Talk by Andrew Ingham. March 21st 2001.

Wisbech has always been known as the Capital of the Fens and Andrew gave a very interesting talk about the town ranging from about 1946 up to the present day.

Being a very regular visitor to the town over the years, I was able to recall many memories of it as the evening went on. The photographic standard of his slides was excellent and this showed the architecture of many of the old buildings very well and also the filling in of the old canal, which ran through Wisbech from East to West. This enabled a dual carriageway to be built and now carries the through traffic which then transverses the River Nene by the Freedom Bridge and on into Lincolnshire.

The Horse Fair which is now a shopping centre was where horses were sold on Whit Monday each year but was discontinued in 1806. I recall, at the end of the last war, coming back from a day out at Peterborough and having to wait on the Horse Fair on a miserable afternoon in October for the next bus. And at 4.0pm the carillon of bells started to ring from the tall clock close by. The hymn tune they rang was, "The Church's One Foundation Is Jesus Christ Our Lord." The bells rang one complete verse and it was the only sound to be heard at that time and made a great impression on me. I understand the bells no longer ring which is very sad but, on reflection, the amount of traffic which now passes through close to the clock would make the chimes unheard.

It was interesting to see the many old shops which now seem to us 'Old Un's' a distant memory. One special photo was the interior of a corner shop with the shopkeeper, who had a strong resemblance to Norman Wisdom, serving two young boys. Another great interest was the fashions of those days with most men wearing caps or trilbys and long coats.

Another great interest was the trams which plied between Wisbech East Station, Emneth and Outwell and the shots showing trams chugging alongside of the road interested many in the audience. I recall, in my railway days, the huge amount of soft fruit which was grown and carried by the railways in the 40' and 50's and the W & U Tramway carried its fair share of the traffic.

Andrew spiced his talk with many lighthearted remarks about some of the photos and this made the evening most enjoyable.

Ray Bullock