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The Drain Man

 

Drainage is the life blood of the fens. If the drains are in good order and working well, crops grow, livestock flourish and everything thrives. The main waterways planned by Vermuiden and Vernatti and the Venturers of Deeping Fen take the excess water to the sea, but these are supplemented by a network of large drains, maintained by local drainage boards and beyond that, by farm ditches and field pipes.

 

Our local drainage board, the Welland & Deepings, has miles of channels all now running to the huge pumps which keep the water table low and safe. Years ago, when there were more cattle in the fens, some of the drains ran backward to bring drinking water to grass fields, which of course did not have a supply of mains water.

 

That has now ceased, although the Board does still hold water back by head boards and sluices to hold a water table in very dry gravelly areas.

 

The system of drains needs constant maintenance. The grass and reed, which can hold water up to a depth of three feet over one mile, was once mown (roded) by gangs of expert scythemen. Today machines mow out the water courses at the rate of miles per day rather than chains.

 

Fifty years ago the maintenance of the drains was just as important. This was where Jack Mansfield came in. He lived in a council house at Bars Bridge and every day he was out patrolling the drains in the village area. He rode round his patch on a bicycle with fork and shovel. His job was to inspect and make sure the water courses were clear. Much of the time he had to leave his bike and go on foot because the drains went through the middle of farm land with no road alongside.

 

He had to check that tunnels were clear and clean out any blockages, be they grass or floating wood and report any slips; places where the banks had fallen in. Jack was a great character, short wiry and tough. You always felt he was spoiling for a fight.

Sadly in the drive for cost cutting efficiency Jack was not replaced when he retired, so any untoward blockages or slips have to be notified by the farmers alongside the drains, though I believe that Jack's ghost alerts them and shows them where to look.

 

by Reg Dobbs OBE