Cambridgeshire History On The Net

Information about Whittlesey circa 1900

WHITTLESEY in Domesday "Witesie," but generally written Whittlesea, is an ancient market and union town, and head of a petty sessional division, with a station on the Great Eastern railway, 82 miles from London, 11 west from March and 6\'bd east-by-south from Peterborough, in the Northern division of the county, hundred of North Witchford, Isle of Ely, county court district of Peterborough, rural deanery of March, and in the peculiar archidiaconal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Ely.

The Wash, which forms an extensive portion of this parish, is about seven miles long, and varies from half a mile to one mile and a quarter in width; the land is chiefly used for pasturage, but for many months in the year is covered with water to a depth of several feet. There are ferry-boats at several parts of the Wash; wild fowl and other migratory birds abound in the vicinity. The navigable river Nene and the Whittlesey dyke run on either side of the town.

The Whittlesey Improvement Act, 1849 (12 and 13 Vict. c.32), defined a district around the town for lighting, paving and cleansing the same, by commissioners appointed under the Act; but under the provisions of the "Local Government Act, 1894" (56 and 57 Vict. c. 73), the district is governed by an Urban District Council of 18 members. The town is lighted with gas by a company and supplied with water from private wells. On the south side of the town the dyke banks are shaded by trees over\- hanging the pathway, which thus forms an agreeable promenade. From Church street and Peterborough end extensive and pleasing views of the adjacent counties of Hunts and Northampton are obtained.

Whittlesey originally consisted of two parishes, which, under the Whittlesey Improvement Act, were consoli dated for all civil but divided for ecclesiastical purposes, and described as the united parishes of St. Mary and St. Andrew, Whittlesey, the ancien t parish and manor of St. Mary retaining about two-thirds of the whole, after the parish and manor of St. Andrew had bee n taken out of it. By c. 32 sec. 9 of the above Act a separate district was assigned in 1850 out of St. Mary's parish to the church at Coates, which will be found described under a separate heading.

Under the provisions of the "Local Government Act, 1894," Whittlesey was divided into two civil parishes, viz.: Urban and Rural.

The church of St. Mary is a building of stone, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, south porch and a western tower with crocketed pinnacles and lofty crocketed spire strengthened by flying buttresses and containing a clock and 8 bells with chimes: two Norman pillars remain on the north side: the south aisle is Decorated, and the north aisle, tower and spire Perpendicular: in 1856 a stained window was placed in the chancel: in 1862 the interior was restored from designs by the late Sir G. G. Scott R.A. at a cost of about £ 3,000; a chapel (formerly a school-room), forming the eastern end of the south aisle, was restored in 1862 in memory of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry George Waklyn Smith ba rt. G.C.B. born at Whittlesey in 1788, and died in London, October 12, 1860; a life-size bust, by G. G. Adams, and a tablet have been erected, and stained glass inserted in three of the windows, as memorials to the same officer: the stained west window wa s given by the late Mrs. Waller, wife of the late vicar, and the reredos by the late Thomas Bowker esq.: in the chancel are sedilia and a stoup formerly used for holy water: the church affords 900 sittings, all of which are free. The register dates from the year 1559, but the earlier portion is partly obliterated. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £ 175, with residence, in the gift of the trustees of the late John Walbanke Childers esq. and held since 1898 by the Rev. Colin Edward Beever Bell M.A. of St. John's College, Cambridge.

The church of St. Andrew is a building of stone in the Perpendicular and Decorated styles, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, south porch and fine embattled western tower; with pinnacles and containing a clock and 6 bel ls: the church was restored in 1872, under the direction of Mr. R. R. Rowe, architect, of Cambridge, and affords 400 sittings. The register dates from the year 1635. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £300, including 24\'bd acres of glebe, with residence, in the gift of the Lord Chancellor, and held since 1896 by the Rev. Frederick Edmeston Freese M.A. of Trinity College, Oxford.

The General Baptist chapel in Windmill street has 300 sittings; the Particular Baptist chapel in Gracious street, 350; th e Congregational chapel in Broad street, 350; the Methodist New Connexion in Church street, 150; Primitive Methodist in Woolpack lane, 200; the Wesleyan in Queen street, 300; and the Free Methodist at King's Dyke, 100.

The Cemetery, formed in 1859, is about a quarter of a mile from the town, on the Coates road, and covers an area of four acres; it contains two mortuary chapels and is now under the control of a joint burial committee of the Whittlesey Urban and Rural Di strict Councils.

The churches and chapels were wholly closed to inter-ments and the graveyards (with modifications) by Order in Council, March 25, 1873.

The Town Hall in Almshouse street, erected in 1857, is a plain structure of brick; magisterial and other meetings are held here, and the building also serves as a fire engine station.

The Public Hall, in Station road, erected in 1880 by a Limited Company, at a cost of £1,500, is a building of white brick with stone dressings, and will seat 600 persons; it is licensed for theatrical and other performances.

The Market House in the Market place, a large open square, is a small but ancient edifice, with a tiled roof supported on stone pillars.

The market is held on Friday, and a fair for horses and cattle June 13. Courts leet and baron are held twice a year; the fines in the manor are certain.

The Conservative Association and the Constitutional Club occupy premises in Almshouse street, comprising a news room and committee rooms; there is also a Social Club for gentlemen, with billiard and reading rooms, at the Public Hall; there are 40 members.

The brick-making industry here has considerably increased during the past few years, and the four yard employ a large percentage of the labouring population of the town. The bricks are made by the semi-dry process; there are also some excellent beds of g ravel.

The Trustees of the Town Lands Charity manage lands formerly devised to relieve the inhabitants of these parishes from the tax anciently laid in the Isle of Ely for the repairs of Aldreth causew ay: but under an Order of the Charity Commissioners, dated April 29th, 1898, one quarter of the proceeds is devoted to ecclesiastical purposes and the remainder to educational and other charitable purposes.

There are several charities, founded by Messrs. Kelfull, Dow, Randall and NobIe: that of Mr. Kelfull includes a provision for educating 15 boys; and that of Mr. Sudbury for the commercial education of five boys and the apprenticing of others; the whole of the above charities, with the exception of Sudbury's, have been amalgamated under a scheme of the Charity Commissioners, framed in the year 1868; the net income of the united charities now (1900) amounts to about £80, and Sudbury's to about £ 69 10s.

The soil of the whole parish is chiefly a black loam, with a subsoil of clay and gravel; the land is fertile, and the chief crops are wheat, peas and potatoes, with a great portion of rich pasture; potatoes are grown extensively for the London market.

Whittlesey Mere, named from this place, but 6 miles distant and in Huntingdonshire, has been drained by the Middle Level Commissioners, and an area of 1,500 acres brought under cultivation.

Traces of a Roman road are found at Eldernell, where several antiquities have been dug up, including a massive gold ring.

The trustees of the late John Walbanke Childers esq. (d. 1886) are lords of the manor. The landowners are the Duke of Bedford, the trustees of the late J. W. Childers esq. the trustees of the late Charles Crick esq. Mrs. Waddelow, the trustees of W.C. Livett, William Bridges Blunt esq. Skelton Smalley esq. Lieut.-Col. Charles Isham Strong J.P. of Thorpe Hall, and the trustees of the Town Lands Charity, besides many smaller ones.

The area of Whittlesey Urban district and parish is 640 acres; rateable value, £6,085; the population in 1891 was 3,556: the area of Whittlesey Rural parish is 25,075 acres of rich and productive land and 155 of water; rateable value, £ 43,024; the population in 1891 was 2,789, which includes the hamlets of Coates, Eastrea and the surrounding fens and 57 officers and inmates in the workhouse. The population of St. Andrew ecclesiastical parish in 1891 was 2,171, and of St. Mary, 2,541.

PLACES OF WORSHIP, with times of services.

St. Mary' s Church, Rev. Colin Edward Beever Bell M.A. vicar; John Le Fevre, licensed lay reader; 8.30 & 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; week days, 9 a.m. & 7.30 p.m.

St. Andrew's Church, Rev. Frederick Edmeston Freese M.A. vicar; Rev. Walter William Naish Alsop B.A. curate; 8 & 11 a.m. & 2.30 & 6.30 p.m.; week days, 9 a.m. & 6 p.m.

Mission House, Angle Bridge, William Henry Walter Robinson, licensed lay reader
Baptist, Windmill street; 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; Thurs. 7.15 p.m.

Baptist (Particular), Gracious street, Pastor John Turner Peters; 11 am. & 6.30 p.m.; Mon. 7 p.m.; Thurs. 7 p.m.

Congregational, Broad street, Rev. Henry Charles Gaut; 11 am. & 6.30 p.m.; wed 7.15 p.m.

Methodist New Connexion, Church street; 11 a.m., & 6.30 p.m. & King's Dyke, 2.30 & 6 p.m.

Primitive Methodist, Woolpack lane; 2.30 & 6.30 p.m.; wed. 7 p.m. (fortnightly)

Wesleyan, Queen street (Peterborough Circuit), Rev. Jackson Bush; 10.30 am & 6.30 p.m.; wed. 7 p.m.

SCHOOLS
Science & Art School, Church street, in connection with the Science & Art Department, South Kensington, & under the management of a committee of 14 members; A Whittome, chairman; B Weldon, hon. sec.; H. Clifford Pilsbury, art master.

A School Board of 7 members was formed November 26, 1875, for the united civil parishes, John Peed M.A. High causeway, clerk to the board; John Felix Brown, Queen street, attendance officer; Board room, Clerk's office; Board day, 2nd Monday in each month at 4 p.m.

Board, North side (mixed), erected in 1877 at a cost of £1,200, with teachers' residence, for 90 children; average attendance, 40; John Dickinson Walker, master.

Board, Broad street (mixed & infants), erected in 1877 at a cost of £1,900, with teachers' residence, for 420 children; average attendance, 161 boys & girls & 155 infants; Henry Slater, master; Miss Hannah Taylor, infants' mistress.

Angle Bridge (mixed), erected in 1876, for 70 children; average attendance, 40; William Henry Walter Robinson, master.

National (boys), Station road, erected in 1851, for 210 children; average attendance, 143; Oswald Neal, master.

National (girls), Peterborough end, erected in 1849, for 200 children; average attendance, 116; Mrs. Sarah Weston, mistress.

Sudbury Charity, boys attend the National school

RAILWAY STATION
Alfred Whiteman, station master
Omnibus from Falcon commercial hotel to meet every train

CARRIERS
To March-Layton & Sons, wed
To Peterborough-Layton & Sons, from 'Pack Horse,' daily & William Searle, Peterborough end, daily

* Kelly's Directory of Cambridgeshire 1900 (London: Kelly's Directories Limited, 1900), pp.204-206.