Commission of sewers

{{short description|English public bodies}} {{For|the 19th-century London body|Metropolitan Commission of Sewers}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Use British English|date=August 2025}} [[File:Old 'Sea Bank' near Fosdyke Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 237729.jpg|thumb|The "old sea bank", built in the medieval era to protect part of The Fens from flooding]] thumb|A medieval ditch and bank, constructed for flood defence in West Sussex

A '''commission of sewers''', originally known as '''commissions de wallis et fossatis''' (Law Latin: "commissions of walls and ditches [or dikes]")<ref name=galloway376>{{cite journal |last1=Galloway |first1=James A. |last2=Potts |first2=Jonathan S. |title=Marine Flooding in the Thames Estuary and Tidal River C. 1250–1450: Impact and Response |journal=Area |date=2007 |volume=39 |issue=3 |page=376 |doi=10.1111/j.1475-4762.2007.00753.x |jstor=40346052 |bibcode=2007Area...39..370G |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40346052 |issn=0004-0894|url-access=subscription }}</ref> were English public bodies, established by royal decree, that investigated matters of land drainage and flood defence. The commissions developed from commissions of oyer and terminer in the 13th century and had powers to compel labourers to work on flood defences and extract funding for repairs from landowners. The commissions were placed on a statutory basis in 1427 by an act of Parliament, the Sewers Act 1427 (6 Hen. 6. c. 5) and were strengthened by later acts such as the 1531 Statute of Sewers (23 Hen. 8. c. 5) and the Commissions of Sewers Act 1708 (7 Ann. c. 33). The commissions were abolished by the Land Drainage Act 1930, though some survived until after the Second World War. Their duties were assumed by internal drainage boards and river authorities.

Records have not survived from commissions before the early modern era but later commissions sat in sessions similar to the judicial quarter sessions. Commissioners, appointed by royal order, were sometimes known as "justices of sewers". Key officers included the clerk, expenditor (treasurer) and bailiffs (elected by each parish). Other local officers were also sometimes appointed to enforce orders of the commission.

== 13th century origins == The commissions de wallis et fossatis had their origins in the 13th century. It appears that previously drainage issues had been dealt with by commissions of oyer and terminer, sittings of judges of assizes to resolve disputes. Henry of Bath sat on such a commission in 1257 to decide a dispute between landowners over the maintenance of ditches and flood defences on Romney Marsh. After passing judgement he was appointed to another commission of oyer and terminer the following year that looked into the matter of flood defences in the area. This was a commission de wallis et fossatis in all but name.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Richardson |first1=H. G. |title=The Early History of Commissions of Sewers |journal=The English Historical Review |date=1919 |volume=34 |issue=135 |page=389 |jstor=551072 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/551072 |issn=0013-8266}}</ref>

Commissions de wallis et fossatis were established by the later part of the century, the first on the River Thames (at West Ham) was convened in August 1280.<ref name=galloway376/> The commissions drew their members from the local landowners, supplemented with a small number of civil servants and court officials. They were largely reactive in nature, being formed in response to petitions from landowners concerned over the state of flood defences or in response to actual flooding events.<ref name=galloway376/> Their remit extended to embankments and drainage ditches (often referred to as sewers, though not in the modern sense) and the commissions had powers to exact funds for repairs from landowners they deemed to be negligent.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Carlin |first1=Martha |title=Medieval Southwark |date=1996 |publisher=Hambledon Press |isbn=978-1-85285-116-3 |page=232 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wnxnAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hicks |first1=Michael |title=Richard III: The Self-Made King |date=2019 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-25304-7 |page=159 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nBazDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> The jurisdiction of 13th century commissions was often wide-ranging, covering entire counties.<ref name=galloway377/>

== 14th century == Climatic conditions in the early 14th century led to worse flooding and the need for additional defences in the East of England and Somerset. Many landowners refused to take responsibility for the works and commissions de wallis et fossatis had to be formed in order to compel defences to be built.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Housley |first1=Norman |title=Knighthoods of Christ: Essays on the History of the Crusades and the Knights Templar, Presented to Malcolm Barber |date=2007 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |isbn=978-0-7546-5527-5 |page=205 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NkFGy2cTSwgC |language=en}}</ref> The number of commissions rose in the early part of the century, reaching a minor peak in the 1320s. There was a slow rise in number to a significant peak in 1380, after which the number of commissions dropped off rapidly.<ref name=galloway376/> The increase in number of commissions was partly due to them becoming more local in nature but also due to increased numbers of flooding events, such as the damaging storm surges in 1374 and 1375.<ref name=galloway377>{{cite journal |last1=Galloway |first1=James A. |last2=Potts |first2=Jonathan S. |title=Marine Flooding in the Thames Estuary and Tidal River C. 1250–1450: Impact and Response |journal=Area |date=2007 |volume=39 |issue=3 |page=377|doi=10.1111/j.1475-4762.2007.00753.x |jstor=40346052 |bibcode=2007Area...39..370G |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40346052 |issn=0004-0894|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Soens |first1=Tim |title=Floods and money: funding drainage and flood control in coastal Flanders from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries |journal=Continuity and Change |date=2011 |volume=26 |issue=3 |page=345 |doi=10.1017/S0268416011000221 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/continuity-and-change/article/abs/floods-and-money-funding-drainage-and-flood-control-in-coastal-flanders-from-the-thirteenth-to-the-sixteenth-centuries/4B1CF44B7709AF45ACD1312C4E40E5AC |language=en |issn=1469-218X|hdl=10067/930200151162165141 |s2cid=144626426 |hdl-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The increase in number of commissions may also be a result of the Black Death, with plague deaths in 1348–49 affecting labour availability. The increased cost of labour led to less flood defence work being carried out by landowners. Some commissions in this period had powers to compel labourers to work and to arrest and imprison those refusing to do so. Such measures were resented by the peasantry and the 1381 Peasants' Revolt may have led to a reduction in commissions to placate the workers.<ref name=galloway377/>

Flooding events increased in the late part of the century and flood defences, such as those implemented by repeated commissions at Southwark, became less effective.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=David J. |title=Southwark and the City |date=1960 |publisher=Corporation of London |isbn=978-0-19-711630-2 |page=78 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s29pAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref name=galloway377/> Investment in flood defences also reduced markedly, possibly as a pragmatic decision that change in land use was inevitable in some locations. Such an area was the farmland at Barking Abbey, which was allowed to be inundated and devolve into salt marshes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Soens |first1=Tim |title=Resilient Societies, Vulnerable People: Coping with North Sea Floods Before 1800* |journal=Past & Present |date=1 November 2018 |issue=241 |page=157 |doi=10.1093/pastj/gty018 |url=https://academic.oup.com/past/article/241/1/143/5049207 |issn=0031-2746|doi-access=free |hdl=10067/1521310151162165141 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Continued increase in labour costs and a drop in grain and livestock prices made farmland less valuable so there was likely a reduction in the number of petitions sent to the crown.<ref name=galloway377/>

== 15th century and later == {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = Sewers Act 1427 | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of England | long_title = Several commissions of sewers shall be granted. The form of the commission. | year = 1427 | citation = 6 Hen. 6. c. 5 | territorial_extent = {{ubli|England and Wales|Ireland}} | royal_assent = 25 March 1428 | commencement = 13 October 1427{{efn|name=StartOfSession|Start of session.}} | expiry_date = 13 October 1437{{efn|Section 1.}} | repeal_date = {{ubli|England and Wales: 28 July 1863|Ireland: 10 August 1872}} | repealing_legislation = {{ubli|England and Wales: Statute Law Revision Act 1863|Ireland: Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 1872}} | related_legislation = {{ubli|Commissioners of Sewers Act 1492}} | status = Repealed | original_text = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000017915526&seq=258 | use_new_UK-LEG = no | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = Commissioners of Sewers Act 1492 | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of England | long_title = Commissioners of sewers may execute their own ordinance. | year = 1492 | citation = 8 Hen. 6. c. 3 | territorial_extent = {{ubli|England and Wales|Ireland}} | royal_assent = 23 February 1430 | commencement = 22 September 1429{{efn|name=StartOfSession}} | repeal_date = {{ubli|England and Wales: 28 July 1863|Ireland: 10 August 1872}} | repealing_legislation = {{ubli|England and Wales: Statute Law Revision Act 1863|Ireland: Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 1872}} | related_legislation = {{ubli|Sewers Act 1427}} | status = Repealed | original_text = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000017915526&seq=261 | use_new_UK-LEG = no | collapsed = yes }}

There was a modest revival in the use of the commissions in the first decade of the 15th century. Most of these commissions were focussed on tidal river areas.<ref name=galloway376/> The commissions were first placed on a statutory basis in 1427 under an act of Parliament, the '''{{visible anchor|Sewers Act 1427}}''' (6 Hen. 6. c. 5).<ref name=galloway377/> The statute seems to have simply codified existing practice, for example the powers it provided to commissions to appoint local officers were already used by commissions in the 13th century and had been specified in the orders appointing the commissions by 1377. The purpose of the statute may have been to encourage the wider adoption of best practices in use at Romney Marsh, where flood defences were supervised continuously by local officials.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Richardson |first1=H. G. |title=The Early History of Commissions of Sewers |journal=The English Historical Review |date=1919 |volume=34 |issue=135 |page=391|jstor=551072 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/551072 |issn=0013-8266}}</ref> The 1427 statute was challenged legally and Parliament had to pass an amended act, the '''{{visible anchor|Commissioners of Sewers Act 1492}}''' (8 Hen. 6. c. 3), to confirm the powers of the commissions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Richardson |first1=H. G. |title=The Early History of Commissions of Sewers |journal=The English Historical Review |date=1919 |volume=34 |issue=135 |page=392 |jstor=551072 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/551072 |issn=0013-8266}}</ref>

The powers of the commissions were strengthened by the 1531 Statute of Sewers (23 Hen. 8. c. 5) and later legislation, such as the Commissions of Sewers Act 1708 (7 Ann. c. 33), was based on this. In later years the commissions of sewers sat in a court, similar to that of the quarter sessions. The commissions were similar to justices of the peace, and were sometimes referred to as "justices of sewers". The commission might have jurisdiction over a locality, a whole county or parts of two counties. Where a whole county was covered commissions often established subsidiary courts to control localities. Procedure, though modelled after the "ancient custom of Romney Marsh", were often amended to suit local conditions. The principal officers were the clerk (who kept records), the expenditor (treasurer) and the bailiff (sometimes, such as in Lincolnshire, known as dikereeves). The latter were elected by parishes (two bailiffs each) and played a similar role to the constables of the quarter sessions.<ref name=owen36/> Sometimes additional local officers were appointed such as a pinder who was appointed in Skegness in 1574 to enforce an order from the commission prohibiting the grazing of cattle on flood defences and marshes.<ref name=owen37/>

A jury presented evidence to the court of the state of drainage and flood defences and suggested persons who should be liable to pay for their upkeep. This was often charged as a rate (sometimes known as a scot) based on the acreage of each landowner that would benefit from the works. The commissions relied increasingly on reports from professional surveyors and engineers and less on the juries from the late 18th century.<ref name=owen36>{{cite journal |last1=Owen |first1=A. E. B. |title=15. Records of Commissions of Sewers |journal=History |date=1967 |volume=52 |issue=174 |page=36 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-229X.1967.tb01189.x |jstor=24406262 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24406262 |issn=0018-2648|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Where land was reclaimed from the sea the responsibility for drainage often fell to enclosure commissioners rather than the sewer commissioners.<ref name=owen38>{{cite journal |last1=Owen |first1=A. E. B. |title=15. Records of Commissions of Sewers |journal=History |date=1967 |volume=52 |issue=174 |page=38 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-229X.1967.tb01189.x |jstor=24406262 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24406262 |issn=0018-2648|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The commissions were abolished by the Land Drainage Act 1930, though some survived until after the Second World War.<ref name=owen37/> Their work was continued by the internal drainage boards and river authorities.<ref name=owen36/> No records survive from commissions held before the mid 16th century but later records have survived and include detailed land maps.<ref name=owen36/><ref name=owen37>{{cite journal |last1=Owen |first1=A. E. B. |title=15. Records of Commissions of Sewers |journal=History |date=1967 |volume=52 |issue=174 |page=37 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-229X.1967.tb01189.x |jstor=24406262 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24406262 |issn=0018-2648|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The records normally devolved to the successor internal drainage board or river authority, but sometimes were kept by the last clerks, often local solicitors or were deposited in local record offices or parish chest.<ref name=owen38/>

== Notes == {{Notelist}}

== References == {{reflist}}

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Category:Water supply and sanitation in England Category:Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom Category:Land drainage in the United Kingdom Category:British Royal Commissions