The Fens

The Fens or Fenlands in eastern England are a naturally marshy region that supports many plants and animals. Most of the fens were drained many years ago, turning it into a flat, dry area used for farming. This was done by creating many channels, special rivers called dykes, and pumping stations to keep the water away.

Even though this helped create good farmland, it also caused the land to sink lower over time. To protect it from flooding, people had to build higher walls along the water.

The Fens cover nearly 1,500 square miles in parts of Lincolnshire, most of Cambridgeshire, and small parts of Norfolk and Suffolk. The land here is very close to sea level and was once full of wetlands. Today, with help from drainage systems, it has become very good for growing crops like grains and vegetables. The Fens contain about half of the best farming land in England.

Important towns in the Fens include Boston, King’s Lynn, March, Spalding, and Wisbech. The area is also known for old monasteries that are now churches and cathedrals in places like Ely and Peterborough.

Background: historical flooding and drainage

The Fens in eastern England are very low, often just 10 metres (33 ft) above sea level. Because of this, parts of the Fens are now below sea level. One spot, Holme Fen in Cambridgeshire, is about 2.75 metres (9 ft) below sea level.

In the past, without special drainage systems, the Fens would flood often, especially in winter. Some areas stayed flooded all the time, forming lakes or meres. Farmers could only grow crops on higher ground around the Fens. The rest of the land was used for raising animals, fishing, and collecting reeds.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, new drainage systems were built. Today, most of the Fens are used for growing crops like grains and vegetables instead of just raising animals.

Areas of the Fens

The Fens in eastern England are a naturally wet area that has been changed over time to make it easier to live and farm. People built many channels and rivers to drain the water and keep the land dry. These drained areas are organized into different regions or "levels".

The Great Level is the largest part of the Fens. It includes areas near the River Nene and the Great Ouse, covering about 500 square miles. In the past, it was divided into North, Middle, and South Levels to help manage the land.

Other areas include Bourne and Deeping Fens in southern Lincolnshire, the Black Sluice Level near Boston, and the Holland, Wildmore, West and East Fens near the River Witham. These areas were drained over many years to create flat land for farming.

Formation and geography

After the last ice age, rising sea levels flooded the land in eastern England, creating a wet, marshy area called the Fens. Over thousands of years, different kinds of wetlands formed, including places where water covered the land and areas where special plants grew.

People began settling in the Fens long ago, choosing higher spots where the water didn’t reach. Over time, much of the wet land was drained, and today the Fens look very different from their natural state. The land has sunk in some places, making flooding a continuing concern.

History

Pre-Roman settlement

People lived near the Fens as far back as the Mesolithic time. They settled along the edges of the fens and on small islands inside them, enjoying the chance to hunt and fish in the wetlands. Important places include Flag Fen, Must Farm quarry, and Stonea Camp.

Roman farming and engineering

The Romans built the Fen Causeway, a road across the Fens, connecting what later became East Anglia with central England. The road ran between Denver and Peterborough. They also linked Cambridge and Ely. Their roads mostly avoided the Fens, except for small paths used to move things like salt, beef, and leather from the area. Sheep were kept on higher ground. Some attempts to drain the land may have been made, including the Car Dyke, but most canals were for moving goods.

Early post-Roman settlements

After the Romans left, early settlements were built on higher ground called the Townlands. Places like Wisbech, Spalding, Swineshead, and Boston grew where rivers met the land, making trade easier. The land was set up in long strips to reach both the fens and the higher ground.

Early Middle Ages and Middle Ages

After Roman times, there are few written records. Some people from Iceni may have moved into the Fens to escape invaders from Angeln, now part of Schleswig. The Fens, surrounded by water, were safe and hard to attack.

When records returned, the Fens had names like North Gyrwe around Peterborough and South Gyrwe near Ely. In early Christian times, holy people lived in the Fens. These included Guthlac, Etheldreda, Pega, and Wendreda. Their small homes grew into monasteries that owned lots of land. These monasteries helped start draining the Fens.

Royal Forest

In the 1100s and early 1200s, the southern part of the Lincolnshire fens was turned into a forest. It was enclosed by a line from Spalding along the River Welland to Market Deeping, then along the Car Dyke to Dowsby, and across to the Welland. The forest was cleared in the early 1200s, possibly linked to the Magna Carta. The forest affected nearby towns, and the Bourne Eau river may have been made around this time.

Draining the Fens

The Fens in eastern England were once marshy lands that people wanted to turn into farmland. In the 1630s, people started draining the Fens, led by the Earl of Bedford and engineer Cornelius Vermuyden. They built new rivers to move water away, but many local people opposed this because it changed their way of life. Over time, the land sank lower as the peat dried out, making flooding a big problem.

By the 1800s, stronger machines like steam engines were used to pump water away. Today, the Fens stay dry with many miles of embankments and many pumping stations that work together to keep the land safe from flooding. These systems help protect the farms and people living there.

Modern farming and food manufacturing in the Fens

Today, the Fens are home to about 4,000 farms. These farms grow crops, raise animals, and produce fruits, vegetables, and beautiful flowers. They provide jobs for roughly 27,000 people, both full-time and during special seasons. These farms also help support around 250 businesses that make and sell food and drinks, giving jobs to about 17,500 more people.

More than 70% of the Fens take part in special programs to help nature. These programs care for 270 miles of hedges and 1,780 miles of ditches. This creates safe spaces for animals, including the water vole, which is in danger of disappearing.

Restoration

In 2003, the Great Fen Project began to bring some parts of the Fens back to how they were before farming. This means letting some farmland flood again to create nature reserves. By adding fresh water, the project hopes to help animals like the snipe, lapwing, and bittern return, and also grow plants such as the fen violet.

There is also a plan called the Fens Waterways Link to make some old drainage channels usable again for travel between Boston and Cambridge, including the South Forty-Foot Drain and parts of the Car Dyke.

Sports

The Fens is where the sport of English bandy began, and it is also known for Fen skating. The Great Britain Bandy Association is based there. In Littleport, there is a plan to build an indoor stadium for ice sports. If this plan works, it will have the biggest sheet of ice in the country, including a place for bandy and a track for speed skating.

Settlements

Many historic cities, towns, and villages grew up in the Fens, mostly on the few areas of higher ground. Some of these places include Boston, a port and administrative centre, Chatteris, a market town, and the City of Ely, famous for its cathedral known as the "Ship of the Fens". Other settlements include Cottenham, Crowland, Donington, birthplace of explorer Matthew Flinders, and Peterborough, often called the "Gateway to the Fens".

The area also has ancient sites such as Flag Fen and Must Farm, both from the Bronze Age, and Stonea Camp, an Iron Age hill fort.

In popular culture and media

The Fens have been a popular setting for many stories, books, and shows. Writers like John Gordon used the Fens as a magical place in his books. Joy Ellis has written several mystery stories set there, and Philippa Pearce, a children’s author, also placed many of her tales in the Fens.

The Fens have appeared in films, television shows, and video games too. Movies such as Waterland and Dad Savage were filmed there. TV series like Ghosts_ and Wild Bill have episodes set in the Fens. Even video games like Tom Clancy's EndWar and The Lost Crown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure feature the Fens in their worlds.