Littleworth railway station

Deeping Fen is a low-lying area in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England, which covers approximately 47 square miles (120 km2). It is bounded by the River Welland and the River Glen, and is extensively drained, but the efficient drainage of the land exercised the minds of several of the great civil engineers of the 17th and 18th centuries. Drainage schemes were first authorised during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, but from 1632, a group of adventurers took control of the drainage, in return for which they were granted land. They faced the problem that the outfalls of the River Welland and the River Glen were not sufficiently low to enable proper drainage by gravity, and most schemes included improvement to the rivers. John Perry, an engineer of some repute, who had set the standard for engineering reports in 1727, began work in 1730, and was followed by John Grundy, Sr., a pioneer in applying scientific principles to civil engineering problems. His son, John Grundy, Jr., was another capable engineer, who was retained as a consultant after he resigned as full-time Surveyor of Works. In 1800 the civil engineers William Jessop and John Rennie assisted local engineers with plans for improvements, the chief of which was for a steam pumping station. This plan was not implemented immediately, but two steam engines fitted with scoop wheels were installed at Pode Hole in 1823. The pumping station was the largest in the Fens at the time, and remained so for many years. Steam gradually gave way to diesel engines and scoop wheels were replaced by centrifugal pumps, and the diesel engines were then replaced by electric motors. However, the beam engine and scoop wheel at Pinchbeck Marsh, which ran from 1833 to 1952, was not scrapped, and can be visited by the public. From 1801 the fen was managed by trustees, appointed under the terms of an act of Parliament obtained in that year, and this remained the case until 1939 when the administrative structure was replaced by the Welland & Deepings Internal Drainage Board.

Deeping St Nicholas is a village in Lincolnshire, England, on the A1175 road between The Deepings and Spalding. Unlike Market Deeping, which is in South Kesteven district, Deeping St Nicholas is in South Holland. Deeping St Nicholas is also a South Holland civil parish which includes the small settlements of Tongue End and Hop Pole, and a number of outlying farms. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,961.

Hop Pole is a hamlet in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated between Deeping St James and Deeping St Nicholas, and on the A1175 Littleworth Drove road. No separate population statistic is available for Hop Pole. The best available report is for the whole Deeping St Nicholas civil parish with a total of 1323 people within 505 dwellings. There are approximately 40 homes in Hop Pole, around 105 people pro-rata. Hop Pole falls within the drainage area of the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board. Hop Pole had three pubs: The Oat Sheaf Inn (closed 1957 and since demolished), The Blue Bell Inn (closed 2012 and now a motorhome stop-over site) and the Hop Pole Inn (closed in 1928 following the death of its long-serving landlord, Charles Stainsby).

Stowgate is a small settlement in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately 2 miles (3 km) north-east from Deeping St James, and is linked to the Deepings group of villages. Stowgate contains very few houses, most of which are farmhouses. The settlement grew up around Stowgate Farm – the farmhouse of which still exists – which was divided into a number of smaller farms intended to provide housing and agricultural land for those who contributed to war effort. These farms still exist. Stowgate contains a Bernard Matthews turkey farm.

North Drove railway station was a station serving Pode Hole in Lincolnshire, England. It was on the route of the Spalding and Bourne Railway (opened 1866), later part of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway.

Pode Hole is a village in South Holland, Lincolnshire, England. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) from Spalding and a similar distance from Bourne. The village lies at the confluence of several drainage channels, where two pumping stations discharge water into Vernatt's Drain from land in Deeping Fen to the South and West. Water from Pinchbeck South Fen to the North is also lifted into Vernatt's Drain. The village arose to service the pumping stations. The village is largely a ribbon development stretching from the pumping stations and the Fishermans Arms public house along Bourne Road toward Spalding. The village post office and small shop is now also a bed and breakfast, and an outside catering service. No separate population statistic is available for Pode Hole. The best available report is for the whole Pinchbeck civil parish, which covers several settlements north and east of Spalding with a total of 5,153. At the 2011 census population details can be found under the civil parish of Pinchbeck. The name may well be a reference to a marshy location, possibly with a population of frogs and toads. Pode Hole farm, near Thorney probably derives its name the same way. Pode Hole has one of the earliest rain gauge records of precipitation, beginning in 1726.Pode Hole falls within the drainage area of the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board, successors to the original Deeping Fen commissioners.

Crowland (modern usage) or Croyland (medieval era name and the one still in ecclesiastical use; cf. Latin: Croilandia) is a town in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated between Peterborough and Spalding. Crowland contains two sites of historical interest, Crowland Abbey and Trinity Bridge.

Trinity Bridge is a unique three-way stone arch bridge that stands at the heart of Crowland, Lincolnshire, England. While it once spanned the confluence of the River Welland and a tributary, the rivers have been re-routed, and it now spans nothing significant.

Borough Fen is a civil parish in the City of Peterborough unitary authority in Cambridgeshire, England. The parish is to the north of Peterborough city centre, just below the county border with Lincolnshire. Much of the land in the 19th century was owned by Sir Culling Eardley, 3rd Baronet, a strong supporter of the local boys' school. The land has predominantly been used for agriculture and cattle farming which is still a significant employment sector today. Described by John Marius Wilson in 1870 as "BOROUGH-FEN (Ville), an extra-parochial tract in Peterborough district, Northampton; 5 miles N by E of Peterborough. Acres, 3,130. Real property, £6,086. Pop., 202. Houses, 31."

Crowland Abbey (historically often spelled Croyland Abbey; Latin: Croilandia) is a Church of England parish church, formerly part of a Benedictine abbey church, in Crowland in the English county of Lincolnshire. It is a Grade I listed building.

Counter Drain railway station was a remote station in Lincolnshire serving the village of Tongue End. It was on the route of the Spalding and Bourne Railway (opened 1866), later part of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway which ran across East Anglia to the Norfolk Coast. The station opened with the line on 1 August 1866, closed temporarily between 9 October 1880 and 1 February 1881, and closed permanently on 2 March 1959, although the line remained open for goods until 1964. The three intermediate stations between Spalding and Bourne had unusual names, because there were few nearby settlements; "Counter Drain" was the name of a drainage ditch close to the station.

Willow Tree Fen is a local nature reserve with an area of over 112.0 ha (277 acres) located near Bourne and Spalding, south of the River Glen, England. The site was acquired by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust in 2009 and converted from an arable field into a wetland fen.