Whittlesey Mere was an area of open water in the Fenland

The Fens

The Fens, also known as the , are a naturally marshy region in eastern England. Most of the fens were drained several centuries ago, resulting in a flat, damp, low-lying agricultural region....

 area of the county of Huntingdonshire

Huntingdonshire

Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...

 (now Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...

), England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

It occupied the land south-east of Yaxley

Yaxley, Cambridgeshire

Yaxley is a village in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. Historically in Huntingdonshire, it is due south of the city of Peterborough, and is skirted to its west by the A15 road...

 Fen, south of Farcet

Farcet

Farcet – in Huntingdonshire , England – is a village north east of Yaxley adjacent to the Peterborough suburb of Old Fletton....

 Fen and north of Holme Fen. The town of Whittlesey

Whittlesey

Whittlesey, historically known as Whittlesea as the name of the railway station is still spelt, or Witesie, is an ancient Fenland market town around six miles east of Peterborough in the county of Cambridgeshire in England...

 lay to the north-east.http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=522500&y=290500&z=4&sv=522500,290500&st=4&ar=N&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf&ax=519500&ay=290500

Whittlesey Mere was the last of the 'great meres' to be drained. The old course of the River Nene

River Nene

The River Nene is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in the county of Northamptonshire. The tidal river forms the border between Cambridgeshire and Norfolk for about . It is the tenth longest river in the United Kingdom, and is navigable for from Northampton to The...

 took it into the mere on one side and out on the other.

The area covered by water was at least 1,870 acres (756 hectares) in summer, extending to 3,000 acres (1,214 ha) in winter. The mere was a source of fish, wildfowl, reed and sedge for local inhabitants, and also provided a setting for 'water picnics' for the region's nobility.

Drainage

In 1850, the drainage of the mere was completed. The project was funded by a group of gentlemen and local landowners: William Wells

William Wells (1818–1889)

William Wells was an English Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1852 to 1857 and from 1868 to 1874....

 of Holmewood; Heathcote of Conington Castle

Conington, Huntingdonshire

Conington is a small village in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire. It lies within earshot of Ermine Street, now called the Great North Road, about south of Peterborough and north of Sawtry....

; Edward Fellowes

Edward Fellowes, 1st Baron de Ramsey

Edward Fellowes, 1st Baron de Ramsey was a British Conservative Member of Parliament.De Ramsey was the son of William Henry Fellowes, of Ramsey Abbey in Huntingdonshire, and Emma Benyon. He was elected to the House of Commons for Huntingdonshire in 1837, a seat he held for 43 years, until 1880...

 of Ramsey Abbey

Ramsey Abbey

Ramsey Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey located in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, England, southeast of Peterborough and north of Huntingdon, UK.-History:...

; Thornhill of Diddington

Diddington

Diddington – in Huntingdonshire , England – is a village near Buckden south west of Huntingdon....

; Lord Sandwich

Edward Montagu, 8th Earl of Sandwich

Edward George Henry Montagu, 8th Earl of Sandwich , known as Viscount Hinchingbrooke until 1884, was a British peer, Conservative politician and author....

; and Wentworth Fitzwilliam

Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 5th Earl FitzWilliam

Charles Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 5th Earl Fitzwilliam KG was a British nobleman. He was three times President of the Royal Statistical Society ....

 of Milton.

A flood occurred in 1852 and the mere filled with water, but it was drained again. In 1862, the Marshland Sluice gave way under pressure from the tide and water flooded in. It was drained once more and farming resumed.

Modern day

The name 'Whittlesey Mere' remains on maps to this day, although the only water is to be found in farmers' irrigation reservoirs and dykes draining the fertile farmland. Stage 3 of the Great Fen Project may eventually see the mere return to wetland.