The River Ouse is a river in the county of West and East Sussex in England. It rises near Lower Beeding, passes through Lewes and the South Downs and joins the English Channel at Newhaven, East Sussex.

Unlike the other British rivers called the Ouse, whose name comes from a Scandinavian root cognate with "oose", its name may come from a corruption of the French "Rivière de Lewes"^{[citation needed]}. The river was originally known as the River Mid-wynd.^[1]

The author Virginia Woolf drowned herself in the River Ouse on March 28, 1941, near the village of Rodmell.

Ouse Navigation

In 1787, William Jessop was asked to survey the river with a view to extending navigation right up to Slaugham. Three years later the Upper Ouse Navigation Act was passed, enabling construction upon the navigation to begin. However, the initial estimates of cost were soon exceeded, and work slowed. Eventually, about 1812, the canalisation of the Ouse was completed, and the river was navigable from Lewes up to Balcombe, West Sussex, the navigable part of the river terminating at Upper Ryelands Bridge. The navigation totalled 22 miles in length, plus a 3/4 mile branch to Shortbridge, and featured 19 locks [1].

Trade along the Ouse Navigation consisted mostly of lime, chalk, manure, aggregates and coal. Whilst in 1801 there were 51 barges registered as trading on the river (21 of which worked the river above Lewes), [2], the navigation was never a huge commercial success. During the 1840s, as railways proved to be a cheaper and faster method of transporting goods, attempts were made to attract more trade by reducing tolls, but this had little effect and by 1868 all trade above Lewes had ceased, although boats continued working on the Lower Ouse to Lewes right up to the 1950s [3].

There is talk of renovating the navigation [4]. Today, the remains of most of the old locks are still visible, although all are now slowly deteriorating.

Ecology and wildlife

There is at present a lot of research into the presence and effects of organic and inorganic pollutants in the Sussex Ouse. The nature of the river is that sediment in high-flow areas is absent, with the exception of the Denton Island area. In 2001 the river flooded, placing areas of the river towns Lewes and Uckfield under water.

The river is known for the unusually large Sea Trout that migrate up the river twice a year to spawn. The river also contains large Pike (up to 30lbs) and more recently large Carp. Other species include Barbel, Roach, Dace, Rudd, Minnow, Perch, Chub, Pumpkinseed and Tench. The tidal stretches also contain Mullet and near the mouth, Bass

In the summer every year is held the Ouse Summer Raft Race, in which competitors construct their own rafts and paddle down the river, from Lewes to Newhaven. At Southease, the rafters are pelted by crowds on the bridge and riverbank with eggs, flour, seaweed, and water.

Today the Ouse is managed by the Environment Agency and is utilised as a source of drinking water and as a conduit for treated sewage as well as providing drainage for the surrounding area. It has reverted to its tidal state up to Barcombe Mills and its banks have been raised in an attempt to stop flooding. From Barcombe Mills to the sea the river has long posed a problem with flooding, as was so forcefully demonstrated in 1960, and more recently in October 2000.