North Forty Foot Bank

The North Forty Foot Bank is a settlement which runs about 6 miles (10 km) along the North Forty Foot Drain, about five to nine miles north-west of Boston Lincolnshire, England. It begins just south of the parish of Chapel Hill and runs along the drain to Toft Tunnel, just north of Hubberts Bridge. Despite its length, it only consists of the area on the north side of the drain, which was built in 1720 by Earl Fitzwilliam.[1] The North Forty Foot Bank forms the boundary between Harts Grounds and Pelhams Lands.

Major Cartwrights Woad Mill

North Forty Foot Bank
North Forty Foot Drain
North Forty Foot Bank Location within Lincolnshire
OS grid reference	TF249477
• London	105 mi (169 km) S
Civil parish	Holland Fen with Brothertoft
District	Boston (borough)
Shire county	Lincolnshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Boston
Postcode district	PE20
Dialling code	01205
Police	Lincolnshire
Fire	Lincolnshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Boston and Skegness

A row of 29 brick and slate cottages were built between the North Forty Foot Bank and the hamlet of Brothertoft by Major John Cartwright to accommodate the workers of his red brick woad mill in the late 18th century. This place was then called Isatica, which is Latin for "woad".[2] After Cartwright left Brothertoft for London, the hamlet of Isatica fell into ruin and disappeared.[3][4]

Formerly extra-parochial, the North Forty Foot Bank was created a civil parish in 1858, but in 1906 became part of the civil parish of Holland Fen with Brothertoft.[5]

Hedgehog Bridge School

Settlements within North Forty Foot Bank include:

• Pelhams Land
• Harts Ground
• Holland Fen
• Hedgehog Bridge lies about 5 miles (8.0 km) north west of Boston, Lincolnshire, on the North Forty Foot Bank. It was named after a hump-backed bridge over the drain which no longer exists. Hedgehog Bridge School was built in 1880 by the North-East Holland Fen School Board for 95 children.[6] It opened on 4 April 1881, became a Council School in 1903, and a County School about 1947. It finally closed in December 1969, and was demolished in 2010.[7][8][9][10]
• Toft Tunnel lies at the junction of the North Forty Foot Bank and the B1192 Langrick Road. Today it consists mainly of farms.[11]

References

1. W. H. Wheeler (1868). "History Of The Fens Of South Lincolnshire". p. 44. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
2. T. W. Bearstall (1978). Maurice Barley (ed.). Agricultural Revolution in Lincolnshire. The History of Lincolnshire Committee. p. 222. ISBN 0-902668-07-2.
3. Arthur Young (1799). General View of the Agriculture of the County of Lincoln. Board of Agriculture. p. 35. Retrieved 6 May 2011. cartwright brothertoft cottages.
4. "Lincs To The Past". Lincolnshire Archives/English Heritage. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
5. "Vision Of Britain". University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
6. "Kellys Directory 1919". Kellys Directories Ltd. p. 294. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
7. "Lincs to the Past". Ref name SR/o83. Lincolnshire Archives. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
11. "Google Map". Google. Retrieved 2 May 2011.

External links

• Media related to North Forty Foot Bank at Wikimedia Commons