Talk:Roddon

Inconsistent usage of terms

The article seems confused as the Formation section uses the term 'Roddon' then the Settlements section uses both 'Roddon' and 'Rodham' and the images both use 'Rodham'. It would be more consistent to use just 'Roddon' as that's the title of the article. Richerman (talk) 01:35, 26 September 2010 (UTC)

agreed  Done consistent use of roddon throughout --Senra (Talk) 16:29, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

Miscellaneous

This article refers to the hamlet of Prickwillow as being built on a rodham of the Great Ouse, but the article on Prickwillow states that it was built on top of a river bank of a former course of the Ouse that was filled in and ploughed circa 1829-1830. If this is correctly classified as a rodham surely it's of artificial origin, as opposed to the natural origins put forward by the current state of the article. Ning-ning (talk) 22:52, 20 October 2010 (UTC)

I am just following the sources.

“ The church and school at Prickwillow are on the silt bed of the original Ouse east of Ely, which was by-passed in 1830 [Darby (1940) p. 43 states 1827] when Sandy's Cut was made to take the waters of the river by a more direct course from the Overfall to Littleport. The old channel at Prickwillow carried water for a further thirty years or so, but was then dammed and drained. But its silt bed was not sufficiently consolidated by the time building had to begin, and as a result both the church and school here have pile foundations. ” — Astbury A K, The Black Fens (3 ed.). Wardy Hill, Ely, Cambridgeshire: Providence Press. 1987 [1958]. pp. 55–56. ISBN 0903803186.

Caption for plate 41 between pages 112–113 states in full

“ Prickwillow from the air. Much of this hamlet is built on the dried-up bed of the River Ouse. Rodhams at A and B have been bulldozed several times to reduce them to field level; but they continue to "grow" out of the sinking peats. ” — Astbury A K, The Black Fens (3 ed.). Wardy Hill, Ely, Cambridgeshire: Providence Press. 1987 [1958]. ISBN 0903803186.

Fen drainage is a complex area. It is thought that some of the river cuts forming roddons were made by the Romans and there may have been piecemeal drainage attempts since that time until significant fen-wide drainage commenced in 1634 by the Earl of Bedford and assisted later (1650's) by Vermuyden. Perhaps it needs to be clearer in the article but the dried up bed of a river is a roddon (Fowler/Darby) or rodham (Astbury/Smith) whether formed naturally or by artificial means. Darby, H C (1940). The draining of the Fens. Cambridge University Press.

--Senra (Talk) 10:14, 23 October 2010 (UTC)

Having worked on the article a little more this afternoon (re-reading sources and tidying up references) I see the difficulty. The article does not clearly make the distinction between the dating of peat (via bog oaks) and silt from an old river, which eventually forms a roddon, and the roddon itself. I will try to work on this more though any help here from other editors would be appreciated --Senra (Talk) 15:53, 23 October 2010 (UTC)