Sir Cornelius Vermuyden
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Sir Cornelius Vermuyden (, ; also spelled ''Vermuijden''; 1595 – 11 October 1677) was a Dutch
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
who introduced Dutch land reclamation methods to England. Vermuyden was commissioned by the Crown to drain
Hatfield Chase Hatfield Chase is a low-lying area in South Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, England, which was often flooded. It was a royal hunting ground until Charles I of England, Charles I appointed the Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden to drain it in 1 ...
in the
Isle of Axholme The Isle of Axholme is an area of Lincolnshire, England, adjoining South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire. It is located between Scunthorpe and Gainsborough, both of which are in the traditional West Riding of Lindsey, and Doncast ...
,
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
. In the 1650s, he directed major projects to drain
The Fens The Fens or Fenlands in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a system o ...
of
East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...
, introducing the innovation of constructing washes, to allow periodic flooding of the area by excess waters.


Early life and education

Cornelius was the son of Gillis Vermuyden and Sarah Werkendet. He was born in 1595 in Haestinge on the Isle of
Tholen Tholen () is a 25,000 people municipality in the southwest of the Netherlands. The municipality of Tholen takes its name from the town of Tholen, which is the largest population center in the municipality. The municipality consists of two peninsu ...
in the
Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...
province of the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
. He trained in the Netherlands as an engineer, learning Dutch techniques for controlling water and draining marshland.


Career in England

By the period of 1621 to 1623, Vermuyden was working in England, where his first projects were on the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
, repairing a sea wall at
Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...
and working to reclaim
Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames Estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ...
,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
. The latter project was financed by Joas Croppenburg, a Dutch haberdasher to whom Vermuyden was related by marriage. This, or perhaps work at
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...
, brought him to the notice of
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
, who commissioned him in 1626 to drain
Hatfield Chase Hatfield Chase is a low-lying area in South Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, England, which was often flooded. It was a royal hunting ground until Charles I of England, Charles I appointed the Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden to drain it in 1 ...
in the
Isle of Axholme The Isle of Axholme is an area of Lincolnshire, England, adjoining South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire. It is located between Scunthorpe and Gainsborough, both of which are in the traditional West Riding of Lindsey, and Doncast ...
,
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
. The King was Lord of the four principal manors there: Hatfield, Epworth, Crowle and Misterton, as well as 13 of the adjacent manors, and he wanted to expand the cultivable area. Vermuyden was to receive one third of the drained land, most of which had previously been
commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...
, as recompense for his investment. To finance the drainage project, he sold shares in this land to other investors, including some fellow Dutchmen. Some
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
and Walloon
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refugees also settled in the area as landowners or tenants. The King intended to enclose one third of the common
fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...
in his right of "improvement" as the
Lord of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...
, leaving one-third for those local residents who had common rights of pasturage in the fens. The local people were upset by the project, particularly those of the Manor of Epworth, whose lord had already enclosed part of the commons in the 14th century. He had later signed a legal document giving up all subsequent rights of enclosure within the manor. As with other fen drainage schemes at the time, the locals did not oppose drainage ''per se,'' but were outraged about the large enclosures of their common pasture and
turbary Turbary is the ancient right to cut turf, or peat, for fuel on a particular area of bog. The word may also be used to describe the associated piece of bog or peatland and, by extension, the material extracted from the turbary. Turbary rights, whi ...
fens. This threatened their commons rights and livelihoods, as they depended on the fens for pasturage and for peat for burning as fuel. From 1627, the richer members of the community challenged the project in court by lawsuits, even as large groups of commoners (not necessarily poor people, but including some substantial farmers) rioted against the works and the enclosures. Because the legal position of the commoners of Epworth was unique, the legal debate over the drainage and enclosures lasted into the eighteenth century. Vermuyden was knighted in 1629 for his work, and became a British citizen in 1633. In 1631 he built the Horseshoe Sluice on the tidal river at
Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and ...
,
Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an Administrative counties of England, administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to ...
,
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...
at a cost of £8,000, by a "little Army of Artificers Venting, contriving and acting outlandish devises" The work on
Hatfield Chase Hatfield Chase is a low-lying area in South Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, England, which was often flooded. It was a royal hunting ground until Charles I of England, Charles I appointed the Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden to drain it in 1 ...
was only partially successful: the straightening of the river Don and outlet into the
Aire Aire may refer to: Music *''Aire'', a song on the album Chicago VII by the group Chicago (band), 1974 * ''Aire'' (Yuri album), 1987 * ''Aire'' (Pablo Ruiz album), 1997 *''Aire (Versión Día)'', an album by Jesse & Joy Places * Aire-sur-la-Ly ...
caused flooding in Fishlake,
Sykehouse Sykehouse is a village and civil parish in the City of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, on the border with the East Riding of Yorkshire. It was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974. It had a population of 438 in 2001, increasing ...
and
Snaith Snaith is a market town in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, close to the River Aire and the M62 motorway, M62 and M18 motorway, M18 motorways, west of Goole, east of Knottingley, south of Selby, southwest of Howden and northwest of ...
. As a result of a lawsuit in 1633, Vermuyden dug the Dutch River, which provided a direct route from the Don to the River Ouse at
Goole Goole is a port town and civil parish on the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town's Historic counties of England, historic county is the West Riding of Yorkshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom censu ...
. It required him to deplete most of the land that he had acquired in the Chase. The same year he bought of land in
Sedgemoor Sedgemoor is a low-lying area of land in Somerset, England. It lies close to sea level south of the Polden Hills, historically largely marsh (or "moor" in its older sense). The eastern part is known as King's Sedgemoor, and the western part We ...
on the
Somerset Levels The Somerset Levels are a coastal plain and wetland area of Somerset, England, running south from the Mendips to the Blackdown Hills. The Somerset Levels have an area of about and are bisected by the Polden Hills; the areas to the south ...
and
Malvern Chase Malvern Chase was a royal chase that occupied the land between the Malvern Hills and the River Severn in Worcestershire and extended to Herefordshire from the River Teme to Cors Forest. The following parishes and hamlets were within the Chas ...
in
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
; he also entered into a partnership in the
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
mines Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun Mi ...
in
Wirksworth Wirksworth is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population was 4,902 in the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census.Area E04002820 (Wirksworth parish) in Table PP002 - Sex, from Wirkswor ...
, which he drained by means of a
sough A sough (pronounced /saʊ/ or /sʌf/) is an underground channel for draining water. It can be for draining mines; where the mine sump is lower than the outlet, water must be pumped up to the sough. It can also drain sloping farmland: these ar ...
.


The Fens

Contrary to popular belief, Vermuyden was not involved with the draining of the "Great
Fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...
" in
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...
and
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
in the 1630s. He did not participate until the second phase of construction in the 1650s. This area of marshland was naturally drained by a labyrinth of rivers. It had been inadequately maintained since before the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1537 during the
English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...
, as the monasteries had been chiefly responsible in the region for keeping the channels clear. The initial plan for the drainage was based on a proposal by John Hunt in 1604-1605, to construct a new river long from
Earith Earith is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Lying approximately east of Huntingdon, Earith is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of E ...
to
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, shortening the length of the
River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse ( ) is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the ...
by many miles. It was eventually named the Bedford River (subsequently
Old Bedford River The Old Bedford River is an artificial, partial diversion of the waters of the River Great Ouse in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England. It was named after the Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford, fourth Earl of Bedford who contracted with the ...
) after
Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford PC (1587 – 9 May 1641) was an English nobleman and politician. He built the square of Covent Garden, with the piazza and St Paul's Church, employing Inigo Jones as his architect. He is also known for ...
, who was the chief Adventurer and financier. The project created or improved eight other channels. The operation was judged as substantially complete in 1637. It was criticized for its limited goal to provide "summer lands", leaving the land subject to winter flooding. The Merchant Adventurers had been offered by the Crown as the reward for their work. This settlement was disrupted: first by the riots, which erupted against the enclosures (and that occurred periodically into the 1650s), and second, by the King. He reversed the granting of Bedford's contract and declared himself as the principal in the project, taking and leaving the other parties with only . At this time, Vermuyden was recruited to participate in the Great Level, as in 1637 he wrote a ''Discourse Touching the Draining of the Great Fennes'' for the King (it was not published until 1642). In it, he proposed two innovations to the drainage scheme: washes – areas of land allowed to flood in periods of bad weather to absorb the extra water that cannot drain to the sea – and a catchdrain around the eastern edge of the fen. The washes were constructed as part of the second phase of drainage in the 1650s, but the catchdrain was not developed until the early 1960s. This catchdrain follows the contours of the western edge of the hilly brecklands where they rise above the fen, commencing in the south at Mildenhall through
Hockwold cum Wilton Hockwold cum Wilton is a civil parish and village in the England, English county of Norfolk. Hockwold is located west of Thetford and south-west of Norwich. History Hockwold cum Wilton's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Ol ...
northwards to Denver Sluice. At the latter village the
River Little Ouse The River Little Ouse, also known as the Brandon River, is a river in the east of England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. For much of its length it defines the boundary between Norfolk and Suffolk. It rises east of Thelnetham, close to ...
flows westwards off the brecks from Brandon enclosed within high embankments, over an aqueduct many feet higher than the catchment drain and surrounding farmland. Thus illustrating many of the anachronistic but brilliant features (in engineering terms), the work of Vermuyden commenced. Charles I appointed Vermuyden as his agent for the draining on 19 September 1639, but his government did not approve the plan until 5 August. In a precarious position with all three of its kingdoms, the Crown lacked both sufficient funds and attention to pay for the works in the Great Level, but it authorized Vermuyden to start. He widened the River Nene below Horseshoe Sluice, banking the north side of Morton's Leam. Beginning on the south, he set a new sluice, known as Shire Drain, and cut a new channel at the mouth of the Nene through the salt marshes to the sea. Vermuyden was still working in the Great Level as of May 1642, but was by then responding to the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
, rather than the beleaguered King. Having received perhaps less than £5000, the engineer was continually in arrears for the wages of his workmen. During the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, the drainage project was halted by the chaos of war. The original financiers – now headed by Bedford's heir
William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
– began to seek an Act of Parliament to overturn the King's takeover of their project and to gain restoration of all of the first awarded in January 1630/31. By 29 May 1649, a few months after the King's execution, they had succeeded; an Act of Parliament (later known as "The Pretended Act") restored them to the undertaking and gave their claim to the enclosures the force of law. Before this time, Vermuyden's activities are not clear; there is some inconclusive evidence that one of his nephews may have acted as a colonel of horse in the parliamentary army, alongside
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
in the
Eastern Association The Eastern Association of counties was an administrative organisation set up by Parliament in the early years of the First English Civil War. Its main function was to finance and support an army which became a mainstay of the Parliamentarian m ...
army. But with the beginning of the second phase of Bedford-led construction, Vermuyden was again appointed as the director of the works in January 1649/50. This second phase included continuing the work of both the first and the King's (1.5 phase). In addition, he dredged the
New Bedford River The New Bedford River, also known as the Hundred Foot Drain because of the distance between the tops of the two embankments on either side of the river, is a navigable man-made cut-off or by-pass channel of the River Great Ouse in the Fens of C ...
(with a large area of wash between it and the Bedford River) and the
Forty Foot Drain The Forty Foot or Forty Foot Drain is a name given to several of the principal channels in the drainage schemes of the Fens of Eastern England, the name being qualified when there is a need to distinguish between them. They are Vermuyden's D ...
. He established Denver Sluice to stop tides and flood water from depositing silt into the Great Ouse to the east of Ely. The work did not include his projected "cutoff channel," which was designed to take flood water from the southern rivers, the Wissey,
Little Ouse The River Little Ouse, also known as the Brandon River, is a river in the east of England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. For much of its length it defines the boundary between Norfolk and Suffolk. It rises east of Thelnetham, close to ...
and
Lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark occ ...
, away from Denver. As a result, the area suffered continued flooding, which was not controlled until a project of the early 1960s. Due to the high cost of labour, and the continuing unpopularity of the project among the local inhabitants, the government provided Vermuyden with Scottish and Dutch prisoners of war (after the Battle of Dunbar in 1650) and the start of the war with the Dutch respectively) as labourers in this phase of construction. Vermuyden's relationship with the other adventurers was never easy and, by 1655, they had parted company altogether. Several other of his initiatives failed, including a proposal for a treaty between England and the
States-General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States General originated i ...
which he made to Cromwell. In addition, Vermuyden was unable to gain support to drain his areas of Sedgemoor and
Malvern Chase Malvern Chase was a royal chase that occupied the land between the Malvern Hills and the River Severn in Worcestershire and extended to Herefordshire from the River Teme to Cors Forest. The following parishes and hamlets were within the Chas ...
.


Personal life

Vermuyden married Katherine Lapps on 16 November, 1623, at St Mary's, Rotherhythe. One son, Cornelius Vermuyden Jr., became an Original Fellow of the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
in 1663. He had a total of nine children with Katherine, including Charles, Deborah, Elizabeth, and John. His second wife was Dionysia Stonhouse. Vermuyden lived in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden in 1647 and had a home in Kelfield,
North Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lincolnshire, England. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, it had a population of 167,446. T ...
. Vermuyden died on 11 October 1677 in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.


Reclamation results

Despite the initial success of the reclamation, the engineers did not understand enough about the ecology of the fens. The drying of the land caused the
peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...
to shrink greatly, lowering the remaining land below the height of the drainage channels and rivers. This caused the reclaimed farmland to become vulnerable again to flooding. By the end of the 17th century, much of the reclaimed land was regularly flooded. This continued until the development of steam-powered pumps in the early 19th century. The drop in the land level can be seen at the pumps near Ramsey Forty Foot, where animal-powered pumps, steam pumps and now fossil-fuel pumps are all co-located, at different heights. They demonstrate both the development of technology and the resulting decline in land levels. Prickwillow Museum has a large pumping engine in working order, but not actively used.


Legacy and honours

Vermuyden has several locations named after him, including: *
Cornelius Vermuyden School and Arts College Cornelius Vermuyden School is a secondary school with Academy (English school), academy status for boys and girls ages 11–16. Located on Canvey Island, Essex, the school is named after the Dutch land engineer Sir Cornelius Vermuyden (1595-1683) ...
, Canvey Island, Essex. *Vermuyden Hotel, Goole,
East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...
. *The Vermuyden Tea Rooms, Thorne,
South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...
. *Vermuyden Medical Centre, Thorne, South Yorkshire. *Vermuyden Road,
Moorends Moorends is a village in the north-east of the City of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, situated on the border with East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974. It is part of the ci ...
,
Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...
, South Yorkshire. He is also the namesake for the Vermuyden Group of South Yorks, a
Long Distance Walkers Association The Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA) is a British not for profit, volunteer-led association whose aim is "to further the common interests of those who enjoy Long Distance Walking" in rural, urban, mountainous, coastal and moorland areas. ...
based in South Yorkshire, and the Vermuyden Concert Band, the most senior Saturday afternoon band at William Appleby Music Centre in Doncaster. His motto ("Nothing Without Work") was adopted as the official motto of
South Cambridgeshire District Council South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...
. The motto was adopted by
No. 3 Group RAF No. 3 Group RAF (3 Gp) of the Royal Air Force was an RAF group first active in 1918, again between 1923 and 1926, then as part of RAF Bomber Command from 1936 to 1967, and recently part of RAF Strike Command from 2000 until it disbanded on 1 Apr ...
and it appears in a memorial window in
Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...
, installed in their honour. Due to the
Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...
and the
Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...
in 1666 (for which some blamed the Dutch), Cornelius Vermuyden decided to alter his surname, which over the years was further altered to what is today the surname Youdan, to which his descendants still live in the East Anglian region today.


References


Sources


External links


The Fens: "CANALS, TIGERS & FERTILE LAND"
Walking Tours through Dutch Landscapes in Europe (in Dutch) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vermuyden, Cornelis 1590s births 1677 deaths People from Tholen 17th-century Dutch engineers Emigrants from the Dutch Republic Immigrants to England