The Fenlands around The Wash were inhospitable areas of wetland, and the only sure and (relatively) safe way to navigate them was by its waterways. One of the key waterways was the River Glen. There is every possibility that Surfleet served as a port for the transport of goods to and from the Fens, along with its larger neighbour, Spalding. Surfleet still had some role as a port as recently as the turn of the 20th century – albeit on a small scale. An entry in Kelly’s Directory of Lincolnshire 1885 states ‘By the Rivers Glen and Welland, which unite in this Parish, a small trade is carried on in coals, stone and gravel’.
The River Glen was tidal throughout its course in the Parish, until 1739 when a sluice gate was built for it, just before it joins the River Welland.
The first evidence of the existence of Surfleet is in the Domesday Book (1086), where it is recorded as Suerefelt. In another document, dated 1167, it is shown as Surfliet. The name stems from the Old English words sur (sour) and fleet (stream or tidal creek).
Back in those days the area around The Wash had broadly three different land characteristics.
Firstly, settlements were built on the slightly higher silt ridge that run in an arc around The Wash. This ridge has been badged by historians as the ‘Townlands’.
Secondly, to the north and east of the Townlands was the sea, mudflats and saltmarsh. Looking at the map, you can see that the settlements, including Surfleet, were built on the seaward edge of the Townlands, and could be prone to flooding by sea waters at high tides.
Finally, to the south and west lay the inhospitable fenland, a landscape of permanent and semi permanent flooded,flat, land.
We can’t be sure when Surfleet was founded, but like most of the villages on the Townlands, they are thought to have sprung up sometime in the mid to late Anglo-Saxon period (AD650 – 1000). There is evidence of earlier, Roman, activity in the area: two salt pans whereby salt is extracted from seawater but whether there were any settlements here in Roman times remains unproven at this point.
To protect the settlements, pastures and arable crops from inundation, sea banks were built along most of the coastline of The Wash. Although traditionally they have been called the ‘Roman Banks’ the general consensus these days is that they were actually constructed in Anglo-Saxon times. In Surfleet Parish, this original sea bank can still very much be seen, and modern roads sits atop it. The marshland on the seaward side of the bank is at the entrance to an estuary called Bicker Haven.
(Author: Stuart Henderson)
