A Land Drained, A Nation Fed: The Fens since 1600
An exploration of how successive generations have approached the draining of the Fens, their effects on land use and the landscape and how Nature has had a habit of getting its own back on human aspirations.
Today's Fenland landscape is essentially the creation of the past 400 years. Gravity drainage in the 17th century was succeeded by windmills in the 18th, steam in the 19th and diesel and electric power in the 20th. The efforts of successive generations created the geometrical landscape we see today, which has a rich hidden complexity, and throughout the period agriculture has adapted.
This talk will explore these changes, what the Fens have produced in the past and today (30% of our green vegetables, 20% of our potatoes, sugar beet, flowers and bulbs) and how the region has supplied national markets, with special attention to the role of the railways in this.
Time: 11:00 BST
