Editing Ouse Washes (section)

==History==
After the last [[glacial period|glaciation]] between 100,000 and 10,000&nbsp;years ago the sea level in eastern England was about {{convert|30|m|ft}} lower than at present. As the ice retreated during the Mesolithic, the sea level rose, filling what is now the [[North Sea]], and bringing the Norfolk coastline much closer to its present line. Coastal woodland was drowned by the returning sea and slowly degraded to [[peat]] overlying deposits of marine clays and creating the [[The Fens|Fens]].<ref name= NAE15>{{cite book | last = Robertson | first = David | author2= Crawley, Peter|author3=Barker, Adam|author4=Whitmore, Sandrine | title = Norfolk Archaeological Unit Report No. 1045: Norfolk Rapid Coastal Zone Archaeological Survey | year = 2005 | location = Norwich | publisher = Norfolk Archaeological Unit | pages= 9–10|url = http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/norfolk-rczas/naurpt1045coastalsurvey.pdf }}</ref>

Prior to the seventeenth century the Fens of eastern England were tidal [[marsh]]land. frequently flooded and suitable for little more than summer grazing. In 1630, King [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] granted a drainage [[charter]] to the [[Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford |4th Earl of Bedford]] and his [[Bedford_Level_Corporation#Creation_of_the_Bedford_Level_Corporation|Adventurers]], who constructed the [[Old Bedford River]] between [[Earith]], Cambridgeshire and [[Downham Market]], Norfolk, to facilitate drainage of the large area that became known as the Bedford Level. The Dutch engineer [[Cornelius Vermuyden]] was engaged to complete the project and constructed the [[New Bedford River]] parallel to the old. The start of the works was interrupted by the [[English Civil War]], but recommenced under [[Oliver Cromwell]] in 1649, and was completed in 1656.<ref name=AEDA>{{cite web|author=Environment Agency Anglian Region|title=The Ouse Washes|url=http://www.environmentdata.org/archive/ealit:1187 |access-date= 2 August 2022}}</ref><ref name=lostfen>{{cite book|last1=Rotherham|first1=Ian |title=The Lost Fens: England's Greatest Ecological Disaster|publisher=The History Press|location=Cheltenham|year=2013| isbn=978-0-75-248699-4}} From ebook section "The Southern Fen of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire"</ref>