Apart from a few raucous seagulls we had a very quiet night, going up and down in the world as time and tide decided.
First thing in the morning it was a little misty and this photo was taken almost at low water.
Another photo fro about the same place this was taken about 4 hours later and is just about high water, there was a difference of about 6.25 metres.
We only had the short walk into the town and we headed for the Wisbech and Fenland Museum. This was one of the earliest purpose built museums in the country as it dates from 1847. The Museum Society itself started in 1835 in a building in the Old Market Square, but their collection soon outgrew that building and they moved to this purpose built one. Unfortunately it was built on the site of the old castle moat and suffers subsidence. One of the main rooms is currently closed as the roof fell in! They have big plans to alter the main entrance to the rear of the building as it is on the level and will have a cafe and facilities etc.
The museum reminds me of the Natural History Museum annex in Tring. I love the lay out of the many different aspects of local life and all well labelled with interesting information. One of their treasures is the original manuscript of Charles Dicken's original manuscript that had be given to given to Chauncy Townshend and left to the museum along with half his collection. The rest went to what became the Victoria and Albert Museum. It is well just for the building if nothing else.l worth a visit
On Lower Hill Street this school for girls was built in 1814 and was part of the National Schools. By 1827 104 girls were attending which compares well with 120 at the boys school. The long inscription between the floors reads 'The school for girls built by the Burgesses of Wisbech AD 1814 supported by the bequest of Mrs. Wright and the benefactions of Abraham Jobson, John Edes and others, and allied by voluntary subscriptions.'
This is the sluice that worked the Wisbech end of the Wisbech to Outwellcanal. It was a broad guage canal and the 5.25' canal opened in 1794. Due to the levels the canal was mainly built on embankments with a flood gate at each end. The only water supply was from the Wisbech end when the River Nene was higher than the canal level, that only occurred at Spring tides, so water levels fell between them. In 1883 a tramway was built alongside the canal, which eventually took the trade and it was not used after 1922. It was officialy abandoned in 1926. When the new road system in Wisbech was built the flood lock was built over and the rest of the canal was used for land fill.
This old warehouse that is below Town Bridge would have serviced the seagoing vessels that moored along here. It is the Horace Friend Warehouse that was built in the early 1800's.
You can see its position for the port better as it is there on the right as we entered Wisbech. You can also see that it had painted on it Friend Metal, feather and skin merchants.
We were told that this obviously old building was one of the early warehouses. As it was above the Town Bridge it would have been for river traffic. It looks like that it has incorporated an old viewing tower (see yesterday's blog) in the newer warehouse. There is even a dovecote in the upper floor of the old tower.
A little further along North Brink is Peckover House. It was built in 1722 and was bought by Jonathon at the end of that century. They were a rich local family and started a bank that was known as the Peckover Bank. The house was then known as Bank House. It was gifted to the National Trust in 1946 and can be looked round on set days. See the very grand tower to the left of the picture.
On the left is an early 1700's corn merchants counting house. On the right is a house that was built in 1723 as dated on the rainwater goods. There is lots of history everywhere in Wisbech.
When the rich moved out of the main part of town, to north of the river, this must have been built as private house in the late 1700's in what is called the Old Market Place. It was obviously taken over by Norton and Son's. They had a granary that was by the river but was demolished in 1978.
This is the Wisbech Corn Excchange that was built in 1811 as the exchange and gentleman's club. It was used by the Town Council from 1835 ans then became a popular venue for entertainments. By the 1960's Lulu, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Rolling Stones had performed there. It was also the Registrar Office so folk married there too. It then became the inevitable bingo hall but closed when it was refused planning for a cinema in the 1990's. It seems it is a time capsule when it has been opened for Heritage Open days in September.
In the afternoon we had a very interesting visit to Octavia Hill's Birth place on South Brink. The house was originally built in 1740 but was extended to the east (left) by three bays and split into two buildings in 1750. Here father was a corner merchant and the door on the left was used as the business entrance. He and his third wife were social reformers and Octavia was born in 1838. She gets involved in the Ladies Guild where she later meets John Ruskin and makes contacts through him with other reformers in social housing, education of the poor and maintaining opens spaces for everybody to enjoy in the cities. This later developed into what we now call the National Trust in 1895. She also started the Amy Cadet Corp in London to provide the boys with exercise, discipline, and obedience. She certainly made an impact on the world as a reformer. She died in 1912.
This mid 17th century house is currently used as a solicitors office. In 1898 it became the home of the Wisbech Boys Grammar school that is one of the oldest in the country having been set up in 1379. The facade was altered in early 1800's. The cupola is unusual but was often seen in houses connected with maritime trade. In 1970 the school merged with the Girl's High school and moved to their site on the North Brink.
This is just some of the many interesting buildings I could have included. There is a lot to Wisbech
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