A Day in the Life of the River:
mark sankey
Water from the Itchen
river valley has been
a defining influence
on Winchester and the
College for centuries.
I
n fact, pretty much the whole of the
College and its grounds were constructed
on what used to be an oozing bog of very
small streams. In the 16th and 17th centuries
channels were dug in the marshland outside
of the City, to drain the ground around what
is now the College so that it could be farmed.
They would flood the meadows in the winter
to warm the grass so that it would grow earlier,
and to use the rich river sediment as fertiliser.
The river and its various subsidiaries (called
‘carriers’) have defined the College, and the
College in turn continues to shape the river
and its carriers. The man leading this is Mark
Sankey, Head River Keeper, who has worked
for the College since 1997. The College stretch
begins at Blackbridge at the bottom of Wharf
Hill, meanders through the formality of the
Warden’s Garden past New Hall, sneaks behind
the giant wall of Meads, and emerges into the
open space of the sports fields, before crossing
Garnier Road and passing into the meadows —
all the while dividing into multiple carriers and
the navigation channel (where Win Coll Boat
Club does its thing), and eventually returning
into the main stream of the river. It strikes me
that the river mirrors the experience of the boys.
24 The Wykeham Journal 2019
Formality at the top, gradually breathing a bit
easier as it flows through the College grounds.
‘We start at the top, close to the magnificent
Cathedral, and end at the lovely Hospital of
St Cross Alms House, which makes for kind
of a neat double book end,’ says Mark.
Of course, it has always been a very
important fishing river. And fishing owes
the College a great debt — G.E.M Skues,
author of many brilliant books, including Minor
Tactics of the Chalk Stream (1910) and The Way of
the Trout with a Fly (1921), won a scholarship to
Win Coll in 1872. So began the career of one
of fly fishing’s greats.
‘We have 40-50 boys in Fishing Soc, which
is a good number’ says Mark. ‘And the OW
Fishing Club is great too. It’s only £80 per
day against what would be a commercial rate
of probably around £200 per day.’ I mention
that I was no fisherman, more of a smoker
and drinker when it came to my trips to the
meadows. ‘You do find boys that take up
Display case of traditional chalk
stream dry flies in the Fishing Hut