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 of allotting the drained land. Under the original contract, the newly drained land was to be divided into three parts — one third each for the Crown, Vermuyden and his investors (the Participants), and the local commoners who held existing rights over the Chase.

Following the completion of the first phase of Cornelius Vermuyden’s ambitious drainage works on the Isle of Axholme and Hatfield Chase, the job was far from complete, and further works were soon requested — and between 1628 and 1631, the project pushed further south into the heart of the levels.

This second phase tackled the notoriously waterlogged carrs of Haxey, Epworth and Belton — low-lying land that had defied drainage for centuries. The solution was to gather the floodwaters into a new main drain system, feeding them northward and eastward toward the River Trent.

The pre-drainage 1596 map of the area shows three outfalls of the Snow Sewer into the River Trent — the two southern branches labelled “The Queen’s New Sewer” [marked as ‘Middle Sewer’ on 1633 map] and the “Queens Old Sewer” [marked as ‘Kinges Sewer’ on 1633 map] are clearly visible, channels that were subsequently filled in as part of the new works.

The 1639 Aerlebout Map appears to show sluices between all three outfalls at the Trent, which might suggest that the infilling of the two outfalls did not occur until a later date.

The remnant of this old course is what we know today as the Warping Drain — a name that itself tells a story of later agricultural improvement, when silt-laden Trent water was deliberately flooded onto fields to “warp” and enrich the soil.

Snow Sewer was deepened and straightened and connected to a drain which had been constructed parallel to and to the east of the New Idle.

At the western end of the Snow Sewer, a drain originating at Epworth Carr — known as Monkham’s Drain — was constructed and connected to the Snow Sewer. It subsequently gained its own independent discharge channel, running parallel to the Snow Sewer, which is known today as Ferry Drain.

Vermuyden’s contribution was recognised when he was knighted in January 1629. That same year, a Court of Sewers for the Level of Hatfield Chase was established by Royal Warrant. Commissioners of Sewers were empowered to hold courts to oversee all issues relating to waterworks and drainage in their area, and were responsible for assessing and collecting the scots (taxes), employing engineers, and taking measures against Participants who did not comply with their orders.

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. The land owned by the Participants was called Scotted Land and was subject to the payment of scots, or taxes, to pay for the maintenance of the drainage works and any improvements subsequently carried out.

#IsleOfAxholme #HatfieldChase #Vermuyden #LocalHistory #Lincolnshire #DrainageHistory #HaxeyCarrs #SnowSewer #MonkhamDrain #WarpingDrain #FenlandHistory #NorthLincolnshire