Denver Sluice

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Denver Sluice: a fascinating and vitally important complex for water management across large parts of the surrounding Fens, situated as it is at the confluence of five watercourses.

Denver Sluice

Denver Sluice, a fascinating and vitally important complex for water management across large parts of the surrounding Fens, situated as it is at the confluence of five watercourses. In 1651 the first sluice was built across the river at Denver, by Cornelius Vermuyden, although it had to be rebuilt after bursting in 1713. Today the complex is managed by the Environment Agency who also provide a small interpretation centre and pre-booked tours of the site for groups.

The Denver Sluice complex not only manages the heart of the Great Ouse River System and a range of other river systems that converge at Denver, it also plays a key role in river navigation, conservation, water abstraction, agricultural and land drainage and fisheries.

The operation of the Denver Complex and management of the Ouse Washes are also bound together. Maintaining the right balance for this range of interests whilst delivering the Complex’s main role for flood defence is hard to achieve all of the time.

Site Information
Address:
Sluice Rd, Denver, Downham Market, PE38 0EQ, Norfolk
Visitor Information
Refreshments (nearby)
Yes
Parking
Yes
Dog friendly
Yes
Features
Architecture
Social Heritage
Nearby Attractions
Attraction 1:
Denver Village
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1.62 Miles Away
Denver is a charming village about 1 miles south of Downham Market. Situated on the edge of the Fens, the village gently descends on the flat Fens toward Denver Sluice.
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Attraction 2:
Downham Market Train Station
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1.69 Miles Away
Downham Market railway station is on the Fen line in the east of England.
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Attraction 3:
Discover Downham Heritage & Learning Centre
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1.8 Miles Away
Discover Downham is run by the Downham Market & District Heritage Society. The Society is operating as a ‘social enterprise’, in that it raises funds through donations, membership fees, admission fees to its talks and visits, hire of rooms, and through the sale of postcards and notelets depicting local scenes painted by one of its members.
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Attraction 4:
The Market Place
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1.93 Miles Away
Downham Market has a regular, popular and thriving outdoor market held every Friday and Saturday on the Town Hall car park, next to the imposing Town Hall. The market is open between the hours of 8:00am and 4:00pm.
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Attraction 5:
Downham Market
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1.94 Miles Away
On the banks of the River Great Ouse, and dating back to Saxon times, Downham Market is one of Norfolk’s oldest market towns. The attractive market place is immediately identifiable by the splendidly unusual and majestic black and white clock.
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