2010

TF1722 : Guthram Gowt inflow drain at foot of South Forty Foot

taken 14 years ago, near to Guthram Gowt, Lincolnshire, England

Guthram Gowt inflow drain at foot of South Forty Foot
Guthram Gowt inflow drain at foot of South Forty Foot
On the other side of the road from the engine peninsula, this drain is conducting water from the very southmost part of Bourne North Fen towards the South Forty Foot. After passing over the sluice in the foreground the water passes under the bridge and into the drain in the foreground of TF1722 : Engine Peninsula.

In the distance can be seen the embankment of the raised River Glen, whose waters are around 3m above the water in this drain, and around 3.6m above the waters below the sluice in the South Forty Foot.

It is probable that the proposed lock that will allow boats to pass from the South Forty Foot to the Glen will be somewhere in this photograph.
Guthram Gowt rainfall monitoring station

Location given on 19th century OS maps for the steam engine used for draining Bourne North fen into the south forty foot drain. There is a small triangular peninsula between the drain from the west, which is on the north bank of the A151, the road, and the drain which passes under the road. Up to about 1975 the foundations of the engine house could be seen on the bank, but the only building visible now is a small brick building and enclosure, a telemetry station for rainfall monitoring.

South Forty foot Drain and Black Sluice :: TF3242

Black Sluice and the South Forty Foot drain were part of the battle to drain the fens to create more land to harvest crops. But the Fenmen, who had rights to fish and graze their livestock there during the summer, put up a fight to save their livelihoods.
The South Forty Foot drain was first dug in the 1630s to drain Holland fen. Engineers devised a long straight channel to take the water faster to the River Witham where it flowed out to sea. The sluice was built to stop the tide running far inland. Large scale drainage of the fens took place at this time financed by speculators known as "Adventurers".
There was violent resistance and houses, farms and corn stacks on the land were destroyed. The wooden gates of the sluice were burnt leaving them charred black and useless. The fen men drove the Adventurers off the huge common fen.
Over 100 years later, a second sluice was built to relieve the flooding that had continued. The fenmen rioted in Boston, and the militia was sent to prevent the town being burned down. Several years of violence followed but this time, the drainage schemes went ahead. So began the transformation of the fens into the agricultural landscape we see today.
The South Forty Foot drain was dug by labourers using picks, shovels and barrows These tools were still used by navvies clearing silt from drains and rivers until the early 1900s.

The resident engineer to the River Witham commissioners was William Lewin (1794 to 1863), and the third and present Black Sluice was constructed in 1846.

Since 1946, water draining from Holland fen into the South Forty Foot has been pumped into the tidal section of the Witham known locally as the Haven.
The Black Sluice lock at Boston gives boaters access to the South Forty Foot drain as far as Donington High bridge, a distance of 16 km. This lock, opened in 2009, is the first phase of the fens waterways Link.
Black Sluice is the outfall of the South Forty Foot drain into the tidal section of the River Witham known locally as the Haven the sluice and the drain are part of an intricate network of waterways pumps and locks that continue to perform the essential task of draining the lands to reduce the risk of flooding.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Bob Harvey and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Rivers, Streams, Drainage Primary Subject: Channel Category: Drainage channel other tags: Drainage Channel Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Bourne Road [5] · South forty Foot [2] Other Photos: · Engine Peninsula ·
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TF1722, 47 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Bob Harvey   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Monday, 5 April, 2010   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 5 April, 2010
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TF 172 223 [100m precision]
WGS84: 52:47.1653N 0:15.7727W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TF 171 224
View Direction
South-southeast (about 157 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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