WISBECH ANNIVERSARIES

Guests and members met for our July meeting to listen to one of our favourite speakers, Andrew Ingram with his slides of various venues. His talk was about Anniversaries of important events for Wisbech.
We were told that a theatre was erected in Wisbech in 1793 and through time has been a school, a boxing venue and a library and had fallen into disrepair but renovated and known today as the Angles Theatre. Wisbech was lit by gas in 1832 and the Leverington road cemetery was laid out in 1835.
160 years ago the first bank was opened, as was the Barton school for boys who were boarders. This school had the luxury of a swimming pool. Wisbech got its first public swimming pool in 1910, situated at Crab Marsh. The fire station was established in Hill Street in 1900.
Octavia Hill, the founder of the National Trust was born in South Brink in 1838 and the house is now a Museum celebrating her life. 145 years ago fresh water was first brought to Wisbech. For many years water had been used from the Wisbech canal and river for drinking, etc., causing outbreaks of Cholera in 1832 and 1849.
The Wisbech canal was closed at the lock junction with the river in 1930 and the railway arrived in 1847. The Wisbech Museum was started up in rented rooms 125 years ago and later moved to a purpose built establishment in Museum Square. The first local paper was produced in 1845, and the first electric cinema was built 100 years ago and bombed during World War 2 in1945.
In 1880 a memorial was erected near the river, to Thomas Clarkson, a local man who with his friend established through parliament, the Abolition of Slavery.
We were fascinated by Andrew’s knowledge and the dates he remembered and the several places mentioned were remembered by the audience.
Our September meeting is the AGM followed by a talk by Brian Jones on the Religious Houses of Lincolnshire.
On September 18th we will be holding our Family History Day when visiting Societies will, with ourselves be available to help with research etc.
There will also be a World War 2 display with, amongst other things, a showing of the food rationing for an adult for one week.
[Barbara Holmes]