25/05/2026
People often ask where the “Axholme” in our herd and flock names comes from.
The Isle of Axholme is a historic area of North Lincolnshire close to where we are based.
400 years ago this weekend (24th May 1626), Charles I and Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden signed a contract to drain the Isle of Axholme and Hatfield Chase to create profitable farmland and increase Crown revenue.
The reclaimed land was split three ways — 1/3 for the King, 1/3 for Vermuyden and his Dutch investors, and 1/3 for the locals.
Not everyone welcomed the changes though. Local people relied on the marshes and fens for fishing and fowling, leading to riots, destroyed dikes and attacks on Dutch settlements throughout the 17th century.
The Axholme flag we use is a modern design representing the area’s history — the blue symbolising the waterways and drainage channels, green for the fertile farmland reclaimed from the fens, and the yellow cross reflecting the historic connection between the communities of the Isle.
Vermuyden 400
