History of the River Great Ouse

The Great Ouse and its tributaries weave through the flat landscape of East Anglia, and for hundreds of years have served the oft-conflicting interests of navigation and drainage.

As with many rivers, the course of the Great Ouse has changed considerably over the ages. Although it now exits at The Wash via King's Lynn, there was a time it flowed through Wisbech.

It has historically been associated with trading around the East Coast: but it was not until the 17th Century that substantial works were carried out to improve navigation, when the Dutchman Sir Cornelius Vermuyden, working for the Duke of Bedford, undertook drainage work both on the river and the adjoining Middle Levels that ultimately led to the landscape seen today. Marshes and lakes were transformed to arable farmland but not without considerable social consequences; fishermen and hunters were obliged to become farmers, and the drying out of the land caused shrinkage.

The area around the Great Ouse is now about 15 feet (4.6m) below its level of 500 years ago and still sinking. Vermuyden reclaimed much of the land by massive workings that included the cuts of the Old and New Bedford levels to bypass the natural meanderings of the river together with storage areas and drainage channels to provide more direct routes to outfalls. The Old Bedford section was cut in 1637 and the New Bedford section, also called the Hundred Foot after its width, followed a few years later.

As with many waterways, commercial boat trade suffered from railway competition, but the essential drainage function of the courses ensured their survival. Although drainage of the rich agricultural land around the river has always been the priority there are bodies that ensure navigational rights are upheld and facilities made available.

Future developments include plans to link the river at Bedford with the Grand Union Canal at Milton Keynes, and via another new series of waterways, to the River Witham at Boston.