Axholme before Vermuyden – Agriculture Before the Dutch Drainage

Life in Axholme before the drains was shaped by water. Islanders were not impoverished peasants—they were skilled pastoralists, fishers, and peat cutters. Cattle were the backbone of the economy, with thousands overwintered on the commons. Fishing rights were lucrative, and peat from the moors provided essential fuel.

Villagers navigated the landscape by boat, using dykes and rivers to reach markets like Bawtry. They lived on higher ground, in settlements like Crowle, Belton, and Epworth, and adapted their lives to the rhythms of flood and thaw. Their economy was sustainable, resilient, and well-suited to the land. Though pastoralism dominated, Axholme also supported arable farming. Wheat, hemp, and oats were grown on the dry ridges, using open-field strip systems that dated back to medieval times. These communal fields were regulated by manorial courts and preserved in places like Belton Field.

Flooding enriched the soil with silt, creating “thick fatt water” that nourished crops without artificial fertilisers. Islanders balanced grazing and cropping with remarkable skill. Joan Thirsk argued that Vermuyden didn’t bring agriculture to Axholme—he replaced a successful system with one that served outside investors.

What Was the Agriculture Like?

While pastoral farming dominated, Axholme was not without arable production. Islanders grew:

• Wheat
• Hemp
• Some barley and oats

These crops were grown on the higher, drier ridge running north–south through the Isle, where the main settlements—Crowle, Belton, Epworth, and Haxey—were located.

Open‑Field Farming

Axholme’s open‑field system was distinctive and unusually long‑lasting. Narrow strips, grouped into furlongs, were farmed communally under manorial regulation. Belton Field, for example, still preserves medieval strip patterns today.

Fishing & Fowling

For centuries, fishing and fowling were at the heart of Axholme’s economy and identity. The meres—especially around Crowle, Haxey, and Epworth—teemed with pike, eels, perch, and roach. Eel fishing in particular was a seasonal rhythm, with families working the watercourses using traps, spears, and wicker eel bucks passed down through generations. These weren’t just food sources; they were trade goods, rent payments, and winter security.

The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded that there were many fisheries in the Isle of Axholme – Crowle had 31 fisheries, more than any other town in Lincolnshire, and Epworth had 11.

The account rolls for Selby Abbey, the Lord of the manor of Crowle, recorded expenditure on a fishing net called a Dikenet and three kiddle-nets for the fishery in the Dam in 1599. (A kiddle was a weir or barrier in a river, with an opening which was fitted with nets to catch fish).

The account rolls also record the transport by water from Crowle to Selby, one boar, swans, rabbits, capons, and fish for the lord abbot’s consumption – as the rolls include the cost of oats to feed the rabbits and swans – it appears that these were transported live.

A Balanced, Sustainable System

Joan Thirsk’s influential study argues that Vermuyden did not bring agriculture to Axholme—he replaced a successful pastoral economy with an arable one. The old system produced meat, dairy, leather, hemp, and grain—commodities in steady demand in Tudor and early Stuart England.