Marshchapel, Lincolnshire

Following our demonstration at Saltfleetby, Teresa Maybury took us on a tour of the area she has described in her recent PhD thesis, A Century of Change on the Lindsey Marshland: 1540-1640

Salt makers established mounds on the edge of the marsh on which they collected brine at high tide and evaporated it to make salt. The mounds can clearly be seen on Google Maps. Gradually the mounds became too large to operate properly and new mounds were started further out into the marsh. The raised mounds became good agricultural soil and were taken over as new farmland.

Teresa linked her work to documents and maps, the main map being a survey by Haiwarde dated 1595. The map has been copied and mounted in the village hall. We were met by the Chairman of the Marshchapel Parish Council, Ian Burgess. Other copies exist in national archives.

A copy of the Marshchapel survey drawn up by Haiwarde in 1595.

A detail from the map showing the areas of higher ground made by land-raising within the marsh area.
The sea is to the east, right of the map.

The mounds where the salt making sites were located can be seen against the trees.
Looking westward, ie inland across what would have been salt marsh in the sixteenth century.