Bedford Level
Preserved but no longer current.
The large tract of marshy land about 60 miles in breadth and 40 in length which lies in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, Huntingdonshire, North- amptonshire, and Lincolnshire, and includes the Isle of Ely and the whole of the Fen district. So called from Francis, fourth Earl of Bedford, who undertook the draining of the Fens in 1634.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Bedford Level” mean?
The large tract of marshy land about 60 miles in breadth and 40 in length which lies in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, Huntingdonshire, North- amptonshire, and Lincolnshire, and includes the Isle of Ely and the whole of the Fen district. So called from Francis, fourth Earl of Bedford, who undertook the draining of the Fens in 1634.
Is “Bedford Level” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.