Transcribed from the 1812 W. G. Whittingham edition by David Price, email
ccx074@pglaf.org
[Picture: Book cover]
THE
HISTORY
OF
LYNN,
_Civil_, _Ecclesiastical_, _Political_, _Commercial_, _Biographical_,
_Municipal_, _and Military_,
FROM
THE EARLIEST ACCOUNTS TO THE PRESENT TIME;
INTERSPERSED
With occasional remarks on such national occurrences as may serve to
elucidate the real state of the town, or the manners, character,
and condition of the inhabitants at different periods.
TO WHICH IS PREFIXED
A COPIOUS INTRODUCTORY ACCOUNT
OF ITS
_Situation_, _Harbour_, _Rivers_, _Inland Trade and Navigation_,
_the Ancient and Modern State_
OF
Marshland, Wisbeach, and the Fens,
AND
Whatever is most remarkable, memorable, or interesting, in other
parts of the adjacent country.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
_BY WILLIAM RICHARDS_, _M.A._
_Honorary member of the Pennsylvania Society_, _for promoting the
Abolition_
_of Slavery_, _and the relief of free Negroes unlawfully held in
bondage_.
VOL. I.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LYNN:
PRINTED BY W. G. WHITTINGHAM,
AND SOLD BY R. BALDWIN; PATERNOSTER ROW; LONDON.
1812.
PREFACE.
Materials for a history of Lynn have been collected as long ago as the
reign of Charles II. by _Guybon Goddard_, then recorder of this town, and
brother-in-law of Sir William Dugdale. At his death, which happened, if
we are not mistaken, about 1677, those materials came into the possession
of his son Tho. Goddard Esq; from whom our corporation soon after
endeavoured to obtain them; but we cannot learn that they then succeeded;
nor does it appear that they ever came into their hands. What became of
them, whether still in being or not, we have never been able to learn:
and it is presumed that all the present members of our body Corporate are
equally uninformed. See p. 831.
About forty years after the death of Guybon Goddard, another attempt was
made to produce or compile a history of this town, by a nameless person,
but evidently a learned, ingenious, and industrious man. Unfortunately
his attention was chiefly engaged about the churches, and especially the
monuments and monumental inscriptions which they contained. These he
took no small pains with, and made fair drawings of most of them. This
work he carefully arranged, and fairly wrote out. It forms a moderate
folio volume, and is now in the possession, or at least in the hands, of
Mr. _Thomas King_ of this town, for we are informed that Dr. _Adams_ is
the real owner of it. There are at the end of it some curious documents
relating to divers ancient customs and occurrences, of which the compiler
of the present history has in some measure availed himself. The volume
was finished in 1724, and the author, it seems, died soon after.
Within a few years after his death, the work fell into the hands of Mr.
B. _Mackerell_, who, after making a few paltry additions to it, actually
published the greatest part of it verbatim under his own name, and it
constitutes the bulk of that volume which has ever since been called,
_Mackerell’s History of Lynn_. This act or achievement is disreputable
to Mackerell’s memory; but the plagiarism has been scarcely known or
noticed till now. He makes, in his preface, some slight obscure mention
of the MS. but deigns not to tell the author’s name, though it must have
been well known to him. He also boasts of his having had free access to
the _town records_, and having “diligently searched and perused them, for
a considerable time together.” For aught we know, this may be all very
true; but if it be so, he must have laboured to very small purpose, as
all the discoveries he has been able to make amount to very little, and
may be comprised within a very narrow compass.
_Parkin_ also, in his _continuation of Bloomfield’s History of Norfolk_,
and in his _Topography of Freebridge Hundred and Half_, has published a
history of Lynn, of above fifty large folio pages. It is in few hands,
and little known; and though it contains much useful information, (very
ill arranged,) it has no pretension to the character of a complete
history of the town. The same may be said of what has since appeared, in
the octavo history of Norfolk published at Norwich, and, more recently,
in the Norfolk Tour, and the Beauties of England; the former from the pen
of Mr. _Beatniffe_, and the latter from that of Mr. _Britton_. All these
are mere Epitomes, and never fail to excite in their readers a wish to
see a more copious and complete history of the place. Such a wish has
been often and very generally expressed; and some years ago, a young man,
of the name of _Delamore_, offered to gratify it, and supply this
deficiency and lack of service. He accordingly circulated printed
proposals for publishing, by subscription, a larger account of the town
than any that had yet appeared. But not meeting with sufficient
encouragement, he dropt the design, and soon after quitted this vicinity.
What materials he possessed, or how competent he was for the undertaking,
the present writer is not able to say. But it is very clear that the
public were not disposed to favour his proposal.
For some years after the last mentioned occurrence, there was no talk or
expectation of a new history of Lynn. But somewhat more than seven years
ago, a sudden and severe domestic affliction (from the effects of which
he has never recovered) obliged the present writer to seek in solitude
some alleviation of his sorrow, which he despaired of finding in the way
of social intercourse, and even found himself incapable of attempting it,
without offering unbearable violence to his feelings. Thus shut up in
retirement, and buried among books, he tried to beguile his melancholy,
by forming and pursuing certain literary projects; among which was an
_ecclesiastical history of Wales_, which had often before employed his
thoughts; and likewise a _general history of Lynn_, which has been his
place of residence now near forty years, and whose history had also, not
unfrequently, engaged his attention. In both these works he made some
progress; which coming to the knowledge of his friends, they urged him to
publish, but they were not agreed which should be published first: some
called for the former work, of which some hundreds of copies were soon
subscribed for; others advised him to complete and publish the History of
Lynn first, and these prevailed—it being more convenient for him just
then to attend to this than to the other. An agreement was consequently
made with one of the book-sellers for its publication; and the public
manifested a disposition to encourage the undertaking.
When the work was sent to the press, it was fully intended that it should
all be comprised in one volume; and this intention was persisted in, till
7 or 800 pages had been printed off. By that time the author had
received a large and unexpected quantity of new matter, much of it very
curious and interesting, which many of his subscribers wished him to make
use of and insert. He was therefore induced and constrained to depart
from his original design, and extend the work to two volumes. But as it
was then too late to have the pages numbered accordingly, they were of
course continued in a regular series through both volumes, so as to
amount in all to above 1200.
The enlargement or extension of the work, beyond the original design, has
occasioned some derangement of the author’s first plan, so as to give the
latter part of the work somewhat of the appearance of disorder and
confusion; which the author sincerely regrets, but it was perhaps
unavoidable, as the case stood. Had he possessed at first all the
materials he has since obtained, he flatters himself that the task he
undertook had been much better executed. Some of the latter or lately
received documents were found to cast a new light on divers facts
previously stated, so as to convince the author that he had been in
several instances mistaken. He therefore never failed to seize the
earliest opportunity to rectify those mistakes; for he was fully resolved
to make his history the vehicle of truth, as far as it lay in his power.
Of this he thinks he has given frequent proofs. Yet even this very
practice, of rectifying, without loss of time, any mistakes which he
found he had previously fallen into, will probably be classed, by some,
among the defects of this performance. Be it so. He is more desirous of
being classed among honest men, and lovers of truth, than among polished
writers, or methodical and elegant historians.
As to the CRITICS, _annual_, and _quarterly_, as well as _monthly_, he
has but little to say to them. He is very sensible of the defects of the
work; many of which however were unavoidable, in existing circumstances,
or in a first attempt like his, where many of the necessary materials
were not in his possession, or at his command, and seemed for a long
while unobtainable. Should the work come before their high tribunal, he
asks no favour. They will doubtless see in it many defects, but not more
perhaps than he is himself conscious of. They are welcome however to be
as severe as they please, provided they deal fairly, or with reason and
justice. It may be less cruel to exercise their severity here, than upon
some young authors, who are in quest of, and panting for popular
applause, or literary fame; neither of which has ever been sought for by
the present writer.
The work being now finished, after many unforeseen delays, the author
respectfully submits it to the examination and judgment of the candid and
intelligent reader, by whom, he doubts not, both its merits and demerits
will be rightly estimated. Whatever may be said or thought of the
execution, he thinks it must be admitted, that there is here brought
together such a mass of interesting information relating to this town, as
few people could have expected to see, when the design of this
publication was first advertised. So that there may now be obtained as
much knowledge of the ancient and modern affairs of this town, as of most
towns in the county, or in the kingdom. He regrets that so many
typographical errors escaped him in revising the sheets; the chief of
which he has now pointed out, in a table of errata, (which will be found
in each volume,) by the direction of which he requests the subscribers
forthwith to correct the reading.
It may have been expected, that this work would contain a _list of our
mayors_; but as no such list was known of, that might be depended upon
for its correctness, it has been omitted: nor did it seem to be at all
material, unless it had also been accompanied with lists of the
_recorders_, and other functionaries, which appeared unobtainable.—It was
intended to add an _alphabetical Index_; but as it would take up some
time, and increase too much the size of the concluding number, (already
almost three times as large at any of the others,) the design was given
up. The _Table of contents_ it is hoped, will supply, in a great
measure, the want of an index. Be that as it may, the work is now left
to take its chance and make its own way in the world—the author consoling
himself with the consciousness of having faithfully and honestly
performed the task he had undertaken.
_Lynn_, _July_, 1812.
CONTENTS.
_OF THE FIRST VOLUME_.
PART I.—INTRODUCTION.
CHAP. I.
_Site of Lynn—account of its harbour_, _and that of Wisbeach—ancient
and present state of its rivers—inland navigation—drainage—projects
of improvement—state of its shipping_, _commerce_, _and population_,
_at different periods_.
Page
SECT. 1. Situation of the town—its distance from the sea. 1
&c.—its harbour—river Ouse and its tributary streams.
SECT. 2. Further account of the river Ouse—remarkable 8
phenomenon—the poet Cowper—supposed etymology of the name
of Wisbeach—the Ouse diverted from its ancient course and
outlet—king John’s disastrous passage over that river, in
his last progress from Lynn—Extracts from Vancouver.
SECT. 3. Effects of the desertion of the Ouse and Nene, on 15
Wisbeach and parts adjacent.
SECT. 4. Effects on Lynn and its harbour and navigation, 22
of the great accession of fresh waters in the reign of
Henry III.
SECT. 5. Eaubrink Cut and other projects of former 27
times—with slight hints on the comparative state of the
shipping, commercial consequence and population of Lynn at
different periods.
CHAP. II.
_Of Marshland and adjoining parts_, _or great Fen Country—View of
their situation and revolutions in remote ages_, _or sketch of their
ancient history_.
SECT. 1. Account of their state before and after the 32
arrival of the Romans—character of that
people—establishment of their power here—improvements made
by them in these parts.
SECT. 2. Further strictures on the ancient state of this 37
country, and on the wonderful change it appears to have
undergone at a very remote and unknown period; from De
Serra’s account of a submarine forest on the coast of
Lincolnshire.
SECT. 3. Further observations from same paper—Epoch of the 42
destruction of the said forest—agency by which it was
effected, &c.—similar appearances eastward along the
Norfolk coast.
SECT. 4. Some further geological observations relating to 49
the fens, extracted from Dugdale’s Letters to Sir Thomas
Browne.
SECT. 5. Concise view of the ancient and modern history of 52
the Fen country, from Pennant’s Preface to his 3rd. vol. of
Arctic Zoology.
SECT. 6. Further account of the Fens, from the Beauties of 58
England.
SECT. 7. Of the Fens from the time of Henry VIII, or 64
rather that of Elizabeth, to the Revolution; giving an
account of the different projects of improvement proposed
and carried on during that period.
SECT. 8. Same subject continued to the present time 70
SECT. 9. Miscellaneous observations on the present 74
appearance, produce, and state of the Fens.
SECT. 10. Miscellaneous observations continued—fen-reeds 77
and their uses—starlings—tame geese, and singular
management of them—insalubriousness of Marshland—ancient
celebrity of the smeeth—decoys.
SECT. 11. Brief remarks on the parish churches of 87
Marshland and Holland; with a short sketch of the history
of the castle and town of Wisbeach.
SECT. 12. History of Wisbeach continued. 99
SECT. 13. Additional account of Marshland—Parkin—bishop of 112
Ely’s manor in Terrington—queen Henrietta—admiral
Bentinck—cross keys demolishers of banks prosecuted and
suppressed—high tides—destructive inundations—principal
divisions of Marshland.
SECT. 14. Biographical sketches of some of the most 121
distinguished personages of other times in Marshland and
its vicinity.
CHAP. III.
_Of the parts about Lynn_, _on the eastern side of the Ouse_.
SECT. 1. Aspect of the country—its agriculture and rural 135
economy—Wayland wood—memoir of Shuckforth—parish churches
and other edifices, ancient and modern.
SECT. 2. Further account of cables, edifices, and places 146
of ancient note in these
parts—Brancaster—Rising—Hunston—Castle-acre—Wormegay—
Middleton—Gaywood, &c.
SECT. 3. Account of modern palaces, and other notable 162
mansions in these
parts—Houghton—Holkham—Rainham—Narford—Narborough—Oxborough
SECT. 4. Biographical sketches of some of the most 174
celebrated or memorable personages who were of this part of
the country—Coke—Sir Henry and Sir John
Spelman—L’Estrange—Walpole—Fountain—Folkes—Horace
Walpole—Nelson—Bewley.
SECT. 5. Of the animals, and particularly the birds, of 193
this country
SECT. 6. Brief account of places hereabout, before 201
omitted—Sechey—Runcton—Downham—Denver—Helgay—Southery—
Feltwell—Methwold—Stoke, &c. Feltwell
new-fen-district—Fincham—Swaffham—Babingley—Sharnborne—
great malthouse—Hunston Light-house &c.
PART II. OF THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF LYNN, WITH A SKETCH OF THE
HISTORY FROM ITS FIRST RISE TO THE NORMAN CONQUEST.
CHAP. I.
_Of Lynn while Britain formed a part of the Roman empire_.
SECT. 1. Present town or borough of Lynn of no great 213
antiquity—its site not the same with that of the original
town—the probable site of the latter, and era of its
origin.
SECT. 2. Digression relating to the first introduction of 216
Christianity into Britain—Bardism.
SECT 3. Ancient history of Lynn continued—town supposed to 220
have been founded by a colony of foreigners introduced by
the Romans—etymology of its name—mistakes of Camden,
Spelman, &c.
SECT. 4. Lynn the mother-town of the fens—further account 223
of its supposed founders and original
inhabitants—remarkable works executed by them—great
improvers of the country—account continued to the
extinction of the Roman power.
CHAP. II.
_Immediate consequence of the abdication of the country by the
Romans_, _and probable fate of Lynn_.
SECT. 1. Character of the Anglo-Saxons, with general 228
observations on the invasion and conquest of this country
by them, and their barbarous treatment of the inhabitants.
SECT. 2. Of the ANGLES, from whom England and the English 235
language derive their names—they seize on the parts about
Lynn, and the whole province of the ancient ICENI, which
receives the denomination of East Anglia, and forms one of
the kingdoms of the Heptarchy—revival of Lynn in the mean
time—with remarks on the adjacent country.
SECT. 3. Of the _Saltworks_ formerly at and about 239
Lynn—paucity of appropriate materials to elucidate that
subject—apology.
CHAP. III.
_Of the religious profession of the first Anglian inhabitants of
Lynn—their renouncing heathenism_, _and assuming the christian
name—account of their conversion_, _and character of their
Christianity_.
SECT. 1. Heathenism the religion of this town at the 241
commencement of the Heptarchy—our townsmen and the rest of
the East Angles, with the other branches of the Heptarchy,
become professors of Christianity—account of their
conversion.
SECT. 2. Effects of the conversion of the East Angles, and 244
the sister kingdoms—character of their Christianity.
SECT. 3. Christianity of the ancient inhabitants of Lynn 248
and of this country further characterized—whether very
materially improved during the reign of ALFRED—remarks on
that reign—papal instructions to the first missionaries.
CHAP. IV.
_Miscellaneous observations_, _on the social distinctions and the
general state of the community among the Anglo-Saxons_.
SECT. 1. State of society at Lynn, and in this country, 253
before the conquest.
SECT. 2. Of the _Wittenagemote_ and other courts—maxims of 258
jurisprudence—institution of tythings—nuptial and funeral
rites—sacerdotal, domestic, and other customs among the
Anglo-Saxons.
SECT. 3. State of learning, and of the medical profession, 264
among the Anglo-Saxons.
SECT. 4. Expressive and remarkable names of the 266
months—state of the coinage or currency—general value of
different commodities in this country before the
conquest—slavery—comparison with the present course of
things.
SECT. 5. Probability that Lynn was formerly concerned in 270
the exportation of slaves—comparison between the ancient
and modern English slave dealers—_slaves_ and _horses_ the
chief exports of this country in those days—_corn_ not then
exported, though it had been formerly—imports, commerce,
miscellaneous hints and observations.
SECT. 6. Population of Lynn and the country in general, 277
before the conquest—condition of the bulk of the
inhabitants in the mean time—sufferings of the inhabitants
of Lynn and the adjacent country from the _Danes_—intrepid
and ferocious character of that people—instruments of
vengeance on the Anglo-Saxons—their despotism and character
not much changed by their conversion to Christianity, so
called—remarkable instances of imposition, superstition,
and credulity.
SECT. 7. Of the Heptarchy and its history—remarks on 284
_Egbert_, _Alfred_, and their most renowned
successors—character of _Canute_ and _Edward the
Confessor_—the latter the first of our monarchs that
touched for the Evil—remarks on that circumstance, and the
prevalence of that complaint in these parts.
SECT. 8. State of Lynn in the confessor’s time—chief sway 289
borne here then by Stigand, Ailmer, and Harold—great power
of the latter, and sketch of his character—obtains the
crown at the confessor’s death—is soon disturbed by two
formidable invasions; one from the Danish or Norwegian
shores under _Halfagar_, whom he vanquishes; the other from
France, under William the Norman bastard, in opposing whom
he is himself vanquished and slain, which places the
conqueror on the English throne without further struggle,
through the defection and machinations of our bishops and
clergy.
SECT. 9. Sketch of the practice of the _royal touch_ in 298
England, or a historical essay on the memorable _empiricism
of our English sovereigns_, from Edward the confessor to
George the first—credulity of _Whiston_ and
_Carte_—quackery, medical, political, and theological still
prevalent among us, though that of the _royal touch_ has
ceased—_Richard Brothers_, _Joanna Southcote_, and _William
Pitt_—memoir of the _Dumb doctor_.
PART III. HISTORY OF LYNN FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FRENCH OR
NORMANS IN ENGLAND TO THE REFORMATION.
CHAP. I.
Observations on the Conquest—account of the changes then 327
introduced—their effects on the kingdom in general, and on
Lynn and its vicinity in particular.
CHAP. II.
Further remarks on the revolutionary effects of the 342
Conquest, throughout the whole kingdom as well as at
Lynn—Catalogue of bishops to whose civil rule the town used
to be subject, or who bore temporal sway here till the
Reformation.
CHAP. III.
State of Lynn previously and subsequently to its becoming a 374
corporate town, or free burgh; or general remarks on that
event, and on the progressive state of society in the
cities and towns of this country, as well as at Lynn, in
those times—John, Henry III, and Henry VIII, great
benefactors to this town; the latter of whom put an end to
the temporal domination of the bishops here, and ought to
be held in grateful remembrance.
CHAP. IV.
Further observations on the history of Lynn during the same 390
period—horrid treatment of the Jews here—probable state of
the town as to its internal police and municipal economy
previously to its being declared a free burgh and receiving
its first royal charter—changes resulting from that
event—statement of subsequent occurrences.
CHAP. V.
State of society at Lynn during this period—the subject 408
elucidated from documents relative to the ancient
_gilds_—observations on the nature of those
institutions—very common in the country before the
reformation—names and number of those of Lynn.
SECT. 1. Observations on the origin of the gilds. 411
SECT. 2. Names and number of the Lynn gilds, with 415
additional observations.
SECT. 3. More particular account of some of our gilds. 419
SECT. 4. Account of the gilds continued. 439
SECT. 5. Account of the Holy Trinity company, or great 450
merchant’s gild.
SECT. 6. Account of the remaining gilds, and particularly 474
those of _St. Francis_ and _St. William_.
CHAP. VI.
_Account of the monasteries and religious houses formerly here_.
SECT. 1. Account of the house of _Benedictines_ in priory 489
lane, with a sketch of that religious order.
SECT. 2. Account of the convent of the _Carmelites_ or 493
White Friars, with a sketch of that order.
SECT. 3. Account of the convent of the _Franciscans_, 498
Friars Minors, or Grey Friars, with a sketch of that order.
SECT. 4. Account of the convent of the _Dominicans_ or 503
Black Friars, with a sketch of that order.
SECT. 5. Account of the convent of the Augustinians, or 513
Austin Friars, with a sketch of that older.
SECT. 6. Of the Friars de Penitentia, or brothers of 519
repentance, and their convent here—also the college of
Priests, and the hospital and church of St. John.
SECT. 7. Account of _St. Mary Magdalen’s Hospital_, Lazar 530
Houses, St. Lawrence’s Hospital &c.
SECT. 8. Of the _Red Mount_ and our Lady’s chapel 554
there—also her chapel by the Bridge, and the chapels of St.
Ann, St. Catherine, and St. Lawrence.
SECT. 9. Account of _St. James’s Chapel_ (now the 564
Workhouse) from its first erection, in the 12th. century,
to the present time; including an account of the
_management of the in-door pensioners there_, as well as
the out-door ones, and our present enormous _poor-rates_.
CHAP. VII.
_Brief_ Biographical _notices of the most remarkable and 585
distinguished personages who appeared among the inhabitants
of Lynn in the intervening period between the Conquest and
Reformation_. _Nicholas—Sawtre—Alan—Wallys—Baret—De
Bittering—Wentworth—Petipas—Miller_.
Postscript or supplement to the History of the Royal Touch
PART I.
INTRODUCTION.
CHAP. I.
Site of Lynn—Account of its harbour, and that of Wisbeach—Ancient and
present state of its rivers—Inland Navigation—Drainage—Projects of
improvement—State of its shipping, commerce, and population, at different
periods.
SECTION I.
_Situation of the town—its distance from the sea_, _&c.—its harbour—river
Ouse and its tributary streams_.
LYNN is situated on the eastern side of Marshland, and of the Great
Level, or Fen Country, about 12 miles from the Sea, 42 from Norwich, 46
from Cambridge, and 98 from London. {1} It stands partly on each side of
the Ouse, but chiefly on its eastern banks; though it is supposed to have
stood originally all on the opposite shore, and hence that part of it is
still called _Old Lynn_.
The Haven or Harbour is capacious, but the entrance to it is accounted
somewhat difficult, and even dangerous, owing to the numerous sandbanks,
and the frequent shiftings of the channel, occasioned by the loose and
light nature of the sandy and silty soil at the bottom. On which account
it is not deemed safe for ships to go in or out without pilots, who are,
or ought always to be well acquainted with the variations and actual
state of the channel. In the ages proceeding the 13th century this
harbour, compared with its present width, is said to have been very
narrow, being only a few perches over, though its depth of water was
then, probably, no less, if not greater than it is at present.
The Ouse over against the town, is reckoned about as wide as the Thames
above London Bridge. Its name is evidently of British origin, {2} and
corresponds with those of several others of our rivers; such as the
_Usk_, _Esk_, _Ex_, _Isis_, _&c._ The word signifies, a _stream_, or
_the river_, by way of eminence. It is called the _great Ouse_, to
distinguish it from that called the _little_ or _lesser Ouse_, which is
now one of its tributary streams, and joins it some way below _Ely_,
though it had formerly no connection with it. It is also called the
_eastern Ouse_, to distinguish it from the _northern_, or Yorkshire river
of the same name.
As Lynn owes most of its consequence to this river, which forms its
communication with the sea, and gives it so great an extent of inland
navigation, and consequently such a vast commercial intercourse with the
interior parts of the country, it will not be improper here to give some
account of it, together with its principal branches, or those tributary
streams which render it so considerable among the British navigable
rivers.
_Kinderley_, many years ago, has given the following account of this
river and its several branches: “The Ouse (says he) formerly _Usa or
Isa_, which is the most famous of all the rivers that pass through this
Level, has its original head on a gentle rising ground full of springs,
under Sisam in Northamptonshire, 54 miles from Erith bridge, at which
place it first touches the Isle of Ely. It falls by Brackley,
Buckingham, Newport Pagnel, Bedford, Huntingdon, and St. Ives, to Erith,
and so on till it comes to Lynn. It has 5 rivers emptying themselves
into it, beside many brooks and rills; _Grant_, _Mildenhall_, _Brandon_,
_Stoke_, and the river _Lenne_, or Sandringham Ea [otherwise _Nare_,]
which rises under Lycham, and comes by Castleacre, Narford, and Sechy.”
[He omits the _Nene_, which surely he ought to have mentioned.]
Afterward he adds, “That the Ouse by its situation, and having so many
navigable rivers falling into it from eight several counties, does
therefore afford a great advantage to trade and commerce, since hereby
two cities, and several great towns are therein served; as Peterborough,
Ely, Stamford, Bedford, St. Ives, Huntingdon, St. Neots, Northampton,
Cambridge, Bury St. Edmunds, Thetford, &c. with all sorts of heavy
commodities from Lynn, as Coals, Salt, Deals, Fir-timber, Iron, Pitch,
Tar, and Wine, thither imported; and from these parts great quantities of
Wheat, Rye, Coleseed, Barley, &c. are brought down these rivers, whereby
a great foreign and inland trade is carried on, and the breed of seamen
is increased. The Port of Lynn supplies _six_ counties wholly, and
_three_ in part.”
But of the Ouse and the other Lynn rivers, no one, perhaps, has given so
full and so good an account as Mr. _Skrine_, in his general account of
the British rivers.
“The Ouse (he says,) traverses a very considerable part of the
Midland counties of England, rising in two branches, not far from
Brackley and Towcester on the borders of Northamptonshire and
Oxfordshire, from whence its course is eastward, a little inclined to
the north, through Buckinghamshire, joined at Newport Pagnel by a
small stream from Ivinghoe in the south; to reach Bedford it descends
by many windings toward the south, and then joined by the _Hyee_ from
Woburn, and the _Ivel_ from Biggleswade, it pursues its original
direction to Huntingdon, where a combination of streams from the
south-west contributes to its increase. From thence it passes nearly
eastward through the centre of the Fens of Cambridgeshire, where it
receives the _Cam_ near Ely from the south-west, and afterwards the
_lesser Ouse_ from Woolpit and Ixworth in the south-east, joined by
the _Larke_ from Bury St. Edmunds; it then inclines more and more to
the north, till it falls into the great Gulph of the sea between the
projecting coasts of Norfolk and Lincolnshire, beneath the walls of
Lynn Regis.
“The Ouse is generally a stagnant stream, neither giving nor
receiving much beauty in all the great tract through which it passes.
Its course is uniformly dull and unimportant to Buckingham; nor is it
at all an object from the princely territory of _Stowe_, which
abounds in grand scenes and buildings.”
This river “does not improve much,” (he further observes) “as it
traverses the plain counties of Bedford and Huntingdon, though it
adds some consequence to their capitals, being there navigable; at
St. Ives it sinks into those great marshes which abound on this part
of the eastern coast, through Norfolk, Huntingdonshire,
Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire.
“The _Hyee_ which meets it a little below Bedford, passes near the
Duke of Bedford’s noble domain at Woburn Abbey, and the _Ivel_ flows
northward to it through a dull uninteresting tract of country.
“The _Cam_ is composed of two branches, one of which rises on the
borders of Bedfordshire, and unites with the other, which bears the
classic name of _Granta_, flowing from the confines of Essex, through
the highly ornamented grounds of Audley End. They unite near
Cambridge, and then run nearly eastward till the Ouse receives them,
a little way from Ely.
“The _Cam_ receives no small portion of beauty from the academical
shades of Cambridge, being crossed by bridges from most of the
principal Colleges, whose gardens join the public walks on its banks,
which are finely planted and laid out. The stream itself is but
stagnant and muddy, yet it adds something to the peculiar traits of
the landscape, with the several stone bridges; nor do the fronts of
the colleges, as they appear in succession, intermixed with thick
groves, any where shew themselves to such advantage. The Area in
front of Clare Hall, and the new building of King’s College, with its
superb chapel, matchless in that species of Gothic Architecture which
has been called “_the improved_,” exhibit one of the most striking
displays in England. Soon afterward the Cam sinks into the Fens,
where the proud pile and towers of Ely Cathedral appear finely
elevated over the level, just above the junction of the Cam and the
Ouse.
“A dreary tract of Marsh accompanies these united rivers to Downham
in Norfolk; nor does the country much improve afterwards, but the
channel becomes very considerable, and the exit of these rivers is
splendid, where the flourishing port and great trade of Lynn present
a croud of vessels.”
To the above account by Skrine, which is but imperfect, other rivers
might be added, which join the Ouse in the latter part of its progress,
and which ought not to be left here unnoticed; as the _Nene_, from
Peterborough, Whittlesea, and March; the _Wissey_ or _Winson_, from
Stoke, and the _Lenne_ or _Nare_, from Narborough and Sechhithe. The
former, a large branch of which joins the Ouse at Salter’s Lode, is a
Northamptonshire river, and rises near Catesby, under Anby Hill, in that
county, and making Northampton in its way, passes from thence to
Wellingborough, and along by Higham Ferrers, Thrapston, Oundle, Walmsford
or Wandesford, Castor, Peterborough, Whittlesea, March, and on to
Salter’s Lode and Lynn. The Wissey or Winson rises in the neighbourhood
of Necton and Bradenham, in Norfolk, and running by Pickingham,
Cressingham, Ikborough, Northwould, Stoke, and Helgay, enters the Ouse
some way above Downham. The Lenne or Nare, otherwise Sandringham Ea, is
also a Norfolk river, which after running by Litcham, Lexham, Castleacre,
Westacre, Narford, Narborough, Pentney, and Sechhithe enters the Ouse at
the South or upper end of the town of Lynn. It is a narrow, but in some
places a deep and rapid river, and navigable a good way into the country;
but has no very beautiful or striking sceneries any where upon or near
its banks. {7} Like all the rivers of this low, flat, and dull country,
it presents nothing that can be called striking or very remarkable,
unless it be, a perpetual succession, or uniformity of dullness.
SECTION II.
_Further account of the river Ouse—remarkable phenomenon—the poet
Cowper—supposed etymology of the name of Wisbeach—the Ouse diverted from
its ancient course and outlet—King John’s disastrous passage over that
river_, _in his last progress from Lynn—Extract from Vancouver_.
In the respectable work called The Beauties of England, this remarkable
circumstance is quoted from _Walsingham_ relating to the river Ouse—That
on the first of January 1399 it suddenly ceased to flow between the
villages of Snelson and Harrold near Bedford, leaving its channel so bare
of water that the people walked at the bottom for full three miles. {8}
So strange a phenomenon seems not very easy to account for. It is said
to have been for a long time considered as _ominous_ of those dire
dissentions and bloody wars which the opposite claims of the rival Houses
of York and Lancaster shortly afterward occasioned. Nor is it at all
wonderful that such an idea should gain credit in those dark and
superstitious times: but to men of enlightened minds it must appear a
very idle and pitiful conceit. A Dr. Childrey endeavoured to account for
the said phenomenon, by supposing the stream above to have been congealed
by a sudden frost: but this also is very properly deemed untenable by the
writers of the work above mentioned; and they assign, as the most
probable cause, in their opinion, that the earth had suddenly sunk in
some part of the channel, so as to form there a deep and capacious
cavity, into which the waters flowed till it was filled up, leaving the
channel below in the mean time nearly dry, so that people might then
actually walk at the bottom, as the story asserts. This appears
reasonable enough, and was probably the real case; but as it cannot be
now very interesting there seems no need to investigate it any further.
Dull and uninspiring, and in no sense classical ground, or a favourite
haunt of the muses, as the banks of the Ouse have been generally, and
perhaps justly considered, it must not be forgotten that they are become
of late entitled to no small portion of celebrity, by the distinguished
productions of the ingenious and excellent COWPER, one of the best, if
not the very best of all our English poets of these latter days. He
spent the greatest part of his time, and composed most of his works in
the vicinity of this river. Henceforth it may therefore be deemed a
classic stream: but it will be long, perhaps, before its banks shall have
again the honour of numbering among their inhabitants a poet or a man of
equal worth, genius, or renown. {9}
Here it may be proper further to observe, that the Ouse did not always
visit Lynn, or pass that way in its progress to the Ocean. In ancient
times its course is said to have been by Wisbeach, to which that town
probably owes its name: _Wis_, or _Wys_, being apparently but another
name of the _Ouse_, and _Wisbeach_ the very same thing with _Ousebeach_,
and signifying the beach, side, or bank of the Ouse; in other words, a
place or town on the Shore and near the mouth of that river. {10}
What diverted this river from its ancient and original course is said to
have been a great inland flood, which, meeting with obstruction, choked
up the channel (already become bad and neglected) broke over the banks,
and deluged the fens to a vast extent; from the effects of which they
have never been fully recovered to this day.
This flood so deprived of a passage to the sea by the usual channel, and
consequently overflowing the adjacent country to a great depth, became a
most grievous and ruinous annoyance to the Fen people. At last, in order
to remove so unbearable and terrible a nuisance, instead of taking common
sense for their guide, and following nature, by opening the channel to
the ancient outfall at Wisbeach, they determined, seemingly, to force
nature, and set common-sense at defiance, by opening a passage for the
inundating waters, and consequently for the future course of the great
Ouse, the Cam, and the Larke into the narrow bed of the lesser Ouse, from
Little-port Chair to Priests Houses, across that ridge, or higher ground,
by which nature seemed to have forbidden the union of these rivers. {11}
In this ill judged and preposterous measure most of the existing evils in
regard to the bad state of the Lynn and Wisbeach Harbours, the inland
navigation and the drainage of the Fens have probably originated. The
Ouse and the other rivers before mentioned have ever since followed the
same new and unnatural track: Nor is it now very likely that they will
ever again be permitted to follow any other. This memorable event,
according to _Dugdale_, happened in the reign of Henry the third: so that
in the reign of King _John_, the great patron of Lynn, the river or body
of fresh water which flowed that way was but very small and narrow; and
it was in crossing the Ouse, which did not then pass by Lynn, that he
lost his baggage and treasures, and probably many of his men. Ancient
records say that it was in crossing _Wellstream_, which was then the name
of the Ouse in its approach to Wisbeach and the Sea, that the said King
suffered those losses. {12}
The following Extract from _Vancouver’s_ APPENDIX to his _Agricultural
Report_ will serve, it is thought, to corroborate some of the foregoing
observations.—
“From the highlands in Suffolk (between the Mildenhall and Brandon
rivers) to the east of Welney, Outwel, Emneth, and thence to the sea
a positive dividing ground exists, formed by the hand of nature,
strongly marked, and distinctly to be seen between the waters of the
Lynn and of the Wisbeach Ouse. The hanging level, or natural
inclination of the Country on the north side of this dividing ground
draws the waters off to the sea through the lesser Ouse to the
outfall of Lynn; and on the south side of it draws them off to the
sea through the greater Ouse to the outfall of Wisbeach. To the
cutting through this dividing ground, in order to force the water of
the greater into the lesser Ouse, are all the evils of the south and
middle levels of the fens, and of the country below originally and
solely to be ascribed. At this time the bed of the Ouse where Denver
Sluices now stand, was at least 13 feet below the general surface of
the surrounding country; and then it was that, by the free action and
reaction of the tides the waters flowed five hours in the haven of
Lynn, ascended unto the Stoke and Brandon rivers, and into other
streams which nature had wisely appropriated to be discharged through
that outfall; forming the bed of the Ouse to one gradually inclined
plain _from the junction of the principal branches of that river into
the low country to the level of the Ocean_, _very near or in the
harbour of Lynn_. The Counteracting this disposition of nature by
forcing a greater quantity of water into the river than it could
discharge into the sea during the time of ebb, necessarily occasioned
the highland and foreign waters to override all those, which during
the time of ebb, would naturally have drained into the Lynn river,
and gave the waters of Buckingham and Bedford an exit into the sea in
preference to those which lay inundating the country within a few
miles, of their natural outfall.—In this condition at present are all
the lower parts of the country bordering upon the Lynn Ouse; and the
country above Denver Sluices, Downham, Marshland, and Bardolph fens,
exhibits the most important of many other melancholy examples and
evidences of it. In the higher parts of the country the consequences
of this measure seem to have been severely experienced on the lands
exposed to the unembanked waters of the old Ouse, between Hermitage
and Harrimere. The Old Bedford river was then cut from Erith to
Salter’s Lode, as a slaker to the Ouse, to relieve the country
through which the Ouse flowed, from Erith to Ely. The Ouse waters
thus divided a great part of them descended through the Old Bedford
river in a straight line of twenty miles into the Lynn Ouse. But as
that work was judged insufficient and defective, the New Bedford, or
one hundred foot river was determined upon, and Sluices were erected
at Hermitage to drive all the water of old Ouse from Erith (through
the One hundred foot) into the Lynn Ouse; but that river not having
sufficient capacity to utter them to sea, they reverted up the Ouse,
the Stoke and Brandon rivers, drowning the whole of that country, and
finally urging the necessity of erecting Denver Sluices, as the only
apparent cure for the evils with which the country was then
oppressed, and seemed further threatened with. In the execution of
this business, with a view of bringing the bottom of the Ouse on a
level with that of the hundred foot river (which was cut only five
feet deep) it was judged expedient to raise a Dam eight feet high
across the bed of the Ouse, upon the top of which the Sole or base of
Denver Sluices was laid. This measure has not only defeated the
purpose it was designed to promote, but has been the unfortunate
cause of a body of sand and sea sediment being deposited in the bed
of the Lynn Ouse at least eight feet deep at Denver Sluices, and only
terminating in its injurious consequences at the mouth of the Lynn
Channel. This shews to every calm and candid mind the necessity of
duly considering the probable effects of counteracting the laws of
nature, in cases where nature appears experimentally to have had
success on her side.—From a due consideration of the obstacles which
appear at this time to exist in what has long been considered the
principal outfalling drain to the Middle and South levels of the
fens, it is surely reasonable to direct our attention to the general
inclination of the country with respect to the sea, and to what has
all along been pointed out by nature as the main outlet thither, for
the waters of the middle and south levels, and see if some means
cannot yet be devised for recovering the general course of the
ancient and voluntary passage of the waters through their natural
channel of Wisbeach to the sea.”
The above passage merits serious and particular attention. The
undisputed and indisputable fact, that the course of the Ouse lay
formerly by Wisbeach, seems a clear and decisive proof that it was its
natural course, and so may be considered as corroborating a great part at
least of the above reasoning. Upon the whole, therefore, it seems highly
probable that the evils now existing and complained of, as to the bad
state of the Wisbeach and Lynn harbours, the inland navigation and fen
drainage, have mostly originated in the abovementioned desertion of the
Ouse from its ancient and natural outfall, and the forcing of it to Lynn
through the channel of the lesser Ouse, in the 13th century, and reign of
Henry III. as was before observed.
SECTION III.
_Effects of the desertion of the Ouse and Nene on Wisbeach and parts
adjacent_.
After the above mentioned disastrous aberration of the Ouse some plans,
it seems, were formed, and royal Commissions issued to bring it back
again into its old deserted channel by Wisbeach, but all proved in the
end ineffectual and fruitless, so that the port of Wisbeach, of course
would be materially injured. “Of old time” (says Badeslade—that is,
while the Ouse and the Nene discharged themselves that way) “ships of
great burden resorted to Wisbeach”—but after those rivers had deserted
their ancient outlet, that town soon ceased to be accessible to large
vessels. The bed or channel below the town being forsaken by the said
rivers, (or at most occupied only by an inconsiderable branch of the
Nene, which must have been insufficient to grind or scour it to its
former or usual depth,) would gradually be filled up in time with silt
and sand; and which evidently has been the case. This is confirmed by a
remarkable circumstance related by _Dugdale_—That in deepening the
Wisbeach river in 1635, (about 300 years after the desertion of the
Ouse,) “the workmen, at eight feet below the then bottom came to another
bottom which was stony, and there at several distances found seven boats
that had lain there overwhelmed with sand for many ages.” {16a}
_Atkins_, who wrote in 1608, and dedicated his paper to _Andrews_ bishop
of Ely, speaks of the Wisbeach channel as “anciently an arm of the sea;”
{16b} and says that the time was when all the waters of the Ouse, even
those which then passed from Littleport Chair to Lynn had their passage
by _Welney_ and _Well_ to the North Seas at Wisbeach, and from thence to
the Washes—and he further observes that writers have said, that King
_John’s_ people perished in the _Waters of Well_. {16c} From Thorney Red
Book he also shews, that _Well Stream_ was an ancient appellation of the
Wisbeach river. He further adds, that this outfall, or arm of the sea,
had Holland and a part of the Isle on one side, and Marshland on the
other; these were defended from it by great sea-banks, which in the time
of Henry VI were ordained to be made and maintained fifty feet high.
Hither of old resorted (he says) ships and vessels of great burden. But
the sea, still forsaking the Isle, made the whole passage between
Wisbeach and the Washes high marshes and sands; and by the decay of the
river, the channel, or outfall, became so shallow and weak, as to admit
of people often going over on foot, bare legged under the knees. He also
imputes much blame to the people about Wisbeach, in not scouring and
dyking the river, as by ancient laws and presentments they ought to have
done; and not preserving and maintaining the petty sewers and drains. In
consequence of these omissions, not only the fens were drowned, but the
means were also lost of draining 13 or 14000 acres of inland grounds, the
support of three or four towns on the North of Wisbeach.
That the bad effects of the desertion of the Ouse and Nene from their
ancient outfall at Wisbeach, soon became very grievous to that town and
the adjacent country, appears by the frequent complaints made, and laws
enacted for their relief. Some of those laws were made in the reign of
Henry VI, and measures were taken, it seems, in consequence of them, for
the relief and benefit of the sufferers. The most important and
beneficial of all those measures appears to be that adopted toward the
latter part of the 15th century under the direction of bishop _Morton_.
{18} “That prelate finding (says Atkins) that beside its being a very
chargeable course to his people of the hundred of Wisbeach, once in four
or five years to dyke this river, and that notwithstanding this dyking of
the river, the outfall below to the seaward nevertheless decayed; and
finding that without a great head of fresh waters, to scour both the
river and the outfall, all would be lost, took a part of _Hercules’
labour_ upon him, and strove to bring in great abundance of fresh waters,
by divers courses, out of the Fens, to maintain this channel: viz. the
rivers Nene and Welland from _Southea_, and the river of the great cross,
or Plantwater, from the united branches of Nene and Ouse, descending by
_Benwick_.” But the bishop’s principal undertaking seems to have been
the cut of 14 miles, from Peterborough to Guyhorn, by which a large
portion of the Nene was brought down to Wisbeach, and proved of up small
benefit to that town and harbour, as well as to the drainage of the
country. This cut has transmitted the bishop’s name deservedly and
honourably to posterity; it being ever since known and distinguished
under the denomination of _Morton’s Leam_. Happy had it been for the
world, if all those of his order had deserved so well of their neighbours
and of their country. {19}
“By this doing” (says Atkins, referring to the works of bishop Morton)
“Wisbeach Fens were made good Sheep pastures, and the fall of the water
at Wisbeach became so great, that no man would adventure under the
bridge, with a boat, but by veering through, &c. But succeeding ages (he
further observes) neglecting these good provisions, have thereby lost the
benefit.” The blame of this neglect, both Atkins and Sir Clement Edmunds
seem to lay entirely on the total want of public spirit, or the selfish
and sordid disposition of the people of Wisbeach, who strove at all
events to avoid the expence, alleging that the benefit of cleansing and
dyking the outfall would altogether accrue to the behoof of the upland
country, and therefore that they [the inhabitants of the said upland
country] ought to put their hands to the work, and contribute towards it
in some reasonable measure. The uplanders, on the other hand, produced
divers presentments, some of them as high as Henry VI, shewing, that they
ought not to be charged; at the same time expressing a willingness to
yield a reasonable aid, when the work was done, if it proved serviceable.
But those of Wisbeach required a previous contribution, to be expended as
the work should proceed. Their selfishness and perverseness, on these
occasions, carried them, it seems, to very extravagant and ridiculous
lengths, to elude the charge: “one while saying, they cared not if
Wisbeach were a dry town; another while by thinking to keep it as a
standing pool; [and again] another while enforcing [or urging] the making
of a Sluice between the town and the sea, that the tide should not silt
up the river, saying that otherwise the charge of dyking the river would
be but cast away.—And to the charge of this Sluice they would call in the
high-country people, such as they knew would not easily be brought to it,
so that nothing might be done.” This preposterous conduct of the
Wisbeachers appears to have effectually frustrated every reasonable and
salutary proposal. Atkins, however, gives it as his firm opinion, “that
were there in the Isle of Ely again another bishop _Morton_ the country
might well be regained by such means as might be easily set down.” {21a}
But it does not appear _that another bishop_ Morton has yet risen in the
Isle, whatever may be said of the regeneration, reformation, or amendment
of the good people of Wisbeach.
Nothing of any consequence appears to have been attempted since, for the
benefit of the port or navigation of Wisbeach, except _Kinderley’s Cut_,
made in 1721 and 1722, by order of the Board of Adventurers, and not
without the consent of the town of Wisbeach likewise; only the
adventurers [it seems] ought to have had their consent under their hands:
at least so says Mr Kinderly. This cut, had it gone forward, would
probably have been of great advantage to the river. But by the time that
it was completed, and a dam was making across the old channel, to turn
the river into the new one, “the Wisbeach gentlemen, falsely, _or by
mistake_, apprehending the advantage of a wide indraught over all those
spreading sands, and complaining that this new cut was not wide enough,
(though it was wider than the river at Wisbeach by twenty feet) and that
therefore their river would immediately be choked up, and their
navigation lost. [So they now] violently opposed it, and raised the
Country for demolishing the works; and after that obtained an injunction
from the Lord Chancellor to stop all further progress.” {21b} A long
vexatious Law Suit ensued, but the Adventures could not recover the Money
they had laid out, amounting to nearly £2000, and the gentlemen of
Wisbeach gave ample proof that they still inherited, in full measure, the
genuine spirit of their ancestors, before mentioned. Their Harbour has
been for some years in a most miserable state, and seems to stand in need
of the aid of a _Morton_ or a _Kinderly_ as much as ever.
SECTION IV.
_The Effects on Lynn_, _and on its Harbour and Navigation_, _of the great
accession of Fresh Waters in the reign of Henry_ III.
Let us now attend to the Ouse and its sister streams, in their now or
modern course, by Denver, Downham, St. German’s, and Lynn. By the
addition of so many large rivers to its former waters, Lynn might be
expected to have its Haven, by degrees, both widened and deepened, so as
to contribute materially to its future naval consequence, and commercial
importance. Previously to this great accession of water, the bed or
channel of the river, about St. German’s, has been represented as so very
narrow, that in some places a man might throw himself over with a
pikestaff; and in Lynn Haven it is said to have been but six poles, or
about an hundred feet wide. But afterward, by the said accession of
fresh waters, Lynn Haven and channel were made in time so wide and deep
as to become famous for Navigation. {22}
Things appear to have continued pretty much in this favourable state,
till sometime after the erection of the Sluices at Denver; which by
preventing the tides from going further up into the country, as before,
proved very prejudicial to the harbour and Navigation of Lynn; and the
effects are felt, it seems, and much complained of to this day. The free
admission of the tides, and the natural course of the freshes are said to
have kept other rivers open and navigable; and this appears to have been
the case with the Ouse itself, while it possessed those advantages, or
till the adventurers erected the said sluices across its channel, which
are thought to have proved so very prejudicial, not only to the
navigation of Lynn, Cambridge, &c. but even to the draining of the Fen
districts and Marshland.
Before the erection of those sluices, the tide is said to have gone up
the rivers a very great way. Into the Ouse, and Grant, or Cam, it went,
according to _Badeslade_, five miles above their junction, or 48 above
Lynn; into the Larke, or Mildenhall river, eight miles above its month,
or 42 above Lynn; into the lesser Ouse, or Brandon river, ten miles above
its mouth, or 36 above Lynn; into the Wessey, or Stoke river, six miles
above its mouth, or 24 above Lynn; and into the Nene, seven miles above
its mouth, or 23 above Lynn. {24a}—These rivers are said to be then
completely supplied with water from the sea, in the driest seasons, to
serve for inland navigation.—The Nene, to Well, Marsh, and Peterborough,
&c. with vessels of 15 tuns in the driest times: the Ouse, with vessels
of 40 tuns, 36 miles, at least, from Lynn, in ordinary neap tides; and to
Huntingdon, St. Neots, Bedford, and even as far as 90 miles from Lynn,
with vessels of 15 tuns. The tides then raised the waters at Salters
Lode 12 feet above low-water mark. These waters in their return scoured
the channel, and kept it clear and deep. This seems to have been the
case before the erection of the sluices; but whether it would have
continued so to this time, may, perhaps, be doubted. Badeslade and
Kinderly seem to have entertained different and opposite opinions on the
subject; as the reader may see by consulting their respective
publications.
In a course of time, Lynn Haven is said to wear from 6 or 8 to 40 poles
wide; which seems not improbable, considering the situation of it, and
the accession of so many large rivers. In Badeslade’s time, as he says,
{24b} it was from 50 to 60 poles in the narrowest part; and now it can be
no less. The Lynn river, however, has been thought to be still narrower
than any other of equal size so near its outfall. Before the erection of
the said Dams, or Sluices no complaints appear to have been made of
either the haven, or yet the rivers above wanting a competent depth of
water. Barges carrying 40 chalders could then go up the Ouse 36 miles,
and those that carried from 26 to 30 chalders passed with ease to the
very town of Cambridge. Whereas, in Badeslade’s time, flat bottom
lighters, with eight or ten chalders, could hardly pass. Nor does it
appear that things have gotten to a better state since. As to the haven,
or harbour of Lynn, it was at those times wide, deep, and commodious. In
1645 its breadth is said to have been about a furlong. Ships then, and
for some years after, rode at the south end of the town, and the west
side in two fathoms, at low water. So they also did at the Crutch; and
the largest ships could go to sea at neap tides. Two parts of the
harbour were then remarkably deep; the one called _Fieln’s Road_, at the
end of the west channel; and the other _Ferrier’s Road_, at the end of
the east channel; and both of them three and half fathoms at low water.
The tides too were then so strong as to make it necessary to use stream
cables to moor the ships. _Guybon Goddard_, Esq. a former Recorder of
Lynn (and brother in law to Sir Wm. Dugdale) who died about 1677, says,
that at the World’s End in the Harbour of Lynn, there was not in any
man’s remembrance less than ten or eleven feet at low water; and at a
place called the _Mayor’s Fleet_ 8 or 9 feet. The channel to seaward,
below the haven, he says, near half mile wide at low water, was yet of a
depth sufficient for a Ship of 12 foot water to be brought up in any one
tide without wind. {26a} Upon the whole, it appears that the state of
Lynn Harbour, and of the rivers which discharge themselves that way, was
before the erection of the Sluices much superior to what it has been
since. {26b}
As to the State of the Ouse and the other rivers up in the country above
Lynn, it seems to have been much better before the undertaking for a
general drainage and erection of the Sluices than since that period, as
appears from the views of the Sewers taken June 25, 1605, by Sir Robert
Bevill, Sir John Peyton, &c. at Salters Lode, where the Nene falls into
the Ouse. The commissioners declared the fall from the soil of the Fens
to low watermark as no less than ten feet, beside the natural descent of
the grounds from the uplands of Huntingdonshire thither; which shews the
bottom of the Ouse to be there much deeper then than it was afterward.
_Dugdale_ also, in his History of Embanking, says, that at Salter’s Lode
there was ten feet fall of the fens at low water mark. From these
statements it must necessarily follow, that the lands in the South Level,
though unembanked, must in general have been in a comparatively good
condition before the undertaking for a general drainage and erection of
the Sluices; for, the fall being so great, no water could lie long upon
them; and if at any time, by the descent of the upland waters, they
became overflowed, they would not long continue in that state. At
present, the case, it seems, is very different.
SECTION V.
_Of the Eabrink Cut_, _and other projects of former times—with some
slight hints on the comparative state of the Shipping—Commercial
consequence and population of Lynn at different periods_.
It seems allowed on all hands that Lynn Harbour has grown much worse in
the memory of the present inhabitants, and that it is daily getting more
and more so. To remedy this growing and alarming evil, as well as to
promote and facilitate the inland navigation and drainage of the Fen
Districts, a project was formed some few years ago to open a straight cut
from Eabrink, about three miles above the town, into the upper part of
the said harbour, with the view of scouring, deepening, and improving the
same; and an Act of Parliament was obtained for that purpose. The work
however, has been hitherto postponed: it being, it seems, found difficult
to raise a fund adequate to the occasion. Vast benefits are said to be
confidently expected by many from the execution of this project; while
others appear much less sanguine in their expectations, and even consider
it as in no small degree dubious and problematical.
The opening a straight cut from Eabrink to Lynn Haven is not indeed,
properly speaking, a new or a late project. It was suggested and
recommended many years ago, as a part of a far more extensive
undertaking, by Mr _Kinderley_, who wrote a large pamphlet on the
subject, the second and last edition of which was published in 1751.—His
favourite scheme was to continue the Cut from Lynn, through the marshes
below the _Wottons_, _Babingley_ and _Wolverton_, into what is called the
_Old Road_; and to bring the Wisbeach river from the mouth of the
_Shiredam_ across Marshland into Lynn Harbour. The Welland also or
Spalding river, he proposed to conduct by another cut to Boston, there to
join the Witham, and pass along with it to the sea by a new outlet, so
that there might be but _two outlets_ instead of _four_, for all the
great Fen rivers. The accomplishment of this vast plan, as he imagined,
would not fail of being productive of many and most important
benefits:—The harbours of Lynn and Boston, of course, would become more
accessible, and be otherwise greatly improved:—The two washes would
inevitably and soon be filled up, by the abundance of silt and mud which
the tides would lodge there, and which would shortly be converted into
firm and fertile land.—Also an extensive district larger than all
Marshland, and almost as large as the whole county of _Rutland_, and of
far greater value, would in no very long time be gained from the sea, and
brought into a condition to be effectually secured by embankments from
any future annoyance from the briny element.—Moreover, a good turnpike
road, straight as an arrow, might and would be made across this recovered
country, all the way from Lynn to Boston, to the no small convenience and
comfort of travellers, (as the obstructions and dangers of the _Washes_
would no longer exist) and to the facilitating and perpetuating a safe
and easy intercourse between the inhabitants of Lincolnshire, as well as
of all the north of England and those of Norfolk, Suffolk and the whole
eastern coast of the Kingdom. The scheme or project, however, was not
adopted, nor perhaps ever sufficiently attended to; and it may not now be
worth while to inquire into the cause of its miscarriage or rejection.
Whether this same scheme shall hereafter be ever adopted, executed, or
realized, no mortal at present is capable of divining.
Between Mr Kinderley and Mr Badeslade there seems to have existed a
considerable difference of opinion on some points. The former ascribed
the increasing foulness and decay of Lynn Harbour to the increasing width
of the channel below, the loose and light nature of the sand there,
subject to the powerful action of the tides, continually driving up those
sands and lodging them in the harbour and river above: whereas the latter
seems to ascribe it chiefly, if not solely to the Sluices, or the
obstruction which they occasioned to the free influx and efflux of the
waters. {30a} Each writer supports his own opinion with great
confidence; but the question remains undecided. Both of them, perhaps,
might be right in many or most of their ideas and reasonings.
Very unlike most other great Sea-port towns, whose shipping and trade
have vastly increased within the last hundred years, Lynn appears to have
remained, in a great measure, stationary. As long ago as 1654 we hear of
_fourscore_ vessels or more belonging to the port of Lynn, (some of them
drawing 13 or 14 feet water) and that they used then to make from 15 to
18 Voyages annually to Newcastle, for coals, Salt, &c. Also that
Ship-building was at that period very briskly carried on in the town, to
keep up the stock. Moreover the number of seamen and watermen, then
employed here, is said to amount to, at least, fifteen hundred; and the
whole number of inhabitants was probably equal to that of any subsequent
period. It seems, indeed, to be now the prevailing opinion, that the
present population of Lynn exceeds that of any former time; which yet may
be deemed somewhat doubtful, if not quite improbable; especially as it is
known to have been formerly a _manufacturing_ town, {30b} which is not
its case at present. The point, however, may not now be very easy to
determine. But it seems very evident, that the trade of Lynn has not
increased to the degree or extent that might have been expected, from the
great opulence of its merchants and the vast extent of its inland
navigation. The real or probable cause of this will not become here the
subject of enquiry; but it may not be unworthy of investigation.
CHAP. II.
Of Marshland and the adjoining parts, or Great Fen Country.—View of their
situation and revolutions in remote ages, or Sketch of their ancient
history.
SECTION I.
_Account of their state before and after the arrival of the
Romans—Character of that people—establishment of their power
here—improvements made by them in these parts_.
AS Lynn may be considered as the Capital or Metropolis of Marshland and
the Fens, it will not be improper to give here some account of those
remarkable districts from the earliest times. All this flat and level
country is thought to have been originally a vast forest, which was
afterwards in some measure cleared, and converted into good cultivated
land, fertile fields, rich pastures, and numerous habitations of
industrious men. After that however, it was, it seems, for no short
period, covered by the sea, occasioned, perhaps, by an earthquake, or
some such convulsive event, which might considerably lower or sink the
whole surface of the country, and so make way for the violent influx of
the ocean. The overflowing waters in time gradually covering the
original surface of the ground with silt and sand to a very great depth,
or rather height, would at last recede. The present face of the country,
composed of silt to a vast depth,(and which seems no other than marine
sediment) confirms this hypothesis. Still however the parts next the
sea, such as Marshland and the low-lands on the eastern side of
Lincolnshire would remain as a great salt marsh, occasionally overflowed,
especially at spring-tides.—This seems to have been the case when _Julius
Cæsar_ invaded this country, and when _Claudius_ afterwards reduced it to
the state of a Roman Province.
The Romans, with all their faults, were certainly a wonderful people.
Like all other invaders and conquerors they were in general very hard
masters, and in some respects most vile oppressors and tyrants. In other
respects, however, they may be said to have been eventually real
benefactors to many, if not to most of the countries and nations which
they subdued, as they were the means of greatly improving those
countries, and of introducing among their inhabitants the rudiments of
useful knowledge, habits of industry, and the laws of civilization.
Julius Cæsar’s invasion of Britain seems to have proved upon the whole
unsuccessful; for he withdrew to the continent, without being able to
effect its subjugation, or to retain the conquests which he is supposed
to have made; which may be thought to furnish a pretty strong argument in
favour of the independent spirit, and high military character of the
British nation at that time. Nor does it appear that the Romans ever
attempted to give our ancestors any further disturbance afterward, till
the reign of Claudius, whose general, _Aulus Plautius_, a person of
senatorial dignity, was the first that established the power of that
people, or gave them a firm footing in this island. This was near a
hundred years after the retreat or departure of Julius Cæsar; and the
success of Plautius is said to have been chiefly or greatly owing to the
bitter dissentions which then raged among the British chieftains, some of
whom had invited the Romans hither, and afterward joined them against
their own country-men. Claudius himself came over sometime after, and
completed the conquest of a great part of South Britain, including, it
seems, the country of the _Iceni_, which comprehended the present
counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, with most, if not the whole of those of
Cambridge and Huntingdon, and probably some part of Lincolnshire. So
that the parts adjoining the Fens became subject to the Romans among
their earliest acquisitions in Britain. The inhabitants of these parts
are also said to have made the least resistance to them, at first, of any
of the British States, and therefore to have been for sometime more
highly favoured by them than any of the rest. Claudius at his departure
from this island, which is said to have been in the year 43 of the
Christian Era, left here a considerable force under Plautius, Vespasian
(afterwards emperor) and other experienced and able Generals, who were
succeeded by others, no way their inferiors, in experience, ability, or
military fame; among whom were Ostorius Scapula, Suetonius Paulinus, and
Julius Agricola. Besides Julius Cæsar, Claudius, and Vespasian, several
others of the Roman emperors are said to have spent some part of their
time in this island; and particular Hadrian, Severus, Constantius
Chlorus, and his son Constantine the Great. The latter is supposed to
have been born here, and his mother is said to have been a Briton. His
father, as well as his predecessor Severus, died at York, a place of no
small consequence and celebrity in those times.
After the country was reduced, and made a part or province of the empire,
the Romans soon began to view it as a very important acquisition.
Accordingly they set in good earnest about improving it; and there are
still to be seen numerous proofs and monuments of their laborious,
ingenious, and successful exertions. Among their important improvements
here were included the draining of the Fens, and the embanking of the
Marshes, to secure them against the violence and destructive inroads of
the ocean. Marshland and the low lands of Lincolnshire, as was before
observed, they found in the miserable condition of a salt marsh,
occasionally and frequently overflowed by the tides. This country they
secured by very strong and extensive embankments, which bear their name
to this day. {35a}
These improvements in the Fens and Marshes are said to have been the
works of a colony of foreigners, {35b} brought over, probably, from
Belgium, a country of a similar description, whose natives, from their
previous knowledge and habits, would be eminently fitted for such
employments. Not that those works can be supposed to have been effected
without the powerful co-operation of the native Britons, who would
sometimes loudly complain of the hardships they endured in labours of
this kind, imposed upon them by the Romans: a plain proof that they bore
their full share of them. _Catus Decianus_, it seems, was the name of
the Roman officer who had the chief direction or superintendence of the
improvements then projected and carried on in the Fens. {36} He was
probably the first Roman Procurator of the province of the Iceni, and
continued to be so for many years. Some things recorded of him, during
his government here exhibit him in a very unamiable and detestable light;
and it may be presumed that he was an unfeeling and severe task-master to
the workmen whom he employed in the fens and marshes, as well as
elsewhere; so that we need not wonder that they should sometimes loudly
complain of the hardships they underwent. The public works of which he
had the direction and superintendence seem, however, to have been carried
on by him with no small energy and effect, and to have been soon brought
to a state of considerable forwardness and perfection.
The Fens must have been in a very dismal state before the arrival of the
Romans; and their exertions, undoubtedly, wrought a mighty, and most
happy change in the face of the country. Houses, villages, and towns
would now appear in places that were before perfectly desolate and
dreary. At this period we may venture to date the origin of Lynn; for it
may be pretty safely concluded that it owes its rise to the schemes
formed by the Romans for the recovery and improvement of these fens and
marshes. It is also very probable, not only that it was the first town
built in these parts, on that occasion, but also that it was built and
inhabited by those foreign colonists above mentioned, and derived its
name from them. This however is not the proper place for the further
elucidation of this point: our present business being with the history of
the Fens.