Great Level. 



85 



sasse (or sluice) was erected, to turn the upland floods out of 

 their natural channel^ by Ely, into a new river called the New 

 Bedford,'' or " One Hundred Feet River " (parallel with the 

 old Bedford river, cut by Earl Francis), commencing a short dis- 

 tance below the great bridge over the old river Ouse, near the 

 Hermitage, and running thence in a nearly straight line to the 

 great sluice at Denver in Norfolk. The earth coming out of 

 this river was laid on the south side, forming a bank 60 feet wide 

 at bottom, 10 at top, and 8 feet high, for the protection of the 

 South Level. Another great bank was also made on the north 

 side of the Old Bedford River, thus leaving a large space of land 

 between the two banks liable to be overflowed by the two rivers. 

 This long strip of land, containing upwards of 5000 acres, called 

 The Washes," is used as a reservoir for the winter floods. The 

 company also cut or completed several artificial rivers, viz. Vermuy- 

 den's Eau, or "The Forty-feet Drain," from Welch's Dam on the 

 Old Bedford, to the river Nene near Ramsey ; Thurlow's Drain, or 

 " The Sixteen-feet River," extending from the Forty-feet to Pop- 

 ham's Eau; Hammond s Eau, near Somersham ; Stonea Dram, 

 near March; ^Moore's Drain, or The Twenty-feet River," in 

 the parish of March; and Conquest Lode, leading to W hittlesey 

 Mere, and dividing the parishes of Yaxley and Farcet, in North- 

 amptonshire. They also cut a new river, called The Tongs 

 Drain, or ALirshland Cut," sluices being placed at both ends of 

 the drain. Considerable improvements were made in Whittlesey 

 Dike, Popham's Eau, and the old river Nene. Denver Sluice 

 was also erected, to turn the tidal waters into the Hundred-feet 

 River, as well as to prevent the upland floods reverting up the 

 Ouse, or " Ten-mile River," towards Littleport. Some trifling 

 embankments only were made (besides the great barrier bank of 

 the Hundred-feet,'' already mentioned) for the protection of the 

 South Level against the upland waters descending by the Cam, 

 and also the Mildenhall, Brandon, and Stoke rivers. The greatest 

 work intended for the benefit of this level was the cutting of a 

 large river, called " Downham," or " St. John's Eau," of 120 feet 

 wide and 10 feet deep, extending from Denver Sluice to Stow 

 Bridge (nearly 5 miles), for the conveying away with greater 

 facility the flood waters descending from the several rivers within 

 the South Level. Sluices were erected at both ends of this river ; 

 numerous other sluices and dams were also made, and many 

 small drains, such as Grunty Fen Drain, near Streatham, and 

 others ; Reach, Swaffham, and Bottisham Lodes were scoured 

 out, straightened ; and most of the works begun by Francis, Earl 

 of Bedford, completed. 



Thus the face of the new country began to assume the appear- 

 ance of fertility and agricultural prosperity ; and Vermuyden states 



