South Holland Sluice

Just up the road from Foul Anchor sluice is the South Holland sluice that discharges excess water into the tidal River Nene upstream of Sutton Bridge. This sluice controls water levels on the South Holland Main Drain by means of a gravity fed system at periods of low tide on the Nene. In 1793 the South Holland Internal Drainage Act was signed with a view to draining some 19,400 acres of farmland. In 1795 the sluice was built and shortly after in 1796 the South Holland Drain was completed and spanned 22.5km between Cowbit and the Nene. The initial sluice did not perform as expected and in 1832 it was rebuilt and operated for a further 105 years before the new sluice was built in 1937 at a cost of £39,960 about 70metres to the NNE of the old sluice.