Cornelius Vermuyden – vermuyden400.org.uk

June 25, 2026

‘They Would Stay Till the Whole Level Were Drowned’

The Civil War, the Snow Sewer, and the Fall of Sandtoft, 1642–1651 After the Star Chamber proceedings of 1631 and the Exchequer Award of 1636, a tense and uneasy quiet settled over the Isle of Axholme. The commoners had not accepted the settlement. They had been compelled, temporarily, to live with it. They were waiting. In 1642, their moment came....

Opposition to Vermuyden's Drainage 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

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...

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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

Vermuyden's Drainage Scheme Comments: 0

February 26, 2026

Vermuyden’s’General Rule of Drayning‘

Cornelius Vermuyden’s “General Rule of Draining,” is detailed in his 1642 work A Discourse Touching the Drayning of the Great Fennes, was a foundational approach to large-scale land reclamation in 17th-century England. Although this paper was written after Vermuyden had left Hatfield Chase and the Isle of Axholme and was focused on the Great Level in Cambridgeshire, it shows Vermuyden’s approach...

Cornelius Vermuyden Comments: 0

February 12, 2026

How Vermuyden Financed the Hatfield Chase Drainage

After agreeing with Charles I to drain the Isle of Axholme & Hatfield Chase, Cornelius Vermuyden had to work out how to finance his drainage scheme. The drainage scheme was funded by the sale of Vermuyden’s land to a number of partners, known as Participants. Most of the earliest Participants were Dutch. Among Vermuyden’s associates, three networks can be discerned:...

Contract with Charles I Comments: 0

February 5, 2026

1626 Agreement between Charles I and Cornelius Vermuyden to Drain the Isle of Axholme and Hatfield Chase

The full agreement may be read here After the James I, commission of 1622, Vermuyden obviously investigated the feasibility of draining the Isle of Axholme and Hatfield Chase and declared himself prepared to undertake the drainage. However, in 1625, James I died and Charles I succeeded to the throne. On 24th May 1626, the second year of Charles’ reign, an...

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Tag: Cornelius Vermuyden

‘They Would Stay Till the Whole Level Were Drowned’

Vermuyden’s Subsidiary Drainage Works – sasses and sluices.

Vermuyden’s Drainage Scheme – The River Torne

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

Vermuyden’s’General Rule of Drayning‘

How Vermuyden Financed the Hatfield Chase Drainage

1626 Agreement between Charles I and Cornelius Vermuyden to Drain the Isle of Axholme and Hatfield Chase

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