page_title: River Welland
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: River Welland / History
caption_attribution_description: English: A swollen River Welland passing beneath the old bridge in Duddington
context_page_description: The River Welland is a lowland river in the east of England, some 65 miles long. It drains part of the Midlands eastwards to The Wash. The river rises in the Hothorpe Hills, at Sibbertoft in Northamptonshire, then flows generally northeast to Market Harborough, Stamford and Spalding, to reach The Wash near Fosdyke. It is a major waterway across the part of the Fens called South Holland, and is one of the Fenland rivers which were laid out with washlands. There are two channels between widely spaced embankments with the intention that flood waters would have space in which to spread while the tide in the estuary prevented free egress. However, after the floods of 1947, new works such as the Coronation Channel were constructed to control flooding in Spalding and the washes are no longer used solely as pasture, but may be used for arable farming.
  Significant improvements were made to the river in the 1660s, when a new cut with 10 locks was constructed between Stamford and Market Deeping, and two locks were built on the river section below Market Deeping. The canal section was known as the Stamford Canal, and was the longest canal with locks in Britain when it was built.
context_section_description: The origin of the name for the river is unknown but appears to be Pre-English. In Old English the form was Weolud and may have changed to the Middle English form due to folk-etymology or Scandinavian influence. The Welland (Weolud) is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 921 AD.
  Richard de Rulos, who was Lord of Deeping Fen during the reign of William the Conqueror erected a strong embankment to prevent flooding of the meadows adjoining the river, which then became fertile fields and a pleasure garden. During the reign of Henry III (1207–1272), complaints were made that of the two channels below Crowland, the one to Spalding was more favourable to the passage of barges, but the Abbot of Crowland had obstructed and narrowed its course by planting willow trees. In the fourteenth century, Spalding was charged with failing to scour and repair the river, causing damage to the king's liege people, but argued that because it was tidal at this point, it was an arm of the sea, and so they were not responsible.
  The river was one of the earlier rivers to be granted an act of parliament for improvements, to allow navigation to Stamford. The act was granted in the reign of Elizabeth I in 1571, and detailed how Stamford had prospered as a result of the river, but also stated that mills built between Stamford and Deeping had resulted in it no longer being navigable, as they had diverted the water. Powers were granted to restore the river using either the old channel or the new one, although it is not clear exactly what was meant by this. There is no evidence that any work was carried out under the terms of the act.
  The powers were revived in 1620, when Stamford Corporation was given permission by the Commission of Sewers to build a new 9.5-mile (15.3 km) artificial cut, which would run from the eastern edge of Stamford near Hudd's Mill, to Market Deeping, where it would rejoin the river. The decision was ratified in 1623 by a grant of James I, and the corporation expected to have the work completed by 1627. However, they were unable to find a suitable contractor to carry out the work, and failed to reach agreement on terms with David Cecil in 1636, and two other potential contractors after that. Finally in 1664, an alderman from Stamford called Daniel Wigmore took the job. He built the cut and 12 locks, which included the High Lock and the Low Lock on the river at Deeping St James, at a cost of £5,000. In return for his expenditure, he was given the lease of the tolls for the next 80 years, for which he paid a rent of one shilling (five pence). The cut, known as the Stamford Canal, is one of the earliest post-Roman canals in England. It opened in 1670, around 100 years before the start of the Industrial Revolution which brought about the "golden age for canals" in Britain. When built, it was the longest canal with locks in Britain, and was very busy with barges carrying flour, malt, coal, timber and limestone.
  The people of Market Deeping, Deeping Gate and Deeping St James, together with other villages along the river presented a petition to Elizabeth I, requesting that the fens should be drained, as the banks of the river and of the neighbouring Glen were in a poor state of repair. They suggested that Thomas Lovell should undertake the work, which he did, at a cost of £12,000, for which he received 15,000 acres (6,100 ha) of the land which was reclaimed as a result of the work. Unrest in the early 1600s resulted in most of the works being destroyed, but in 1632 a group of adventurers led by the Earl of Bedford were granted permission to drain Deeping Fen, South Fen and Crowland. The work included making the Welland deeper and wider from Deeping St James to its outfall beyond Spalding, and the construction of side drains. These included a drain running from Pode Hole to below Spalding, which is still known as Vernatt's Drain, after one of the adventurers called Sir Philibert Vernatti. Although declared completed in 1637, efficient drainage would have to wait until the construction of Pode Hole pumping station in 1827.
  At Cr
caption: The Welland in spate at Duddington, showing its capacity for flooding adjoining meadows
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