English: Water Levels at Rothschild's Bungalow. This sign has been added to 112571 since 2002. As it is barely legible at this resolution I give the complete text.

'Rothschild's Bungalow' was built in 1911 on the site of a former farmstead. It is constructed of brick and stands on piers which are set into the clay which lies under the peat.

The marks on these piers record the flood events which have occurred in the Fen.

Until the 1970s these events were largely natural and the water soon flowed through the site. Since 1980, when the flood-relief scheme was completed, water has been allowed to flood the Reserve by operation of a sluice on the Great Raveley Drain. The water is evacuated when the flood risk to farmland has passed, but some water often lies on the Reserve for considerable periods.

1998: Water levels from the Easter flood reached to within a few inches of the western flood bank.

1947: This major flood caused widespread damage throughout East Anglia.

1968: Flooding first occurred in early July and continued intermittently until March of 1969. This had a serious effect on many invertebrates.

1954: A winter flood after a very dry summer.

Benchmark: This mark is used for surveying purpose and is at 1.01m above sea level.

Ground level 1910: Drainage of surrounding land caused ground levels within the site to fall during the 19th and early 20th centuries (see the concrete steps which have been added to the main staircase). Ground level is now stable and the Reserve is now about 1 metre higher than the farmland due to continuing peat waste there.