The hamlet is strung out along the A1122 road[3] that hugs the drains and the course of the Great Ouse river, and consist of a few isolated farms standing out in the Fen.

During the period that the area was occupied by the Romans Salters Lode became an important part of the salt industry on the Fen edge.

In 1993 the Norfolk Archaeological Unit discovered the site of a Roman salt works in West Downham dating to the 3rd and the 4th centuries.

Salters Lode lock is part of the Denver complex which makes up the main gateway onto the Great Ouse navigation system from the tidal river.

The Denver complex consists of a number of locks and sluices that are used for navigation access and management of water levels on the numerous waterways that characterise this part of The Fens.

The Ordnance Survey map of 1836[5] has the position of Salters Lode smockmill located on land between what is now the A1122 road and where Well Creek and the River Great Ouse converge.