Car Dyke
A broad section of the Car Dyke nearWaterbeach in high summer
Specifications
Length	92 km (57 miles)
Status	part watered, part ancient monument
History
Date completed	Roman period

TheCar Dyke was, and to a large extent still is, a long ditch which runs along the western edge ofthe Fens in eastern England for a distance of over 57 miles (92 km).^[1] It is generally accepted as being aRoman construction and was, for many centuries, considered to mark the western edge of the Fens. Its name derives fromcarr, a fourteenth-century word formarsh ordrained land.^[2][3]

The Car Dyke is a ditch that runs through the counties of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire. The main section starts close to theRiver Witham atWashingborough, nearLincoln and runs in a generally southerly direction toFengate on theRiver Nene, nearPeterborough. A second artificial watercourse, also known as Car Dyke, runs for 5 miles (8 km) from Setchel Fen on the Old West River, part of theRiver Great Ouse system, southwards toWaterbeach on theRiver Cam. The northern section is around 57 miles (92 km) long, and is by far the longest artificial waterway constructed by theRomans in Britain, while it is also longer than any known Roman navigational canals on continental Europe.^[4]

There are no known contemporary records relating to its construction or use. The ditch is obviously artificial, since it runs from north to south, whereas all the natural drainage of the area runs from west to east, and it roughly follows the 10-foot (3 m) contour.William Stukeley, writing in the eighteenth century, was the first person to describe it as a Roman-eracanal used for transporting goods.^[4] Excavations on the southern section atWaterbeach in the 1990s by the archaeology unit ofCambridgeshire County Council found what were seen as the remains of a Roman-era boat and a cargo of pottery fromHorningsea.^[5] This stretch, where significant archaeological deposits are likely to remain, has been protected as ascheduled monument.^[6] The northern channel nearBaston was found to have a navigable width of 40 feet (12 m) and a depth of 6.5 feet (2 m) when archaeological excavation was carried out in the 1980s. The southern section had a similar depth but was somewhat wider at around 66 feet (20 m).^[4]

Stukeley argued that the two parts of the Car Dyke were connected together, and acted as a transport route supplying grain to Lincoln, York and military settlements further north. No evidence of rivers or artificial cuts to form the link between Peterborough and the Great Ouse at Setchel Fen has been found, and this idea has been rejected.^[4] The Ordnance Survey map of Roman Britain shows a waterway heading south-eastwards from Peterborough, known as Cnut's Dyke, but it stops before it reaches Ramsey.^[7] Although Dannell provides evidence that Cnut's Dyke is of Roman origin, his Cnut's Dyke is also known as King's Dyke, an old course of the River Nene.^[8][9] Bond states that there is no evidence to support a Roman date for Cnut's Dyke, and that it was probably built in the tenth century, to facilitate the construction ofRamsey Abbey.^[10]

An assessment byHistoric England states that in theRomano-British economy Car Dyke was significant both as a transport system and as a means of drainage, saving large parts of the Fens from flooding. Its importance is indicated by the large and organised labour force, either a civilian undertaking organised byIceni tribal leaders or from the military, needed to build it.^[6][11]

Excavations have found coal from theMidlands in use at a cluster of Roman-era coal-burningforges sited between Cambridge andThe Wash and these provide evidence of trade and transport along the Car Dyke. Return cargoes were grain to supply the garrison at York, prepared for transport and storage by drying in coal kilns, and pottery.^[12][13] At its northern end accounts of Roman Britain describe it as an extension of theFoss Dyke, an accepted transport route.^[7][14] NearMorton, Lincolnshire, a boatload of dressed quarry stone, identified with the mediaeval period, has been discovered in the canal bed.^[15]

In some sections thetopography suggests that its use as a canal was unlikely or at least difficult: the segment which ran through theSoke of Peterborough rises from theRiver Nene to a ridge atEye before falling to theRiver Welland. This it does in steady gradients, quite unlike the characteristics of a canal designed for transport. Its course makes it clear that this outcome was carefully planned.^[16] At some level sections in Lincolnshire it has causeways of never-disturbed ground crossing it and it passes in gradients, up and down the sides of slight ridges.^[4] Given the length of the canal, however, modern surveyors suggest that the original engineers may not have been able to keep the canal at a constant level (due to surveying difficulties or lack of budget to excavate deeper). Natural barriers may therefore have been left in place to partition the canal into sections, maintaining the required depth of water, with goods transhipped or boats dragged across the barriers. They may also have been a deliberate precaution against the whole section drying out in summer.^[4][17] ArchaeologistGrahame Clark established that gravel causeways atCottenham originated only after the canal had gone out of use for transport, no earlier than the fourth century, as a precaution against flooding.^[18]

The dyke acts as acatchwater drain in parts, intercepting runoff from the higher ground to the west.^[4] However, the southern half of its passage throughLincolnshire and its northern end, nearWashingborough, have a raised bank on each side; the one on the upland side would not be a feature well adapted to a catchwater drain. Those near Washingborough still survive to a height of over 3 feet (1 m), and would have prevented surface water entering the canal.^[4] Evidence of seventeenth-century improvements to form part of local drainage schemes has been identified, overlying material from the Roman period.^[5]

Archaeological investigation funded by English Heritage on a section of the dyke near Waterbeach suggests that the effect of both deliberate re-cuts in the late Roman period to improve land drainage, and the natural flows of surface water along some sections of the route, resulted in the change of use from transport toagricultural improvement.^[19]

It is possible to trace features that could be interpreted as boundaries all round The Fens which are either of Roman date or natural. In c.120 AD the Roman emperorHadrian visited Britain and the sections dating from this period may be associated with his plan to settle the Fens.^[6][4] The exception is in the south-east of the Fens where the landscape was manuallystrip mined forcoprolite, a source ofphosphate used to enrich agricultural soils. The coprolite was found in a seam ofCambridge Greensand, and the industry thrived in the latter half of the 19th century,^[20] destroying any evidence of boundary features, before the days of detailed mapping andaerial photography. One conclusion, though given the conflicts in the surviving evidence one not reached by everyone, is that overall the dyke was used primarily as a boundary, (as part of it in south Lincolnshire undoubtedly was in the medieval period) but that parts were adapted to serve also as a catchwater drain.^[6]

v t e Car Dyke
Legend
River Witham Washingborough (scheduled) drain B1190 bridge, Branston Booths Sluice and Branston Delph Branston Causeway Nocton Fen Lane Nocton Delph (scheduled) Nocton Delph Dunston Fen Sluice and Metheringham Delph B1191 bridge,Martin Timberland Delph Fen Road bridge, Timberland Billinghay Skirth Farrowway Drain and sluice A153 Sleaford Road River Slea River Slea Sluice Hodge Dyke Heckington Eau Head Dike Drain House built over Dyke Catchwater Drain A17 Sleaford Road East Midlands Railway Little Hale Drain Helperingham Eau Railway line North Drove Drain Parson's Drove Drain Swaton Eau B1171 road New Cut Drain Hobling Fen Drain Ouse Mere Lode Billingborough Drain Billingborough Lode Pointon Lode Division Drain B1397 road Dowsby Drain Fen Road Old Beck Drain and sluice Haconby Drove Main Road,Dyke Diversion atBourne Bourne Eau River Glen Route lost at Baston Route lost atMarket Deeping River Welland Maxey Cut, R Welland Railway Bridge Folly River Scheduled section at Peterborough A47 Road bridge A1139 Roundabout Route under Frank Perkins Parkway River Nene Southern Section R Great Ouse (Old West River) Engine Drain Setchel Fen Bullocks Haste Common Roman site Cottenham Lode  B1049  Twenty Pence Road Long Drove drain dry scheduled section drain  A10  road dry section route lost through Waterbeach scheduled section drain Fen Line railway dry scheduled section River Cam

The 57-mile (92 km) northern part of the Car Dyke fromLincoln toPeterborough is reasonably easy to follow with earthworks extant upon the ground or fromcropmarks visible from the air.^[6] It is marked on the Ordnance Survey map of Roman Britain and was shown on the first edition maps by the Ordnance Survey produced in 1824.^[21][7][22] Much of it is still marked on the modern 1:25,000 map and the 1:2,500 map.^[23] The southern section from Peterborough toWaterbeach is not so easy to follow. The 2001 map of Roman Britain shows the dyke from Peterborough terminating to the north ofRamsey, with an isolated section running on the same alignment northwards from Waterbeach on theRiver Cam.^[7] The short section between Waterbeach and the Cam (also known asThe Old Tillage, a name deriving from a dialect word for loading and unloading^[24]) is of established Roman-era origin.^[4]

At the northern end, the first recognisable remains are to the north of the B1190 road through Washingborough, where the south bank runs between gardens and allotments. Material from the north bank was used to construct new banks for theRiver Witham in the early 19th century,^[22] as part of a project to replace the original locks atKirkstead andBarlings with new locks at Stamp End andBardney, authorised by a local act of Parliament obtained in 1808.^[25][26] There are then six short sections which are listed asscheduled monuments, with gaps due to the construction of houses and a community centre on the line of the remains.^[27] Its course then turns to the south-east, running parallel to the B1190, as it heads throughBranston Booths, passing the end of Branston Delph and Carr-Dyke Farm, one of many similarly named farms along its length, to reachPotterhanworth Booths.^[23] Much of its route has become part of the modern land-drainage infrastructure, and so the remains are not particularly well preserved.^[22]

It then heads broadly southwards across open countryside and forms the eastern boundary of Potterhanworth Wood. In Nocton Fen it passes to the east of the site of Nocton Park Priory,^[28] and then there is another scheduled section, bordered to the west by Nocton Wood, and connected to Nocton Delph, which flows eastwards to the River Witham.^[29] In Metheringham Fen it turns to the east, and there are two short scheduled section after Blankney Wood, divided by the buildings of Oak Tree Farm.^[30] It then resumes its southward passage, and after Carrdyke Farm, there is another scheduled section.^[31] It passes to the east ofMartin and the western end of Timberland Delph, before following a large S-shaped course to the east ofTimberland. Immediately afterwards there are two more scheduled sections, one to the north of Fen Road, Timberland^[32] and the second to the south.^[33]

The dyke passes to the east ofWalcott and along the northern and eastern edge ofBillinghay, where it joins Billinghay Skirth, which drains into the River Witham. The continuation of Billinghay Skirth to the south-west uses the course of Car Dyke, and when it turns to the west nearNorth Kyme, Car Dyke continues southwards, running along the western edge of North Kyme to reach theRiver Slea at Ferry Bridge. The River Slea makes a right-angled turn at the junction, and then turns to the east again, with Car Dyke continuing southwards, and now part of Midfodder Dike. Its course has then been reused by Hodge Dyke, which again makes a right-angled turn at the junction, until it crosses Heckington Eau, which becomes Head Dike as it continues eastwards. Continuing to the south, it reaches Littleworth Drove, where a house has been built over the remains. It passes under the A17 road, and then Carterplot Road runs parallel to it. It is crossed by theEast Midlands Railway line fromSleaford toSwineshead, Little Hale Drove, where there is another Car Dyke farm, Helperingham Eau, North Drove and the Sleaford toSpalding railway line.^[23]

At the railway crossing, it turns to the west and then the south west, where there is another scheduled section.^[34] It runs to the east ofSwaton, with Cardyke Farm to its east, and continues pastHorbling andBillingborough until it is crossed by Billingborough Lode, which drains into theSouth Forty-Foot Drain. There is a large moated site by the junction.^[35] NearPointon, it is crossed by Fen Road, Pointon Lode and Millthorpe Drove, while nearDunsby there is another Car Dyke Farm. Soon its course is joined by Rippingale Running Dike, and betweenHaconby andMorton there is another Cardyke Farm, before the Car Dyke passes through a small village calledDyke,^[23] where there is another scheduled section.^[36]

AtBourne the dyke makes right-angled turns to the east and then the south, to joinBourne Eau, which continues westwards to the centre of the town, where the Car Dyke turns to the south and weaves its way between housing. Soon it is back in open countryside, passing to the east ofThurlby where 210 yards (190 m) of earthworks in Park Wood are scheduled,^[37] before crossing theRiver Glen just to the east of Kate's Bridge. Its course is lost as it passes through the housing estates ofBaston, as it has inMarket Deeping andDeeping St James. As it crosses theRiver Welland on the southern edge of the town, it passes into Cambridgeshire, and skirts the eastern edges ofNorthborough andGlinton. As it approaches the northern edge ofPeterborough, it turns to the east, where there is another scheduled section atPeakirk, beyond which its course is covered by housing.^[38]

From Fen Bridge to Whitepost Road, 2.75 miles (4.4 km) of Car Dyke is scheduled, with two small gaps where the course is cut by Guntons Road and Gunthorpe Road. The overall width of the channel, including the berms, banks and scarps, is between 44 and 77 yards (40 and 70 m). The remains are in good condition, despite the fact that Car Dyke has been reused as part of the modern land drainage system.^[6] It then passes through Peterborough where parts of its course are visible, but much has been obliterated by the construction of the A1139 Frank Perkins Parkway. It reaches theRiver Nene atFengate.^[23]

The southern section runs for 5 miles (8 km) from Setchel Fen, on the south bank of the Old West River to the River Cam at Waterbeach. There are no remaining earthworks on Setchel Fen, although the Ordnance Survey show a proposed course across the southern part of the fen, and a continuation of the route has been reused as a drain to the north of the Engine Drain.^[23] To the north of Setchel Drove, Car Dyke runs along the eastern edge of Bullocks Haste Common, where there was a Romano-British settlement. The site is a scheduled monument, but the northern section has been ploughed, and the remains are only visible from aerial photographs. The site continues to the south of Setchel Drove, where there is a series of dykes and field systems, with Car Dyke running through the midst of them.^[39] Cottenham Lode, an artificial channel known to have been built before the Norman conquest of 1066, marks the southern edge of Bullocks Haste Common.^[40] After that, the dyke has been reused as a drainage channel. It is crossed by the B1049 Twenty Pence Road and by Long Drove drain.^[23] There is then a dry section which is a scheduled monument.^[41]

The route continues southwards, running to the west of Cambridge Research Park, and again is used as a drainage ditch. It is then cut by theA10 road, which runs along the western bank of the route, with a disused airfield to the east. The route has been lost through Waterbeach, where Denny End has been built over its course,^[23] but there is a final section to the south of the village, which is also a scheduled monument and a drainage channel. This section is known as The Old Tillage, and is crossed by theFen Line railway just before it reaches the River Cam.^[42]

The section between the rivers Nene and Welland may be restored to navigation as a section of the newFens Waterways Link for leisure craft. An engineering study has been made, but because of concerns for its historic status it is not the preferred route, with the Cat's Water Drain being the other considered option.^[43][44]

• List of Roman canals

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53°00′45″N0°16′04″W / 53.0125°N 0.2678°W /53.0125; -0.2678

• Roman canals
• Geography of Lincolnshire
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• Canals in England
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