Gilbert Heathcote's tunnel was an engineering project dating from the 1630s as one of the earliest modern attempts to drain

The Fens The Fens or Fenlands in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a system o ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. Rendered obsolete by the mechanical drainage improvements after World War II, it was finally removed in 1991. It carried water, under gravity, from Bourne South Fen, Thurlby Fen and Northorpe Fen to the Counter Drain and thence to Deeping Fen. A tunnel was required under the River Glen which was (and still is) artificially banked with a level some 3 metres above the surrounding lands and above the Counter Drain. The Counter Drain was pumped further downstream by wind-driven machinery, erected later. At the time of construction Deeping Fen was still inundated. In 1871 the Bourne South Fen Drainage District was formed to take over the drainage, which had been in the hands of

adventurers An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

, and from 1872 a succession of steam engines were used to assist the flow through the tunnel. The location is around 500m upstream on the Glen of the confluence with the

Bourne Eau Bourne Eau is a short river which rises from an artesian spring in the town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, England, and flows in an easterly direction to join the River Glen at Tongue End. Within the town, it once powered three water mills, one of ...

Tongue End __NOTOC__ Tongue End is a small village in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated east from Bourne and south-west from Spalding, and alongside the Counter Drain that runs between Baston and Pode Hole. Tongue End ...

is the nearest settlement. The modern by-road alongside the original drain to the tunnel is still called ''Tunnel Bank''. The Gilbert Heathcote for whom it is named appears to be the grandfather of

Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 1st Baronet Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 1st Baronet (2 January 1652 – 25 January 1733) was an English merchant and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician who sat in the English House of Commons, English and House of Commons of Great Britain, Bri ...

, and an ancestor of the first

Baron Aveland Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, ...

. That family later inherited nearby

Grimsthorpe Castle Grimsthorpe Castle is a country house in Lincolnshire, England north-west of Bourne, Lincolnshire, Bourne on the A151 road, A151. It lies within a 3,000 acre (12 km2) park of rolling pastures, lakes, and woodland landscaped by Capability B ...

, but must have had land and associations with this area to claim the title of

Aveland Aveland was a Wapentake of Kesteven from the time of the Danelaw until the Local Government Act 1888. Its meeting place was The Aveland at in the parish of Aslackby. Origins Aveland was probably established as an administrative unit soon aft ...

. The area drained falls within the area of the Welland and Deepings

Internal Drainage Board An internal drainage board (IDB) 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 wit ...

.Welland and Deepings IDB
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References

{{coord, 52.7483, N, 0.29816, W, region:GB_type:river, display=title, name=Site of Sir Gilbert Heathcote's Tunnel

Glen A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. The word is Goidelic in origin: ''gleann'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, ''glion'' in Manx. ...

History of Lincolnshire 17th century in England Tunnels in Lincolnshire Fens of England Drainage canals in England