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T He Scottish Soldiers, the Ouse Washes; the Origins of Landscape Change in the Fens

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T He Scottish Soldiers, the Ouse Washes; the Origins of Landscape Change in the Fens Origins T he Scottish Soldiers, the Ouse Washes; the Origins of Landscape Change in the Fens by The Word Garden i Fen Islands Before the Drains Came ii iii First published 2019 Origins The Scottish Soldiers, the Ouse Washes; the Origins of Landscape Change in the Fens ©The Word Garden ISBN: 978-1-5272-4727-7 Copyright of individual authors rests with authors, pictorial map with artist, images with photographers and illustrator, and other rights holders as cited in the acknowledgements on pages 12-13, which constitute an extension of this copyright page. Publication design and layout by Helena g Anderson and Karen Jinks Front & back covers & interleaved images by Helena g Anderson Printed by Altone Ltd, Sawston, Cambridge Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund LEGAL NOTICE All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the copyright holders. CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 2 - Historical, archival and scientificresearch 2 - Socio-cultural aspects of landscape change 2 2. THE TEAM 4 3. THE WORD GARDEN METHODOLOGY 5 4. ACHIEVEMENTS AND BENEFITS 6 - Public events 7 - Information Day 7 - Community Drop-in Open Day 7 - Local History Fair 7 - Schools workshop activities 7 - Mepal and Witcham Church of England Primary School 7 - Manea Community Primary School 7 - Two-day workshop at Welney Wetland Centre 29th and 30th June 8 - Map: Fen Islands Before The Drains Came by John Lyons 8 - The Play: The Scottish Soldier by Peter Daldorph, based on historical research 9 - The Film: From Dunure to Denver, Coventina’s Quest into Hidden History by Jean Rees-Lyons 10 - Project Godwit, Welney Wetland Centre 11 5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND SUPPORT 12 6. HISTORY OF THE SCOTTISH SOLDIERS IN THE FENS by Peter Daldorph 16 - Introduction 16 - Timeline 16 - Political context and attitudes to the drainage works 18 - Key people involved in the drainage works 22 - The Adventurers and Officers 22 - The Scottish soldiers 26 - Other workers 28 - The local people 29 - Management of the works 29 - The Scottish soldiers in the Great Level 30 - Events before the transfer of the Scottish soldiers to the Great Level 30 - Arrangements for the transfer of Scottish prisoners to the Great Level 31 - The transfer of Scottish prisoners 33 - Arrangements for the Scottish soldiers’ stay in the Great Level 35 - The work undertaken by the Scottish soldiers 36 - Running away and disorder 37 - Departure from the Great Level 38 - The Scottish soldiers after their work in the Great Level came to an end 39 - The drainage works 39 - The construction works 39 - Difficultieson the works 42 - The weather, water levels and floods 43 - Illness and disease 43 - The landscape 44 - Before the drainage: grazing marshes, fens and meres 44 - Wildlife 46 - After the drainage works 46 - The landscape seen by the Scottish soldiers 47 - Legacy of the drainage works 48 - Transcription, references and notes 50 - Primary sources 50 - Secondary sources 70 - List of photographs and figures 71 7. FROM DUNURE TO DENVER, COVENTINA’S QUEST INTO HIDDEN HISTORY by Jean Rees-Lyons 74 - Introduction 74 - From Dunure to Denver 76 - Copyright, disclaimer, references and list of illustrations 110 - Further reading list 121 8. PROJECT OUTCOMES by Nicola Power 124 9. APPENDICES 130 - Order of Service for the Re-interment of the Remains of Scottish Soldiers from the Battle of Dunbar, 1650 130 - Primary source letter from Trevor Bevis 132 - Project Godwit 134 vi Origins T he Scottish Soldiers, the Ouse Washes; the Origins of Landscape Change in the Fens 2019 1 Introduction and Background to The Scottish Soldiers, the Ouse Washes; the Origins of Landscape Change in the Fens by The Word Garden, a not-for-profit community group working in the East Anglia region We’re delighted to support The Word Garden in this intriguing project. Thanks to National Lottery players, young people and the local community can play a part in discovering more about this untold story and learning about the part played in shaping the Fenland landscape. – Robyn Llewellyn, Head of National Lottery Heritage Fund, East of England Building on its track record of successful community engagement, The Word Garden project team worked in partnership with the following: Jean Rees-Lyons, originator and author; Peter Daldorph, consultant environmentalist and writer; Adam Giles, film-maker; Helena g Anderson, photographer; Virginie Ganivet, film soundtrack and vocals; Nicola Power, evaluator; Mike Petty, historian; supported by a team of Durham University archaeologists and specialists in the field. The project was managed by Florence Tong, Head of Project Delivery at Babylon ARTS. Adopting a tried and tested methodology we brought together archaeological investigations, archival and scientific esearr ch, primary and secondary research and human interest stories. The outcomes reimagine, retell and record new legacy materials. Our guiding interdisciplinary approach, adapting primary and secondary sources including rare historic documents and records, maps and other visual images, personal accounts and folk tales, underpinned by historical, archival and scientific esearr ch, remains an integral part in the how-to of our project work. The achievements, benefits and outcomes of this approach are shown in our Origins publication, which is an example of new, creative and informative ways of legacy-making. In addition, it encourages skills development and increased legacy awareness for project participants and learners in educational establishments at every level. Archival, historical and scientific research Our philosophy is to be as truthful as possible to the people and events of the past before seeking to bring them to life through different forms of storytelling. Great effort was, therefore, made to research the primary and secondary literature as well as transcribing previously unpublished archives. The primary source of information was the Proceedings of the Adventurers that are held in Cambridgeshire Archives. Over 30,000 words were transcribed detailing the work of the Adventurers, which includes many financial, engineering and political challenges as well as details of life in the drainage works in the 17th century. Many previously unrecorded references to the Scottish soldiers were found. Other key sources of historical information were the papers of the Council of State in the National Archives and the outputs from the research on the Scottish soldiers in Durham by Durham University. In addition to this research we consulted the Internal Drainage Boards (Middle Level and Ely Group) and Environment Agency who currently manage the drainage of the Fens, to ensure that our description of the drainage works was as accurate as possible. Socio-cultural aspects of landscape change Origins, inspired by little-known historical events following the battles of Dunbar and Worcester in 1650 and 1651, tells a story like no other. It records a new historical legacy for the local community, bringing to light events largely neglected with the passage of time: a “missing” history, which affected personal, social and cultural values. 2 The project is set during the aftermath of the English Civil Wars (1639-1651), also known as The Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the family wars, which unleashed dynamic forces here, on the East Anglia Fenland. Scottish prisoners-of-war, as forced labour, constructed the 21-mile-long second parallel drain, the New Bedford River, now known as the Hundred Foot River, as part of a regional drainage scheme promoted by the Company of Adventurers. This scheme, part of wider geo-political and economic forces, brought about the transformation of the landscape from Fen to productive farmland – a change accompanied by hostility and turmoil. The drainage works reshaped the natural world and the flora and fauna of once wild and mysterious places in the Fenland. The ancient rights of the commons were removed, traditional occupations lost, one’s place in the lived-in landscape permanently changed. We sought to provide as accurate an account as possible of the events surrounding the transfer of the Scottish soldiers after the battles of Dunbar and Worcester to labour on the Fens. We explored how they were employed and treated during their time as prisoners-of-war in an alien landscape. Battle-worn, some as young as 13, they were separated from their families and their homeland without hope of returning until granted official elease.r They did not speak the language of local people or of other prisoners, principally Dutch and Irish, on the drains. Interactions between local Fen folk, forced labourers and other incomers created a fraught melding of peoples and their varied customs. And we found that associated memories are woven into local folk tales passed down the generations. Our research into the nature of the landscape at the time, the working conditions and engineering challenges, led us to understand how only the strongest or the luckiest could have survived the inhumane conditions that, today, would be called a war crime. The soldiers laboured in wet, mud-laden ditches, frozen in winter and infested with malaria-carrying mosquitoes in summer. Many men died on the drains and were buried without the blessing of any mourner. After their release, some of the survivors returned to Scotland, but unknown numbers remained on the Fens and their descendants may be here still. A possible future outcome of this project could entail local people with stories of a Scottish heritage looking deeper into their genealogy and identity. This could influence family and community life in unforeseen, yet enduring ways. We tell human interest stories underpinned by archaeological and historical research to demonstrate how and why the work of the Scottish soldiers on the Great Level deserve a place in the legacy of the people who live in the Cambridgeshire Fens.
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