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 Burwell, Village from Church Tower c1955 (ref. B728007) | Burwell means 'spring by the fort'. It was here at this fen-edge settlement that William the Conqueror and Geoffrey de Manderville made their defensive stand for the island of Ely. This is a typical fenland scene, with a huge sky forming the backdrop to the village. Steven's Mill is built from clunch, and was plastered and tarred in the early 19th century. Inside it has three pairs of grinding stones. Burwell was the last place in England where clunch was quarried. |  Add your own Memory Add to your Album |
 Cambridge, Christ's College 1908 (ref. 60831) | A hansom cab waits for a fare outside the entrance to Christ's College. Founded by Henry VII's mother, Margaret Beaufort (as was St John's), the impressive gateway depicts her coat of arms, with a statue of her above. In the college gardens stands a mulberry tree under which Milton is said to have written 'Lycidas'. | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Cambridge, Eights on the Cam 1909 (ref. 61510) | Cambridge has a long history of rowing. The River Cam itself is not wide enough for conventional races, so races called 'Bumps' are held. Eights such as this one start off about one and a half lengths behind one another, and each boat has to catch up with the one in front, thus 'bumping' it. | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Chatteris, High Street c1955 (ref. C210011) | This small fen town was originally built on an island surrounded by seasonal sheep-walks. Even as late as the early 17th century, there was no road linking Chatteris with Ely. It was only when Cromwell installed Henry Ireton as Deputy Governor of the Isle of Ely that the road which is now the A142 was built. | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Ely, the Cathedral from the River 1891 (ref. 28179) | Ely Cathedral, which can be seen from up to twenty miles away on a clear day, is one of the most stirring sights in Fenland. This photograph shows the sharp rise from river level to the cathedral. It is easy to imagine how a local Saxon leader like Hereward the Wake could defend Ely from the invading Norman army. Unfortunately, the monks of the abbey did not wish to be defended: it was they who told the Normans the way to capture Ely! | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Great Shelford, Woollards Lane c1955 (ref. G278013) | We see typical fifties fashion here with the boy's open shirt collar worn over his jacket collar. Note too the bicycle parked on the other side of the road, with the pedal set back on the kerb so it can act as a stand. | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Haddenham, the Green c1950 (ref. H249001) | After crossing the ancient causeway known as the King's Highway (which runs from Belsars Hill at Willingham to Aldreth), we reach the green at Haddenham and the road to Ely. A Celtic cross was chosen by the village for their war memorial. The lorry and tractor are parked casually – perhaps the owners are drinking at the Chequers, or visiting Lloyds Bank (left); a postman is delivering letters (right). | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Littleport, Main Street c1955 (ref. L366011) | This prosperous small town witnessed a day of rioting on 22 May 1822. Local people gathered in protest at starvation wages and atrocious working conditions. They robbed farmers, and marched to Ely in protest. On their return they were cornered in the George Inn. They were tried at Ely: many were transported to Australia, and five were publicly hanged. | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 March, the Bridge from Nene Quay 1929 (ref. 81913) | The town's name comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for frontier or border. March stood on the line between Middle Anglia and East Anglia, with trade built up on the fishing or trading based on the Fenland rivers. By medieval times, March was a thriving town with an influence way beyond its bounds. Here we see leisure activity on the river Nene. The clock tower of the Town Hall is prominent. The Town Hall opened in 1900; the architect was W T Unwin. The row of shops facing the river include that of A Crowson, 'fancy goods dealer'. | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Soham, High Street c1955 (ref. S597009) | Between Soham and Wicken once lay a large expanse of water called Soham Mere. It suffered from gradual encroachment by farmers over the centuries, and finally succumbed in the drainage of 1664. Here we see a soldier memorial, like the one at March. The names of those killed in the Second World War have been added around the base of the monument. They include the names of several Soham men who died in captivity in the Far East following the capture of Singapore by the Japanese in 1942. | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Sutton, High Street c1955 (ref. S674004) | This village stands on the south-west edge of the Isle of Ely. In the 17th century the fens around Sutton were drained by farmers with the help of wind pumps. The struggle to drain the fen and maintain the banks of the rivers and lodes was endless. The parish church of St Andrew must be the most beautiful of all the fenland churches. The two octagons of the tower can be seen for miles around, and were used as a beacon by those travelling by boat through Willingham Mere. | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Upwell, Town Street 1923 (ref. 73592) | The photograph is taken from the Norfolk bank of the Wellstream that flows into Wisbech. A later brick front was added to the 17th-century White Lion. There are several other early 17th-century brick buildings here, and one most interesting medieval survival near Church Bridge: now part of a workshop, it was possibly a warehouse and a lodging of one of the fenland abbeys. | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Waterbeach, the River Cam, Clayhithe c1955 (ref. W509003) | The name of the town does not refer to any beach, but comes from the Old English word 'beck', meaning 'stream'. Clayhithe was the harbour of Waterbeach; the word 'hythe' means 'landing-place'. By the time of this photograph, the former harbour has been given over to leisure activities. In the 17th century many people thought that the river Cam would dry up as a result of Vermuyden's drainage scheme; Cambridge university and the town both protested against the building of the Denver Sluice! | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Wicken, the Pond c1955 (ref. W493002) | Thatched cottages abound in the pretty village of Wicken. Nearby Wicken Fen is virtually the only remaining piece of natural undrained fenland left. It became a nature reserve in 1899, the first one to be set up by the National Trust. The thatched roofs are of reed harvested from Wicken Fen in the winter months. Another harvest from the fen was buckthorn, vital for charcoal. | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Wisbech, view from North Brink 1901 (ref. 47584) | The success of Wisbech has always depended on its rivers and canals. The five mile-long Wisbech Canal once connected the villages of Outwell and Upwell with the River Nene at Wisbech. It has since been filled in and closed down. Wisbech is the capital of the Fens. It was once a strategic seaport, where coasters transhipped their cargoes into fenland lighters. Yet the tides have played the town foul over the centuries, silting up successive estuaries of the River Nene so that now the town is stranded ten miles from the sea. However, ships still struggle in to berth at the quaysides of the town. | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Wisbech, the Market Place 1929 (ref. 81975) | Although it is ten miles from the sea on what is now an artificial River Nene, Wisbech maintains its long tradition as a sea port. It is the wealth created by the years of shipping which has given Wisbech two of the most perfect Georgian streets in England - the Brinks on the banks of the River Nene. Market inns line the right-hand side of the square – the Griffin, the Ship Hotel and the Mermaid Inn. The market stalls include an ice cream salesman (centre foreground) immediately in front of the steps leading down to the ladies' convenience! | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Clacton-On-Sea, Pier with Belle Steamer 1907 (ref. 58937) | Until 1864, Clacton had simply been a row of cliffs. It was Peter Bruff, a railway engineer, who bought the land and started to develop a resort here. The pier, which dates from 1871, had something for everyone: for a shilling, one could have a session of 'Character Reading: Head, Face & Hand'. Other distractions were provided by the Pavilion and the camera obscura. Alternatively, one could hop on one of the fleet of Belle Steamers that plied daily to a number of other coastal destinations. | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Clacton-On-Sea, Band Pavilion 1914 (ref. 66847) | Dating from 1899, Clacton's bandstand had recently been relocated to this new sunken pavilion as part of a 'general beautifying programme'. The picture was taken in that long hot summer before the declaration of war. Everyone is wearing a hat: the women's wide-brimmed, rounded style is typical of the period. Electric lighting was installed on the prom in 1912. | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Colchester, High Street 1892 (ref. 31518) | With its Roman remains and castle, Colchester has much to support its claim to be Britain's oldest recorded town. The street here is dominated on the south side by the slender spire of St Nicholas's church, unfortunately demolished in 1955. Off the northern side of the High Street is the so-called Dutch Quarter, named after the Flemish refugees who supposedly settled there in the 16th century. | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
 Colchester, Scheregate, St John Street 1921 (ref. 70363) | Scheregate, the lane in the centre, sits astride Colchester's town wall. The house straddling Scheregate Steps replaces a Roman postern. The 16th-century premises of H F Smith are now a shop dealing in ethnic ornaments, whilst the barber's shop (see the stripy pole) now sells antiques. The girl's panama hat is typical of the period. | Add your own MemoryAdd to your Album |
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