Dikes and canals constructed to drain the fens are the prominent feature of this plan of the West Fen in Lincolnshire. These date from the 17th century, when James I appointed Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden to direct the drainage of the wetlands. Many local people opposed the scheme as the plan involved commonland on which they grazed cattle. As a result of Vermuyden's work, the fens changed radically in appearance, from an area of flooded marshes to one of extensively farmed agricultural land.
