WISBECH

Wisbech
OS Grid Reference:
Lat/Lon:
Population:	20,200 (2001 Census)
Dwellings:	9,145 (2001 Census)
Formal status:	Town
Administration
County:	Cambridgeshire
Region:	East of England
Nation:	England
Post Office and Telephone
Post town:	Wisbech
Postcode:	PE13, PE14
Dialling Code:	01945

'Wisbech' () is a market town and inland port with a population of about 20,000 in the Fenland area of Cambridgeshire. The tidal River Nene runs through the centre of the town and is spanned by two bridges. The name is believed to mean ''mouth of the (River) Ouse'' but it has never been resolved.
Prior to the Local Government Act 1972 coming into force in 1974 Wisbech was a municipal borough. It is now a civil parish in the Fenland district.

Contents

History

Railways

Culture

Sport

Notable buildings

Famous people associated with Wisbech

In film and television

Wisbech in the News

Education

See also

External links

History

A Norman castle to fortify Wisbech was built by William I, and in later Tudor times became a notorious prison. The Castle was rebuilt in the mid-17th century and again in 1816 by Joseph Medworth, who also developed the Crescent, familiar as the setting in numerous costume dramas. The major town dwelling is Peckover House with its fine walled garden, built for the Quaker/banking family in 1722 and now owned by the National Trust.
In the 17th century, the local inhabitants became known as the "Fen Tigers" because of their resistance to the draining of the fens, but the project turned Wisbech into a wealthy port handling agricultural produce. At this time Wisbech was on the estuary of the River Ouse, but silting caused the coastline to move north, and the River Nene was diverted to serve the town. The Wisbech Canal joining the River Nene at Wisbech was subsequently filled in and became the dual carriageway leading into the town from the east (now crossing the bypass).
The eight-kilometre (5-mile) £6 million A47 Wisbech/West Walton Bypass opened in spring 1982.
Elgood's Brewery is a local independent brewery whose ales are sent out across England.

Railways

Wisbech once had three railway branch lines: the 1847/1848 - 1968 GER March to Watlington (junction), Norfolk (on the Ely to King's Lynn main line) via Wisbech East (Victoria Road); the 1866 - 1959 M&GN Peterborough to Sutton Bridge via Wisbech North (on Harecroft Road); and the 1883/1884 - 1966 GER Wisbech and Upwell Tramway. Also, there were two harbour quay lines either side of the River Nene - M&GN Harbour west branch and GER Harbour East branch.
The Wisbech and March Bramleyline Heritage Railway plan to fully restore and re-open the remaining section from March to Wisbech as a tourist line similar to the Mid-Norfolk Railway at Dereham. Rolling stock owned by the Bramleyline are five ex-Intercity Gatwick Express BR MKIIf class 488 coaches that comprises a rake of four First class and one Club class. Locomotive haulage will be supplied by one or two Class 73 electro-diesels - two locos top and tailing the coaches until a passing loop (at Coldham) and two run-round loops (one at March and one at Wisbech) have been installed.
As the still-in-situ track is owned by Network Rail, the Bramleyline are in on-going negotiations (as of 2007/2008) with Network Rail pending the 99-year lease of the track to the heritage organisation. Train services from March North (a new temporary station near to Whitemoor Junc and on the Wisbech line) and Wisbech East (a new station to be sited at Newbridge Lane, Wisbech), plus a new station at Coldham on the previous site of the old Coldham station, may be running within three years (2009 the earliest expected re-opening) if all goes well regarding financial support and the renewal of the track by the volunteers of the Bramleyline.[1]

Culture

The Angles Theatre is a thriving professional theatre, run almost entirely by volunteers and backed by many leading names including Derek Jacobi, Jo Brand and Cameron Mackintosh. It is also the home of the "Nine Lives" theatre company, a company formed as part of Performing Arts programme run by the Isle College.
Every summer a "Rose Fair" is held in St. Peter's church. The church is decorated with flower displays sponsored by local organisations and businesses. A parade of floats forms up in Queens Road and circuits the town. Strawberry and cream teas are served and stalls raise funds for local charities. Coaches bring visitors from a wide area. Details are available from the local tourist office.
Wisbech is twinned with Arles in France.
The amateur dramatic group The Wisbech Players has been performing for over 50 years. They currently perform twice a year in spring and autumn at the Angles Theatre.
Amateur dramatic group The Wisbech Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society (WAODS) have been providing musicals to the town since 1905. Until 2005 the Society performed at the Empire Theatre, but since then have been performing at the local Thomas Clarkson Community College (previously known as the Queen's School).
Local youth organisations include the Army Cadet Force, Air Training Corps, Sea Cadets, Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets, Fire cadets and St Johns Ambulance cadets. There are numerous Scout and Girlguiding groups for boys and girls.

Sport

The local football team is Wisbech Town Football Club, nicknamed ''The Fenmen''. Other sports present as well are Wisbech Rugby Union Football Club, Wisbech cricket club (who have an annual fixture with MCC), Wisbech Hockey club, Wisbech Squash club and a number of martial arts clubs.

Notable buildings

★ Peckover House (1722; owned by the National Trust)

★ Clarkson Memorial (1881)

★ St. Peter and St. Paul's, the parish church.

★ Octavia Hill Birthplace Museum where she was born before her family's move to London.

★ Wisbech Museum ; extensive collections of local records and other items.

Famous people associated with Wisbech

★ William Godwin, (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English political writer and novelist, considered one of the important precursors of both utilitarian and liberal anarchist thought. Born in Wisbech. Godwin's daughter, Mary, married the poet Shelley - she became Mary Shelley, the famed author of Frankenstein.

★ John Feckenham, last Abbot of Westminster. He was, like many other Catholic clergymen including several bishops, imprisoned in Wisbech Castle and died there.

★ Robert Catesby and Francis Tresham, two of the key participants in the Gunpowder Plot, were imprisoned in Wisbech Castle's infamous dungeons during the late 1500's.

★ Thomas Clarkson, the anti-slavery campaigner, was from Wisbech and was educated at Wisbech Grammar School. The ''Clarkson Memorial'' was built to commemorate his life, and is situated on the south bank of the Nene, near to the old bridge.Also the failing local comprehensive school (The Queen's School) is set to be re-opened under the name Thomas Clarkson Community College.

★ John Clarkson, younger brother of Thomas, another key figure in the British abolitionist movement. He organized the voluntary migration of former slaves, freed by the British as part of a deal to reward their loyalty to the Crown during the American War of Independence, to Sierra Leone, where he became Governer.

★ Octavia Hill, co-founder of the National Trust, was born in Wisbech.

★ Octavia Hill's sister Miranda Hill, probably also born at Wisbech, founded the influential Kyrle Society, a progenitor of the National Trust.

★ Sir Harry Kroto, 1996 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, for the discovery of fullerenes.

★ Anton Rodgers, actor, born in Wisbech.

★ Rev. W. Awdrey the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine

★ Toby the Tram Engine, one of the Rev.W. Awdrey's characters, is based on the small steam trams that used to transport farm produce on the Strawberry Line between Wisbech and Upwell. See Wisbech and Upwell Tramway

★ Charles Dickens. The original manuscript of Great Expectations resides at the Wisbech and Fenland Museum. The manuscript can be viewed on the first Saturday of each month.

★ Jesse Pye. Professional football player, who scored two goals in 1949 FA Cup Final, and who represented England at international level, became player-manager for Wisbech Town F.C. from 1960-1966. He scored the goal that knocked Colchester out of the First Round of the F.A Cup in the 1959/60 season.

★ Tony Martin while living in an isolated Norfolk farmhouse just outside Wisbech, gained notoriety for shooting and killing one of two young men, both from a travelling community, who were burgling his home one night. Although he was convicted and imprisoned for murder, he became somewhat of a local celebrity, as the Fenland population, feeling victimized by the high levels of burglary and theft, particularly in the rural areas, saw the Tony Martin incident as a symbol of rough justice.

★ Cambridgeshire Regiment Members recruited locally seeing active service won military honours and battle honours include:-
South Africa 1900-01
The Great War (4 battalions): Ypres 1915 '17, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Somme 1916 '18, Thiepval, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, St. Quentin, Rosières, Lys, Kemmel, Scherpenberg, Amiens, Albert 1918, Bapaume 1918, Hindenburg Line, Épéhy, St. Quentin Canal, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1915-18
The Second World War: Johore, Batu Pahat, Singapore Island, Malaya 1942

In film and television

Wisbech is noted for its unspoilt Georgian architecture, particularly along North Brink and The Crescent. It has been used in BBC One's 1999 adaptation of Charles Dickens' ''David Copperfield'' and ITV1's ''Micawber'', starring David Jason.
A ''Wisbech Rock Festival'' appears in the film ''Still Crazy''.

Wisbech in the News

On 27 June 1970, the heaviest point rainfall was recorded in Wisbech, when 50.8 mm (2 in) fell in just twelve minutes during the Rose Fair.[2]
On September 21st, 1979, two Harrier jump jets on a training exercise collided over Wisbech. Both crashed - one into a field, and the other into a residential area. Two houses and a bungalow were demolished on Ramnoth Road, causing the death of two adults and a two year old boy. BBC Archive
The 'Rabbits on the Roundabout' caused locals considerable discussion. A number of rabbits took up residence on a town centre roundabout, causing damage to the flowers and shrubs. Despite calls to remove them, local opposition prevailed and the 'Wisbech Warren' is a popular local tourist attraction.
According to a study looking into immigration patterns, Wisbech has been identified as the seventh "most English" town in Britain. Sky News
Wisbech was also reputed to have the third highest crime to population ratio in the developed world after New York and Chicago. However, this was eventually traced to a statistical error where the crimes of both Wisbech and the nearby town of March were based against only the population of Wisbech.
There are two free newspaper distributed within the town, the Wisbech Standard (owned by Archant) and the Fenland Citizen.

Education

Wisbech's two secondary schools (11-18) are the comprehensive The Thomas Clarkson Community College (formerly the Queens School, which itself was the amalgamation of the Queens Girls and Queens Boys school), and the independent Wisbech Grammar School, which was founded in 1379, making it one of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom. There is also a Further Education centre, the College of West Anglia, in the town. Many find that after seeking higher education the area is unable to offer suitable employment and subsequently many are forced to move from the area.
Primary schools in Wisbech include; Clarkson Infants, St Peters Juniors, The Orchards, Peckover, Nene Infants, Ramnoth Junior School and Elm Road County Primary School. There is also a school for children with special learning needs, Meadowgate School.

See also

★ List of places in Cambridgeshire

External links

★ 2001 Census

★ Fenland Citizen Web site of local newspaper

★ Fenland District Council District councils web site