Pauper’s Drain is a small tributary of the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

North Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 167,446 in the 2011 census. The borough includes the towns of Scunthorpe, Brigg, Haxey, Crowle, Epworth, Bottesford, Kirton in Lindsey and Bart ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, and is 9 km (6 miles) long. It has a catchment area of 42 square kilometres(16 square miles) of flat

arable Arable relates to the growing of crops: * Arable farming or agronomy, the cultivation of field crops * Arable land, land upon which crops are cultivated * Arable crops program The arable crops program is a consolidated support system operated und ...

, agricultural land to the east of the

Isle of Axholme The Isle of Axholme is a geographical area in England: a part of North Lincolnshire that adjoins South Yorkshire. It is located between the towns of Scunthorpe and Gainsborough, both of which are in the traditional West Riding of Lindsey, an ...

. The start of the drain is the outflow of the Crowle

sewage treatment Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding e ...

works; from there it flows in an eastwardly direction, south of the village of Eastoft before it reaches the Paupers

pumping station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses in situations such as drilled wells and drinking water, are facilities containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure systems, ...

at the side of the tidal River Trent, to the north of

Amcotts Amcotts is a village and civil parish in the North Lincolnshire district of Lincolnshire, England, and on the Isle of Axholme. The village is situated north-west from Scunthorpe, and on the west bank of the River Trent facing Flixborough on the ...

. The station contains three pumps, which are used to maintain water levels in the drain by discharging water into the Trent as required. A

sluice Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

adjacent to the pumping station, also allows water to discharge by gravity during periods of tidal

low water Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables c ...

. The watercourse is essential for the land drainage of this low-lying area, which is the responsibility of the Isle of Axholme & North Nottinghamshire Water Level Management Board, the successor body to the Isle of Axholme

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 withi ...

. The Board undertakes maintenance tasks such as annual mowing and rodding of the drain. The name is thought to be derived from the fact that it was constructed by labourers on the

poor rate In England and Wales the poor rate was a tax on property levied in each parish, which was used to provide poor relief. It was collected under both the Old Poor Law and the New Poor Law. It was absorbed into 'general rate' local taxation in the 19 ...

(or paupers). It was also considered to have been constructed prior to the 17th century drainage works of

Vermuyden Sir Cornelius Vermuyden (Sint-Maartensdijk, 1595 – London, 11 October 1677) was a Dutch engineer who introduced Dutch land reclamation methods to England. Vermuyden was commissioned by the Crown to drain Hatfield Chase in the Isle of Axholme, ...

in the area.

Notes

References

{{authority control 1Pauper's Pauper's Tributaries of the River Trent