73-411: Baston is a village and parish on the edge of The Fens and in the administrative district of South Kesteven , Lincolnshire , England. The 2011 census reported the parish had 1,469 people in 555 households. Like most fen-edge parishes, it was laid out more than a thousand years ago, in an elongated form, to afford the produce from a variety of habitats for the villagers. The village itself lies along
146-425: A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants . More in general, the word can be used for any low-lying and seasonally waterlogged terrain. In Europe and in agricultural literature low-lying meadows that require draining and embanked polderlands are also referred to as marshes or marshland. Marshes can often be found at the edges of lakes and streams, where they form
219-471: A Parish Council, two District Councillors who represent Casewick Ward on South Kesteven District Council and a County Councillor representing Deepings West & Rural Division on Lincolnshire County Council. The current District Councillors elected in May 2023 are Vanessa Smith (Green) and Rosemary Trollope-Bellew (Con). The Lincolnshire County Councillor elected in 2021 is Ashley John Baxter (Ind). Geographically, in
292-581: A different set of organisms. Saltwater marshes are found around the world in mid to high latitudes , wherever there are sections of protected coastline. They are located close enough to the shoreline that the motion of the tides affects them, and, sporadically, they are covered with water. They flourish where the rate of sediment buildup is greater than the rate at which the land level is sinking. Salt marshes are dominated by specially adapted rooted vegetation, primarily salt-tolerant grasses. Salt marshes are most commonly found in lagoons , estuaries , and on
365-433: A flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a system of drainage channels and man-made rivers ( dykes and drains) and automated pumping stations . There have been unintended consequences to this reclamation, as the land level has continued to sink and the dykes have been built higher to protect it from flooding. Fen is the local term for an individual area of marshland or former marshland. It also designates
438-522: A freshwater marsh, the ocean tides affect this form of marsh. However, without the stresses of salinity at work in its saltwater counterpart, the diversity of the plants and animals that live in and use freshwater tidal marshes is much higher than in salt marshes. The most severe threats to this form of marsh are the increasing size and pollution of the cities surrounding them. Ranging greatly in size and geographic location, freshwater marshes make up North America's most common form of wetland. They are also
511-576: A habitat for many species of plants, animals, and insects that have adapted to living in flooded conditions or other environments. The plants must be able to survive in wet mud with low oxygen levels. Many of these plants, therefore, have aerenchyma , channels within the stem that allow air to move from the leaves into the rooting zone. Marsh plants also tend to have rhizomes for underground storage and reproduction. Common examples include cattails , sedges , papyrus and sawgrass . Aquatic animals, from fish to salamanders , are generally able to live with
584-505: A habitat free from fish, which eat the eggs and young of amphibians. An example is the endangered gopher frog . Similar temporary ponds occur in other world ecosystems, where they may have local names. However, vernal pool can be applied to all such temporary pool ecosystems. Playa lakes are a form of shallow freshwater marsh in the southern high plains of the United States. Like vernal pools, they are only present at certain times of
657-457: A low amount of oxygen in the water. Some can obtain oxygen from the air instead, while others can live indefinitely in conditions of low oxygen. The pH in marshes tends to be neutral to alkaline , as opposed to bogs , where peat accumulates under more acid conditions. Marshes provide habitats for many kinds of invertebrates, fish , amphibians, waterfowl and aquatic mammals. Marshes have extremely high levels of biological production, some of
730-564: A number of Christians sought the isolation that could be found in the wilderness of the Fens. Later classified as saints, often with close royal links, they include Guthlac , Etheldreda , Pega , and Wendreda . Hermitages on the islands became centres of communities which later developed as monasteries with massive estates. In the Life of Saint Guthlac , a biography of the East Anglian hermit who lived in
803-618: A public meeting was held in June 2002. As a result of both the survey and public meeting, it was decided that there was a mandate from the village to progress the project. Consequently, B-Active was formed as a sub-committee of the BPFMC. As part of this the Baston Football Club was formed in 2005, and joined the Grantham & District Saturday Afternoon League. The club runs two adult teams playing in
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#1732851168847876-473: A region in the East of England , the embanked marshes are also known as Fens . Some areas have already lost 90% of their wetlands, including marshes. They have been drained to create agricultural land or filled to accommodate urban sprawl . Restoration is returning marshes to the landscape to replace those lost in the past. Restoration can be done on a large scale, such as by allowing rivers to flood naturally in
949-488: A road across the Fens to link what later became East Anglia with what later became central England; it runs between Denver and Peterborough . They also linked Cambridge and Ely . Generally, their road system avoided the Fens, except for minor roads designed for exporting the products of the region, especially salt, beef and leather. Sheep were probably raised on the higher ground of the Townlands and fen islands, then as in
1022-555: A severe shock attended by a rumbling noise in Bourn after midday. This was felt in Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. Houses tottered, slates, tiles and some chimneys fell. As it was a Sunday, some people ran out of the churches "in great consternation". In 1792 another shock was also felt in Bourne and neighbouring towns. There is evidence of human settlement near the Fens from
1095-1004: A transition between the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems . They are often dominated by grasses , rushes or reeds. If woody plants are present they tend to be low-growing shrubs, and the marsh is sometimes called a carr . This form of vegetation is what differentiates marshes from other types of wetland such as swamps , which are dominated by trees , and mires , which are wetlands that have accumulated deposits of acidic peat . Marshes provide habitats for many kinds of invertebrates , fish , amphibians , waterfowl and aquatic mammals . This biological productivity means that marshes contain 0.1% of global sequestered terrestrial carbon . Moreover, they have an outsized influence on climate resilience of coastal areas and waterways, absorbing high tides and other water changes due to extreme weather . Though some marshes are expected to migrate upland, most natural marshlands will be threatened by sea level rise and associated erosion . Marshes provide
1168-534: Is a pair of sight screens built from scratch and kindly donated by club member 'Big' Dave Ford. There are tennis courts for year-round use. Both sports field and village hall are managed by the Brudenell Playing Fields Management Committee. The Fens The Fens or Fenlands in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in
1241-464: Is a project in place aiming at building an indoor stadium for ice sports. If successful, it will have the largest sheet of ice in the country with both a bandy pitch and a speed skating oval . Many historic cities, towns and villages have grown up in the fens, sited chiefly on the few areas of raised ground. These include: Ancient sites include: Some authors have featured the Fens repeatedly in their work. For example: Marsh In ecology ,
1314-457: Is little agreement as to the exact dates of the establishment and demise of the forest, but it seems likely that the deforestation was connected with the Magna Carta or one of its early 13th-century restatements, though it may have been as late as 1240. The forest would have affected the economies of the townships around it and it appears that the present Bourne Eau was constructed at the time of
1387-577: The Black Sluice . Also this area includes the market town of Spalding and the ancient village of Sempringham . The above were all redrained at one time or another after the Civil War (1642–1649). These areas cover the northern most part of the Fens from Boston right up as far north west as Washingborough near Lincoln along the course of the River Witham and to the north east it extends up as far as
1460-565: The Mesolithic on. The evidence suggests that Mesolithic settlement in Cambridgeshire was particularly along the fen edges and on the low islands within the fens, to take advantage of the hunting and fishing opportunities of the wetlands. Internationally important sites include Flag Fen and Must Farm quarry Bronze Age settlement and Stonea Camp . The Romans constructed the Fen Causeway ,
1533-536: The Townlands . It is clear that there was some prosperity there, particularly where rivers permitted access to the upland beyond the fen. Such places were Wisbech , Spalding , Swineshead and Boston. All the Townlands parishes were laid out as elongated strips, to provide access to the products of fen, marsh and sea. On the fen edge, parishes are similarly elongated to provide access to both upland and fen. The townships are therefore often nearer to each other than they are to
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#17328511688471606-580: The deforestation , as the town seems to have joined in the general prosperity by about 1280. Though the forest was about half in Holland (Lincolnshire) and half in Kesteven , it is known as Kesteven Forest. Though some signs of Roman hydraulics survive, and there were also some medieval drainage works, land drainage was begun in earnest during the 1630s by the various investors who had contracts with King Charles I to do so. The leader of one of these syndicates
1679-630: The fen violet will be seeded. The Fens Waterways Link is a scheme to restore navigation to some of the drainage works. It is planned to bring the South Forty-Foot Drain and parts of the Car Dyke into use as part of a route between Boston and Cambridge. The Fens is the origin of English bandy and Fen skating . It is the base of Great Britain Bandy Association and in Littleport there
1752-582: The 17th century described the Fenland as entirely above sea level (in contrast to the Netherlands), the area now includes the lowest land in the United Kingdom. Holme Fen in Cambridgeshire, is around 2.75 metres (9 ft 0 in) below sea level. Within the Fens are a few hills, which have historically been called "islands", as they remained dry when the low-lying fens around them were flooded. The largest of
1825-617: The 6th century but was revived in the mid-10th-century monastic revival. In the 11th century, the whole area was incorporated into a united Anglo-Saxon England . The Fens remained a place of refuge and intrigue. It was here that Alfred Aetheling was brought to be murdered and here where Hereward the Wake based his insurgency against Norman England . Fenland monastic houses include the so-called Fen Five ( Ely Cathedral Priory , Thorney Abbey , Croyland Abbey , Ramsey Abbey and Peterborough Abbey ) as well as Spalding Priory . As major landowners,
1898-583: The County Record Office in Cambridge. The major part of the draining of the Fens was effected in the late 18th and early 19th century, again involving fierce local rioting and sabotage of the works. The final success came in the 1820s when windpumps were replaced with powerful coal-powered steam engines , such as Stretham Old Engine , which were themselves replaced with diesel-powered pumps, such as those at Prickwillow Museum and, following World War II ,
1971-808: The Fen Tigers tried to sabotage the drainage efforts. Two cuts were made in the Cambridgeshire Fens to join the River Great Ouse to the sea at King's Lynn – the Old Bedford River and the New Bedford River , the latter being known also as the Hundred Foot Drain . Both cuts were named after the Fourth Earl of Bedford who, along with some gentlemen adventurers ( venture capitalists ), funded
2044-520: The Fenland has become a major arable agricultural region for grains and vegetables. The Fens are particularly fertile, containing around half of the grade 1 agricultural land in England. The Fens have been referred to as the "Holy Land of the English" because of the former monasteries, now churches and cathedrals , of Crowland , Ely , Peterborough , Ramsey and Thorney . Other significant settlements in
2117-464: The Fens during the early 8th century, Saint Guthlac was described as attacked on several occasions by people he believed were Britons , who were then living in the Fens. However, Bertram Colgrave, in the introduction to one edition, doubts this account, because of the lack of evidence of British survival in the region. British place names in the area are "very few". Monastic life was disrupted by Danish (Anglo-Saxon) raids and centuries of settlement from
2190-436: The Fens include Boston , Downham Market , King’s Lynn , Mildenhall , March , Spalding , and Wisbech . The Fens are very low-lying compared with the chalk and limestone uplands that surround them – in most places no more than 10 metres (33 ft) above sea level. As a result of drainage and the subsequent shrinkage of the peat fens, many parts of the Fens now lie below mean sea level . Although one writer in
2263-462: The Fens is involved in environmental stewardship schemes, under which 270 miles (430 km) of hedgerow and 1,780 miles (2,860 km) of ditches are managed, providing large wildlife corridors and habitat for endangered animals such as the water vole . In 2003, the Great Fen Project was initiated to return parts of the Fens to their original pre-agricultural state. The periodic flooding by
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2336-447: The Fens were once permanently flooded, creating lakes or meres , while others were flooded only during periods of high water. In the pre-modern period, arable farming was limited to the higher areas of the surrounding uplands, the fen islands, and the so-called "Townlands", an arch of silt ground around the Wash , where the towns had their arable fields. Though these lands were lower than
2409-739: The Lindsey Level inhabited by farmers by 1638, but the onset of the Civil War permitted the destruction of the works until the act of Parliament that led to the formation of the Black Sluice Commissioners, the Black Sluice Drainage Act 1765 ( 5 Geo. 3 . c. 86 ). Many original records of the Bedford Level Corporation, including maps of the Levels, are now held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies Service at
2482-543: The North Sea, which renewed the character of the Fenlands, was characterised conventionally by the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica as "ravaged by serious inundations of the sea". The modern approach is to allow a little farmland to be flooded again and turned into nature reserves . By introducing fresh water, the organisers of the project hope to encourage species such as the snipe , lapwing and bittern . Endangered species such as
2555-526: The Peterborough & District League on a Saturday afternoon. It plays its home games at Brudenell Playing Field in Baston, and is sponsored by local businesses. Baston cricket club plays in the south Lincs Division 1 league. The club won promotion last year by winning the division 2 title. Off the playing field the cricket club is advancing at a rapid pace. Last year saw the club purchase covers, and new this season
2628-535: The Roman period, water levels fell once again. Settlements developed on the new silt soils deposited near the coast. Though water levels rose once again in the early medieval period, by this time artificial banks protected the coastal settlements and the interior from further deposits of marine silts. Peats continued to develop in the freshwater wetlands of the interior fens. The wetlands of the fens have historically included: Major areas for settlement were: In general, of
2701-547: The combined capacity to pump 16,500 Olympic-size swimming pools in a 24-hour period or to empty Rutland Water in 3 days. As of 2008, there are estimated to be 4,000 farms in the Fens involved in agriculture and horticulture, including arable, livestock, poultry, dairy, orchards, vegetables and ornamental plants and flowers. They employ about 27,000 people in full-time and seasonal jobs. In turn, they support around 250 businesses involved in food and drink manufacturing and distribution, employing around 17,500 people. Over 70% of
2774-543: The construction and were rewarded with large grants of the resulting farmland. The work was directed by engineers from the Low Countries . Following this initial drainage, the Fens were still extremely susceptible to flooding, so windpumps were used to pump water away from affected areas. The Company of Adventurers were more formally incorporated in 1663 as the Bedford Level Corporation . However, their success
2847-544: The distant farms in their own parishes. After the end of Roman Britain, there is a break in written records. It is thought that some Iceni may have moved west into the Fens to avoid the Angles , who were migrating across the North Sea from Angeln (modern Schleswig ) and settling what would become East Anglia . Surrounded by water and marshes, the Fens provided a safe area that was easily defended and not particularly desirable to invading Anglo-Saxons . It has been proposed that
2920-467: The early 19th century. There may have been some drainage efforts during the Roman period, including the Car Dyke along the western edge of the Fenland between Peterborough and Lincolnshire, but most canals were constructed for transportation. How far seaward the Roman settlement extended is unclear owing to the deposits laid down above them during later floods. The early post-Roman settlements were made on
2993-615: The edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds to the seaside town of Skegness . These were drained in the 18th and 19th centuries. At the end of the most recent glacial period , known in Britain as the Devensian , ten thousand years ago, Britain and continental Europe were joined by the ridge between Friesland and Norfolk . The topography of the bed of the North Sea indicates that the rivers of
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3066-508: The fen, the parish's northern boundary lies on the River Glen , beyond which is Thurlby . To the south is Langtoft and beyond King Street in the west is Greatford . The parish lies on a fan of gravel from the Devensian glacial period, which spreads from the upland mouth of the valley of the River Welland , to the east of Stamford, Lincolnshire . There are two main forms of business in
3139-417: The fen-islands was the 23-square-mile (60 km ) Kimmeridge Clay island, on which the cathedral city of Ely was built: its highest point is 39 metres (128 ft) above mean sea level. Without artificial drainage and flood protection, the Fens would be liable to periodic flooding, particularly in winter due to the heavy load of water flowing down from the uplands and overflowing the rivers. Some areas of
3212-627: The fringes of large rivers. The different types are produced by factors such as water level, nutrients, ice scour , and waves. Large tracts of tidal marsh have been embanked and artificially drained. They are usually known by the Dutch name of polders . In Northern Germany and Scandinavia they are called Marschland , Marsch or marsk ; in France marais maritime . In the Netherlands and Belgium, they are designated as marine clay districts. In East Anglia ,
3285-447: The highest in the world, and therefore are important in supporting fisheries. Marshes also improve water quality by acting as a sink to filter pollutants and sediment from the water that flows through them. Marshes partake in water purification by providing nutrient and pollution consumption. Marshes (and other wetlands) are able to absorb water during periods of heavy rainfall and slowly release it into waterways and therefore reduce
3358-536: The highest parts of the drained fen are now only a few metres above mean sea level, only sizeable embankments of the rivers, and general flood defences, stop the land from being inundated. Nonetheless, these works are now much more effective than they were. The Fens today are protected by 60 miles (97 km) of embankments defending against the sea and 96 miles (154 km) of river embankments. Eleven internal drainage board (IDB) groups maintain 286 pumping stations and 3,800 miles (6,100 km) of watercourses, with
3431-540: The land between the rivers. The internal drainage was organised by levels or districts, each of which includes the fen parts of one or several parishes . The details of the organisation vary with the history of their development, but the areas generally include: Bourne Fen and Deeping Fen lie in the southern most parts of Lincolnshire, between the Rivers Welland and the Bourne Eau with the River Glen running between
3504-474: The less stable peat. Since the 19th century, all of the acid peat in the Fens has disappeared. Drying and wastage of peats has greatly reduced the depth of the alkaline peat soils and reduced the overall elevation of large areas of the peat fens. It is also recorded that peat was dug out of the East and West Lincolnshire fens in the 14th century and used to fire the salterns of Wrangle and Friskney. In later centuries it
3577-469: The magnitude of flooding. Marshes also provide the services of tourism, recreation, education, and research. Marshes differ depending mainly on their location and salinity . These factors greatly influence the range and scope of animal and plant life that can survive and reproduce in these environments. The three main types of marsh are salt marshes , freshwater tidal marshes , and freshwater marshes . These three can be found worldwide, and each contains
3650-569: The modern fen road follows it. At the end of the village, near King Street, was an Anglian cemetery which was in use up to about the year 500. This coincides approximately with the date of the beginning of King Arthur 's exploits, as reported by the Historia Brittonum , when Arthur fought his first battle at the mouth of the River Glen and stopped the spread of Anglo-Saxon settlement for fifty years. The Anglo-Saxon cemetery, of funerary urns,
3723-517: The monasteries played a significant part in the early efforts at drainage of the Fens. During most of the 12th century and the early 13th century, the south Lincolnshire fens were afforested . The area was enclosed by a line from Spalding, along the River Welland to Market Deeping , then along the Car Dyke to Dowsby and across the fens to the Welland. It was deforested in the early 13th century. There
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#17328511688473796-479: The most diverse of the three types of marsh. Some examples of freshwater marsh types in North America are: Wet meadows occur in shallow lake basins, low-lying depressions, and the land between shallow marshes and upland areas. They also happen on the edges of large lakes and rivers. Wet meadows often have very high plant diversity and high densities of buried seeds. They are regularly flooded but are often dry in
3869-532: The names of West Walton , Walsoken and Walpole suggest the native British population, with the Wal- coming from the Old English walh , meaning "foreigner". However, the villages are in close proximity to the old Roman sea wall, so the wal- element is more probably from wal or weal , meaning "wall". Walton is generally believed to mean "wall-town", Walsoken to mean "the district under particular jurisdiction by
3942-533: The next few thousand years both saltwater and freshwater wetlands developed as a result. Silt and clay soils were deposited by marine floods in the saltwater areas and along the beds of tidal rivers, while organic soils, or peats, developed in the freshwater marshes. Fenland water levels peaked in the Iron Age; earlier Bronze and Neolithic settlements were covered by peat deposits, and have only recently been found after periods of extensive droughts revealed them. During
4015-478: The old historic county of Huntingdonshire ), and western most parts of Norfolk and Suffolk . Most of the Fens lie within a few metres of sea level . As with similar areas in the Netherlands , much of the Fenland originally consisted of fresh- or salt-water wetlands. These have been artificially drained and continue to be protected from floods by drainage banks and pumps. With the support of this drainage system,
4088-453: The parish: arable farming and gravel extraction. The flooded gravel pits subsequently lend themselves to development for leisure pursuits such as angling , birdwatching and watersports . The gravel was washed down from the tundra environment to the west and deposited in the periglacial lake , known as Lake Fenland, below the icy waters of which the site of Baston then lay. Independent special school Kirkstone House School has been in
4161-419: The peat fens before the peat shrinkage began, the more stable silt soils were reclaimed by medieval farmers and embanked against any floods coming down from the peat areas or from the sea. The rest of the Fenland was dedicated to pastoral farming , fishing, fowling , and the harvesting of reeds or sedge for thatch. In this way, the medieval and early modern Fens stood in contrast to the rest of England, which
4234-410: The road between King Street , a road built in the second century, and Baston Fen which is on the margin of the much bigger Deeping Fen . Until the nineteenth century, the heart of Deeping Fen was a common fen on which all the surrounding villages had rights of turbary , fowling and pasture . A significant Roman feature of Baston is the Roman road leading across the fen towards Spalding . Part of
4307-463: The sheltered side of a shingle or sandspit . The currents there carry the fine particles around to the quiet side of the spit, and sediment begins to build up. These locations allow the marshes to absorb the excess nutrients from the water running through them before they reach the oceans and estuaries. These marshes are slowly declining. Coastal development and urban sprawl have caused significant loss of these essential habitats. Although considered
4380-427: The small electric stations that are still used today. The dead vegetation of the peat remained undecayed because it was deprived of air (the peat being anaerobic). When it was drained, the oxygen of the air reached it, since then the peat has been slowly oxidizing. This, together with the shrinkage on its initial drying and the removal of soil by the wind, has meant that much of the Fens lies below high tide level . As
4453-511: The southern part of eastern England flowed into the Rhine , thence through the English Channel . From the Fens northward along the modern coast, the drainage flowed into the northern North Sea basin . As the ice melted, the rising sea level drowned the lower lands, leading ultimately to the present coastline. These rising sea levels flooded the previously inland woodland of the Fenland basin; over
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#17328511688474526-492: The summer. Vernal pools are a type of marsh found only seasonally in shallow depressions in the land. They can be covered in shallow water, but in the summer and fall, they can be completely dry. In western North America, vernal pools tend to form in open grasslands, whereas in the east, they often occur in forested landscapes. Further south, vernal pools form in pine savannas and flatwoods . Many amphibian species depend upon vernal pools for spring breeding; these ponds provide
4599-469: The three principal soil types found in the Fenland today, the mineral-based silt resulted from the energetic marine environment of the creeks, the clay was deposited in tidal mud-flats and salt-marsh, while the peat grew in the fen and bog. The peat produces black soils, which are directly comparable to the American muck soils . A roddon , the dried raised bed of a watercourse, is more suitable for building than
4672-575: The two Fens and the area covers both the town of Bourne as well as The Deepings including the villages of Langtoft and Baston . The Lindsey Level, also known as the Black Sluice District, was first drained in 1639 and extends from the Glen and Bourne Eau to Swineshead and then across to Kirton . Its waters is carried mostly though the South Forty-Foot Drain through to the Haven at Boston though
4745-483: The type of marsh typical of the area, which has neutral or alkaline water and relatively large quantities of dissolved minerals , but few other plant nutrients . The Fens are a National Character Area , based on their landscape, biodiversity, geodiversity and economic activity. The Fens lie inland of the Wash , and are an area of nearly 1,500 sq mi (3,900 km ) in the south east of Lincolnshire , most of Cambridgeshire (which also includes parts of
4818-451: The village since 1964. Baston CE Primary School was opened in the village in July 1993. In 2002, a group of local residents decided that the village needed an area where a range of sports could be conducted. The cost of a sports hall was thought to be prohibitive, so the project was focused on a multi-use sports and skateboarding area. Following a village-wide survey, which had a 37% return rate,
4891-608: The wall", and Walpole to mean simply "wall-pole" (Old English wal and pal ). When written records resume in Anglo-Saxon England, the names of a number of peoples of the Fens are recorded in the Tribal Hidage and Christian histories. They include North Gyrwe (Peterborough and Crowland), South Gyrwe (Ely), the Spalda (Spalding), and Bilmingas (part of south Lincolnshire). In the early Christian period of Anglo-Saxon England,
4964-654: The year and generally have a circular shape. As the playa dries during the summer, conspicuous plant zonation develops along the shoreline. Prairie potholes are found in northern North America, such as the Prairie Pothole Region . Glaciers once covered these landscapes, and as a result, shallow depressions were formed in great numbers. These depressions fill with water in the spring. They provide important breeding habitats for many species of waterfowl. Some pools only occur seasonally, while others retain enough water to be present all year. Many kinds of marsh occur along
5037-522: Was found by Rev. Edward Trollope in 1851. He found around 10 burials in 1863 and traces of another 16 were found in 1963 Like most places in Europe, Baston suffered from the plague . Some Baston plague victims are shown in burial lists. A possible plague burial was uncovered during the building of a corn dryer. The 'Baston Pig' was a name for the Lincolnshire Curly Coat pig. Baston is served by
5110-453: Was primarily an arable agricultural region. Since the advent of modern drainage in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Fens have been radically transformed. Today arable farming has almost entirely replaced pastoral. The economy of the Fens is heavily invested in the production of crops such as grains, vegetables, and some cash crops such as rapeseed and canola . Drainage in the Fenland consists of both river drainage and internal drainage of
5183-445: Was short-lived. Once drained of water, the peat shrank, and the fields lowered further. The more effectively they were drained, the worse the problem became, and soon the fields were lower than the surrounding rivers. By the end of the 17th century, the land was under water once again. Though the three Bedford Levels together formed the biggest scheme, they were not the only ones. Lord Lindsey and his partner Sir William Killigrew had
5256-526: Was the Earl of Bedford, who employed Cornelius Vermuyden as engineer. Contrary to popular belief, Vermuyden was not involved with the draining of the Great Fen in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk in the 1630s, but only became involved with the second phase of construction in the 1650s. The scheme was imposed despite huge opposition from locals who were losing their livelihoods based on fishing and wildfowling. Fenmen known as
5329-560: Was used locally for winter fuel and its digging controlled by the Duchy of Lancaster . Written records of earthquakes in the Fen area appear as early as 1048. According to Historia Ingulfi, p. 64, (1684) this took place in Lincolnshire. In 1117 one affected Holland, Lincs, "endangering and injuring Crowland Abbey ". In 1185 Lincoln was damaged. In 1448 a shock was recorded in south Lincolnshire ( Ingulfi, p. 526). In 1750 John Moore records
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