in the region and the importance of the iron here and in the Forest of Dean made this a valuable prize for the conquerors. The 8th-century earthwork Offa's Dyke runs close to Symonds Yat. The Yat Gorge was mined for iron ore and remains of

2418-578: The Neolithic have also been found. These have yielded evidence of how prehistoric human populations lived as nomadic hunters and traders. Standing stones at Huntsham, Staunton , and Trellech all have origins dating back to the Bronze Age . Later, Iron Age forts along the lower Wye Valley, and in the Woolhope area, took advantage of the natural hilltops and promontories to form well-defended settlements. It

2511-540: The copper mines at Rio Tinto in Spain , one system involving 16 such wheels stacked above one another so as to lift water about 80 feet from the mine sump. Part of such a wheel was found at Dolaucothi , a Roman gold mine in south Wales in the 1930s when the mine was briefly re-opened. It was found about 160 feet below the surface, so must have been part of a similar sequence as that discovered at Rio Tinto. It has recently been carbon dated to about 90 AD, and since

2604-414: The mining industry in order to power various means of ore conveyance. By changing the direction of the wheel, barrels or baskets of ore could be lifted up or lowered down a shaft or inclined plane. There was usually a cable drum or a chain basket on the axle of the wheel. It is essential that the wheel have braking equipment to be able to stop the wheel (known as a braking wheel). The oldest known drawing of

2697-513: The shad and twaite. The main Welsh populations of the small but colourful moth Oecophora bractella are found here. In September 2006 it was reported that one colony of lesser horseshoe bats in the area had reached record numbers, with some 890 bats in a small stone barn (599 adults and 291 pups). The valley has been inhabited for at least 12,000 years. Caves near Symonds Yat and Chepstow provide evidence of settlement dating from Palaeolithic times, and finds from later stone ages such as

2790-519: The 13th century. It is the best-preserved medieval abbey in Wales and an outstanding example of Gothic architecture . Many of the smaller villages in the area probably date from the Middle Ages, and much of this expansion was probably associated with the early iron industry. The medieval iron industry consumed large quantities of charcoal and much of the woodland was coppiced for this purpose. Trellech

2883-422: The 18th century. The earliest known appreciation of the area's spectacular beauty can be dated to the beginning of the century, when John Kyrle developed the 'Prospect' at Ross-on-Wye , and it was later mentioned in verse by Alexander Pope . In 1745, John Egerton , later Bishop of Durham , started taking friends on boat trips down the valley from the rectory at Ross. The area became more widely known following

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2976-510: The AONB enlists a range of partners in conserving and enhancing its beauty for the benefit of present and future generations. The area is predominantly rural, and many people make a living from tourism, agriculture or forestry. Ross-on-Wye is the only town within the National Landscape itself, but Hereford, Monmouth, Coleford and Chepstow lie just outside its boundaries. In 2023, all AONBs in

3069-570: The Kymin above Monmouth , with its round house giving panoramic views across the town. Another highlight for travellers was the cliff ascent and walks at Piercefield . However, most of the truly 'Picturesque' scenes were sketched from river level, with the shimmering water as the foreground for the forests and cliffs behind, and the castle and abbey ruins. In 1813 the Monmouth Tramroad linked Coalway (near Coleford ), Redbrook and Monmouth . This

3162-454: The Old English word geat (pronounced "yat"), meaning 'gate' and describing the gorge. Thus overall, a familiar cognate translation of the name might be reconstructed *Sigmund's Gate . Although a popular local belief, it is not true that the addition of Symonds was made in the 17th century in reference to Robert Symonds of Sugwas and Evesfield, High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1685, who

3255-532: The UK were rebranded as National Landscapes, though still keep their designation as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The navigation of the tidal part of the Wye (below Bigsweir ) comes under the control of the Gloucester Harbour Trustees as Competent Harbour Authority. [REDACTED] Media related to Bigsweir Woods at Wikimedia Commons Water wheels Some water wheels are fed by water from

3348-596: The Wye Valley. A trace of this remains at Symonds Yat Tunnel. Wye Valley The Wye Valley ( Welsh : Dyffryn Gwy ) is a valley in Wales and England . The River Wye ( Welsh : Afon Gwy ) is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The upper part of the valley is in the Cambrian Mountains and is enclosed by hills as it descends through Rhayader , Builth Wells and Hay-on-Wye before reaching

3441-583: The adjoining Forest of Dean . The medieval boroughs of Goodrich and Chepstow, at each end of the Wye Gorge, may have originally been established at this time. Closely following the River Wye, Offa's Dyke was built in the 8th century under King Offa to mark out the boundary between England and Wales and is, today, the longest archaeological monument in Britain. Offa's Dyke Path long distance footpath today traces

3534-469: The advantage that the bottom of the wheel is moving in the same direction as the water in the tailrace which makes it more efficient. It also performs better than an overshot wheel in flood conditions when the water level may submerge the bottom of the wheel. It will continue to rotate until the water in the wheel pit rises quite high on the wheel. This makes the technique particularly suitable for streams that experience significant variations in flow and reduces

3627-535: The area around Coldwell Rocks. The name Symonds Yat used to refer to quite a large area of land and the hamlet of Symonds Yat East, consisting of the Saracen's Head Inn, the Fish House, Lockkeepers Cottage and one or two cottages on the hillside, was specifically called New Weir and is seen on maps as such up until 1955. In April 2009 Herefordshire Archaeology excavated New Weir Iron Works at Symonds Yat West to establish how

3720-420: The area is recognised in for its wildlife, archaeological and industrial remains. The varied landscapes of the Wye Valley can be explained by underlying rocks and structures, and how ice and then the river and tributary streams have acted upon them through time. Close to Hereford, the geology of the area around the village of Woolhope is largely made up of Silurian limestones , shales and sandstones . To

3813-466: The area's distinctive qualities, for the benefit of present and future generations. Administratively the area is very complex, being the only protected landscape to straddle the border between England and Wales. The counties of Herefordshire, Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire are each in a different government region. Co-ordination of conservation across these political boundaries is undertaken by an AONB unit and Joint Advisory Committee. A Management Plan for

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3906-452: The area. These include King Arthur's Cave and many others in the area of Symonds Yat and Slaughter Stream Cave near Berry Hill. At St Arvans , near Chepstow, the underground watercourses have carved out long cave systems, which exit at Otter Hole at the base of Piercefield cliffs – the only cave system in England or Wales which can only be reached through a tidal sump, making it

3999-442: The bottom of a water-filled, circular shaft. The water from the mill-race which entered tangentially the pit created a swirling water column that made the fully submerged wheel act like true water turbines , the earliest known to date. Apart from its use in milling and water-raising, ancient engineers applied the paddled waterwheel for automatons and in navigation. Vitruvius (X 9.5–7) describes multi-geared paddle wheels working as

4092-423: The bridge was fully refurbished in 1997 and rotten timbers and the two support towers were replaced. Although it is designed to take up to 30 people, it has signs requesting that no more than 6 cross at a time. Symonds Yat Rock overlooks a spectacular gorge through which the River Wye snakes. This rock is a good viewpoint from which to watch raptors: a pair of peregrine falcons that nest annually within sight of

4185-400: The combination of the separate Greek inventions of the toothed gear and the waterwheel into one effective mechanical system for harnessing water power. Vitruvius' waterwheel is described as being immersed with its lower end in the watercourse so that its paddles could be driven by the velocity of the running water (X, 5.2). About the same time, the overshot wheel appears for the first time in

4278-411: The descendants of the water wheel, as they too take advantage of the movement of water downhill. Water wheels come in two basic designs: The latter can be subdivided according to where the water hits the wheel into backshot (pitch-back ), overshot, breastshot, undershot, and stream-wheels. The term undershot can refer to any wheel where the water passes under the wheel but it usually implies that

4371-443: The energy in the flow of water striking the wheel as measured by English civil engineer John Smeaton in the 18th century. More modern wheels have higher efficiencies. Stream wheels gain little or no advantage from the head, a difference in water level. Stream wheels mounted on floating platforms are often referred to as hip wheels and the mill as a ship mill . They were sometimes mounted immediately downstream from bridges where

4464-416: The exhausting labor of milling and grinding. The compartmented water wheel comes in two basic forms, the wheel with compartmented body ( Latin tympanum ) and the wheel with compartmented rim or a rim with separate, attached containers. The wheels could be either turned by men treading on its outside or by animals by means of a sakia gear. While the tympanum had a large discharge capacity, it could lift

4557-636: The ferry across the river using an overhead cable. The only connection by road is upstream over Huntsham bridge; this is a five-mile trip. One ferry is operated by the Saracens Head Inn and the other by the Ye Old Ferrie Inn. A suspension bridge, Biblins Bridge , was built over the river by the Forestry Commission using local oak timbers in 1957. Linking Symonds Yat East to the Biblins camp site,

4650-431: The flow restriction of the bridge piers increased the speed of the current. Historically they were very inefficient but major advances were made in the eighteenth century. An undershot wheel is a vertically mounted water wheel with a horizontal axle that is rotated by the water from a low weir striking the wheel in the bottom quarter. Most of the energy gain is from the movement of the water and comparatively little from

4743-420: The head. They are similar in operation and design to stream wheels. The term undershot is sometimes used with related but different meanings: This is the oldest type of vertical water wheel. The word breastshot is used in a variety of ways. Some authors restrict the term to wheels where the water enters at about the 10 o’clock position, others 9 o’clock, and others for a range of heights. In this article it

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4836-422: The industrial revolution. A vertically mounted water wheel that is rotated by water entering buckets just past the top of the wheel is said to be overshot. The term is sometimes, erroneously, applied to backshot wheels, where the water goes down behind the wheel. A typical overshot wheel has the water channeled to the wheel at the top and slightly beyond the axle. The water collects in the buckets on that side of

4929-413: The iron works functioned between the start of smelting in and the decline of the works in the 1800s. It was found that the works included a 'slitting mill', for making wire nails and a rolling mill powered by water wheels . Symonds Yat East is on the eastern side of the river. It has three hotels, WyeDean Canoe and Activity Centre and the Saracens Head Inn (with accommodation). A steep footpath leads from

5022-607: The kinetic energy of the water entering the wheel. They are suited to larger heads than the other type of wheel so they are ideally suited to hilly countries. However even the largest water wheel, the Laxey Wheel in the Isle of Man , only utilises a head of around 30 m (100 ft). The world's largest head turbines, Bieudron Hydroelectric Power Station in Switzerland , utilise about 1,869 m (6,132 ft). Overshot wheels require

5115-594: The late Warring States period (476-221 BC). It says that the waterwheel was invented by Zigong, a disciple of Confucius in the 5th century BC. By at least the 1st century AD, the Chinese of the Eastern Han Dynasty were using water wheels to crush grain in mills and to power the piston- bellows in forging iron ore into cast iron . In the text known as the Xin Lun written by Huan Tan about 20 AD (during

5208-511: The lease ran out in 1798 and the adjacent weir and lock buildings were demolished and the lock filled in 1814. The Old Court Hotel in Symonds Yat West, which was built in the 16th century, was the ancestral home of the Gwillim family and was home to John Graves Simcoe , who was governor and one of the founding fathers of Upper Canada . The ferry at Symonds Yat has always played a huge part in

5301-533: The life here. In 1800 there were 25 hand ferries between Ross and Chepstow just like those outside Ye Old Ferrie Inn and the Saracen's Head today. They were introduced in Roman times to link the forts of the Doward and the Yat and have served military, civilian, tourist and horse traffic over the years. Symonds Yat originally encompassed all the lands south of Huntsham curve on both sides of Symonds Yat Rock and would have included

5394-468: The metropolis of Alexandria. The earliest depiction of a compartmented wheel is from a tomb painting in Ptolemaic Egypt which dates to the 2nd century BC. It shows a pair of yoked oxen driving the wheel via a sakia gear, which is here for the first time attested, too. The Greek sakia gear system is already shown fully developed to the point that "modern Egyptian devices are virtually identical". It

5487-565: The modern tourism industry. The lower part of the valley is designated as the Wye Valley National Landscape , an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , protected as an internationally important landscape. This designation covers covers 326 square kilometres (126 sq mi) surrounding a 72-kilometre (45 mi) stretch of the river, from just south of Hereford to Chepstow in the counties of Gloucestershire , Herefordshire and Monmouthshire . In addition to its landscape value,

5580-451: The most famous poets, writers and artists of the day made the pilgrimage to the great sights of Goodrich, Tintern and Chepstow  – among them Coleridge , Thackeray and Turner . Wordsworth was also captivated by the area, writing Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey in 1798. Poetic influence continued to be felt in the next century, as in 1811, popular 'peasant poet', Robert Bloomfield wrote 'The Banks of Wye;

5673-453: The night of the harvest moon. The line closed to passengers in 1959, although sections remain as bridleways and footbridges. There are now main line railway stations at Hereford and Chepstow . The road network in the lower Wye valley remained essentially undeveloped during the rise of the Valley's industrialisation, until a series of Turnpike trusts were authorised during the 18th century. It

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5766-487: The outside of an open-framed wheel. The Romans used waterwheels extensively in mining projects, with enormous Roman-era waterwheels found in places like modern-day Spain . They were reverse overshot water-wheels designed for dewatering deep underground mines. Several such devices are described by Vitruvius , including the reverse overshot water-wheel and the Archimedean screw . Many were found during modern mining at

5859-470: The palace of the Pontian king Mithradates VI Eupator , but its exact construction cannot be gleaned from the text (XII, 3, 30 C 556). The first clear description of a geared watermill offers the late 1st century BC Roman architect Vitruvius who tells of the sakia gearing system as being applied to a watermill. Vitruvius's account is particularly valuable in that it shows how the watermill came about, namely by

5952-418: The pestle and mortar, which is so useful, and later on it was cleverly improved in such a way that the whole weight of the body could be used for treading on the tilt-hammer ( tui ), thus increasing the efficiency ten times. Afterwards the power of animals—donkeys, mules, oxen, and horses—was applied by means of machinery, and water-power too used for pounding, so that the benefit was increased a hundredfold. In

6045-486: The publication of works by the poet Thomas Gray , and, in particular, Observations on the River Wye by the Reverend William Gilpin , published in 1782. The first illustrated tour guide to be published in Britain, it helped travellers locate and enjoy the most " Picturesque " aspects of the countryside. Regular excursions began to be established from Ross, the boat journey to Chepstow taking two days. Some of

6138-512: The rock can be watched through telescopes set up by the RSPB . Buzzards , goshawks and hobbies are also regularly seen and it is sometimes possible to see migrant raptors such as ospreys and European honey buzzards . The Seven Sisters Rocks are an outcrop of rocks forming cliffs above the Wye, between Symonds Yat and Monmouth. Tourist activities include boat trips, a maze , stand-up paddle boarding (from Ye Old Ferrie Inn), an oriental garden, and

6231-539: The route through the Wye valley on the English bank, while the Wye Valley Walk follows the Welsh bank. When the Normans conquered the region in the 11th century they immediately built major castles at Chepstow and Monmouth to defend the territory. Smaller castles were built at St Briavels , Ruardean , Goodrich and Wilton Castle . Tintern Abbey was founded in 1131 by Cistercian monks, and largely rebuilt in

6324-493: The rushing of the water ( chi shui ) to operate it ... Thus the people got great benefit for little labor. They found the 'water(-powered) bellows' convenient and adopted it widely. Water wheels in China found practical uses such as this, as well as extraordinary use. The Chinese inventor Zhang Heng (78–139) was the first in history to apply motive power in rotating the astronomical instrument of an armillary sphere , by use of

6417-474: The size, complexity, and hence cost of the tailrace. The direction of rotation of a backshot wheel is the same as that of a breastshot wheel but in other respects, it is very similar to the overshot wheel. See below. Some wheels are overshot at the top and backshot at the bottom thereby potentially combining the best features of both types. The photograph shows an example at Finch Foundry in Devon, UK. The head race

6510-419: The smaller, less expensive and more efficient turbine , developed by Benoît Fourneyron , beginning with his first model in 1827. Turbines are capable of handling high heads , or elevations , that exceed the capability of practical-sized waterwheels. The main difficulty of water wheels is their dependence on flowing water, which limits where they can be located. Modern hydroelectric dams can be viewed as

6603-547: The south of this, the Herefordshire lowlands are largely underlain by red mudstones and sandstones , producing a redder soil. These rocks are softer than the limestones elsewhere, so the river created more meanders , a wider floodplain , and a gentler and more rolling landscape. Around Symonds Yat , limestones and red sandstones meet. This leads to a landscape of hills and plains, as well as substantial meanders which have formed impressive river cliffs. The Lower Wye landscape

6696-451: The use of such wheels for submerging siege mines as a defensive measure against enemy sapping. Compartmented wheels appear to have been the means of choice for draining dry docks in Alexandria under the reign of Ptolemy IV (221−205 BC). Several Greek papyri of the 3rd to 2nd century BC mention the use of these wheels, but do not give further details. The non-existence of the device in

6789-444: The usurpation of Wang Mang ), it states that the legendary mythological king known as Fu Xi was the one responsible for the pestle and mortar, which evolved into the tilt-hammer and then trip hammer device (see trip hammer ). Although the author speaks of the mythological Fu Xi, a passage of his writing gives hint that the water wheel was in widespread use by the 1st century AD in China ( Wade-Giles spelling): Fu Hsi invented

6882-448: The vertical-axle waterwheel. In the 2nd century AD Barbegal watermill complex a series of sixteen overshot wheels was fed by an artificial aqueduct, a proto-industrial grain factory which has been referred to as "the greatest known concentration of mechanical power in the ancient world". In Roman North Africa , several installations from around 300 AD were found where vertical-axle waterwheels fitted with angled blades were installed at

6975-550: The village up to Symonds Yat Rock. Another footpath and a cycleway, constructed on a former railway line, runs on the eastern bank to Monmouth . Symonds Yat West is on the western side of the river and has a large caravan and camping site. Visitor attractions include the "Amazing Hedge Puzzle" maze built in 1977 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II , and the Wye Valley Butterfly Zoo. The main village

7068-400: The water entry is low on the wheel. Overshot and backshot water wheels are typically used where the available height difference is more than a couple of meters. Breastshot wheels are more suited to large flows with a moderate head . Undershot and stream wheel use large flows at little or no head. There is often an associated millpond , a reservoir for storing water and hence energy until it

7161-416: The water hits the wheel paddles, into overshot, breastshot and undershot wheels. The two main functions of waterwheels were historically water-lifting for irrigation purposes and milling, particularly of grain. In case of horizontal-axle mills, a system of gears is required for power transmission, which vertical-axle mills do not need. The earliest waterwheel working like a lever was described by Zhuangzi in

7254-434: The water is not constrained by millraces or wheel pits. Stream wheels are cheaper and simpler to build and have less of an environmental impact than other types of wheels. They do not constitute a major change of the river. Their disadvantages are their low efficiency, which means that they generate less power and can only be used where the flow rate is sufficient. A typical flat board undershot wheel uses about 20 percent of

7347-556: The water only to less than the height of its own radius and required a large torque for rotating. These constructional deficiencies were overcome by the wheel with a compartmented rim which was a less heavy design with a higher lift. The earliest literary reference to a water-driven, compartmented wheel appears in the technical treatise Pneumatica (chap. 61) of the Greek engineer Philo of Byzantium ( c.  280  – c.  220 BC ). In his Parasceuastica (91.43−44), Philo advises

7440-601: The wheel and the apron and potentially causing serious damage. Breastshot wheels are less efficient than overshot and backshot wheels but they can handle high flow rates and consequently high power. They are preferred for steady, high-volume flows such as are found on the Fall Line of the North American East Coast. Breastshot wheels are the most common type in the United States of America and are said to have powered

7533-406: The wheel, making it heavier than the other "empty" side. The weight turns the wheel, and the water flows out into the tail-water when the wheel rotates enough to invert the buckets. The overshot design is very efficient, it can achieve 90%, and does not require rapid flow. Nearly all of the energy is gained from the weight of water lowered to the tailrace although a small contribution may be made by

7626-449: The wood from which it was made is much older than the deep mine, it is likely that the deep workings were in operation perhaps 30–50 years after. It is clear from these examples of drainage wheels found in sealed underground galleries in widely separated locations that building water wheels was well within their capabilities, and such verticals water wheels commonly used for industrial purposes. Taking indirect evidence into account from

7719-505: The work of the Greek technician Apollonius of Perge , the British historian of technology M.J.T. Lewis dates the appearance of the vertical-axle watermill to the early 3rd century BC, and the horizontal-axle watermill to around 240 BC, with Byzantium and Alexandria as the assigned places of invention. A watermill is reported by the Greek geographer Strabon ( c.  64 BC  – c.  AD 24 ) to have existed sometime before 71 BC in

7812-574: The year 31 AD, the engineer and Prefect of Nanyang , Du Shi (d. 38), applied a complex use of the water wheel and machinery to power the bellows of the blast furnace to create cast iron . Du Shi is mentioned briefly in the Book of Later Han ( Hou Han Shu ) as follows (in Wade-Giles spelling): In the seventh year of the Chien-Wu reign period (31 AD) Tu Shih was posted to be Prefect of Nanyang. He

7905-425: Was a generous man and his policies were peaceful; he destroyed evil-doers and established the dignity (of his office). Good at planning, he loved the common people and wished to save their labor. He invented a water-power reciprocator ( shui phai ) for the casting of (iron) agricultural implements. Those who smelted and cast already had the push-bellows to blow up their charcoal fires, and now they were instructed to use

7998-694: Was formed by the river acting on a series of layers of rock that dip towards the Forest of Dean . Here the river has incised into the margins of the Old Red Sandstone plateau to form a gorge with substantial river cliffs. The steepest parts of the Wye gorge are cut through the Carboniferous Limestone . Here the combined action of the river, natural joints in the rocks and quarrying have exposed many vertical faces, particularly between Tintern and Chepstow. Geological interest extends underground, and there are many rock shelters and solution caves in

8091-432: Was founded at Tintern in 1566. Wire -making followed, with water mills situated on all the tributaries of the lower Wye. The area resounded to the noise and smoke of heavy industry for the next 400 years and gave rise to many pioneering industries. For instance, Whitebrook became famous for paper milling, when wallpaper became a fashionable way to decorate houses. At Redbrook , copper works were established by 1691, and

8184-459: Was indeed a member of the family who owned the lands from Wormelow near Hereford to the border regions in which surround the Yat. The area is also shown as Symons Yate on maps in 1665, Symons Yat in 1717 and Symmonds Gate in 1830. Bones from hyenas , sabre-toothed cats and a mammoth have been found in and around the caves of the Wye valley. Human habitation can be traced back to 12,000 years ago with findings of their tools and clothes. In

8277-676: Was not until 1828 that the current Wye Valley road, the A466 , was first constructed. The area became more accessible by road to much of the country with the building of the M50 between the M5 and Ross-on-Wye, and the opening of the Severn Bridge (now part of the M48 ) in 1966. The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) was designated in 1971. The designation indicates the importance of recognising and preserving

8370-454: Was one of the largest communities in Wales during this period. Iron has been made in the Wye Valley since Roman times, using the ready supply of timber, good quality ore and abundant charcoal from the Forest of Dean . The river provided transport for the raw materials and finished product, and with the introduction of the blast furnace in the 16th century, its tributaries began to be used for water power. The first brass made in Britain

8463-408: Was stated that the Wye "can scarcely be considered a commercial highway" above Monmouth, and by the 1880s Brockweir bridge was the effective upper limit of navigation. As the 19th century progressed, the valley's industries gradually declined, and management of the woodlands lessened when there was no longer a ready market for their products. The Wye Valley witnessed the birth of British tourism in

8556-511: Was the economic backbone of the region, providing an important means of transport, trade and communication. In late medieval times, salmon weirs hindered free passage on the river, but the Wye Navigation Act in 1662 enabled the river's potential to be developed. By 1727 shallow draught boats could get upstream beyond Hereford, and a significant shipbuilding industry developed at Monmouth, Llandogo , Brockweir and Chepstow. However, by 1835 it

8649-416: Was the world's first railed-way to make specific powers in its Act of Parliament to allow for the charging of fares to passengers. The standard gauge Wye Valley Railway line between Chepstow, Monmouth and Ross opened much later, in 1876. This made the valley more accessible and popular to tourists. In the early 20th century, crowds of up to 1300 would travel on a special train journey to see Tintern Abbey on

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