Holland Fen
Encyclopedia
Holland Fen is a settlement about 5 miles (8 km) north-west of the town of Boston
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census...

, 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.

History

Holland Fen has been known as the Haute Huntre, or Eight Hundred Fen.

In 1720 Earl Fitzwilliam decided to drain the Holland Fen, having been frustrated by the local Commissioners of Sewers. He built the North Forty Foot Drain
Forty Foot Drain
In the drainage schemes of The Fens of Eastern England, some of the principal drainage channels are each known as The Forty Foot or Forty Foot Drain, the name being qualified when there is a need to distinguish between them...

, which emptied by Lodowicks Gowt into the South Forty Foot Drain
South 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...

, which in turn emptied into the Black Sluice
Black Sluice
The Black Sluice is the name given to the structure that controls the flow of the South Forty-Foot Drain into The Haven, at Boston, Lincolnshire, England.-History and ownership:...

 at Boston
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census...

.

The Haute Huntre was drained and enclosed
Enclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...

 in 1767.

Holland Fen was an ecclesiastical parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

, created in 1812 and abolished in 1948. It is now part of Holland Fen with Brothertoft
Holland Fen with Brothertoft
Holland Fen with Brothertoft is a civil parish in Lincolnshire, England, consisting, as the name indicates, of Holland Fen and Brothertoft, but also includes the areas known as Pelhams Land and Harts Ground....

 parish.

Today, Holland Fen consists of:
  • Holland Fen
  • Ferry Corner Plot
  • River Bottom
  • North Forty Foot Bank
    North Forty Foot Bank
    The North Forty Foot Bank is a settlement which runs about six miles alongside the North Forty Foot Drain, about five to nine miles north west of Boston Lincolnshire, England. It begins just below the parish of Chapel Hill and runs along the drain to Toft Tunnel, just north of Hubberts Bridge...

  • Hedgehog Bridge
    North Forty Foot Bank
    The North Forty Foot Bank is a settlement which runs about six miles alongside the North Forty Foot Drain, about five to nine miles north west of Boston Lincolnshire, England. It begins just below the parish of Chapel Hill and runs along the drain to Toft Tunnel, just north of Hubberts Bridge...

  • Toft Tunnel
    North Forty Foot Bank
    The North Forty Foot Bank is a settlement which runs about six miles alongside the North Forty Foot Drain, about five to nine miles north west of Boston Lincolnshire, England. It begins just below the parish of Chapel Hill and runs along the drain to Toft Tunnel, just north of Hubberts Bridge...


Church

The church is dedicated to All Saints
All Saints
All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...

 and was built as a chapel of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....

 to Fosdyke
Fosdyke
Fosdyke is a village and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England. It lies about south of Boston just off the A17, and east from the junction of the A17 with the A16. The village is near the mouth of the River Welland, and the parish extends across the river to include both ends of the hamlet of...

 in 1812. It was constructed of brick in Perpendicular style, with chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...

 and nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...

 only, and bell turret
Bell-Cot
A bell-cot, bell-cote or bellcote, is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells, supported on brackets projecting from a wall or built on the roof of chapels or churches which have no towers. It often holds the Sanctus bell rung at the Consecration....

. In 1964 Pevsner noted a chancel dated 1880, a west gallery on iron shafts, a pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...

 with fluted
Fluting (architecture)
Fluting in architecture refers to the shallow grooves running vertically along a surface.It typically refers to the grooves running on a column shaft or a pilaster, but need not necessarily be restricted to those two applications...

 pilasters, and a chalice
Chalice
A chalice is a goblet or footed cup intended to hold a drink. This can also refer to;* Holy Chalice, the vessel which Jesus used at the Last Supper to serve the wine* Chalice , a type of smoking pipe...

 probably by William Bell.

Today, All Saints church is part of the Holland Fen with Brothertoft Group, also known as "Five in the Fen" which also includes:
  • Saint Gilbert Of Sempringham, Brothertoft
    Brothertoft
    Brothertoft is a village in Lincolnshire, England, about north-west of the town of Boston. It is part of the civil parish of Holland Fen with Brothertoft.-History:...

  • Christ Church, Kirton Holme
    Kirton Holme
    Kirton Holme is a small village within the Kirton Civil Parish, located about west of the town of Boston, Lincolnshire, England.Kirton Holme church, called Christ Church, is today part of the "Brothertoft Group" also known as "Five in the Fen", which also includes:* Saint Gilbert of Sempringham,...

  • Saint Margaret of Scotland, Langrick
    Langrick
    -External links:*...

  • Saint Peter, Wildmore
    Wildmore
    Wildmore is a civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, located about north west of the town of Boston and about south of Horncastle....

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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