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Initially the air would come in through gaps in floorboards and mainly through or under the basement door (opposite end of cellar). It could be supplemented by another fan sucking in if necessary.
From what we, a couple of experienced neighbours, a basement tanking company and a builder can tell, the ingress is ground water coming in at weak points such as the join between floor and brick walls. It's not the whole water table being above the floor level, just excess water finding a way out.
cjr
How would the air that sucked in get into the cellar, are you saying under the door?
Did you ever get to the bottom of where the water was coming from? Is it just the water level rising?
If not and there's any risk of surface water coming in through the air brick I'd replace it with one of these (or similar, alternative models are available for about the same price):
https://www.m3floodtec.com/shop/products/anti-flood-airbrick-m3afa
I'd probably do that with any air bricks if there is a risk of surface water but I'm particularly thinking about what happens if water goes down your pipe and into your fan.
Fundamentally a good idea though I'd say as Victorian cellars normally rely on ventilation to keep them dry.