Reminiscences Of Fen And Mere

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1876 edition. Excerpt: ... REMINISCENCES OF FEN AND MERE. . PART I. CHAPTER I. THE GENERAL CONDITION OF THE FENS, AND HOW THEY BECAME SILTED UP. A Reference to the Maps which are prefixed will show the geographical position of the Fens. It will be seen that the district is bounded 'on all parts by History' highlands, in the form of a horse-shoe, which makes c. 33, p. 172. it like a bay, from that point of land about Hunstanton in Norfolk to Wynthorpe in Lincolnshire.' The general condition of all parts of the low country, the various strata which underlie the surface, and the objects which are discovered in them, sufficiently prove that during the lapse of ages great changes in the surface have taken place, that the level has materially altered, that forest-trees / once grew there luxuriantly, and that the climate, the flora, and the animals are entirely different from what they once were. 'Great numbers of trees have been dug up, such as oak and fir, which will not live in water. When the Wisbeach river was deepened, the workmen found, eight feet below the then bottom, which was stony, several boats within short distances of each other, which had been overwhelmed by the silt for many ages. So likewise at Salter's Lode, at the digging of the foundation of the fosse, the silt was found to be ten feet deep, and next below it, three feet of fen moor, then bluish gault with the roots of trees in it; next, moor three feet thick, firmer and cleaner than the other; and lastly, whitish clay. Likewise, of late years, at Whittlesea Mere, when digging through the moor, at eight feet deep, they came to a perfect soil and swaths of grass, lying as they were first mown down. At Skirbeach sluice, near Boston, there was found, at sixteen feet deep, covered with silt, a...

The text is ambitious in scope, reflecting the author's position as a historical geographer, and covers a broad range of disciplinary perspectives, ranging from geology to socio-economic analysis. Numerous illustrative figures are contained, including maps, diagrams and photographs of the area, and a bibliography is also provided.

A BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. 'Francis Pryor brings the magic of the Fens to life in a deeply personal and utterly enthralling way' TONY ROBINSON. 'Pryor feels the land rather than simply knowing it' GUARDIAN. Inland from the Wash, on England's eastern cost, crisscrossed by substantial rivers and punctuated by soaring church spires, are the low-lying, marshy and mysterious Fens. Formed by marine and freshwater flooding, and historically wealthy owing to the fertility of their soils, the Fens of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire are one of the most distinctive, neglected and extraordinary regions of England. Francis Pryor has the most intimate of connections with this landscape. For some forty years he has dug its soils as a working archaeologist – making ground-breaking discoveries about the nature of prehistoric settlement in the area – and raising sheep in the flower-growing country between Spalding and Wisbech. In The Fens, he counterpoints the history of the Fenland landscape and its transformation – from Bronze age field systems to Iron Age hillforts; from the rise of prosperous towns such as King's Lynn, Ely and Cambridge to the ambitious drainage projects that created the Old and New Bedford Rivers – with the story of his own discovery of it as an archaeologist. Affectionate, richly informative and deftly executed, The Fens weaves together strands of archaeology, history and personal experience into a satisfying narrative portrait of a complex and threatened landscape.