Whittlesey Mere
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Whittlesea Mere was an area of open water in the Fenland area of the county of Huntingdonshire, England. The mere occupied the land southeast of Yaxley Fen, south of Farcet Fen and north of Holme Fen.
The present-day site of Whittlesey Mere, looking south towards Tower Farm
The "Black Ham Engine" used in the 1850s to drain Whittlesey Mere. Unique in that it was turf fired
The Ramsey Abbey censer and incense boat in the V&A Museum; they were found when the mere was drained
Middle Level Navigations
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The Middle Level Navigations are a network of waterways in England, primarily used for land drainage, which lie in The Fens between the Rivers Nene and Great Ouse, and between the cities of Peterborou
Whittlesey Mere
…1774. By 1851, silting and peat expansion had reduced Whittlesey Mere to about 400 ha and only a metre deep. The construction of a new main drain of the Middle Level Navigations to Wiggenhall St Germans completed in 1848, enabled the mere to be drained. A pumping station with an Appold centrifugal pump was used to achieve this…
The Mullicourt aqueduct where the Well Creek crosses the main drain
Moorings on the Old River Nene at March
The new pumping station at Wiggenhall St Germans pumps the Middle Levels main drain. It was commissioned in 2010, and the pumps are visible through the glass wall that forms the front of the building.
Salters Lode Lock, at the end of Well Creek, showing the two sets of gates pointing in opposite directions