Vermuyden’s early work in England
It is most likely that Cornelius Vermuyden travelled to England in 1621 at the invitation of his cousin Joachim Liens. The end of the Twelve Years’ Truce between the Netherlands and Spain had restricted his opportunities to work on land drainage projects in the Netherlands, and at the time, he was employed as a tax collector in Tholen.
Joachim Liens had been lobbying King James I for the drainage of the Great Level (later the Bedford Level), but his efforts had little effect. The King was preoccupied with other pressing matters, and no progress was made on the proposal. As a result, Vermuyden had to seek other employment upon his arrival in England.
Sometime after arriving in 1621, he was engaged by the Commissioners of Sewers for the County of Essex to repair a breach in the banks of the Thames at Dagenham.
Vermuyden benefited from court connections, owing to the influence of his brothers-in-law, Joachim and Cornelius Liens.
On 6 November 1623, Cornelius Vermuyden married Katherine Lapps (or Laps), daughter of a merchant of London, at Rotherhithe on the Surrey bank of the Thames. On the same day, Anne Lapps, Katherine’s sister, married Jacob Struwys (or Struys), another Netherlander, in the same church. While it has often been assumed that the Lapps family were English, there is some evidence to suggest they may have been of Dutch origin.
In 1622, Joos Croppenburgh signed a contract with Sir Henry Appleton for the embankment and reclamation of the flooded lands on Canvey Island, in the lower reaches of the Thames. Croppenburgh employed Cornelius Vermuyden to carry out this work. Notably, Croppenburgh had married Mary Vermuyden—daughter of Johan Vermuyden, who was the son of Cornelius’s elder brother Bartholomew.
Some have suggested that Croppenburgh may have been the one to introduce Vermuyden to King James I. However, it is more likely that the introduction came through Joachim Liens.
Refernce: Harris, L. E. Vermuyden and the Fens: A Study of Sir Cornelius Vermuyden and the Great Level. London: Cleaver-Hume Press, 1953.
