Wisbech


Wisbech is a market town and civil parish in the Fens of the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.
It had a population of 31,573 in 2011. The town lies in the far north-east of the county, bordering Norfolk and only 5 miles south of Lincolnshire. The tidal River Nene running through the town centre is spanned by two bridges. Before the Local Government Act 1972 came into force in 1974 Wisbech was a municipal borough.

History

Etymology

The place-name 'Wisbech' is first attested in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 656, where it appears as Wisebece. It is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as Wisbece. The name Wisbech is popularly believed to mean "on the back of the Ouse", Ouse being a common Celtic word relating to water, and the name of a river that once flowed through the town. A more scholarly opinion is that the first element derives from the River Wissey, which used to run to Wisbech, and that the name means 'the valley of the river Wissey'.
A wide range of spellings are found on trade tokens, in newspapers, books, maps and other documents e.g. Wisbece, Wisebece, Wisbbece, Wysbeche, Wisbeche, Wissebeche, Wysebeche, Wysbech, Wyxbech, Wyssebeche, Wisbidge, Wisbich and Wisbitch,
until the town's name spelling was fixed by the local council in the 19th century.
During the Iron Age, the area where Wisbech would develop lay in the west of the Brythonic Iceni tribe's territory. Icenian coins are known from both March and Wisbech. Like the rest of Cambridgeshire, Wisbech was part of the Kingdom of East Anglia after the Anglo-Saxon invasion.

Middle Ages

One of the first authentic references to Wisbech occurs in a charter dated 664 granting the Abbey at Medeshamstede land in Wisbech and in 1000, when Oswy and Leoflede, on the admission of their son Aelfwin as a monk, gave the vill to the monastery of Ely. In 1086, when Wisbech was held by the abbot, there may have been some 65 to 70 families, or about 300 to 350 persons, in Wisbech manor. However, Wisbech probably comprised the whole area from Tydd Gote down to the far end of Upwell at Welney.
A castle was built by William I to fortify the site. At the time of Domesday the population was that of a large village. Some were farmers and others fishermen.
Richard I gave Wisbech a charter.
King John of England visited the castle on 12 October 1216 as he came from Bishop's Lynn. Tradition has it that his baggage train was lost to the incoming tide of The Wash. Treasure hunters still seek the lost royal treasure.
Twenty years later the castle was 'utterly destroyed' by marine flooding; however it was rebuilt by 1246 when the constable or keeper was Wm Justice.
The register of Bishop John Fordham of Ely appoints a Master of the Grammar Scholars in 1407.
Edward IV visited Wisbech in 1469.

Early Modern

The Charter of Edward VI, 1 June 1549 raised the town to a corporation. In the same year Wm. Bellman gave a plot of land for the school-house.
In 1333–4 the kiln in the town was producing 120,000 bricks. There were several fisheries belonging to the manor of Wisbech and in the 1350s the reeves of Walton and Leverington each sent a porpoise to Wisbech Castle, and the reeve of Terrington a swordfish.
During the reigns of Elizabeth I, James I, and Charles I, there was a state ecclesiastical prison in Wisbech for Catholics, many of whom died there owing to the insanitary conditions.
In 1588 it is claimed that Robert Catesby and Francis Tresham were committed to Wisbeach Castle on the approach of the Spanish Armada. Among those held there was John Feckenham, the last Abbot of Westminster. The palace was demolished and replaced with John Thurloe's mansion in the mid-17th century, and Thurloe's mansion demolished in 1816 by Joseph Medworth, who also developed The Circus comprising The Crescent, Union Place and Ely Place with Museum Square and Castle Square familiar as the settings in numerous costume dramas.
In 1620 a former Wisbech resident Dorothea Bradford sailed on the Mayflower to the New World with her husband William Bradford later to be Governor Bradford.
Across the Eastern Counties, Oliver Cromwell's powerful Eastern Association was eventually dominant. However, to begin with, there had been an element of Royalist sympathy within Wisbech. Bishop Matthew Wren was a staunch supporter of Charles I but even in 1640 was unpopular in Wisbech, after discovering his absence from a 'Commission of Sewers' meeting at the Castle, a crowd of soldiers plundered shops of some of his supporters. The town was near the frontier of the Parliamentary and Royalist forces in 1643. The Castle and town were put into a state of readiness and reinforced. A troop of horse was raised. Locally based troops took part in the Siege of Crowland in 1642. The town controlled the route from Lincolnshire to Norfolk particularly during the Siege of King's Lynn in 1643 as it prevented reinforcements by land of the Royalists holding the Norfolk port.
A town library was founded.
In 1656 the bishop's palace was replaced by Thurloe's mansion however after the Restoration the property reverted to the See of the bishop of Ely.
Soap was taxed and manufacturers such as the Wisbech Soap Company required a licence. Based in an Old Market property facing the river, they were able to receive oil from the blubber yards of King's Lynn as well as coal, wood for casks and olive oil used in making the coarse, sweet and grey soaps they produced from 1716 to about 1770.
Wisbech's first workhouse located in Albion Place opened in 1722, it could accommodate three hundred inmates and cost £2,000.
on North Brink by the Nene Peckover House, with its walled garden, was built in 1722 and purchased by the Quaker Peckover banking family in the 1790s. It is now owned by the National Trust. Formerly known as Bank House, the house was renamed in honour of the Peckover family by the NT. The Peckover Bank became part of Barclays Bank.
In the 17th century, the inhabitants became known as the "Fen Tigers" for their resistance to the draining of the Fens, but the project turned Wisbech into a wealthy port handling agricultural produce. At the time, Wisbech was on the estuary of the River Great Ouse, but silting caused the coastline to move north, and the River Nene was diverted to serve the town.
In 1781 Wisbech Literary Society was formed at the house of Jonathan Peckover.
Theatres in both Pickard's Lane and North End and a third in the High Street are referred to.
A new theatre now Angles Theatre c1790. It was used to hold the auction of the contents of the castle, part of the estate of Edward Southwell on 8 November 1791.

Late Modern

In 1835 a copy of Col. Watson's History of Wisbech was presented to Princess Victoria during her brief halt in Wisbech.
Wisbech Regatta was first held in 1850.
June 1858 The Russian Gun.
—During the past week a brass plate has been added to the Russian Gun, bearing the inscription:— "This trophy of the late Russian War, presented by Queen Victoria to the Burgesses of Wisbech. Thomas Steed Watson, Mayor, 1858."
The Isle of Ely and Wisbech Advertiser was founded in 1845.
The new Wisbech & Fenland Museum building opened in 1847 and continues to collect, care for and interpret the natural and cultural heritage of Wisbech and the surrounding area.
On 1 March 1848 Eastern Counties Railway opened Wisbeach station. It closed on 9 September 1968.
In 1848 there were 2 deaths per 1,000 while in London it was 1 in 3,000 reported the ‘'Lincolnshire Chronicle'’ on 15, September 1854. The scarcity of water was thought to be one cause of the continued prevalence of the disease.
In the 1853–54 cholera epidemic 176 deaths were reported in the town in 1854. The Wisbech death rate was the fourth highest in the country. The following year saw £8,000 expenditure on sewerage works and £13,400 on water supplies.
In 1863 a copy of Walker and Craddocks History of Wisbech was presented to the Prince and Princess of Wales on their arrival by train. The following year the Wisbech Working Men's Club and Institute was formed with Jonathan Peckover becoming its first President.
On Sunday 29 June 1857 a mob entered the town and broke the Corn Merchants windows and seized corn and demanded money from shopkeepers. On July the gentry and traders by beat of drum recruited about 500 men and went to Upwell and took 60 and placed them in irons. On 4 September a Report was made to the Lords Justices of 14 malfactors condemned at Wisbech for a riot, when 2 were ordered for execution the following Saturday and twelve for transportation.
In 1864 the Castle estate was purchased by Alexander Peckover. In 1932 his descendant Alexandrina Peckover gave to the Borough council a piece of land to be laid out as an ornamental garden adjoining the War memorial.
The British Archaeological Association's 35th Annual Congress was held in Wisbech in August 1878. Its president was the then Earl of Hardwicke
In August 1883 Wisbech and Upwell Tramway opened. It eventually closed in 1966. The steam trams were replaced by diesels in 1952.
The Wisbech Standard newspaper was founded in 1888.
In April 1904 the Borough council contracted with the National Electric Construction Company Ltd for the installation of electric street lighting.
Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst founder of the Women's Social and Political Union visited the town in December 1910 and addressed large audiences in the constituency including a meeting at the Selwyn Hall on Monday 12 December and an Open Air demonstration on 13 December. Due to the massive turnout an additional hall was inadequate, Lady Isabel Margesson addressed the audience.
On 30 October 1913 the Riot Act was read by the mayor in response to civil unrest in response to the death of the popular surgeon Doctor Horace Dimock. He had been arrested on charges of criminal libel on the information of Dr Meacock. On hearing that Dimock had taken his own life a crowd formed and smashed the windows of Meacock's residence on the North Brink. The police charged the crowds and cleared the streets.
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.
Wisbech War Memorial was unveiled on 24 July 1921.
Lloyd George visited the town in 1925 to give a speech.
In 1929 The Wisbech Pageant was held at Sibalds Holme Park on 4–5 September. The Pageant Master was Sir Arthur Bryant who had experience with the Cambridgeshire Pageant 1924, Oxfordshire Pageant 1926 and London Empire Pageants of 1928 and 1929. The Wisbech total attendance was estimated in excess of 25,000 people.
On Thursday 2 June 1932 newsreel photographers record the 'Capital of the Fens' as it is brought to a standstill as crowds fill the streets to catch a glimpse of Prince George as he receives the Loyal Address from the Mayor.
In 1934 part of Walsoken parish, Norfolk was merged with Wisbech, bringing with it the schools, shops and public houses but leaving the church and much of the rural part in Norfolk. The suburb of New Walsoken is now largely built up. A boundary marker in Wisbech Park was erected to record the event. Ring's End was transferred from Wisbech to Elm.
The port of Wisbech now houses a large number of berths for yachts adjacent to the Boathouse development.
In 1939 Wisbech Society and Preservation Trust was founded to safeguard the history and heritage of Wisbech.
Sunday Working was an issue and in 1946 a poll was planned to take place over the issue of Sunday operation of the local cinemas.
In 1949 the Borough celebrated the 400th anniversary of receiving its charter. The Pageant in Sibalds Holme Park, Barton Road featured over 600 performers.
In 1950 Queen Elizabeth and her daughter Princess Margaret visited St.Peter's church, Wisbech & Fenland museum and Peckover House.
The first Wisbech Rose Fair was held in 1963 when local rose growers sold rose buds in the parish church in aid of its restoration.
On 27 June 1970, the heaviest point rainfall was recorded in Wisbech, when 2 inches fell in just 12 minutes during the Rose Fair.
On 21 September 1979, two Harrier jump jets on a training exercise collided over Wisbech; one landed in a field and the other in a residential area. Two houses and a bungalow were demolished on Ramnoth Road, causing the death of Bob Bowers, his two-year-old son Jonathan Bowers, and former town mayor Bill Trumpess.
The 5-mile, £6 million A47 Wisbech/West Walton bypass opened in spring 1982.
In 1990 further county boundary changes brought a small area of Walsoken, Norfolk into Wisbech.

Contemporary

In 2009 Oxford Archaeology East organised a dig at Wisbech Castle to search for remains of the Bishop's Palace. Large numbers of local volunteers took part and hundreds of children visited the dig site. Later in the year a group of volunteers formed Fenland Archaeological Society. The Society has carried out a number of digs including the Manea Colony dig organised by Cambridge Archaeology Unit.
In April 2011 the Princess Royal visited Wisbech and opened the new education centre and library at Octavia Hill's Birthplace House.
In 2011, the Wisbech magistrates court closed.
On 19 January 2012, BBC Look East reported growing tensions in the town, where one-third of the population were said to be East European immigrants.
In 2015 in his first week with the East Anglian Air Ambulance, Prince William came to Wisbech.
The town's traditional market days are Thursday and Saturday, but the town council now runs markets seven days a week. The Sunday market runs alongside a car-boot sale.
The town is well known for horticulture, the Wisbech Rose Fair and other flower festivals. In 2018 the town won the business improvement district category gold award at the Royal Horticultural Society's annual Britain in Bloom awards ceremony.
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited Wisbech in November 2018.
In 2019 the town received Gold Award in the large town category in the RHS Anglia in Bloom completion.
Waterlees was 'Best in Group' and Gold Award in Urban category and St.Peters Gardens a Gold Award in the Small Parks category.

Governance

Wisbech held a number of charters.
King Edward VI's charter raised the town to a corporation; ten men were to be elected burgesses. The charter was renewed by King James I.
In 1659 John Thurloe was elected to represent Wisbech. He was also elected for Cambridge University, for which he preferred to sit. Wisbech was not a polling station until after 1832.
In 1835 the Municipal Bill caused the old charters governing Wisbech to be swept away and Wisbech became a corporate borough with a mayor, aldermen and councillors replacing the town bailiff and capital burgesses. The town was divided into two wards, North and South.
The Wisbech Town Council elects a mayor. The town council of 18 councillors is elected every four years. The town has seven electoral wards: Clarkson, Kirton, Medworth, Octavia Hill, Peckover, Staithe and Waterlees village. The town council is responsible for allotments and the market place. In 2018 the council took a lease on Wisbech Castle.
The town also elects councillors to Fenland District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council. Wisbech is within the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
In the May 2019 elections, twelve councillors were returned without a vote to Fenland District Council, which topped the Electoral Reform Society's list of 'rotten boroughs'.
Wisbech is now part of the North East Cambridgeshire constituency. It was part of the Isle of Ely constituency between 1918–1983. Between 1885–1918 Wisbech returned a member of Parliament in its own right.

Coat of arms

The official blazon is:
Arms: Azure representations of St Peter and St Paul standing within a double Canopy Or.
Crest: On a Wreath of the Colours a sixteenth century Ship with three Masts Or on each mast a square Sail Azure the centre one charged with two Keys in saltire wards upwards and the other two charged with a Castle Gold.

Origin/meaning

The arms were officially granted on 11 November 1929.
The figures of St Peter and St.Paul to whom the parish church is dedicated, appeared on the old seal.
The ship recalls the town's former note as a port and the crossed keys on the centre sail refer to St Peter. The castles refer to the ancient stronghold built, it is said, by William I, and converted in the 15th century into a palace for the bishops of Ely.

Transport

Waterways

Wisbech sits on either side of the River Nene although in the past, before drainage schemes, it sat on the Well stream, the confluence of the rivers Great Ouse and Nene.
The port is Cambridgeshire's only gateway to the sea. Wisbech Borough was the port authority, but this passed to Fenland District Council when local government was reorganised in the 1970s. The "WI" code is still displayed by those boats registered to the port.
In 1631 Sir Cornelius Vermuyden built the Horseshoe Sluice at Wisbech at a cost of £8,000.
In 1680 the trade of Wisbech had increased sufficiently for the port to be reckoned independent and no longer a member of King's Lynn.
In 1720 the corporation was licensed to buoy the channel for the first time.
The heavy rains and floods of 1734/5 were severe. The Caledonian Mercury carried a copy of 'Wye's letter' of 21 January, 'Tis remarkable that the late Land Floods have opened the River of Wisbech 15 Foot; so that the Ships come up to the Town boldly as they used formerly'
In 1751, in a dry year, one could walk across the river bed under Wisbech Bridge.
Ship building was carried out in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
An Act for making and maintaining A Navigable Canal was put forward in 1754.
In 1797 the Wisbech Canal opened connecting the river Nene at Wisbech with the inland drains. A custom house was built in 1801.
As well as freight, the river was used to convey inland passengers, in 1805 the poet John Clare travelled from Peterborough by Dutch canal boat to travel the 21 miles to Wisbech to visit his uncle Morris Simpson.
In 1820 the Peterborough and Wisbech Old Passage Boat was advertised as sailing from Peterborough on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10am and from Wisbech on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 9am.
In 1850 as a consequence of changes in government duty and taxation the shipyards were closed or in bankruptcy proceedings.
The greatest shipowner was Richard Young, who had at various times 43 boats operating from the port. The port of Wisbech could accommodate sailing ships of 400 tons, but its prosperity declined after 1852 when extensive river works impeded navigation.
In 1859 "The Battle of the Dams" took place when some of the citizens of Wisbech destroyed dams at Waldersea and Guyhirn and burned the remnants on the two market places.
The Throttle obstructing the river was removed in September 1862.
In July 1863 the new screw steamer Speedwell commenced a service from Wisbech to Hull every Thursday.
In 1883 the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway opened.
By 1911 the river Nene between Wisbech and Peterborough was so silted up that barges filled with corn were taking 28 days to travel the distance that had previously taken a day.
Ferries operated on the River Nene below Wisbech. A passenger ferry operated between North End and Nene Parade.
The Wisbech Canal was cut to allow narrow boats to connect with the river, but no longer does so as parts have been filled in. Narrow boats continue to access inland waterways via the river Nene.
In 1931 A concrete bridge was built to replace the previous town bridge.
In 1971 an additional bridge was erected over the river. Plans to build additional homes and a new school on the west of the town will increase traffic on the existing bridges, and there is a long-term plan to add a third bridge.
In the 1970s a former WW2 motor torpedo boat came up the river and was moored alongside Nene Quay between the town's two bridges. Moored at high tide on short mooring ropes it sank as the tide fell and the moorings failed. Despite a number of salvage attempts, the wreck remained in situ for a number of years until it was eventually removed.
In 1978 one person was drowned in Wisbech as a result of a storm surge that overwhelmed the river flood defences. The water reached low lying properties some distance from the river including Kenlan Rd, the higher Lynn Road stopping its spread.
The yacht harbour on the river provides 128 berths on the marina, and the nearby Crab Marshboat yard operates a 75-tonne boat lift.
In 2000, a ship grounding further down river stopped river traffic.
In December 2013 the town's river flood defences were tested when an unusually high tide threatened to top the recently improved walls and flood gates.
Schemes to connect the River Nene and the River Welland are proposed allowing boats a fresh water connection.

Bridges

References to 'repairing the bridge of your town of Wysebeche' is made in a 1326 letter from the king to the bishop of Ely. The 'Town Bridge's have at various times been made from wood, stone, iron and concrete.
Blackfriars Bridge was built over the canal in 1901.
In 1902 Miss Susanna Peckover donated £1200 towards the repair of Walsoken Bridge. It was renamed Coronation Bridge to commemorate King Edward VII.
During WWII Royal Engineers were posted to destroy the canal's bridges with explosives.
The bridges over the canal were demolished when the canal was closed and redeveloped as a dual carriageway.
The 'Freedom Bridge' is made of concrete.

Roads

The various road bridges at Wisbech allowed travellers between Lincolnshire and Norfolk to cross the river without using ferries or risking the incoming tides.
In 1831 the construction of a lifting bridge at Sutton Bridge finally provided a means to travel directly between Norfolk and Lincolnshire.
The town stood at the crossing of two Class A roads: from Peterborough to King's Lynn and from Ely to Long Sutton. The A1101 now crosses the river at the newer 'Freedom bridge' taking some traffic away from the older 'Town Bridge'.
The A47 now bypasses the town. The old part of the A47 inside the town is now the B198.

Bicycle

Wisbech has a number of cycle routes passing through the town.
National Route 1 between King's Lynn and Boston via Wisbech and Holbeach.
National Route 63 between Oakham and Wisbech via Stamford, Peterborough and March.
In addition there are a number of local cycle routes and guides available in hard copy or to download. <>

Walks, footpaths and bridleways

The Wisbech Merchants' Trail was relaunched in 2019. The updated trail is available in hard copy, download and as an app.

Railways

Wisbech once had three passenger railway lines, but they all closed between 1959 and 1968:
There were also harbour quay lines either side of the River Nene: M&GN Harbour West branch and GER Harbour East branch.
It was not long before the tramway had its first fatalities.
In 1894 a porter was accidentally killed on the Wisbech to March line.
The freight line remained in operation until 2000.
There is an active campaign to reopen the March–Wisbech Bramley Line as part of the national rail network, with direct services to Cambridge and possibly Peterborough. It is supported by Wisbech Town Council and subject to reports commissioned by the county council in 2013. The line is currently at GRIP 3 study stage. A report published in 2009 by the Association of Train Operating Companies indicated that this was viable. The line has been identified as a priority for reopening by Campaign for Better Transport.

Buses and coaches

By 1769 a Lynn, Downham, Wisbech and St.Ives FLY was operated twice weekly between Lynn and London. Inside passengers £1 was advertised in the Ipswich Journal.
In 1796 Wisbech had a daily mail coach service to London leaving at 4 pm and returning at 10 am and a stagecoach service three times weekly.
Another service ran three times weekly from Lynn through Wisbech to Spalding and Boston. An 1823 Wisbech coach is shown in the background of a Chatteris skating match illustration by George Cruikshank.
The King William IV coach service between Newark and King's Lynn via Wisbech, commenced in 1830. The Royal Sovereign service between King's Lynn and Grantham via Wisbech was already running.
The last coach to transport mail to London was withdrawn on 1 July 1846, the trains to replace the service.
In 1850 the proprietor of the Rose & Crown had Messrs Hall build an omnibus to run from the hotel to the two railway stations.
In February 1859 a new 12-hour coach service from Wisbech via Cambridge to London commenced.
Wisbech is located on the excel bus route between Peterborough and Norwich, operated by First Eastern Counties. The town is also served by buses operated by Stagecoach East and Lynx, the latter including the 46 and X46 services between King's Lynn and Three Holes.

Air travel

In 1934 Sir Alan Cobham's Flying Circus visited the town, this inspired canning factory owner Wallace Smedley and Charlie Bell to build a 'Pou du Ciel' – a Flying Flea, designed by French designer Henri Mignet. It was built in Wisbech, painted red with the motto 'Possumus'.
Richard Gypson, professional balloonist, made his 39th and 40th balloon ascents on 26 July and 12 August 1841 from near the Gas Works.
On Empire Air Day in May 1934 the Mayor of Wisbech and a young Wisbech girl were injured when the plane in which they were passengers, overturned on takeoff from Wisbech. The pilot and another passenger were unhurt.
On 21 September 1979 two RAF Harriers collided mid-air. One plane crashed on Ramnoth Road killing two-year old Jonathan Bowers, his father Robert and Bill Trumpess, a former mayor.
There are a number of nearby small airfields used by gliding clubs, hang gliders, parachuting clubs and other light aircraft.
Since the discontinuance of services at Cambridge International Airport the nearest available small international airport is Norwich Airport.

Demography

Parish population1981
1991
2001
2011
2016
Wisbech22,93224,98126,53631,57333,933

the population of Wisbech was 33,933, of whom 16,800 were male and 17,133 female. 6,748 were aged under 18 and 7,156 over 65.
Several official places provide translations into Lithuanian, as well as Polish, Latvian, Russian and Portuguese.

Economy

Before the draining of the Fens was completed, animals were grazed on the common land and were marked to identify their owners; this was also the case with swans, which were usually marked on their bills. The riverside location and fertile soils surrounding Wisbech allowed the town to flourish.
A thriving pipe making business was being carried out in the town by Amy White in the 1740s. Soapmaking was also taking place in the 1740s Soap was taxed and a licence for 21 years was obtained in 1716, soap making was centred in London. Proximity to King's Lynn where there were blubber yards coal was shipped in and the Wisbech oil mills provided the raw materials and fuel.
A number of breweries existed in the town; the last one remaining is Elgood's on the North Brink. Established in 1795 and remaining a family owned business, the brewery and gardens are a popular location for tourists to visit.
In 1834 the Annual Horse and Cattle Fair was changed to the Thursday preceding WhitSunday in lieu of the second Wednesday in April.
The first half of the 19th century was a very prosperous time for the town and an annual average of 40,000 tons of goods passed through the port, consisting mainly of coal, corn timber and wine. The surrounding land produced large quantities of sheep and oxen as well as wool, hemp and flax. Such was the trade with Denmark that a consul was based in North Terrace in a Queen Anne house sometimes called the Danish House. In 1851 the population was 9,594. It decreased to 9,276 in 1861 and picked up to 9,395 in 1891.
In 1853 the Wisbech and Isle of Ely Permanent Building Society was established.
Rope making took place at the Rope Walk and tent making also took place in the town at W.Poppleton's, Nene Parade. Customers included the visiting J.W.Myers circus in 1881.
The Wisbech Fruit Preserving Company Ltd was wound up in 1894.
In October 1906 the first of the annual mustard markets of the year took place where the harvest of 'brown' and 'white' seed took place. Regular annual Buyers included Messrs Coleman of Norwich.
The Wisbech Mustard market held on four Saturdays in October was claimed to be unique, in 1911 it had been running for over forty years. Buyers from the major mills and producers attended and traded in and near the Rose and Crown.
Large numbers of workers were needed to pick fruit, in 1913 due to the great influx of pickers, the police had to find accommodation for 500 'homeless' workers each night. Until 1920 the train companies provided special rail fares for fruit pickers coming to the area.
Liptons had one of their jam factories in the town in the 1920s.
Samuel Wallace Smedley bought the old Crosse and Blackwell jam making factory. The Wisbech Producer canners in 1931 became part of the National Canning Company. Princes Group are now the owners.
The Wisbech Chamber of Trade inaugural meeting took place on 14 February 1927.
The 1931 census population was 12,006 and the National Registration of 1939 showed 17,599.
The Wisbech Produce Canners, on Lynn Rd, was the first in England to produce frozen asparagus, peas and strawberries. It was renamed Smedley's Ltd in 1947 and later taken over by Hillsdown Foods. It is presently owned by Princes.
The site was once served by a rail line whose track came across the town between the park and Townsend Rd.
The Metal Box company established their largest manufacturing unit at Weasenham Lane in 1953. The site provides processed food cans for fruit, vegetables, soups, milk and pet foods. The workforce grew to over 1,000 before reducing as a result of automation and redundancies. Steel was brought from Welsh steelworks and also from overseas. The site had its own rail yard before the Wisbech to March line closed. The site is now part of Crown Cork.
English Brothers Ltd, another long-established company in Wisbech, are importers of timber brought in at Wisbech port. In 1900 they manufactured wooden troop hits for the war in South Africa. During World War II they produced wooden munitions boxes. Shire Garden Building Ltd based in Wisbech and Sutton Bridge have been manufacturing wooden buildings since the 1980s.
In 2010 Dutch based Partner Logistics opened a £12m frozen food warehouse on Boleness Rd, employing over 50 staff. The 77,000 pallet, fully automated 'freezer' centre had contracts with Lamb Weston, Bird's Eye and Pinguin Foods.
In recent decades the closure of the Clarkson Geriatric hospital, Bowthorpe maternity hospital, Balding & Mansell , Budgens store and horticultural college, Bridge Street post office, as well as gradual reductions in workforce by CMB, indicate a decline in the economy.
Small family businesses such as Bodgers, Franks butchers and local bakeries have given way to the supermarkets.
The larger employers in Wisbech include Nestle Purina petcare, Cromwell Rd and Princes, Lynn Rd.
In 2016 the Wisbech High Street project was awarded a £1.9M grant to bring back into use empty properties on the High Street. The Heritage Lottery Fund grant will run until 2021.
May 2017 the new Cambridgeshire and Peterborough combined authority announced new investment into the area.
In April 2018 plans for an £8m redevelopment of the North Cambridgeshire Hospital were announced.
Plans for an additional 1,500 homes were announced in the press in May 2018.
It was announced by local MP Steve Barclay that Fenland schools would receive £250,000 towards recruiting more teachers.

Banks and building societies

In the summer of 1814 Sneath & Watson's Wisbech Bank suspended payments.
On Friday 13 February 1818 the Wisbech Savings Bank was established.
The financial crisis of the 1820s saw the failure of the Wisbech bank of James Hill and son in 1825 and the sale of their estates in 1826.
The National Provincial Bank were seeking premises to open a Wisbech branch in 1834.
The Wisbech and Isle of Ely Permanent Building Society was formed in 1872.
The TSB closed and the site is now a veterinary practice.
Santander closed the Market Place branch in 2019. At present there are branches of NatWest, HSBC, Halifax, Barclays and Lloyd's. Building societies include Nationwide, Yorkshire and Nottingham.

Mills and milling

The town had a number of wind powered and other mills.
William Barley offered for sale the seven years remaining of a lease of a post wind-mill on 21 May 1793 in the Stamford Mercury.
In November 1883 a storm most of the windmills in the area were damaged. Brook's mill on Lynn Rd had most sails damaged, the Leverington Rd 4-sail mill had two main sails damaged.

Public utilities

Water
Cholera was a significant cause of illness and deaths until the Wisbech Waterworks Act of 1864 enabled a water supply to be piped from Marham, Norfolk. The Wisbech Waterworks Company was formed in 1862. The supplies from Marham reached Wisbech on 22, July 1865. At the 9th Ordinary General meeting in 1869 it was reported that they supplied 841 customers and 21 were on meters.
Sewerage
It took from 1874 until the end of 1877 for a 12-inch main sewerage system to be installed.
Gas
On 27 August 1833 the town Bailiff Mr Ollard laid the foundation stone of Mr. Malam's Wisbech Gasworks.
The Wisbech Gaslight and Coke company took over the contract to supply gas to the town's 200 street lights in 1859, the same year the coke works was sold, at which time it was in a poor state. The Gas Act 1948 created 12 regional gas boards.
Electricity
A WW1 U-boat engine was acquired to power the generator at the Sandyland Power Station in 1920. A picture of the engine is held at the Wisbech & Fenland Museum.
Wisbech Electric Light and Power was part of the B.E.T. Electricity Supply Company controlled by the British Electric Traction Company until it was transferred to the Edmundson group of supply companies.
The Wisbech Electric Light and Power Company became part of Eastern Electricity Board in 1948 as part of the electricity industry nationalisation by the Electricity Act 1947.

Breweries, beer houses, clubs, inns and taverns

The Rose and Crown hotel on the market place is one of the oldest buildings in the town. Underneath there are brick-barrel vaults dating from Tudor times.
The Falconry brewery was put up for auction in 1857.
In 1903 Wisbech Borough was contemplating reducing the number of licensed premises, Superintendent Dockerill reported that there were −49 alehouse licences 22 beerhouse licences and 9 wine licences within the borough. Since the last annual licensing meeting, in August 1901, there had been no proceedings taken against any licence holders. All the houses had in his judgement, been well conducted. He had no opposition to offer to the renewal of any licences. During the same period 41 persons viz 32 males and 9 females had been proceeded against for being drunk and disorderly, of which number 28 were convicted. Five were charged with being disorderly and refusing to quit licensed premises and convicted. The total number of convictions showed an increase of 12 over the corresponding period of seventeen.
The Georgian Elgood's brewery is located on the North Brink.
The Wisbech Arms ceased being a public house in 2006 following a death at the premises, it later became a restaurant and is now a hairdressers.
The RAFA moved from Astral House on the Old Market to De Havilland Club, Lynn Road in 2007.
In 2010 the Flowerpot P.H. was demolished and converted into residential properties.
The Case, Horsefair Tavern and Five Bells, Norfolk street public houses all closed in 2019. The Old Bell, Walsoken was redeveloped into a residential housing estate in 2019.

Tourism

National Trust property Peckover House and Gardens attracts tourists and locals.
The Wisbech and Fenland museum draws in visitors to see the Charles Dickens manuscript, Thomas Clarkson memorabilia and other exhibits.
The Octavia Hill Birthplace House also attracts those interested in the National Trust, army cadet force or social housing.
An annual Rose Fair, music festival, music concerts at the Bandstand in the park and the theatre and two cinemas also attract audiences from outside the town.
Wisbech port and marina attracts boating enthusiasts.
The Castle has now opened to the public after being unavailable for a number of years, and is starting to attract visitors to its programme of events and activities.

Religious sites

The Anglican Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul dates back in part to the 12th century.
The tower contains the third oldest full peal of 10 bells in the world, cast by William Dobson in 1821; the bells are still in use.
The Octagon church was erected in 1827 as a chapel of ease. The lantern became unsafe owing to defective foundations and in 1846 was replaced with a battlement, but this was demolished later. The site became a bank and is currently a veterinary practice.
The General Cemetery was established in 1836 and a chapel added in 1848. The cemetery closed in 1972. Local protest prevented the site being cleared, although the council removed the roof of the chapel. In 2014 Wisbech Society purchased land to create a new access and in 2017 obtained a HLF grant to restore the chapel. It was completed in 2019.
The Anglican St Augustine's church on Lynn Rd was erected in 1868–9 and consecrated on 11 May 1869. An associated school building is now the Robert Hall scouting hall. In 1997 a new parish centre was created when the church was linked to its nearby hall.
Our Lady & Saint Charles Borromeo Church has been the church of Roman Catholics since 1854.
The Ely Place Baptist church was opened on 23 March 1873 on the site of a previous chapel. It was pulled down in the 1970s and replaced by the new library which opened in 1975.
The Salvation Army Presence dates back to the 1880s. On 10 July 1885 General William Booth laid the foundation stone for a building in East Street on the Horsefair. Anna Jane Peckover was a supporter, having made her 'commitment' on 9 May 1884. Booth made a return visit in August 1905 and his wife in 1919.
Other places of worship are: Baptist, Hill St; Society of Friends, North Brink; United Reformed, Castle Square; King's Church, Queens Rd; Jehovahs Witnesses, Tinkers Drove; Trinity Methodist, Church Terrace; West St; and Spiritualist, Alexander Rd.
Various denominations met at other locations, many of which have been demolished or used for other purposes.

Education

Schools and colleges

Wisbech has two secondary schools and a third presently under construction.
The independent Wisbech Grammar School, which was founded in 1379, making it one of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom. Since its early days in St.Peter's church it has moved sites, having been in Hill St and then South Brink until its merger with the High School after which it moved to the present North Brink location.
It has at various times provided boarding places. This was the case when the Rev John Clarkson was headmaster and his sons John and Thomas Clarkson pupils.
During WW2 the Stationers' school staff and pupils were evacuated and relocated to share the Grammar School site with grammar school staff and pupils one of which was John Gordon.
The state-funded Thomas Clarkson Academy.
St. Audrey's Convent School run by the Sisters of Providence of the Institute of Charity, closed in 1979.
The Grammar school then opened Magdalene House as the preparatory school for Wisbech Grammar School.
Primary schools in Wisbech include: Clarkson Infant and Nursery School, St Peters Church of England Junior School, Orchards Church of England Academy, Peckover Primary School, The Nene Infant School, Ramnoth Junior School and Elm Road Primary School. There are also specialist schools, Meadowgate Academy, Cambian Wisbech School, The County School & Trinity School.
In 1864 the Wisbech Working Men's Club and Institute was founded. This provided opportunities to learn, socialise and participate in activities. Once one of the largest and most successful organisations of its type, it still provides a base for fitness training and other clubs.
In 1956 the Isle of Ely College and Horticultural Institute opened, the horticultural station later operated in several guises. It became the Cambridgeshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture, and more recently was combined with the College of West Anglia. It closed in 2012 after which horticultural students would attend the college's campus in Milton.
There is also a further education centre: the College of West Anglia formerly the Isle of Ely College.
Plans for a new £23m 600 pupil school to open in 2020 were announced in the Wisbech Standard.

Other institutions

The town has a number of branches of other institutions including the U3A and Worker's Educational Association.

Sport

Angling

Fishing for eels and other fish has been carries out for thousands of years. Eel and fish traps have been found at Fenland Archaeological sites such as Must Farm.
In the 19th and 20th centuries large numbers of anglers visited the area by train and later by car.

Bowls

Bowls was being played by 1842 when a challenge was laid down by 12 gentlemen to any side within 30 miles.

Hare coursing

Prior to 2004 when hare coursing was made illegal in England, it was carried out in the area. Wisbech High Fen was used for coursing. The Waldersea Club, established in 1863, organised meets on Boxing Day as early as 1868.

Ice skating

Wisbech and the Fens have a long tradition of skating on ice. In 1763 a skating match was held between the noted Hare of Thorney and a Danish sailor. The first day the sailor won, Hare having fallen, the second day the sailor won by a quarter of a mile in two miles to receive 50 guineas.
Mr. John Lamb and Mr.George Fawn ran a skating match from Wisbeach to Whittlesey for 10 guineas a side, Lamb skated the 15 measured miles in 46 minutes. It was thought the spectators numbered a thousand.
The warmer winters, filling in of the canal and no permanent rink has led to the lack of facilities. In suitable winters such as that of 1820 the town could attract the leading racers of the day.

Cock fighting

Prior to 1835 when cock fighting was made illegal in England, it was an organised sport and held frequently in the town, there were three days of cock fighting advertised to take place at the Rose & Crown in December 1722.
'Cocking' was advertised in the Stamford Mercury to take place at the Rose & Crown during the Wisbech Races of 1769.

Golf

Wisbech had a golf club by the start of the 20th century.

Hunting

This was taking place in 1865 when a meet of Mr.Peele's harriers took place at Osborne House, the residence of Richard Young, Esq., M.P. About 40 horsemen were present, and the number of pedestrians very large. The sport was good.

Racing

Racing was advertised to be run from at least 1725 as an advert refers to 'Wisbech New Course' and again in 1728.
"To be Run for on Wisbeach New-Course in the Isle of Ely, on Tuesday the 17th of this instant August, a Purse of Twenty Pounds."
Regular horse racing at Wisbech took place until at least 1782 and appears to have lapsed towards the end of the 18th century. After a lapse of nearly a century, racing took place on Wednesday, 27 June 1866 on a course near the Peterborough Rd, followed by a dinner at the White Hart. Annual events followed in the next two years, it then moving to a course near the turnpike off Barton Lane. The new course was only half a mile around. A ball and concerts at the Corn Exchange and Bowling Green followed the 1869 race day.

Sailing

A regatta was held as early as 1850.
In 1955 Wisbech Yacht Club opened their new clubhouse at Lattersley Pit, Whittlesey.

Canoeing

The rivers, canal and drains provide opportunities for canoeing and kayaking. As early as 1868 students from Cambridge were paddling along the River Ouse to King's Lynn and around the coast to Wisbech via the River Nene and paadling along the canal to the Ouse to return to the university.

Cricket

One of the earliest records of the sport of cricket in the area is to a local match.
"On Monday 4 June next a Cricket Match will be play’d on March Common, in the Isle of Ely, between the Gentlemen of March and the Gentlemen of Wisbeach, Eleven of a Side, for five Pounds a Man, when it is expected there will be a very numerous Meeting of the best Fashion." Northampton Mercury, 28 May 1744.
In 1850 the club had a newly laid out ground on Mr.Shepherd's field in Gaol-Lane. The club membership included Lord Burghley. A Wisbech 22 hosted the 'All-England' eleven on tour in 1851 and 1853. In the first match Nicholas Felix's notes describe William Caffyn being knocked senseless with a ball in the eye, causing him to retire. A painting of the match shows the Octagon church in the background. The eleven captained by William Clarke scored 93 and 83, the home side
68 and 49, the eleven winning by 61 runs.
County sides played matches in Wisbech from the 19th century, a Cambridge v Yorkshire match took place in 1867.

Bull running

Stamford and Wisbech were once famous for their annual Bull-running through the streets. The practice was abolished at the end of the 18th century.

Cycling

Cycling has long been a popular organised activity in the area, Wisbech Bicycle Club was formed in 1878 and offered a wide range of competitions.
Wisbech Wheelers was formed in 1924.

Motorcycles

The Wisbech and District Motorcycle Club dates back to 1955, and since those early days its nickname has been the Fen Tigers.

Greyhound racing

took place at the Wisbech Greyhound Stadium until its demolition in 2007.

Stock car racing

Stock car racing also took place until the stadium closure.

Football

The town had a number of sides in the 19th century and there was fierce rivalry between Walsoken Victory and Wisbech.
Wisbech Nene Rovers held Cambridge Swifts in the inaugural final of the Cambridgeshire Junior Cup in March 1898 played in Cambridge. In the same year Wisbech met Irthlingborough in a replay of the 1–1 Hinchingbrooke Cup competition final, Wisbech lost the replay 5–0.
The largest local non-league football team is Wisbech Town Football Club, nicknamed The Fenmen the club now plays in a new ground on Lynn Road.
In 1932 they are Peterborough League champions with a game to spare.
As United Counties champions,Wisbech join the enlarged Eastern Counties League in 1949.

Cricket and hockey

Wisbech Town Cricket and Hockey Club are based on Harecroft Road.

Tennis and squash

A form of tennis was being played in the town before 1571, as a great storm and inundation in this year 'a tennis place and a bowling allie, walled about with bricke worth £20 by the year to the owner, was quite destroyed by the water'.
Wisbech Lawn Tennis Club and Wisbech & District Squash Club.

Rugby union football

Wisbech rugby club dates back to the late 1940s. Wisbech played Boston on 25 September 1948.
Early opposition included Kesteven.
Wisbech Rugby Union Football Club House is on Chapel Road.

Culture

Georgian Angles Theatre

The Georgian theatre, Deadman's Lane was built c1790 as part of the Lincoln circuit. On Friday 26, April 1791 the last benefit of this season, a performance of the new comedy Every One Has His Fault followed by a pantomime Don Juan; or The Libertine Destroyed were given.
Wisbech Theatre presents The Battle of Hexham by George Colman the Younger and The Touchstone of Truth for the benefit of Mr & Mrs Miller on the last night Friday, 20 May 1791, as advertised in the Stamford Mercury.
In 1808 the celebrated Young actor Master Betty aka 'The Young Roscius' performed between 3 and 8 June,
The Georgian venue was used by amateur companies as well, on 24, August 1815 a production of the Poor Gentlemen was staged.
In November and December 1825 Madame Tussaud brought her touring collection of waxworks to the town's Georgian theatre.
The Shakespearean actress Sarah Booth gave five performances in the role of Juliet in May 1827.
William Cobbett gave a lecture to about 200 farmers in March 1830.
Edmund Kean appeared on 19, 21 and 22 April in three of his celebrated characters.
On Monday 13, June 1836 William Macready performed in the first of four nights of Shakespeare productions.
A school was built by the banker James Hill in front of the Georgian theatre in 1837.
Under Mrs T. Fanny Robertson the Georgian theatre opened in June 1834 for a short season. The 1839 players included Miss Cooper and Mr Young.
The 1839 season featured Henry Compton.
In March 1840 the Georgian theatre was again opened for its five-week season. The 1842 season finished with Knowles Love, Shipwrecked Mariner and the farce Mrs.White. In 1843 Mrs. Robertson resigned her management to her nephew, Mr. W.Robinson. The theatre was advertised to be auctioned on 6 November 1843.
The 1844 season ended with a benefit for Mrs. W. Robertson, Every One Has His Fault.
In 1846 the Georgian venue was used for concerts and a performance by Ojibbeway Indians in native costume.
The Georgian theatre lease was sold and a performance was put on to benefit the former lessee Mrs. T.Robertson on 3 June 1847 by Mr.Davenport's company as part of their 5/6-week season. Under Mr.Davenport, lessee of the Norwich circuit, the season commenced with Richard III, Hercules, King is Clubs and Juliet.
On 25 November 1977 the two buildings were opened to form the 170 seat Georgian Angles Theatre by the president of the theatre council Anton Rodgers.
A fire broke out in the Georgian Angles theatre in July 1991, the damage was made good and it soon reopened.
The Georgian Angles Theatre on Alexandra Road is now used by community theatre groups and touring companies. The theatre is run by the Wisbech Angles Theatre Council a registered Charity.

Other theatres and travelling shows

Earlier theatres are referred to by William Watson "a building in Pickard's Lane, now belonging to Jonathan Peckover, esq. since converted into a barn, was used for theatrical purposes. A large building also, on the Sutton road, was afterwards used for the like purpose, previous to the present erection in Deadman's Lane. The very respectable manager, Mr.Robertson, pays his annual visit to the inhabitants in the spring season".
On 3 March 1859 a very elegant theatre opened.
In 1862 Douglas's theatre on Lynn Rd was putting on different shows each day of the week.
In July 1864 the theatre lessee Mr John Douglas and his company put on productions that drew good size audiences. The band of the Wisbech Rifle company attended to provide music.
The Public Hall reopened on 31 December 1894 after extensive alterations including special exits and provision of fire safeguards.
The newly erected Selwyn Theatre on Great Church-street opened on 1 January 1895 under the management of Mr J.Baker with the Comedy-drama Heroes followed by the farce, Funnibone's Fix by Wisbech Amateur Dramatic Society.
‘'The Era'’ of 9, February 1901 advertised Miss Ethel Greythorpe's production of ‘'Facing the Music'’ at Selwyn Theatre.
On 1 August 1907 they advertised in The Stage for 'Good Companies' for the summer and Christmas season'
On 29 April 1915 the Alexandra Theatre Prop. H.Bancroft advertised in ‘'The Era'’ for 'Star Attractions'. The capacity was 800.
On 20 September 1916, The Wisbech Electric Theatre advertised in ‘'The Era'’ for two musicians.
In 1920 the Alexandra Theatre was used to auction the late Lord Peckover's estates. On 23, August 1923 the Alexandra Theatre advertised in ‘'The Stage'’ for dramatic artists. A picture of the 1931 production of Miss Hook of Holland performed by the 'Wisbech Amateur Dramatic Society' is included in the book Lilian Ream: a life in photography and also a picture of Mrs Chester's 'Little Theatre' group being filmed by a BBC camera team in 1957.
Pictures of the 1929 Wisbech Pageant 'Heart of the Fens' and No No Nanette play at the Wisbech Empire Theatre in 1951 are included in the Wisbech Book. The theatre reopened under the new owner Mr Norman Jacobs snr in 1979.
Apart from theatrical performances Wisbech attracted a wide range of travelling shows at the Mart and Statute Fairs, horse sales and markets. In 1903 Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World trains arrived at the Great Eastern Railway station to put on a show at the cricket ground, Queens Road. After the shows held on Saturday 12 September the trains took the show to Peterborough.

Cinema

The first purpose built cinema in Wisbech was the 450 seater 'Electric Theatre' on the Timber Market opened on 12 November 1910. It was licensed for six days a week as there was opposition to Sunday showings. The proprietor was Mr Wilkinson J Elm, the manager Mr GF Allen. Later it was renamed the Regent Cinema and then to the Onyx Cinema. It had a 25 feet deep stage which was used for variety acts etc. In 1941 a German bomb fell outside and the building was demolished.
On 29 July 1931 it was announced in ‘'The Bioscope'’ that plans had been drawn up by Ward & Woolnough the architects, to replace Racey's Arcade with the 'Empire Cinema'.
The town which had been without a cinema for decades was again showing films from 2009 when The Luxe Cinema opened in the former Women's Institute hall in Alexandra Road.
The cinema changed ownership in 2017 and is one of eight cinemas run by the Picturedrome Electric Theatre company.
A newly built multi-screen cinema The Light on the Fens, Cromwell Road was opened in 2015 by the Light Cinemas company.

Museums

The town has several buildings dedicated to the preservation of artefacts and documents.
Wisbech & Fenland Museum, Museum Square opened on its current site in 1847. The Friends of Wisbech and Fenland Museum supports the museum with Grants for acquisitions, and assists with research programmes, conservation, publishing and new technologies throughout the Museum.
Wisbech Castle was donated to the Isle of Ely County Council by the family of the former education director and is now run by the town council. It is used as a community asset and hosts educational and other activities. The contents include furnishings, books and other items of interest.
Octavia Hill's Birthplace House opened with the purpose of housing items linked to the various philanthropic activities of Octavia Hill and her family.
The Wisbech Working Men's Institute and Social club's origins date back to 5 January 1864.

Wisbech Working Men's Institute

In 1864 Johnathan Peckover founded the Wisbech Working Men's Institute, it later moved to Hill Street.

Inns, taverns, breweries and beer festivals

The town's licensed premises have a long history of providing leisure facilities from bowling greens and skittle alleys to darts, cards, chess and other board games as well as other social events.
In 1853 the 'Wisbech Brewery' on the riverside owned 20 pubs and hotels in the town and about 30 outside.
Elgood's brewery located on the North Brink supplies its tied-houses the Angel Hotel, Coyote Bar & Grill, the Hare and Hounds hotel, Red Lion and Three Tuns Inn in the town and others in the surrounding area.
In 1950 Arthur Oldham researched and produced in very limited numbers Pubs and Taverns of Wisbech. This was reprinted in 1979 by Cambridgeshire libraries as Inns and Taverns of Wisbech.

Festivals and events

The town hosts annual festivals and events. The Wisbech Mart Fair is held in the town every March.
Wisbech Rose Fair is held in late June and early July each year. It originated in 1963 as a flower festival when the local rose growers sold rose buds in the Parish Church of St.Peters in aid of its restoration fund. The church still uses this annual occasion to raise funds for the upkeep of the ancient building, and over the years, the Rose Fair has grown into a Town Festival. It developed into an event that encompasses many of the charities and other organisations in the town and district running stalls and events including two parades of floats starting from Queens Road.
The Arles Festival celebrates the twinning of the two towns.
Wis-beach day is held every year in June on the market place. The seaside comes to the town for the Sunday and donkey rides, Punch and Judy shows, sand, beach chairs and amusement rides fill the centre of the town.
On Armed Forces Day in June the market place is taken by military vehicles and units and veterans associations. A Sunday service is held with a parade and march past.
Wisbech Rock Festival is held in Wisbech Park and is run by the town council.
Friends of Wisbech Park Bandstand host a series of musical events at the bandstand on Sunday afternoons throughout the summer and winter.
In August many local gardens are open to the public as part of the National Garden Scheme Open Days.
In September the town participates in Heritage Weekend when many buildings are open to the public for tours.
Wisbech Statute Fair is held every September.
The Elgoods Beer Festival takes place each September when musical events accompany the wide range of drinks on offer.
Wisbech Castle and the Horse Fair stage Halloween events.
Christmas Lights Switch On takes place on the market place in late November.
A Christmas market and Fayre takes place in December.

Literature

The town had a number of libraries and a museum long before the passing of the Public Museums and Libraries Act 1964. The Corporation Library including the records of the Holy Trinity Guild were given to the museum.
The Wisbech Book Society was formed in 1832.
The Wisbech Working Men's Institute had a large library. Leach & Son Printers operated a Circulating Library in connection with Harrod's Library, London.
The former school in Alexandra road was the public library from 1947 until it was relocated to a purpose-built library in Ely Place in the 1970s.
John Power in Handbook on Books and Printing states that printing was established in Wisbech by 1721.
Printers include Mann Hutchesson, FB Wright, JA Cash, J White, White & Leach, W Watts, R Walker, Gardiner & Co and Balding & Mansell.
Local nonfiction authors include William Godwin, Thomas Clarkson, William Ellis, William Watson, FJ Gardiner, N Walker & Prof.T Craddock, Arthur Artis Oldham, Andrew C Ingram, Robert Bell, George Anniss, Roger Powell, Bridgett Holmes, Kevin Rodgers, Andrew Ketley, William P Smith and Diane Carlton Smith and fiction writers John Muriel, John Gordon and Rev. Wilbert AwdryOBE.

Poetry

The town nearly added the poet John Clare to its residents when he visited for a job interview.
Fen speak ran a series of events funded by the Arts Council, Metal Culture and John Clare Cottage.
More recently the town has hosted Fenland Poet Laureate awards.
'Wisbech Words' holds regular events at Wisbech Castle.
The Fenland Poet Laureate Awards were relaunched with funding from the Arts Council in 2019 with the results to be announced in the autumn.
Charlotte Beck, 13 and CJ Atkinson were announced as the 2019–2020 Young Fenland Poet Laureate and Fenland Poet Laureate.

Art

Wisbech Art Club was formed in 1933 and holds exhibitions at venues in the town including Wisbech & Fenland Museum and Wisbech Castle. Regular meetings are now held at Wisbech Town Football club.

Photography

Wisbech has a longer surviving historical record of photography than many towns, professional studios and individual photographers have left large collections, some of which are held locally.
Between them, photographers Samuel Smith, Francis Frith, Lilian Ream, Geoff Hastings, George Anniss and others have left many thousands of images of Wisbech spanning the 19th and 20th centuries. Many are in the Wisbech & Fenland Museum and others are in public and private collections around the country. Details about these and over seventy other local photographers are on the Fading Images website. As well as Wisbech based studios, travelling photographers visits the area. Oliver Sarony brought his mobile photographic studio to the town in 1854.
Wisbech Camera Club have been for running about seventy years. They were formed on 5 January 1950, and held an AGM in the March, followed by an Annual Exhibition at Peckover House & Garden in the November.
Etcetera now occupy the former Lilian Ream York Row 'Borough Studio' and have extended into adjoining properties and this now includes a cafe Studio and a post office. an exhibition of Lilian Ream photos and artefacts is on display.
Images from the Hastings collection are being reproduced in booklets by the Friends of Wisbech and Fenland Museum. No.1 and No.2 were published in 2019 and available through the museum shop and Etcetera, with further

Crime and justice

The Castle was used as a prison for felons and religious prisoners. Later cells were located in the Wisbech Gaol or Sessions House.
A crier was employed to walk the streets at night in the 16th and 17th centuries. Night watchmen were also operating in the 17th to 19th centuries. In 1828 the watchmen carried a lanterns, rattles and bludgeons, and their superintendents cutlasses, pistols and dark lanterns. The watchmen shift was from 11 pm until 4am, during which time they were required to ring their bells, call the hour, wind and weather every five minutes at least.
Convicted prisoners could receive corporal punishment as well as prison terms and fines. The use of stocks, pillory, gallows and gibbets all took place.
Two highwaymen were committed to Norwich Castle for a robbery on the Highway near Wisbech on Tuesday 2 January 1728.
On 24 August 1736 Thomas See was hanged for horse theft.
On Wednesday 1737 Mr William Gallaway of Wisbech, Merchant, and Mr. John Gallaway of Ely, Draper, two Brothers, on their Return from Sturbitch Fair were attackedby a single Highwayman near Denny Point, who clapp'd a Pistol to Mr. William's Breast, which was boldly struck out of his Hand by his Brother John, and some Passengers coming by at the same Instant, they pulled the Ruffian from his Horse, bound him Hand and Foot, and carry'd him to Ely, where, after a strict Examination, he was committed to Prison. He is a tall thin Fellow, was dressed in a grey Livery triinm'd with red, was well mounted, but had on a shabby Hat and Wig : His design 'tis thought was againft a wealthy Apothecary of Ely, who had that Day received a large Sum of Money at the Fair.
30 June 1740 a mob 'have almost pulled down one house, broke the windows of three or four more, broke into three or four granaries....carried off 20 Last of wheat...extracted sums of money...the damage is computed at £500–600.
On 13 September 1740 two rioters Thomas Higgins and William Organer were hanged at Wisbech.
On 18 June 1742 one Rigglesworth, alias Smith was committed to Newgate by the Aldermen Billers and Rouse, for robbing the Mail of the Wisbech Bag, and taking out several Bills of Exchange and Bank Notes; one of which was taken upon him.
12 August 1740, at Wisbech Assizes fourteen rioters were tried, Richard Blanchley found guilty of all charges, Organer and Higgins guilty of a riot and taking cash, all three condemned to be hanged, Beales and Denison guilty of taking cash, and nine others found guilty of the riot only, were ordered for transportation; but there were six acquitted. Two rioters are to be executed next Saturday at Castle-Hill, Norwich.
Transportation to the American penal colonies ceased when the American War of Independence broke out in 1775.
In August 1780 two highwaymen William Smith and Michael Moore robbed a number of travellers near Swaffham and were pursued, Moore was taken and the next day Smith was captured in Wisbech. They were committed to Norwich castle for trial.
They were found guilty at Thetford Assizes on 17 March and hanged at Norwich castle square on 7 April.
In 1787 transportation started to the first penal colonies in Australia. The same year Solomon Tuck was convicted for the murder of John Saunders at Wisbech River, he was hanged at Ely, where his body was cut down for later dissection.
In 1795 William Marriott was murdered, four men were tried, convicted and hanged for the crime on 24 October. These were Thomas Markin and Thomas Quin however two, James Cully and Michael Quin were also gibbeted in chains.
The Borough of Wisbech was an Assize town in the Isle of Ely and in 1807 a 15-year-old boy from Whittlesey was tried, convicted and hanged on 13 July for the murder of another boy George Burnham.
John Bolden was convicted at Wisbech Assizes, of an assault, with an attempt to commit a rape, upon Elizabeth Young, a girl of fifteen at Chatteris. He was sentenced to one year in prison and to stand in the pillory, once at Wisbech and once at Ely in 1811.
Two highwaymen robbed Mr Fuller, a horse dealer on the road between March and Wisbech of upwards of £200 in 1813.
In 1816 in response to the 'Littleport Riots' and concerns of Wisbech magistrates and inhabitants fearful of outrages, troops were ordered to the town from Upwell, March and Whittlesey.
On Saturday 10 July 1819 Israel Garner, convicted of burglary and highway robbery, at the Isle of Ely Assizes in Wisbech, were executed at Wisbech. The rare occurrence of such a scene in that neighbourhood drew together several thousands of spectators. Garner left a wife and child.
In 1821 James Cooper and William Pool, two members of a gang of ten shoplifters, were sentenced to be severely whipped on market days, twice in Wisbech and once on Ely market places and serve two months in prison.
James Anderson and Robert Salisbury escaped from Wisbech Prison on Monday, 22 March 1824. Five pounds reward was offered for the recapture of each.
Wisbech Gaol was opened in 1846.
In 1855 the Wisbech Old Gaol of Correction was sold for £550 to Mr John Hiscox, and used to reduce the £4,550 debt of building the new gaol.
On 19 October 1858 the post boy carrying mail from Lynn to Wisbech was stopped by a footpad near Lynn, who presented pistol to him and robbed him of the letters. Jos. Been, inhabitant of Lynn, on being apprehended confessed to the Robbery. He escaped, but was retake.
At Ely Assizes on 29 January 1860 Wm.Sampson, aged 55, and Wm.Bares, aged 21, convicted of sheep stealing, the former to be executed at Ely on Feb.12 and the latter at Wisbech on 21st.
The Rifle Volunteers had been allowed to store weapons and gunpowder in the Sessions House. In 1865 the Clerk of the peace was instructed to write to the volunteers to request that they remove the powder.
In 1868 it was reported 'that there were certified cells for forty-two males and ten females, and two punishment cells. The cost of Wisbech gaol, exclusive of the site, was £7,780. The sessions house was ten minutes drive from the prison, and prisoners were conveyed to and fro in an omnibus without trouble. The duty of task master was left to a warder, and the cooking was done by a male prisoner'.
Despite walls 20 feet high there were prison escapes. In 1875 two escaped prisoners were recaptured after setting fire to a hay stack.
Following the Prison Act 1877 that led to the closure of Wisbech gaol, it was sold by auction for£2,100.
In December 1885 the execution of Robert Goodall, aged 45 of Walsoken, for the murder of his wife Bathsheba and then throwing her down a well, took place inside Norwich Castle. To the horror of all those present, the hanging resulted in a decapitation.
In 1889 the Wisbech Borough Police came under the control of the Isle of Ely authority.
Robert Galloway, a seaman was executed in Norwich Castle for the murder of Minnie Morris at Walsoken in November 1912.

Uniformed services

In 1797, a corps of volunteer infantry was formed. A light infantry company was added in 1807. Major William Watson was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel-commandant of the Third Cambridgeshire Regiment or Wisbech United Battalion of Volunteer Infantry.
In 1859 the Rev. Henry Jackson and others met together to start the formation of a volunteer unit – the Wisbech Rifle Corps.
A Cadet Corps had been formed in connection with the Wisbech Volunteer Company and 30 cadets had been recruited, parading two drills weekly by April 1862.
In 1862 in Cambridgeshire the Wisbech Corps were reviewed on Thursday week by Lt Colonel Ibbetson District Inspector of Volunteers who also called under his official notice during the week the Second County Administrative Battalion. In a match between the Wisbech and Cambridge companies Ten on each side – the former won by one mark, scoring 365, while their opponents made 364.
The Hon. Surgeon to the Cambridgeshire Milita in 1864 was Robert Muriel.
In April 1875 the 2nd Cambridgeshire Rifle Corps based at the Corn Exchange paraded on Mondays, the band on Tuesdays and recruits on Wednesdays and Fridays. Weapon inspections also took place at the Sessions House.
As well as 2nd Cambridgeshire Rifle Corps forerunners of the Cambridgeshire Regiment based in Wisbech, there was a detachment of D Squadron, King's Own Norfolk Imperial Yeomanry, Congham House, King's Lynn which paraded at Cornhill, Wisbech on Fridays 6:30pm.
The Yeomanry with their Lincolnshire Yeomanry comrades attended a church parade at the parish church in Wisbech in August 1905.
Lieut. Ollard & C/Sgt Cole of E Company attended the presentation of new colours to the Cambridgeshire Battalion by the King at Windsor on 18 June 1909.
The last army unit based in the town was the detachment of the Royal Anglian Regiment, based in the T.A.Centre Sandyland. This closed down in 1999 as part of the 1999 Strategic Defence Review.

Notable buildings and monuments

Notable people

In order of birth:

Past

In order of birth.
Names are in birth order. Data are from the subject's Wikipedia article except where referenced.
Wisbech is served by KL.FM 96.7 of West Norfolk, a commercial radio station with local programmes.
TV broadcasts are provided by BBC East, BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, ITV Anglia, and ITV Yorkshire.

Film and television

A 1924 film recorded a day at the North Cambridgeshire Hospital in the East Anglian Film Archive.
1926 street scenes filmed to be shown at the local Electric Theatre. EAFA.
North Cambridgeshire Hospital in the 1930s. EAFA.
'Approaching Wisbech' an amateur film of a simulated road traffic accident made in the late 1930s. EAFA.
1932 The 'Capital of the Fens' is brought to a standstill as crowds fill the streets to catch a glimpse of Prince George as he receives the Loyal Address from the Mayor.
1957 The BBC filmed Mrs Chester's Little Theatre Group performing in the grounds of Grammar school house, South Brink. It was broadcast as part of ‘'Maypole and Melody'’ on 26 April 1958.
1961 'The Wisbech to Upwell Tramway'. EAFA.
In 1963 Anglia TV recorded a film report on Wisbech Castle. This is also available to download on the East Anglian Film Archive.
'The Flood' a 1963 drama filmed using boats from Wisbech.
1975 Anglia TV report about the first purpose-built traveller site in GB. EAFA.
'A Passage to Wisbech' a BBC documentary on the coaster ships which work around the shores of Britain, followed the voyages of the Carrick, a 30-year-old ship owned and skippered by Rick Waters.
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 2001 adaptation of 'Micawber', starring David Jason.
In 2000 BBC One's 'The Antiques Roadshow’ was hosted and recorded at the Hudson Leisure centre.
A 'Wisbech Rock Festival' appears in the 1998 British comedy film Still Crazy starring Stephen Rea, Jimmy Nail, Billy Connolly and Timothy Spall, Bill Nighy, Juliet Aubrey, Helena Bergstrom and Bruce Robinson.
The 2008 feature film Dean Spanley starring Peter O'Toole was largely filmed in Wisbech.
In February 2010 the effect of immigration on the town was featured in the BBC documentary 'The Day the Immigrants Left', presented by Evan Davis. The programme looked at jobs in the town reported to have been "taken over by migrants". In the programme, several local unemployed persons were given the chance to try such jobs.
2009 Channel 5's reality TV series ‘The Hotel Inspector’ starring Alex Polizzi featured The Rose and Crown hotel.
2018 'Celebrating Nestle Communities – Wisbech' was released in September 2018. This is one of a series of films showcasing communities around the UK and Ireland where Nestle operate.
In December 2018 the American TV Channel ‘The Late Late Show’ with British star James Cordon featured a giant inflatable Santa blocking Cromwell Road. This Father Christmas had broken free from its fixings in a garden and it took several hours to catch.
Wisbech
'2019 Made in Minecraft: A different point of view' was released. It shows parts of the town in a Minecraft format.

Other media

In More English Fairy Tales collected and edited by Joseph Jacobs the tale of Tom Hickathrift and his battle with the Wisbeach Giant is retold. In other versions the protagonist is described as The Wisbech/Wisbeach Ogre
Isaac Casaubon recorded in his diary his visit to Wisbech on 17 August 1611. He accompanied Lancelot Andrewes, bishop of Ely, from the episcopal palace at Downham.
Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary his trip to Parson Drove on Thursday 17 September 1663 in order to accompany his uncle and cousin to go to Wisbeach in connection with another uncle Day's estate. At Wisbeach on Friday 18 September he visited the church and library.
Daniel Defoe toured the Eastern Counties of England in 1723 and commented about Wisbech as a seaport. He had visited the Isle of Ely in 1722 and observed:
"That there are some wonderful engines for throwing up water, and such as are not to be seen any where else, whereof one in particular threw up, twelve hundred ton of water in half an hour, and goes by wind-sails, 12 wings or sails to a mill".
"Here are the greatest improvements by planting of hemp, that, I think, is to be seen in England; particularly on the Norfolk and Cambridge side of the Fens, as about Wisbech, Well, and several other places, where we saw many hundred acres of ground bearing great crops of hemp ".
William Cole, the Cambridge antiquary, who passed through in 1772, mentions that 'the buildings were in general handsome, the inn we stopped at uncommonly so...'. 'But the Bridge,' he added 'stretching Rialto-like over this straight and considerable stream, with a good row of houses extending from it, and fronting the water, to a considerable distance, beats all, and exhibits something of a Venetian appearance'.
John Howard came to Wisbech to visit the 'Wisbeach Bridewell' on 3 February 1776 and found two prisoners locked up in it. He described it as having two or three rooms. No courtyard. No water. Allowance a penny a day; and straw twenty shillings a year. Keeper's salary £16: no Fees – This prison might be improved on the Keeper's Garden.
In 1778/1779 Italian author and poet Giuseppe Marc'Antonio Baretti took up residence with a family living at the castle for about a fortnight. Afterwards he published a series of letters Lettere Familiari de Giuseppe Baretti including a description of his Wisbech visit. He attended horse races, the theatre, public balls, public suppers and assemblies.
William Cobbett, who 'speechified' to about 220 people in the Playhouse Angles Theatre in April 1830, called it 'a good solid town, though not handsome' and re marked the export of corn
William Macready arrived in Wisbech on 13 June 1836 and performed in Hamlet and Macbeth in what is now the Angles Theatre. He recorded his visit which was later published in 1875 in 'Diaries and Letters'.
Charles Kingsley's 1850 novel Alton Locke has a character Bob Porter referring to the gibbeting of two Irish reapers at Wisbech River after trial for murder. Wisbech and Fenland Museum has a headpiece that was used with the gibbet in a similar case in the 18th century.
Wisbeach and its river Nene, wooden piling and riverport, two stations are mentioned by Hilaire Belloc who dined at the Whyte Harte hotel, North Brink.
Wisbech was one of eight towns featured in Old Towns Revisited published by Country Life Ltd in 1952.
Brian Vesey-Fitzgerald describes his experience of visiting Wisbech in May 1964.
Travel writer Nicholas Wollaston's visit to the town produced a chapter in his 1965 book.
Wisbech features in John Gordon's 1992 autobiography.
There are two free newspapers distributed within the town and online, the Wisbech Standard and the' Fenland Citizen.
Several free local magazines are published online and distributed: The fens, Discovering Wisbech, The Wisbech Post, and the Fenland Resident.
According to a study looking into immigration patterns, Wisbech was once identified as the seventh "most English" town in Britain by . However, on 16 February 2008 a report in the Daily Express titled "Death of a Country Idyll" wrote about how the influx of Eastern European immigrants may have caused an increase in crime. Then on 20 February 2008 The Fenland Citizen contained an article opposing the Daily Express article.
On 14 May 2011 Wisbech featured in The Guardian "Let's Move to..." column: Tom Dyckhoff highlighted the Georgian streets, cinemas, local community groups and poor rail links.
In June 2018 Country Life magazine ran a feature on Wisbech.
In November 2018 Wisbech featured in an article in the Daily Telegraph by Jack Rear entitled "The spirited English town with some of Britain's best forgotten history".
Wisbech Merchants' Trail was updated and released as a map and booklet and as a free mobile app in August 2019. There are 17 brass plaques at historical sites around the town.
The town council produces an annual Official Town Guide and Map published by Local Authority Publishing Co Ltd. There is also an online version.

Climate

Like the rest of the United Kingdom, Wisbech experiences an oceanic climate, but Cambridgeshire is one of the driest counties in the British Isles along with Essex. February is the driest month, whilst October is the wettest. In temperature terms, both January and December are the coldest months, whilst August is the warmest.

Twin town