ABSTRACT
The towers and spires of Ely and Peterborough, Boston and Lynn, Whittlesey and Croyland caught the eye for miles. On the other side of England, many miles of Somersetshire, in the broad flats through which the Parrott and the Axe wandered sluggishly to the sea, presented an almost similar aspect. The Commissioners or “Justices” of Sewers were empowered to hold, when and where they chose, within the area prescribed by their Commission, the so-called Court of Sewers; a Court of Record, to which the Sheriff was required on their precept to return Juries of “honest and lawful” men. This chapter describes the evolution, between 1689 and 1835, of the local authorities formed under the statutes and Commissions of Sewers. The owners and occupiers of lands in East Kent had an easier, if a more varied problem to deal with than those of Somerset.
