the deposit of silt by two tributaries close together, the meanwood beck from the north and the hol beck from the south created a crossing place and a settlement that became the town of leeds. the romans forded the aire by a paved way at castleford on the road connecting doncaster with york which went north through the town near to the church. at this time, the river don emptied into the aire at snaith, but the dutch engineer, cornelius vermuyden, changed the course of the don in the 1630s so that it flows into the ouse after its confluence with the aire.