A respected hydraulic engineer, William Henry Wheeler (1832–1915) established himself as an authority in the fields of low-lying land reclamation and drainage, embanking, and the improvement of tidal rivers and harbours. First published in 1868, Wheeler's historical work on the Fens of South Lincolnshire is reissued here in its much expanded second edition of 1896. It discusses in detail the reclamation of the fenland in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The coverage includes a history of each of the districts, the Acts of Parliament involved, the pumping machinery used, the management of the highways and waterways, the agriculture and geology of the area, and the costs associated with the whole reclamation project. Another of Wheeler's works, The Drainage of Fens and Low Lands (1888), is also reissued in this series. The books remain a rich source of information for local historians and civil engineers.
