2. Same cut, 10 miles, 20 feet wide, from Feltwell to the Ouse.
3. Mildenball cut, two miles, 40 feet wide.
4. Bevil's Leam, 10 miles, 40feet wide, from Wittlesley Mere.
5. Morton's Leam renewed.
ti. Peacock Drain, 10 miles, 17 feet.
7. Hill's cut, two miles, 50 feet, near Peterborough.
8. NCW South Eau, from Crowland to Clow's Cross.
9. Shire Drain, opened at Clow's Cross to Tyd and the sea, with a sluice at each end, being a slaker to the Welland ; pro jected in the reign of Elizabeth, and perfected by these adventurers.
Locks for navigation, or Sasses, were built on tile Well Creek, and at the Horse Shoe, below Wisbeach. These works were executed in about three years, at an expense of about 100,000/. ; but it was found, that although the country we.s greatly relieved, it was still liable to in undation during winter floods ; and 40,000 acres only were allotted to the adventurers. In 1638, the king took on himself to perfect the drainage, both of the Deeping Fen end the Great Level ; and having procured reports on the subject, chiefly from Sir Cornelius Vermuyclen, a system WaS CleVISCd, with broad wakes on the sides of the principal drains, to contain and take off the flood wa ters; and the king- was to have half the portion of the former adventurers, and an additional 5000 acres, !Or the Bedford Level 12,000, and :3000 acres for the other marshes and fens in Holland and Marshland.
The works executed under this agreement were, 1st, The south bank and part of the north of A1orton's Lean] ; a new eut, 21 miles below Horse Shoe Sluice, at Wis beach ; a new outfall sluice for Shire Drain, soon after wards swallowed up by the quicksands ; and a navigable sas, at Stanground on the Nene. All further progress was stopped by the civil wars.
In 1649, the claims of the adventurers were revived by William, Earl of Bedford ; and having obtained their original contract, the works were completed in 1658. This company constiucted banks along the river Wel land, Nlorton's Learn, the Bedfol d River, the river Ouse and its branches. They also made the following cuts: 1. The New Bedford River, parallel to the old one, of 100 feet in breadth.
2. Vermuyden's Drain, from the river Nene at Ramsay, to the Old Bedford River.
3. Monkland cut and Dounham Eau, between Deliver and Stowbridge.
4. Stoney Drain, and a variety of smaller works, besides clear. ing and repairing the old outfalls.
They also placed sluices for navigation at Hermitage, near Erith, to direct thc water by the ncw channel ; arid at Denver, near the outfall of the said channel, to pre vent the regurgitation of flood waters up the old Ouse.
The silt brought down by the greater slope of the new channel soon raised the bed of the Ouse at Deliver sluice several feet, to the great injury of the navigation and drainage of that river. That sluice having been blown up in 171'3, its re-establishment was opposed by the town of Lynn and other places, so that it was not re built until 1746. Since which time, the most remarkable alteration in the wake of the Great Level has been the Eaubrink cut of 2:: miles, to straighten the course of the river above the town of Lynn. This cut was recom mended in 1725 and 1751, by Badeslade and Kinderby, arid has since been executed under acts 35th, 36th,,45th, and 59th Geo. 11I. Robert Mylne, Sir Thomas Hyde Page, and Joseph Huddart, being the engineers first employed, and at present John Rennie and Thomas Tel ford.
The navigations within the Fens arc the property of, and supported by the Fen company. They have like wise occupied various works upon the other outfall, par ticularly a new channel for the Nene, from Wisbeach to the sea.
The districts of South Holland and Marshland drain immediately to the sea by various small cuts; and Deep ing Fen by tunnels under the Welland. Though this bold measure effected the draining of Deeping Fen, it operated seriously to the injury of the outfall of the river Welland below Spalding ; so that the waters of that river were constrained to pass towards the Nene and Ouse, thereby injuring a country much more extensive than that which had been benefited; and in 1613, Sir Clement Edmonds and the commissioners were obliged to have their boats carried by cal ts three or four miles to Foss dike, where great ships lay at anchor, for want of a cur rent to carry them down the channel. During the civil wars, the banks, Ste. became ruinous, and in Dugdale's time the level was overflowed. The drainage was re stered by a new company under act 16th and 17th Charles II. and a new cut of four miles in length made from Spalding to the reservoir at the mouth of the Glen river ; and the lower part of the river being contracted, the na igation to Spalding %vas much improved ; and in 1794, an act was obtained for a eut from Spalding to the mouth of the Witham at Wyberton Roads, but which has not been executed.