I8J5.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINKIill AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



3VJ 



DRAINAUE of ANCHOLME, LINCOLNSHIRE. 

 By Sir John Rennie, I'res. Inst. C.E. 

 The level of Ancholme consists of a. tract of low land, situated on the 

 south side of the river Humber, about 10 milis below its junction with the 

 river Trent, and contains about 50,00U acres of laud, of which oiily about 

 17,000 acres are subject to taxHtinn. This district is bounded on the east 

 by an elevated ridge of chalk hills, extending from the Humber, for a dis- 

 tance of nearly ai miles north and south ; about 100,000 acres of the land 

 of this ridge drain into the Ancholme. Oil the west, there is an inferior 

 ridge of oolite and sandy limest<me hills, which divides it from the valley 

 of the Treut ; about 50,000 acres of this rid^e drain also into the Ancholme. 

 On the south it is bounded by a low ridge of diluvial hills, which divides 

 it from the valley of the Mithani, and on the north is situated the river 

 liumber; so that the total quantity of land draiuiug into the Ancholme 

 may be said to be about ^00,000 acres. 



The river Ancholme takes its rise a little to the north of Lincoln, and 

 Kfter a course of about 35 miles, passing through the centre of the above 

 district, discharges itself into the Humber, about a mile to the west of the 

 Tillage of Ferraby. The valley varies from 1 mile to 3 miles in width. 

 At a place called Bishop's Bridge, about 20 miles from the Humber, and 

 at the southern extremity of the level, the Ancholme is joined by a large 

 brook, called the Kaseo, which takes its rise 4 miles north-east of the town 

 of Market Ifasen, near the village of Lealby, aud brings duwu considerably 

 more w ater than the Ancholme. 



Cubic Feet. 

 The streams oil the east side produce . . . 4x-<.lil4.0»0 



Those on the nest side :!J..'>(l(l.tKll) 



The Aucholmo and the Uasen .... :ii;.(lOI»,llUO 

 Sundry small slieams Bl>,llOO,000 



Total In one day's flood . . 140,614,000 

 This would cover the whole level about '2} inches deep. 



This valley, for the most part, lies below the level of high watermark 

 of spring tides, in the Humber. Near Ferraby, it is 3 feet under high- 

 water ordinary spring tides ; at Brigg, it is nine feet below ; at Black 

 Dike, 15 miles distant from Ferraby, it is 4 feet 6 inches below ; and at 

 Uleutham Bridge, 18 miles distant, it is level with high- water spring tides. 

 It is probable, that at no very distant period, it was overflowed by the tide, 

 until by the gradual deposit of the alluvial matter, with which the waters 

 of the Humber and the adjacent coasts abound, it became sulHciently 

 raised above the low-water level, to form a grass or salt marsh, leaving 

 the feeble waters of the.\ncholme to force their devious way to the Hum- 

 ber in the best m.inner they could ; but inasmuch as the Anchohue and 

 its tributaries bear no proportion to the Humber, the mouth would fre- 

 quently be blocked up by the deposit of alluvial matter, aud thus the 

 drainage water from the interior would be obstructed, so that, at times, 

 the level would be completely inundated, aud even under the most favour- 

 able circumstances, would never be properly drained, aud necessarily 

 became a vast stagnant marsh, more or less intersected wiih streams and 

 pools of water, according to the particular state of the season, and the ever 

 varying condition of the adjacent channel of the river Humber, into which 

 it discharges its waters. In that state the tract of laud was unlit for 

 tillage, all'ording but a precarious pasture for cattle, during a few months 

 and, in the winter, it became the resort of innumerable flights of wild 

 fowl. 



History of Ancholme. 



This valuable district, however, was not altogether lost sight of, for the 



great Roman road, called Ermin-street, from Lincoln to the Humber, ran 



along the west side of it, and was partially protected, by banks, from the 



Hoods and tides of the Humber, as well as from the Aucholme. 



The level also must have been in a flourishing stale at an early period 

 •ubsequent to the Uoinaus, for we And in Dugdale, that Thoruholm, or 

 Thornham Priory, was founded for canons of the order of St. Austin by 

 King Stephen, and dedicated to the Holy Virgin, in 1493. The priory 

 is situated in the parish of Appleby, about 5 miles N.W. of Brigg. The 

 »tjle is in the florid Gothic peculiar lo the period. 



Also the priory of Newstede, or Newstead, near Brigg, founded by 

 King Henry 11., 1 173, for the canons of the Gilbertiue or Semperingham 

 order, and dedicated to Uie Holy Trinity. Revenue £55 per annum. In 

 the reign of Henry VIII. it was dissolved, and the lands were granted to 

 Robert Heneage ; and there is little reason to doubt, but that the monks 

 wlio possessed all the learning of the times, and were generally alive t' 

 imp ovemeni, and everything which would augment the revenues of the 

 church, did uot lose sight ot the valuable tract of the Ancholme level, but 

 that they employed all the resources of the day to drain and cultivate it, to 

 the utmost extent. 'I'here is not, however, any specific record of works 

 eneculed by them, in that district, except the curious old work called 

 Bishop's Bridge, consisting of two Gothic nrches, of 12 feet span, erected 

 at the southern extremity of the level, across the Ancholme, and over which 

 the road between Gainsborough and INIarket Rasen now passes. 



According to the plan of the level made by Francis Wilkinson and 

 John Folherby in 1U40, and published in Uugdale, it appears, that the 

 Ancholme was straightenetl, and drains were cut at right angles to the new 

 channel, and another drain from the main river at Horkslovv to the high 

 lauds near Elsham. 



la the jear IBOI the late Mr. Renuie was applied to, for his opinion, as 

 to the best plan fur improving aud completing the drainage and the uavi. 

 gatioQ of llie level. 



Inrrnlion o/" Catch-iraler" Drains. 

 These works lie estimated at £(i3,'JliO. These drains, whicli Mr. Rviini* 

 termed "catch-water-draius," involved a very important, and at the same 

 time novel principle ; for it should be understood, that according to the 

 old Hutch plan, of simply cutting a series of straight drains, to tonic con- 

 veuieut point, where the water could be discharged, and then fixing a 

 sluice upon the main drain, or river, all the high-land and low-land wale 8 

 were mixed together, and the highland waters, couiin- from a higher level, 

 necessarily had a greater fall and velocity, and rushing down upon ihc 

 low lauds, forced their way lo the outfall, quicker than the less r.ipid 

 waters which fell upon the level, and which were thus left to stagnate 

 there; the sluices being unable to discharge bolli the high-laud as well aa 

 the low-land water, during the period, when the tide in the Humber 

 enabled the doors of the sluices to remain open. It was therefore impo - 

 Bible for the level to be drained by the old svstein, but by separating the 

 high-land from the low-laud-waters, by the catch-watir drains, as proposed 

 by Mr. Rennie, each body of water would have been etfeclually discharged, 

 by an indepeudeut sluice, into the Humber, without interfering with the 

 other. The catch-water drains were also well adapted to answer the im- 

 portant purpose of supplying the lands in the level with fresh water; for 

 It must be remarked, that generally speaking, in the management of ex- 

 tensive districts of low-lands, it is not only necessary to have the means of 

 draining them ellectually, but also to have the power of supplying them 

 with fresh water, during summer, for Ihe want of which, in dry seasons, the 

 low lands suHer as much as they are injured in winter by the floods. The 

 catch-water drains being laid at a higher level, they would therefore serve 

 to collect and to retain the fresh water, during the summer, so as lo admit 

 it into the low-lands during dry seasons, for the purposes of irrigation, 

 stock, or navigation. The great object to be obtained, in managing a dis- 

 trict of low-laud, is not merely to get rid of ihe water during ihe floods ; 

 but to have a perfect command of waier during all seasons, in order to 

 provide for the drainage, irrigation, and navigation, all of which are equally 

 important ; for without eHicUial drainage, the lands cannot be cultivated ; 

 without irrigation, they cannot be occupied to advantage during dry sea- 

 sons ; and without navigation, the produce cannot be well disposed of; 

 neither can the district import the various necessaries, without additional 

 charges, which amount to an additional tax upon the lands occupied. All 

 these grand objects would have been efl'ectually provided fur by I\lr. 

 Rennie'splan of catch-water drains, which he was then carrying into 

 ellect, on a similar, but more extensive district, called the East, West, and 

 \l ildmore Fens near Boston. This work was subsequently completed, 

 and now forms the most perfectly drained district in the empire; aud it is 

 only to be regretted that these principles have not been acted upon to a 

 greater extent in similar localities. 



Much has laiely been said about the principle of separating drainage 

 from uavigation, and it is stated, that the merit of the invention, if such it 

 can be called, is due toothers; their claims are not, however, well founded, 

 for the late Mr. Rennie proposed the plan, on the Witham, near Lincoln, 

 in 1803, and the works were finished by Sir John Renuie in 1827. It was 

 unnecessary, in that case, to preserve the navigation up to Liuculn, and at 

 the same time, to provide for the drainage of an extensive district of low- 

 lands above the city. This was done by making two drains parallel to the 

 M ilham, called the North aud South Delphs, which discharged their 

 waters into Ihe Witham below the locks at Horsley Deeps, about miles 

 from Lincoln. 



The principle is recognised also, to a certain extent, in the catch- water 

 drains, which were proposed by Sir John Renuie, in 1830, for the improve- 

 ment of the Whittlesea district; by carrying the main drain under the 

 navigation of the old Nene. 



The propriety of adopting this principle, depends much upon local cir- 

 cumstances and convenience. M'here old navigations exist, it would b« 

 both expensive and inconvenient to disturb them, the drainage m ly there- 

 fore be carried on by independent aud separate channels ; but where an 

 entirely new district is to be drained, if the main drains be made low 

 enough, and catch-water drains are formed, there cau be nj reason why 

 the drains should not be made navigable, because it saws the cost of 

 double chanuels, as well as the expense of keeping them open hereafler. 



Report bij Sir J. Rennie. 



In 1824, the complaints of iusutficient drainage became universal. The 

 principal proprietors of the level, the Duke of St. Albans, Lords Var- 

 borough and Mauson, Sir M. Cholmondeley, Messrs. C'orbett, Wyun, 

 Uppleby, Skipworth, and others, determined to apply to Parliament for 

 another Act, to amend their former AcIb, to increaie and cul.irgo their 

 powers and to enable them to raise additional funds, for the purpose i f 

 carrying into eti'ect the necessary woiks, required lo complete the drainai^n 

 and the navigation. They accordingly applied to Sir John Rennie for the 

 necessary report, plans and estimates. 



His report recommended, that the plans of the catch-water drains, »8 

 proposed by the late Mr. Rennie, should be carried out to their full exteul. 

 I'httt the main river Ancholme should be straightened, widened, deepened, 

 and enlarged, to double its then capacity ; thnt a new sluice should la 

 constructed at Ferraby, with ils cill laid feet lower than the old one, 

 together with a new lock 20 feet wide, so as to serve the double purpose 

 of accommodating larger vessels aud of acting as an additional discharg* 

 for Ihe drainage waters, during periods of flood. That all old hridgv« 

 should be removed ; as during floods they keep bait Ihe waters, auvl 



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