The
Driffield Navigation is an waterway, through the heart of the
Holderness Plain to the market town of
Driffield,
East Riding of Yorkshire,
England. The northern section of it is a canal, and the southern section is part of the
River Hull. Construction was authorised in 1767, and it was fully open in 1770. Early use of the navigation was hampered by a small bridge at
Hull Bridge, which was maintained by
Beverley Corporation. After protracted negotiation, it was finally replaced in 1804, and a new lock was built to improve water levels at the same time. One curious feature of the new works were that they were managed quite separately for many years, with the original navigation called the Old Navigation, and the new works called the New Navigation. They were not fully amalgamated until 1888.