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Funding and Management of The Ouse Washes


by The Company of Adventurers and the Bedford Level Corporation



Introduction

It had not been my intention when I began The Ouse Washes Website to say much about the history and legal framework of the original drainers. I merely wanted to learn sufficient to enable me to understand how the original management of what became known as the Bedford Level affected the current administration of the Ouse Washes.

The grand venture to drain the southern part of the huge tract of fenlands known as The Great Level of the Fens, the low lands in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk - was instigated in 1630 by a group of wealthy men including some large land-owners. They became known as the Company of Adventurers, and they organised the original scheme from 1630-37.

It was not a success. Cornelius Vermuyden reviewed the work and presented his proposals, which he called a "Discourse", to the king, Charles 2nd outlining a second and much larger scheme. and later, in 1642, he published them. his proposals. He calledand in it he split the land into three parts divided by rivers.o Many historians say he named the parts North, Middle and South Levels, and the whole area The Bedford Level, but I've read the Discourse (2) and found no such references and assume those names came later.

As explained below, their responsibilites passed to their successors, the Corporation of the Bedford Level, more commonly known as the Bedford Level Corporation (BLC).

Gradually over very many years the three levels became more self-governing and eventually split away from the BLC. Within the Levels there were further divisions and sub-divisions. The BLC's powers and responsibilities diminished and in 1920, after 237 years, it was wound-up.

The Ouse Washes divides the Middle and South Levels, but the Washes are part of neither. The outer (north-west) bank of the Old Bedford/Delph is the Middle Level Barrier Bank; the outer (south-east) bank of the New Bedford is the South Level Barrier Bank.
Draining and irrigating the actual fields and washlands between the rivers (from Earith to Welmore Lake Sluice) has been the duty of the Hundred Foot Washes IDB from its formation (?) to the present day.

Since 1920 a variety of government authorised bodies have had responsibility for vast and sometimes different areas of which The Washes is a just a tiny part. Each were tasked with a set of duties which will be explained later, but all with responsibility for controlling the main rivers surounding the Washes.

The table below briefly summarises the management bodies and their responsibilities prior to 1920.  Like the rest of this page this is an early draft - much has to be added!


Management Bodies

from to name inits main responsibities
  1663 Commissioners of Sewers COS Land drainage
1630 1652 Company of Adventurers COA construction of new drainage systems
1663 1920 Bedford Level Corporation BLC Established under the General Drainage Act 1663 to maintain drainage & navigation on all three levels.
Lost resp for most of NL 1753 and all by 1857
Lost resp for most of ML 1810 and all by 1864
Lost resp for much of SL 1830 and all by 1920
According to Summers, by 1850 resp was confined to major channels & sluices
Sources: various



Foundation of the Company of Adventurers

The original works, cutting the two main rivers with their retaining banks and building the controlling structures, were instigated by the Commissioners of Sewers who asked Francis Russell, the 4th Earl of Bedford, to become the "undertaker" of a venture that had previously failed to start through lack of popular support and funding. Russell had extensive estates in the Fens at Thorney and Whittlesey (as well as the family seat in Bedford) was wealthy, well connected and much respected.

At a meeting of the Commissioners held at King's Lynn in January 1630, a contract, subsequently known as the 'Lynn Law', was agreed and Russell became the contractor of a scheme to drain the southern part of the fens within 6 years in return for 95,000 acres of the reclaimed land. The contract received the approval of the King, Charles 1, and the High Court in London.

Russell and his son William persuaded 12 other wealthy men to join them, to become 'Adventurers' - venture capitalists in todays terminology - in a Company with 20 transferable shares of £500 each. The deed of incorporation in February 1631 is known as the 'Indenture of Fourteen Parts'. The King gave his consent to this in return for a 12,000 acre share of the 95,000 acres. After Russell's death (of small-pox, in May 1641) his son, the 5th Earl, took over his father's role.

The Adventurers

The original Adventurer's, and their share holding and promised land reward
Adventurer home/estates/assets shares acres
Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford (W) or Russel (E) Family seat at Woburn, Beds, plus 20,000 acres at Thorney and Whittlesey 2 8,000
Oliver, Earl of Bulingbrooke (W)
or Bolingbroke (E)		  1 4,000
Edward, Lord Gorges  1 4,000
Sir Robert Heath, Knight  1 4,000
Sir Miles Sandys, Knight & Baronet Wilberton, Isle of Ely 2 8,000
Sir William Russell, Knight & Baronet (son of Francis, & later 5th Earl & 1st Duke of Bedford) Chippenham, cambs 2 8,000
Sir Robert Bevill, Knight & Baronet Chesterton, Hunts 1 4,000
Sir Thomas Tyringham, Knight (W) or Teringham (E) Tyringham, Bucks 2 8,000
Sir Philibert Vernatt (W) or Vernat (E) Carleton, Yorks 1 4,000
William Sames, LL.D (W) Sams (E)   1 4,000
Anthony Hamond, Esq.Saint Albons, Kent 2 8,000
Samuel Spalding, Gent. Cambridge 1 4,000
Andrew Burrell, Gent.(W) Burrel (E) London 1 4,000
Sir Robert Lovett, Knight (W)
or Lovel (E)		 Liscombe, Bucks 1 4,000
TOTAL  19 76,000
Notes: main source: (E) = Elstobb, 1743; (W) = Samuel Wells, 1830.  Note differences in spelling.

Wells states that Francis Russell reserved 3 shares but only took up 2, so only 19 shares were originally issued out of the 20 authorised. The remaining 20th share must have been issued soon after as it is recorded that by 10th July 1631 £10,000 had been paid. (Wells, V1 p151). Each share cost just £500 initially, but committed the holder to a 20th part of the expenses. As the works progressed and the costs increased, to a total of £93,000 by March 1637, the Adventurers had to make further payments. Some were unable or unwilling to do so and within a short time many shares were split or reassigned. According to Summers, that increased the number of Adventurers to more than 200.

Annual taxes were levied on the lands awarded in order to finance maintenance and future works. For many of the Adventurers, their share of the expenses and the taxes due outweighed income from the lands, and many were bankrupted.

Adding the King's 12,000 acres to the 80,000 acres covered by the 20 shares leaves 3,000 acres which I have not yet found to be allocated.



Offices and Meeting Places of the Company

This huge venture was managed, and initially largely financed, by Francis Russell from 1630 until his death in 1644, then by his son William, possibly working from their estate offices at Thorney. They would of course have needed a growing team of professional staff to deal with legal matters, land conveyance, accounting and record keeping, and the best place to find that was the legal area of London, the "Inns of Court", where the "Fen Office" was established within a barrister's chambers. When that was is not clear, but according to Wells the first meeting at the Fen Office"was in June 1660. The whole operation would have been administered by a "Clerk", probably a lawyer, and not to be confused with the more humble clerks who did the paperwork.

Another office would have been needed somewhere in the fens for the surveyors, engineers and superintendents, and for local people to pay their rents or lodge complaints. At some stage an office for that was opened in Ely, and confusingly also called "Fen Office".

Premises were also needed for meetings, annual or otherwise, of the Adventurers, and as their numbers increased, as mentioned above, so too did the size of venue. The Shire Hall in Ely was used in the 1660s, but when it was first used and where else they may have met I have not fully discovered, nor some of the names of office-holders.

abridged Chronology of events and locations

town on or from on or to meeting place or matter remarks note/src
Kings Lyn 1630, Jan     Francis Russell appointed to drain fens  
  1631, Feb     Incorporation of the Company of Adventurers to fund works  
St. Ives 1637, Oct   Session of Sewers adjudged land drained  
Huntingdon 1638, Apr   Session of Sewers reversed 1637 decision  
  1639, Jan   Vermuyden presented his "Discourse" to K. Charles 2   8. p40
  1642   Vermuyden published his "Discourse"   2.p369
England 1642 1651 Civil War    
  1644   Francis Russell died  
  1645   Oliver Cromwell appointed Gov'nr of Isle of Ely formed drainage committee  
  1649, Jan   King Charles 1st executed for high treason Monarchy abolished, 'Commonwealth of England' eatablished as a republic  
  1649   the "Pretended Act" passed by the Commonwealth authorised William Russell & 4 others to drain land  
  1649   Vermuyden re-engaged to do the"second stage"  
  1650   Jonas Moore appointed surveyor compiled map of reclaimed land allotted to Adventurers  
  1652   second stage of drainage completed    
London 1656, Jan 26   Lord Chief Justice St. John's chambers, Lincoln's Inn   1. p319
Ely 1656, Sep 29     meeting of 41 adventurers 1, p305
London 1656, Feb 1657, Apr "Mistris Henley's house" used for Company meetings 1. p321
London 1657, Apr 18   Lord Chief Justice St. John's chambers, Lincoln's Inn Company meeting 1. p327
London 1657, May 15   Lord Chief Justice St. John's chambers, Lincoln's Inn Coy mtg (last here) no records of further meetings until 1660 1. p327
  1657   William Dugdale commissioned by Adventurers to write history of fen drainage.  
  1658   Cromwell died    
  1660, May 8   restoration of Monarchy , Charles 2nd proclaimed king    
         
London 1660 1663 Fen Office, Inner Temple
(3 Tanfield Court?)		 1st mtg recorded here was 20 Jun '60. Passed to BLC in 1663 1. p321


Officers of the Company


Clerk(s)

From to name Remarks, voting
1656, 1663 Thos Bland in 1663 became Register of BLC
       
       

Auditor

From to name Remarks, voting
       
       

Surveyors and Surveyor-General

From to name Remarks, voting
       
       
1650   Jonas Moore  
in 1657 in 1666 Lord Richard Gorges  
       

The original drainage contracts held by the Company of Adventurers included the ability to raise taxes for maintenance, but it became clear that the Company was not a suitable organisation to carry out long term works, nor to administer drainage of land into the main rivers, or look after navigation interests - not to mention the Company's incorporation was by a charter from the King (Charles I) not government, and therefore the legality of taxation was questionable.

A properly constituted body was obviously needed and in 1663 the General Draining Act provided a means of doing so.

Foundation of the Corporation of the Bedford Level

The 1663 Act set up the Corporation of the Bedford Level - more commonly called the Bedford Level Corporation (BLC) - to take over the work of the Company of Adventurers to be a central authority for drainage and navigation.


Offices of the Corporation

The BLC managed its business from the 'Fen Office' in London, as had the Company of Adventurers. The Office moved a number of times from one set of chambers to another, and in 1666 the building it then occupied was destroyed, along with most of the early records, in the Great Fire of London. The Office remained in London until 1843 when operations were moved to offices the BLC already occupied in Ely, two adjacent but very different buildings.

Office locations

town from to address remarks, voting
London 1663 1666 Mr Hampson's chambers,
3 Tanfield Court, Inner Temple		 Burnt down in Great Fire 2nd Sept 1666
London 1666 1667 Mr Moyle's chambers
Inner Temple Lane		 temporary arrangement
London 1667 c1825 ground floor
3 Tanfield Court, Inner temple		 purchased [from?] Mr Hampson who had erected them on the site of the old chamber
London c1825 1843 6, Serjeants' Inn, Fleet St in 1830, Wells wrote "Fen Office lately moved to No 6 Serjeants Inn"
London 1843 London office closed relocated to Ely
Ely 1824 1903 St Mary's Street 3 storey building
Ely 1824 1947 Bedford House, St Mary's Street single storey building

Ely

The two buildings still exist (in 2022) much as they were in the 1820s except the pillared doorway of the taller building was removed (from the right end judging by the brickwork) and rebuilt at the left end and perhaps changes to the ground level windows. The door on the right has the carved stonework set into the wall above the entrance representing the BLC Coat of Arms
Front of the two Ely buildings. Note carving above
right hand door (close-up below).
 Rear view. Semi-circular room back of single storey bldg would have been a splendid setting for Board meetings.



Carving above the door of right hand building at Ely.
Spot the differences with the coat of arms on right
 BLC Coat-of-Arms from map in my collection
Motto: Arridet Aridum "Dryness Pleaseth"

Wells says the annual election of the Board took place in London every year until 1809 when it "was very properly removed to Ely" (V1, p518). Wells also refers on p 557 to annual meetings in April in the Shire Hall at Ely. From the list of Registers (below) we can seen from the votes cast that some years more than 160 people attended, so a large building was needed.
 
I addition to the office in LondonThe Corporation must have had an area office in Ely from the beginning for engineers, local management and to receive rents etc, from local people, but I haven't found details prior to c1820 when one source said that it was then that the BLC acquired the two adjoining buildings in St.Mary's Street. They were apparently rebuilt c1827, and in 1841 relocation from London to Ely began; by 1843 removal was complete and the London office closed.

The taller of the two buildings was relinquished by BLC in 1905 and it became a girls school according to plaque on wall.  The single-story one was retained By BLC until at least 1947, as records talk of engineers working from it to combat the floods (source: Harvest Home, p36) (note, Ely on-line history says the Ely office was only used 1844-1864. which is clearly wrong; and they have used my photo of the front view without permission or acknowledgement, dispicable!)

The History of Ely High Sch states that In the early 19th century a three storey dwelling was erected in St Mary's Street, Ely by Thomas Page for use as a private house, and In 1824 it was acquired by BLC. In 1903 is was bought by Cambs CC, and from 1905 to 1957 it was Ely High School. The school website also confirms that BLC still occupied the single story building in 1947, and the army commandeered part of the school.


The Bedford Level and its divisions

Vermuyden's plan had divided the land of the Bedford Level into three areas, North, Middle and South Levels, and the BLC administered them all.

Gradually over very many years the three levels became more self-governing and eventually split away from the BLC. Within the Levels there were further divisions and sub-divisions. The BLC's powers and responsibilities diminished and in 1920, after 237 years, it was wound-up.

The Ouse Washes divides the Middle and South Levels, but the Washes are part of neither. The outer (north-west) bank of the Old Bedford/Delph is the Middle Level Barrier Bank; the outer (south-east) bank of the New Bedford is the South Level Barrier Bank.
Draining and irrigating the actual fields and washlands between the rivers (from Earith to Welmore Lake Sluice) has been the duty of the Hundred Foot Washes IDB from its formation (?) to the present day.

Since 1920 a variety of government authorised bodies have had responsibility for vast and sometimes different areas of which The Washes is a just a tiny part. Each were tasked with a set of duties which will be explained later, but all with responsibility for controlling the main rivers surounding the Washes.

The table below briefly summarises the management bodies and their responsibilities prior to 1920.  Like the rest of this page this is an early draft - much has to be added!


Management Bodies

from to name inits main responsibities
  1663 Commissioners of Sewers COS Land drainage
1630 1652 Company of Adventurers COA construction of new drainage systems
1663 1920 Bedford Level Corporation BLC Established under the General Drainage Act 1663 to maintain drainage & navigation on all three levels.
Lost resp for most of NL 1753 and all by 1857
Lost resp for most of ML 1810 and all by 1864
Lost resp for much of SL 1830 and all by 1920
According to Summers, by 1850 resp was confined to major channels & sluices
Sources: various

Officers of the Corporation

The person responsible for dealing with the legal side of the business, and ensuring that the Boards decisions were carried out since the General Drainage Act, 15 Car.II. (1663) was known as the "Register" (later "Registrar"). Notable Registers were Charles Nalson Cole, who published a collection of BLC Laws in 1761; and Samuel Wells who published a 2 volume history of the BLC in 1830. The Register was the highest paid employee of BLC and elected annually.

Registers, or Registrars

From to name Remarks, votes cast for at elections
1663 1692 Thomas Bland previously Clerk to the Company of Adventurers, under the Pretended Act, 1649
1692 1723 Joseph Hope  
1717 1720 Joseph Hope, junior Deputy Register. Discharged for neglect of duty
1720 1723 William Plaxton Deputy Register in place of Hope, junior
1723 1745 William Plaxton  
1745 1757 Benjamin Woodward  
1757 1804 Charles Nalson Cole see comment box on right
c1800 1805 T. Gotobed Deputy Register
1805 1812 William Saffery Saffrey 82, Edward Christian, Barrister, 81
1812 1824 Robert Bevil Bevill 115; Thomas Mortlock, Barrister, 53
1824 at least to 1841 Samuel Wells Wells 68, Charles Jenyns, Barrister, 66
Wells was also Clerk to the Middle Level Commissioners since it was formed in 1810 until at least 1830, and Clerk to the Nene Commissioners.
       
in 1851   Goodwyn Archer based at Ely
       


Receiver

The officer is elected annually, at the April meeting held at the Shire Hall, Ely:
From to name Remarks, voting
1663   Robert Mingay  
1689   Roger Jenyns, Jun  
1699   Sir Roger Jenyns  
`725   Edward Partheriche  
1728   Robert Lightfoot  
1728   Edward Patheriche, Jun  
1730   William Cole  
1731   Francis Pemberton  
1738   Humphrey Smith  
1743   Gotobed East  
1750 Whetham Robinson  
1751   John Drage  
1760   John Waddington  
1790   James Golborne  
1819   Hugh Robert Evans  
       
       

Auditor

The office of Auditor since the General Drainage Act, 15 Car.II. (1663)
Elected annually at Ely:
From to name Remarks, voting
1663 1703 Richard Marryott  
1703 1703   Two conservators shared the job that year
1704 1711 Ralph Pierson  
1711 1717 John Chicheley  
1717 1723 William Fortrey  
1723 1726 Francis Pemberton  
1726 1729 Nathaniel Green  
1729 1730 Thomas Dixon  
1730 1731 Francis Pemberton  
1731 1736 John Brownell  
1736 Ordered that office of Auditor "be extinguished" & duties annexed to Register
1736 1745 William Plaxton Combined the position with Register
1745     Positions of Auditor & Register again divided
1745 1748 Owen Fann  
1749     Owen Fann elected, but declined
1749 1752   No Auditor appointed
1752   Benjamin Woodward combined position with Register
1757 1804 Charles Nalson Cole combined position with Register
1805 1812 William Saffery combined position with Register
1812 1824 Robert Bevill combined position with Register
1824     Positions of Auditor & Register again divided
1824 1825 Francis Eagle  
1825   Steed Girdlestone at least to 1830
       

Serjeant's at mace

Name from to      
           
           

Engineer

Name from to      
         
         

Superintendents

Name from to      
           
           

Sluice-keepers

Name from to      
           
           

Notes and sources

note source
1 Samuel Wells "History of the Drainage of the Great Level of the Fens called Bedford Level Vol 1" 1830
2 Samuel Wells "History of the Drainage of the Great Level of the Fens called Bedford Level Vol 2" 1830
3 Dorothy Summers "The Great Level" 1987
4 Louis Tebbutt and WM Palmer "The Fen Office, Ely" 1938
5 Dudley Barker "Harvest Home - the Story of the Great Floods of 1947" 1948
6 Miss Fletcher, Headmistress of Ely High School for Girls, 1938
7 Margaret Albright Knittl "Design of initial drainage of the Great Level - an historical whodunit", AgHR 55 (?)
8