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Coordinates: 52°33′24″N 0°07′51″W / 52.55668°N 0.13072°W
| Whittlesey (Whittlesea) | |
  Whittlesey (Whittlesea) shown within Cambridgeshire |
|
| Population | 15,581 (2001 Census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Fenland |
| Shire county | Cambridgeshire |
| Region | East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PETERBOROUGH |
| Postcode district | PE7 |
| Dialling code | 01733 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| European Parliament | East of England |
| List of places: UK • England • Cambridgeshire | |
Whittlesey (historically known as Whittlesea - the name of the railway station is still spelt this way - or Witesie) is an ancient Fenland market town around six miles (10 km) east of Peterborough in the county of Cambridgeshire in England. It has a population of around 15,000 (including the neighbouring parishes of Coates, Eastrea and Pondersbridge).
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Location
Whittlesey is located between the city of Peterborough, 6 miles (10 km) to the west and the town of March, 11 miles (18 km) to the east, and is bordered to the north by the River Nene and to the south by Whittlesey Dyke. Historically it was connected to Peterborough and March by the Roman road Fen Causeway constructed in the first century AD, a route approximately followed by the modern A605. The rail station is on the line between Peterborough and Ely (historically the Great Eastern Line), with direct trains to Cambridge, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leicester, Stansted Airport and others.
History and architecture
Whittlesey appears in the Domesday Book as Witesie, but it is probable that the name derives from Whittle's Ea, where Ea is a Saxon term for an island. Indeed the land was once owned and presided over by a man named 'Whittle', so the name literally translates as 'Whittle's Island'.[citation needed]
Before the draining of the fens, Whittlesey was an island of dry ground surrounded by the marshy fens. Excavations of nearby Flag Fen indicate thriving local settlements as far back as 1000 BC. In more recent times Whittlesey was linked to Peterborough in the west and March in the east by the Roman Fen Causeway, probably built in the 1st century AD, and Roman artifacts have been recovered at nearby Eldernell.
At one time Whittlesey is thought to have had its own abbey, but subsequently the town's two parishes of St Mary's and St Andrew's were controlled by the abbeys in Thorney and Ely respectively until the Dissolution of the Monasteries (c.1540). St Mary's church dates back to the fifteenth century, but the majority of the building is later, and the church now boasts one of the largest buttressed spires in Cambridgeshire. St Andrew's is a mixture of perpendicular and decorated styles and has records back to 1635. The parishes were combined for administrative purposes by the Whittlesey Improvement Act of 1849. Despite the proximity of Peterborough, Whittlesey is in the Diocese of Ely.
Until its draining in 1851, nearby Whittlesey Mere was the largest lake in southern England, and the town is still accessible by water, connected to the river Nene by King's Dyke which forms part of the Nene Ouse Navigation link. Moorings can be found At Staffords Lock alongside the Manor Leisure Centre' Cricket and Football pitches.
Other notables include the market cross, known as the buttercross, dating back to 1680, the old town hall (once also serving as the fire station, and now the town museum) of 1857 and a number of thatched mud walls.
The town is also notable for its three 80-metre high wind turbines, which are the largest on-shore turbines in England. They power the McCains chip plant, reducing their electricity bills by 60%.
The town has one secondary school, Sir Harry Smith Community College, and three primary schools. There is also another primary school in the neighbouring village of Coates. Whittlesey Workhouse once stood where the College now is; it was built in the 1800s and demolished in the 1930s.
Whittlesey is twinned with Stadt Nettetal.
The Market Place
The Buttercross:
Situated in the centre of the Market Place, and dating back to 1680, this was originally a place for people to sell goods at market. In the 1800s, it was considered useless, and orders were given for the building to be demolished. Today, it provides shelter for those waiting for buses, and is an important piece of the towns history.
The George Hotel:
The George Hotel, previously the George and Star and currently owned by national chain Wetherspoons, is the only remaining pub on the Market Place, one of six that were formerly located there. The building, which dates back to the 1700s, used to extend further in the east direction; a meat shop and archway for horses and carts used to stand there, but were demolished to make way for Station Road. As of 2009, the pub has been closed and boarded up for around a year and a half. On the night of 26th June 2009, at around 7pm, a number of deliberate fires were started in the bar and lounge area. Several boards were removed and windows smashed upstairs in order to help prevent the fire from spreading. As a result of the firefighters quick work, the exterior of the building shows almost no signs of fire damage, with most of the harm from the blaze inside the building.
Number 11 Market Place:
Number 11, known locally as the Old Post Office, has records dating back to 1749. It is a large, three-storeyed building, with a large courtyard and a number of outbuildings. Before becoming the Post Office in 1913, the building was the house of two doctors and a Reverend, as well as many others. Extensions and renovations were carried out in 1933. The Post Office moved to High Causeway in the 1990s (and then to its current location at Broad Street) and the building was left empty, before being boarded up. As of 2009, the buildings and courtyard are in a serious state of disrepair.
Public Houses
Whittlesey also has many public houses. Some are listed below:
- The Dog-in-a-Doublet Pub (Closed and boarded up as of July 2009. It is unknown if it is to reopen. It is said that this pub had the area's first vending machine, which dispensed fresh eggs!)
- The Straw Bear Pub
- The Hero of Aliwal (name transferred from previous address in late 1960s to the The White Lion building)
- The Boat B&B
- The Letter B (formerly The Bee, but changed back to original name.)
- The George (Closed and boarded up as of July 2009. It is unknown if it is to reopen.)
- The Black Bull Inn
- The Bricklayers Arms
- The Railway
- The Oatsheaf (Closed and boarded up as of July 2009. It is unknown if it is to reopen.)
- The Ram
- The Falcon
- The New Crown
Former Pubs:
- The White Lion (Now Hero of Aliwal)
- The White Horse (Now a private dwelling, but the original pub counter is still in place!)
- The Letter A (Now Ceasar Smith art studio)
- The Letter C (Now private dwelling)
- Hare and Hounds/Mortons Fork (Name changed from Hare & Hounds to Mortons Fork in 1968. The building is now a private dwelling)
- The Angel (demolished in the 1960s, site now Nationwide Building Society)
- The Queens Head (site now Whittlesey Library)
- The Old Crown (now private dwelling)
- The Boat and Anchor
Whittlesea Straw Bear
The festival of the Straw Bear or "Strawbower" is an old custom known only from a small area of Fenland on the borders of Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire, including Ramsey Mereside.[1] (Similar ritual animals have been known in other parts of Europe, and still appear in parts of Germany at Shrovetide.)
On Plough Tuesday, the day after Plough Monday (the first Monday after Twelfth Night), a man or boy was covered from head to foot in straw and led from house to house where he would dance in exchange for gifts of money, food or beer. The festival was of a stature that farmers would often reserve their best straw for the making of the bear.[2]
The custom died out early in the 20th century, c.1909 (probably because the local police regarded it as begging), but it was resurrected by the Whittlesea Society in 1980.[2]
The festival has now expanded to cover the whole weekend when the Bear appears (not Plough Tuesday nowadays, but the second weekend in January instead). On the Saturday of the festival, in addition to the Bear which processes around the streets with its attendant "keeper" and musicians, followed by traditional dance sides, including morris men and women, molly dancers, rapper and longsword dancers, clog dancers and others, who perform at various points along the route.[2]
The bear dances to a tune (reminiscent of the hymn Jesus Bids us Shine) which featured on Rattlebone and Ploughjack, a 1976 LP by Ashley Hutchings,[3] along with a spoken description of the original custom (which partly inspired the Whittlesey revival).
Pub sessions of Irish and other traditional music take place in many of the public houses during the day and evening, and a Barn dance or ceilidh and a Cajun dance round off the Saturday night.[4] The bear "costume" is burned at a ceremony on Sunday lunchtime.[5]
The Whittlsea Straw Bear and Keeper are featured on the album art of The Young Knives album, Voices of Animals and Men.
Sir Harry Smith
Whittlesey's most famous son is undoubtedly Sir Harry George Waklyn Smith (1788-1860), hero of the Battle of Aliwal (India), whose life has been the subject of several books. His illustrious military career saw him rise from a cavalryman in the Whittlesea troop up to the rank of Major General, and Baronet of Aliwal. He was governor of the Cape of Good Hope from 1847-1852 during a period of intense unrest, and whilst he eventually lost the faith of his superiors, he was welcomed back to England a hero.
Recently he has been featured in Rifles by Mark Urban, about the 95th Rifles Napoleonic campaigns through Spain to Waterloo during which time he was a junior officer and served with his two brothers.
Sir Harry is commemorated throughout the Whittlesey area, giving his name to a local school and community centre, among others, and with statues in the centre of town and St Mary's church. There is also a pub named "The Hero of Aliwal" in his honour, and the house in which he was born bares a plaque with his name written on it.
L. P. Hartley
Another famous son of Whittlesey is the renowned author L. P. Hartley.
Brian J. Ford
A distinguished resident of Eastrea, a hamlet to the east of Whittlesey, is the scientist and author Brian J. Ford. He is well known for BBC programmes and his many books. Ford is chairman of the Bulls and Herds Grass, a local grant-giving charity also known as the Storers.
References
- ^ Hole, Christina, A Dictionary of British Folk Customs, p286. Paladin (1978) ISBN 0 586 08293 X
- ^ a b c Straw Bear Festival website
- ^ Straw Bear Festival website – Procession
- ^ Straw Bear Festival website – Festival 2009
- ^ Straw Bear Festival website – Burning
See also
External links
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