Lewes and Laughton Levels facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lewes and Laughton Levels
Glynde Reach is the main drain for the Laughton Levels
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Location	Lewes and Laughton in East Sussex
OS grid	TQ435080
Area	6,000 acres (24 km2)

The Lewes and Laughton Levels are a large area of flat, low-lying land in East Sussex, England. They are found near the River Ouse and the Glynde Reach. For hundreds of years, this land was often flooded. People worked hard to drain it so it could be used for farming.

In the past, this area was probably a tidal inlet, meaning sea water flowed in and out. By the early 1300s, some meadows were created by building walls of earth called embankments. But later that century, conditions got worse. By 1537, most of the meadows were always flooded.

A big problem was a build-up of shingle (small stones) at the mouth of the River Ouse. This stopped the water from draining properly. In 1537, a special tax was collected, and a new channel was dug through the shingle. This helped for a while.

By the mid-1600s, the shingle was again blocking the river. The new channel was fixed around 1731. In 1758, an engineer named John Smeaton studied the area. He wanted to make it better for farming. He suggested making the river wider and straighter. He also thought about building a large sluice (a gate to control water flow) to keep the tides out. Some dredging (clearing the riverbed) and widening happened, but the big sluice was not built.

In 1788, William Jessop surveyed the whole river. His main goal was to make it easier for boats to travel. The Ouse above Lewes became the River Ouse Navigation, with many locks. For the lower river, he suggested making it much straighter. He also wanted to remove the shingle bar near the river's mouth. This work was finished in 1795. Similar work happened on the Glynde Reach between 1796 and 1803. This not only helped ships reach Lewes but also drained the meadows much better.

Improvements continued in the early 1800s. John Ellman, a famous farmer, helped lead these efforts. Even when there were big floods in 1829, the meadows drained within two days.

Today, the Environment Agency manages flood defences for the Levels. They suggested that a local group should manage the drainage. Lewes District Council agreed to help fund flood management.

A Look Back: Early Flooding Problems

The Ouse valley in Sussex was likely a tidal inlet during Norman times. The Domesday Book from 1086 mentions several salt works here. These made salt by evaporating sea water. Some salt works were far inland, even at Laughton. People also fished and farmed around the water's edge.

By the early 1300s, some land was reclaimed from the floods. People built embankments to create rich meadows. But this was risky. The lower Ouse river had a very gentle slope. Changes in sea levels and more storms caused many meadows to flood in winter. Sometimes they stayed flooded all summer. For example, meadows at Beddingham were flooded in summer for several years in the 1360s and 1380s.

In 1421, a huge flood hit the Sussex coast. It caused a lot of damage. A group called the Commission of Sewers was set up in 1422. Their job was to fix the banks and drainage systems. Later, about 400 acres of meadow near Lewes became a fishery. By the early 1500s, most drainage systems had failed. Many estates were under water for most of the year. Over 6,000 acres were affected. This area became like an inland lake, good only for hunting birds and fishing.

The Shingle Bar and New Channels

A big problem was a huge shingle bar that blocked the river's outlet. This bar had slowly moved eastwards. It made it hard for water to drain from the river. It also made it difficult for boats to reach the river from the sea.

One idea was to dig a new channel through the shingle. In 1537, a special tax was collected from landowners. The work on the new channel was likely finished by 1539. The next year, some sluices along the Ouse were replaced. The improved drainage meant cattle could graze on the Levels again. The fishery even turned back into a meadow.

These better conditions lasted until the early 1600s. But by 1648, the outlet was blocked by shingle again. This stopped both drainage and shipping. By 1731, the outlet at Newhaven was fixed again. An engineer named John Reynolds worked on this. He also built a sluice across the river at Piddinghoe. This sluice was meant to hold back water. Then, it could be released at low tide to clear the channel. But it was damaged in 1736 and removed.

Smeaton's Ideas for Drainage

The Commissioners for the Lewes and Laughton Levels hired engineer John Smeaton. He visited the area in 1767 to improve drainage. He found that many meadows were under water. Their condition varied, so different solutions were needed. Meadows like those at Southover and Iford were badly affected. Their embankments were low and not well kept. At high tide, the river level was higher than the meadows.

Smeaton noticed that the tide rose and fell a lot near the sea. But it barely moved at Lewes Bridge. This was because of narrow, winding channels and many shoals (shallow areas). These held water back and stopped it from draining. He also noted the large shingle bar at Newhaven. If it were removed, water levels could be much lower at low tide.

He suggested two main ways to drain the Levels. The first was to straighten the river and remove all blockages. He also proposed building a sluice near the sea to keep tides out. The meadows would need better embankments and sluices to drain water when needed. The second idea was to raise all the meadow banks. A separate drain would carry extra water to the sea. The main river would stay mostly the same.

Smeaton estimated the first plan would cost about £10,800. The Commissioners did some of his suggestions. They improved the channels below Lewes in 1768 by dredging. But they did not straighten the river much, and Smeaton's big sluice was never built.

Jessop's Impact on the River

The next big step happened in 1788. William Jessop was asked to survey the river. He wanted to make it better for boats. His plan to make the river into a canal above Lewes became law in 1790. This created a company to manage the project.

Jessop also saw that boats could only travel between Lewes and Newhaven during high spring tides. He suggested making the channel wider, deeper, and straighter. This work included digging a new section of river to fix the worst bends. A new company was formed in 1791 to manage this.

A schoolmaster and engineer named Cater Rand oversaw the work. Hundreds of workers dug the channel from Lewes down to Southease. This was finished by February 1795. By October, the tides flowed all the way up to Lewes Bridge. The faster-moving water helped clear the channel at Newhaven. It also drained the Levels more effectively. Work to improve Glynde Reach happened from 1786 to 1803. This led to better drainage for the Laughton Levels.

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