The Deepings


The Deepings are a series of settlements close to the River Welland near the borders of southern Lincolnshire and north western Cambridgeshire near the city of Peterborough and between the towns of Spalding and Stamford in eastern England.
The adjoining villages and a town are in the Lincolnshire fens near the River Welland, some 8 miles to the north of Peterborough and 10 miles or so east of Stamford. The area is just north of the Peterborough border. The Deepings include: Deeping St James, Deeping St Nicholas, Market Deeping and West Deeping. Frognall, Stowgate, Hop Pole and Tongue End are all within the various civil parishes.
Another village that is also included in The Deepings is Deeping Gate, a small hamlet across the River Welland in Cambridgeshire.
The area is very low-lying, and gave The Deepings their name. The villages are mentioned in the Domesday Book. Deeping Fen lies to the North, and the drainage of it was an important part of seventeenth and eighteenth century land reclamation. It is now the responsibility of the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board.

The Settlements

In local government all the settlements apart from Deeping Gate are located within the county of Lincolnshire and are within the South Kesteven District Council area apart from Deeping St Nicholas and Hop Pole which is within the South Holland District Council Area.

History

Drainage of the area dates back at least as far as the Romans, and the Car Dyke, but the capital involved always required a strong state, and rich men, to improve the land.