Drainage channel, enlarged in 1631 as part of wider Fenland drainage works designed by Cornelius Vermuyden. Rather than being a new cut, Vermuyden's work is thought to have enlarged an already exisiting (possibly natural) channel in this area. The Shire Drain ran from Cloughs Cross (to the east of Throckenholt) to Tydd Gote, where water then passed out to the sea, via the Wash. It formed the historical boundary between Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire for many years, and much of the modern boundary still follows this route (though with some diversions, so that parts of the former channel now sit wholly within Cambridgeshire). The Shire Drain was replaced in 1831-4, with the digging of the North Level Main Drain (see MLI128082), though much of the former channel remains in use as local drainage. {1}