| Description | In 1630, the Commissioners of Sewers at King's Lynn proposed to enter into a contract with Cornelius Vermuyden for the draining of the Great Level of the Fens. There was significant local opposition to Cornelius Vermuyden being appointed, on account of him being a foreigner and his demands for renumeration. Instead, they approached Sir Francis Russell, Earl of Bedford, who agreed to undertake the draining of the Fens in return for 95,000 acres of the newly drained land. Thirteen Adventurers joined with the Earl of Bedford in the "Indenture of Fourteen Parts" (see R59/31/X/49/1 or KBLC/1/1/4). The 95,000 acres of newly drained lands were divided into 20 "lots" of 4,000 acres, which were shared amongst the Adventurers. The Adventurers then agreed to expend at least £500 for every share taken.
The principal works carried out during this phase included the construction of the (Old) Bedford River, between Earith and Salter’s Lode; Sam’s Cut, between Feltwell and the River Ouse; Sandy’s Cut [at Ely]; Bevill’s Leam, between Whittlesey Mere and Guyhirn; Peakirk Drain, between Peterborough Great Fen and Guyhirn; New South Eau, between Crowland and Clow’s Cross; Hill’s Cut at Peterborough (later extended and became Smith’s Leam), and Shire Drain, between Clow’s Cross and Tydd. They also improved Morton’s Leam, and built two sluices at Tydd, one at Salter's Lode and one at Horseshoe near Wisbech, to keep out the tides. The traditional view is that Vermuyden was employed by the Earl of Bedford to execute this scheme, but Margaret Knittl puts forward a convincing arguement that he was not.
In October 1636, the Commissioners of Sewers at St Ives found that the Earl of Bedford and Adventurers had successfully drained the Great Level according to "Lynn Law". This judgement appears to have been somewhat premature, and was probably to relieve some of the (more or less bankrupt) Adventurers. A schedule was drawn up of the 95,000 acres that were to be allotted to the Earl of Bedford and the Adventurers. Following complaints and petitions to the Privy Council in July 1638, it was declared that they had not sufficiently fulfilled their obligations as the Great Level of the Fens was still prone to flooding, especially in winter. Charles I then declared himself as Undertaker in July 1638, and agreed to make the Fens suitable as "winter grounds" in return for 57,000 acres. The original Adventurers, some of whom were financially ruined, were to receive just 40,000 acres for what they had achieved thus far. |