Editing River Nene (section)

===Below Peterborough===
Below Peterborough, the river meandered to [[Tydd Gote]], where it shared an outfall to the Wash with the [[River Great Ouse]]. Once the latter was diverted to [[King's Lynn|Bishop's Lynn]] in 1236, the Nene outfall deteriorated. Navigation was improved in the 1470s when Morton's [[Morton's Leam|Leam]], a straight channel between Peterborough and Wisbech, was constructed by [[John Morton (cardinal)|Bishop Morton]]. It was improved in 1570 and 1631. In 1631 a sluice was built at Wisbech by [[Cornelius Vermuyden|Vermuyden]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MCB17292&resourceID=1000|title=Cambridgeshire HER|website=www.heritagegateway.org.uk |access-date=6 October 2019}}</ref>

Morton's Leam was largely superseded by Smith's Leam, a straight cut from Peterborough to [[Guyhirn]] made by the Bedford Level Corporation in 1728. In order to improve the mouth of the river, which followed a tortuous route through salt marshes, the construction of a new channel was proposed by Nathaniel Kinderley, and work started on it in 1721. It was nearly completed when Wisbech Corporation's support turned to opposition, and they destroyed the work. The cut was eventually completed in 1773, but was not long enough to be a complete success.<ref>{{harvnb |Boyes |Russell |1977 |pp=211–212}}</ref> The [[Wisbech Canal]], opened in 1797, joined the river at Wisbech, the canal was filled in during the 1960s.<ref>{{cite news|title= Wisbech Canal|newspaper= Stamford Mercury |date= 27 June 1794|page= 3}}</ref>

Various proposals for improvements near Wisbech were made, notably in 1814 by [[John Rennie the Younger|John Rennie]] and again in 1821 by [[Thomas Telford]], but all were opposed by Wisbech Corporation. An act of Parliament{{which|date=September 2024}} was obtained in 1827 to enable the works and Wisbech contributed £30,000 to the project. The contractors for the new cut below Wisbech were Jolliffe and Banks, who charged £149,259 for the channel. Once the old channel was dammed up, the tidal scour in the new channel was sufficient to remove silt deposits, and large volumes of stone were needed to stabilise the banks. The effects on the [[Port of Wisbech]] were immediate, with tonnage rising from {{convert|63180|LT|t}} in 1830 to {{convert|159678|LT|t}} in 1845.<ref>{{harvnb |Boyes |Russell |1977 |pp=212–215}}</ref>

The [[Nene Valley Drainage and Navigation Improvement Act 1852]] ([[15 & 16 Vict.]] c. cxxviii) gave the commissioners wide powers to manage the river, but created an administrative structure that was too complex to be workable. With the river in a poor state, James Rendel was appointed as engineer, and began dredging the channel and raising the banks, which cost £124,000. Another Act of Parliament was obtained in 1854, to allow the Commissioners to borrow £325,000 to pay for the work. A new iron swing bridge was built in Wisbech, to replace a narrow stone bridge which restricted the flow of the river, and although it was tested on installation, it was not operated subsequently. In 1856 a very high tide came within two feet of the newly installed pilings. Dams across the river were built at Waldersea and Guyhirn, and an underwater weir was constructed below the bridge at Wisbech. Wisbech Corporation took the Commissioners to court in 1859 for obstructing the river, and when an initial judgement was made in their favour, gangs of men destroyed most of the Waldersea dam overnight. An appeal to the [[Court of Chancery]] by the Commissioners also failed, and the dams were removed, as was the Wisbech weir, after an accident involving a train of lighters.<ref>{{harvnb |Boyes |Russell |1977 |pp=215–218}}</ref>

Navigation was always hampered by the Northey Gravel shoal near Dog-in-a-Doublet. Together with a sluice, this prevented salt water from entering the Thorney River, and the Duke of Bedford had obtained an injunction in 1865 to prevent interference with it. An appeal to have the injunction removed in 1880 failed. A dock covering {{convert|13|acre|ha}} was built at Sutton Bridge at this time, but the outer wall collapsed on 9 June 1881, a few days before it was officially opened, and the estimated repair costs of £160,000 resulted in the project failing. Sporadic traffic managed to use the river, but its condition continued to deteriorate.<ref>{{harvnb |Boyes |Russell |1977 |pp=218–220}}</ref> In 1893, a boating tragedy occurred near Sutton Bridge, in which 9 people died.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000400/18930826/103/0006|title=Grantham Journal|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|access-date=6 October 2019}}</ref>