A History Of The Fens Of South Lincolnshire

This expanded 1896 second edition gives a detailed history of the reclamation and drainage of the Fens of South Lincolnshire.

Excerpt from A History of the Fens of South Lincolnshire: Being a Description of the Rivers Witham and Welland and Their Estuary, and an Account of the Reclamation, Drainage, and Enclosure of the Fens Adjacent Thereto The first edition of the "History of the Fens of South Lincolnshire was published in 1868. The fact that this has long been out of print, and that the publisher is frequently applied to for copies, appears to warrant the issue of a second edition. In the preface to the first edition it was stated, as a reason for its publication, that the author, having had occasion to examine documents relating to the outfall of the drainage of the Fens, had been induced by the interest of the subject to extend his researches into the various reports and papers which relate to the general history of the reclamation and drainage of this district, and had collected together sufficient facts and statistics to enable him to complete a short History of the Fens of this part of the County of Lincoln. During the six and twenty years that have elapsed since this was written, the author has had further opportunities of making himself acquainted with a large number of Acts of Parliament, Reports and other documents which have come into his possession or which are to be found in charge of the officers of the several drainage districts; at the British Museum, the Record Office, the Library of the Gentlemen's Society at Spalding, and the Stock Library at Lincoln. These documents, scattered about in different places, are practically inaccessible to persons requiring information on the subjects to which they relate. Upwards of one hundred and sixty Acts have been passed relating to the drainage, reclamation and enclosure of this part of the Fenland. The greater part of these Acts are now out of print and difficult to procure. With the information obtained from, these sources, it has been possible to give a much more complete history of the early condition and reclamation of the Fenland than was contained in the first edition. In fact, the book has been entirely re-written, and now contains a record of events and statistics which, it is hoped, will render it useful as a work of reference to the officers and commissioners having control over the drainage works, and also to the inhabitants who find the funds for maintaining the same, and, as a source of information, to those interested in the Fenland. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from History of the Fens of South Lincolnshire: Being a Description of the Rivers Witham and Welland and Their Estuary; And an Account of the Reclamation and Drainage of the Fens Adjacent Thereto The original formation of the soil of these fens, although recent in the geological classification, takes us back to a time anterior to the existence of man, when the whole of this district was beneath the waters of the sea. For a depth of nearly 600 feet nothing has been discovered but an aqueous deposit of clay mixed with shells and stones. At the time when this history commences, this deposit had accumulated to such a height as to be above the ordinary tides, and only the lower portion of the Fens, or the parts nearest to the sea, were under ordinary circumstances over flowed by their action. Possibly trees had already grown to a considerable size on the higher portion, or that furthest removed from the sea; and on spots here and there in the lower parts, which had risen higher than the rest - as we see in the villages of Stickney and Sibsey at the present day - and these were doubtless inhabited by the aborigines of the island. The rest was covered with coarse grass, sometimes available for pasturage, and at others inundated in turns by the overflowings of the rivers and the tides. The land at this time was peopled by the Britons, a rude, uncultivated race of men. Their religion was one that sought the solitudes of woods and dark groves for the Observance of their mysterious and sometimes sanguinary rites, and probably the priests availed themselves of the secret recesses of the Fens for the erection of their altars. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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