Guthram Gowt
Encyclopedia
Guthram Gowt is a small settlement between Bourne
and Spalding
in Lincolnshire
, England, at a bend in the River Glen
.
. and the location chosen for a new lock to allow traffic into the River Glen as part of the Fens Waterways Link
project.
A wind-driven scoopwheel pump was operating here as early as 1766.
A steam-powered drainage engine operated here in the 19th and early 20th century. It was set up following the Acts of Parliament of 1841 and 1843.
. In a reference that predates the pumping works, the nearby turnpike toll gate was known as Guthram Cote. This is indicative, as though the spelling and form of the name vary considerably, there appears to be no reference to the use of 'gowt' in connection with Guthram's Cote before the steam engine was installed. The earlier name was still in use contemporary with the use of the engine.
In 1189, when Richard I disaforested Spalding and Pinchbeck Guthrams Gowt was known as Gudramsende, (and the precursor of the forty foot was the Midfendic).
The book goes on to describe how proposals for a replacement engine were made in 1881, but were not taken up before Wheeler went to press.
However in 1895 the scoopwheel was replaced: with a 20 inches (508 mm) centrifugal pump made by Easton & Anderson. Then in 1918 the steam engine was replaced by a 50 hp horizontal gas engine, which drove the Easton and Anderson pump via belt. In 1933 a two-cylinder Ruston
diesel and a Gwynnes pump were added.
There are now no pumping facilities at all on site, only a rainfall telemetry station for the Environment Agency.
Guthram Gowt falls within the drainage area of the Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board
.
Bourne, Lincolnshire
Bourne is a market town and civil parish on the western edge of the Fens, in the District of South Kesteven in southern Lincolnshire, England.-The town:...
and Spalding
Spalding, Lincolnshire
Spalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England, at a bend in the River Glen
River Glen
There are at least five rivers called Glen:*River Glen, Lincolnshire, England*River Glen, Northumberland, England*Glen Water, Ayrshire, Scotland*Glen River, Quebec, Canada*Glen River, County Cork, Ireland*Glen River, County Donegal, Ireland...
.
The Location
Guthram Gowt is at the southern, upstream end of the South Forty-Foot DrainSouth Forty-foot drain
The South Forty-Foot Drain is the main channel for the land-drainage of the Black Sluice Level in the Lincolnshire Fens. It lies in eastern England between Guthram Gowt and the Black Sluice pumping station on The Haven, at Boston...
. and the location chosen for a new lock to allow traffic into the River Glen as part of the Fens Waterways Link
Fens Waterways Link
The Fens Waterways Link is a project to improve recreational boating opportunities in the counties of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, England. By a combination of improvements to existing waterways and the construction of new links a circular route between Lincoln, Peterborough, Ely and Boston is...
project.
A wind-driven scoopwheel pump was operating here as early as 1766.
A steam-powered drainage engine operated here in the 19th and early 20th century. It was set up following the Acts of Parliament of 1841 and 1843.
The Name
The word gowt refers to a sluice or outflow, though the origin of the word is not known with complete certainty. It appears to be cognate with the French égout, sewer. Though the modern mind associates the word 'sewer' with foul water, it was not always necessarily so. There are several 'gowt' placenames on the fens, including Anton's GowtAnton's Gowt
Anton's Gowt is a hamlet approximately 2 miles North-West of the town of Boston, in South-East Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the junction where the River Witham meets the Frith Bank Drain . The Anton's Gowt Lock provides access between these two waterways...
. In a reference that predates the pumping works, the nearby turnpike toll gate was known as Guthram Cote. This is indicative, as though the spelling and form of the name vary considerably, there appears to be no reference to the use of 'gowt' in connection with Guthram's Cote before the steam engine was installed. The earlier name was still in use contemporary with the use of the engine.
In 1189, when Richard I disaforested Spalding and Pinchbeck Guthrams Gowt was known as Gudramsende, (and the precursor of the forty foot was the Midfendic).
The pumping station
An act of parliament in 1841 authorized the building of an engine to drain Bourne North Fen, replacing engines (probably windmills) erected after an act of 1776 which were described as 'dilapidated, decayed and entirely removed'. An act of 1843 transferred all responsibility for this engine and the drainage from the Black sluice commissioners to the Bourne North Fen Commissioners, a separation of responsibilities that continued until after the second world war.The book goes on to describe how proposals for a replacement engine were made in 1881, but were not taken up before Wheeler went to press.
However in 1895 the scoopwheel was replaced: with a 20 inches (508 mm) centrifugal pump made by Easton & Anderson. Then in 1918 the steam engine was replaced by a 50 hp horizontal gas engine, which drove the Easton and Anderson pump via belt. In 1933 a two-cylinder Ruston
Ruston
-Place names:United States* Ruston, Louisiana* Ruston, WashingtonUnited Kingdom* Ruston, North Yorkshire, England-Companies:* Ruston , railway locomotive and industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England**Ruston & Hornsby, descendent of Ruston, Proctor & Co.**Ruston-Bucyrus, manufacturer...
diesel and a Gwynnes pump were added.
There are now no pumping facilities at all on site, only a rainfall telemetry station for the Environment Agency.
The Settlement
A few buildings in agricultural use are located at the site, and on the opposite side of the road is Glen farm, and on the opposite side of the Glen Willow Tree Farm. Guthram Gowt is a bus stop on the Delaine 302 service to Spalding, and the Lincolnshire CallConnect minibus service.Guthram Gowt falls within the drainage area of the Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board
Internal Drainage Board
An internal drainage board is a type of operating authority which is established in areas of special drainage need in England and Wales with permissive powers to undertake work to secure clean water drainage and water level management within drainage districts...
.