Drainage

The history of drainage and land reclamation in the fens

The draining of the fens was a monumental feat that transformed the landscape of East Anglia.

At different times in history, various engineers and planners used their ingenuity to manage the water levels in fenland.

Drains cut into the reed beds created new areas of dry land among the reed beds. This created fertile land for agriculture and dry land for people to live in which would be flooded less often.

Thousands of years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age, Britain was covered in glacial ice. Britain was connected to continental Europe by some land referred to as Doggerland. As the climate warmed, the ice melted, sea levels rose, and the landmass began to tilt due to no longer being weighed down by the heavy ice. Doggerland became submerged and Great Britain became an island. You may recognise the name Dogger Bank from the shipping forecasts.

Watch a lecture on ‘How Britain became an island’ by Dr Jenny Collier, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London (skip the first few minutes – the lecture is about 40 minutes long)

Early fen dwellers

The fens were covered with reed beds and were a very damp and swampy place where a few hardy people lived on the small islands.

These people managed to survive by making use of the resources available to them. These included hunting the local wildfowl, catching eels, fishing, farming, and using the reeds to thatch their roofs.

People had to put up with damp homes, mosquito bites which could infect them with the ague, and mud which could cause even horses to sink up to their bellies.

The Romans

The Romans were the first people who tried to drain the fens.

They built a series of canals, dykes, and ditches to control the flow of water and to divert water away from the low lying land. They also built embankments to help prevent flooding in some areas.

However, their efforts were not completely successful, and the fens remained largely undrained until the 17^th century.

From 1250 onwards, the monks at Thorney used trial and error to devise ring ditches to drain the higher ground and create vineyards.

A link will be coming soon – thank you for your patience. (Link to Abbeys, etc)

In the 1500s, the reed beds stretched from Cambridge to King’s Lynn. The churches and abbeys managed the waterways for years using a network of sluices but King Henry VIII destroyed most of the monasteries. The lands became flooded again as the water was no longer managed.

In the 1630s, the Earl of Bedford and a group of other investors began a major drainage project in the fens. They were known as the Gentlemen Adventurers and Undertakers.

They hired engineers including Cornelius Vermuyden from The Netherlands, to drain the fens.

A link will be coming soon – thank you for your patience. (Link to Adventurers and undertakers)

Vermuyden built a network of sluices and pumps to divert water into the North Sea. He also raised the level of the land by dumping tons of soil on top of it. They cut new drains in the fens which were often long and straight.

This work was largely successful, and the fens were transformed into productive and fertile land for farming.

Read more about Cornelius Vermuyden

The role of prisoners of war in draining the fens

In 1651, Scottish and Dutch prisoners were brought to the fens to work on the drainage of parts of Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.

A link will be coming soon – thank you for your patience. (Link to the Role of prisoners in the draining of the fens)

In the 1800s, steam powered pumps took over from the wind powered pumps.

A link will be coming soon – thank you for your patience. (Link to Steam pumps)

In 1831, Stretham steam engine was installed. It is similar to one which was formerly at Prickwillow Museum.

In 1851, Whittlesea Mere was drained. It had been one of the biggest lakes in southern England at that time.

A link will be coming soon – thank you for your patience. (Link to Whittlesea Mere)

In the 1890s, diesel engines were developed. These were much more efficient that steam engines.

By the 1920s, diesel powered drainage engines had largely replaced the steam pumps. The diesel fuel arrived by tanker boats and was pumped to the pumping stations so this needed much fewer people and much less effort to deliver the fuel required than coal. These pumps could work 24 hours a day.

In 1924, the steam engines at Prickwillow were replaced by a diesel engine.

There is a collection of diesel powered drainage engines at the Prickwillow Museum.

A link will be coming soon – thank you for your patience. (Link to Prickwillow Museum)

Over time, electric pumps started to replace the diesel pumps. They are quieter and more efficient and need even fewer people to manage them. The electricity is delivered by cables so the effort involved in the delivery of the fuel is minimal.

Some unforeseen effects of drainage

The peat shrank as the water level was lowered. This has badly affected the wildlife ecosystem.

A link will be coming soon – thank you for your patience. (Link to Negative affects of fen drainage)

A link will be coming soon – thank you for your patience. (Link to Modern drainage)