Whittlesey Mere

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Whittlesey Mere was an area of open water in the Fenland area of the county of Cambridgeshire (formerly Huntingdonshire), England.

It occupied the land south-east of Yaxley Fen, south of Farcet Fen and north of Holme Fen. The town of Whittlesey lay to the north-east.[1]

Whittlesey Mere was the last of the 'great meres' to be drained. The old course of the River Nene took it into the mere on one side and out on the other.

The area covered by water was at least 1,870 acres (756 hectares) in summer, extending to 3,000 acres (1,214 ha) in winter. The mere was a source of fish, wildfowl, reed and sedge for local inhabitants, and also provided a setting for 'water picnics' for the region's nobility.

[edit] Drainage

In 1850, the drainage of the mere was completed. The project was funded by a group of gentlemen and local landowners: Wells of Holmewood; Heathcote of Conington Castle; Fellowes of Ramsey Abbey; Thornhill of Diddington; Lord Sandwich; and Wentworth Fitzwilliam of Milton.

A flood occurred in 1852 and the mere filled with water, but it was drained again. In 1862, the Marshland Sluice gave way under pressure from the tide and water flooded in. It was drained once more and farming resumed.^[1]

[edit] Modern day

The name 'Whittlesey Mere' remains on maps to this day, although the only water is to be found in farmers' irrigation reservoirs and dykes draining the fertile farmland. Stage 3 of the Great Fen Project may eventually see the mere return to wetland.^[2]