Cornelius Vermuyden’s Fortified Camp at Sandtoft

When Cornelius Vermuyden arrived in the Isle of Axholme in the 1620s, he brought with him workers from across the North Sea. The transformation of Hatfield Chase and the surrounding marshlands required skilled labourers, surveyors, craftsmen, and administrators, many of them Dutch, many of them strangers to the landscape they were about to reshape. Their base of operations became Sandtoft,...

Vermuyden's Drainage Scheme Comments: 4

April 23, 2026

Vermuyden’ Subsidiary Works – The Dutch River

Flooding at Fishlake & Sykehouse — The Price of Imperfection Even as these new works were rising, serious problems were emerging elsewhere in the drainage system. The diversion of the River Don northward into the Aire had unintended consequences for the settlements along its banks, and the villages of Fishlake and Sykehouse suffered severe flooding as a direct result of Vermuyden’s works...

Cornelius Vermuyden/Vermuyden's Drainage Scheme Comments: 0

April 9, 2026

Vermuyden’s Subsidiary Drainage Works – sasses and sluices.

1629 – Court of Sewers appointed In 1629, the Crown appointed a new Court of Sewers to oversee the “Level of Hatfield Chase,” a move intended to mark the completion of Cornelius Vermuyden’s great drainage project. This court was charged with maintaining the new network of drains, banks, and sluices that had reshaped the wetlands and opened large areas to...

Vermuyden's Drainage Scheme Comments: 0

April 2, 2026

Vermuyden’s Drainage Scheme – Phase 2

Draining the Levels – Vermuyden’s Second Phase (1628-1631) By 1627, just two years after Cornelius Vermuyden and King Charles I had signed their fateful contract, Vermuyden reported that the first phase of drainage works was completed so that a commission could be appointed to allot the land and commence its work. The 1627 Commission was appointed to begin the process...

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March 20, 2026

Vermuyden’s Drainage Scheme – The River Torne

The River Torne presented a significant challenge to the drainage of the Isle of Axholme. Its original course ran from the west, around Wroot, to the River Idle at Ben Intake (a location now known as Tunnel Pits). Unlike the Don and the Idle, it was not possible to divert the Torne along an existing watercourse, meaning it had to...

Vermuyden's Drainage Scheme Comments: 0

March 12, 2026

Vermuyden’s Drainage Scheme – Phase 1 – Drainage of Hatfield Chase – 1626-1628

The first phase of Cornelius Vermuyden’s works took place between 1626 and 1628

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Category: Vermuyden’s Drainage Scheme

Cornelius Vermuyden’s Fortified Camp at Sandtoft

Vermuyden’ Subsidiary Works – The Dutch River

Vermuyden’s Subsidiary Drainage Works – sasses and sluices.

Vermuyden’s Drainage Scheme – Phase 2

Vermuyden’s Drainage Scheme – The River Torne

Vermuyden’s Drainage Scheme – Phase 1 – Drainage of Hatfield Chase – 1626-1628

Upcoming Events

Vermuyden 400 Exhibition

Tiddy Mun W’Out a Name

Spirit of the Waters – a music and drama event

Spirit of the waters – music and drama event

Spirit of the waters – music and drama event