92-529: The Wisbech & Fenland Museum , located in the town of Wisbech in the Isle of Ely , Cambridgeshire , England , is one of the oldest purpose-built museums in the United Kingdom. The museum logo is W&F. Initially a member-based organisation, the museum is now a charity (311307). The trustee since 1 April 2015 has been Wisbech and Fenland Museum Trustee Company Limited (09432722) The Museum Society
184-566: A British Republic and the dis-establishment of the Crown . In 2015, he called for Welsh and Cornish to be taught in English schools, saying: "Hindi, Chinese and French are taught [in schools], so why not Welsh? And why not Cornish? They're part of our culture." Zephaniah supported Amnesty International in 2005, speaking out against homophobia in Jamaica , saying: "For many years Jamaica
276-522: A "good news bulletin". Between 2013 and 2022, Zephaniah played the role of preacher Jeremiah "Jimmy" Jesus in BBC television drama Peaky Blinders , appearing in 14 episodes across the six series. In 2020, he appeared as a panellist on the BBC television comedy quiz show QI , on the episode "Roaming". In 1982, Zephaniah released the album Rasta , which featured the Wailers ' first recording since
368-555: A Master of the Grammar Scholars in 1407 ( Wisbech Grammar School dates back to 1379 or earlier). Edward IV visited Wisbech in 1469. The Charter of Edward VI , 1 June 1549, raised the town to a corporation. In the same year Wm. Bellman gave a plot of land for the Wisbech Grammar School schoolhouse. In 1333–4 the kiln in the town was producing 120,000 bricks. There were several fisheries belonging to
460-528: A Report was made to the Lords Justices of 14 malefactors condemned at Wisbech for a riot, when 2 were ordered for execution the following Saturday and twelve for transportation. The Wisbech Working Men's Club and Institute was formed as a result of an inaugural meeting in 1864. It was once considered one of the most financially successful of its type in England. It remains one of the oldest. In 1864
552-421: A collection of local, British and international geology (rocks & minerals), paleontology (fossils), conchology (shells) including specimens from the barrister William Metcalfe (1804–1873), 19th-century bird, mammal and fish mounts, lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), coleoptera (beetles) and a herbarium (botanical specimens) particularly William Skrimshire's (1766–1829) early nineteenth-century collection. Among
644-512: A criminal record and served a prison sentence for burglary. Tired of the limitations of being a black poet communicating with black people only, he decided to expand his audience, and in 1979, at the age of 22, he headed to London, where his first book would be published the next year. While living in London, Zephaniah was assaulted during the 1981 Brixton riots and chronicled his experiences on his 1982 album Rasta . He experienced racism on
736-491: A free admission policy for under sixteens and full-time students and a £5 season ticket for others and relies to a large degree on volunteer support with income from a combination of sponsorship, admission charges, donations, museum shop sales and grants. Since Fenland District Council withdrew grant support, the Wisbech Town Council grant and a recent 'Re-founders' scheme (£1k pa for five years) and grants from
828-462: A gaol, pillory, stocks and gibbet. A mantrap once belonging to the Peckover House and Garden is on display in the museum. 19th- and early-20th-century life is illustrated through the collection of domestic objects and others relating to local trades. The museum exhibits include bill posters for the town's Georgian Angles Theatre , one of the country's oldest purpose-built theatres. A model of
920-885: A mummified cat, idolets of Osiris , Isis and Horus and canopic jars and several stelae (gravestones). W&F has an Egyptian handling collection which is very popular with school parties and groups of other visitors. 165 of the museum's paintings and sculptures are available to view online. The collection includes international figures such as Napoleon and Charles I of England as well as others with local connections such as Baron Peckover , John Thurloe , Thomas Clarkson and William Ellis (missionary) and scenes including local Woad production. The Fading Images website lists more than 100 photographers in Wisbech. More than any other town in Cambridgeshire. The W&F collection includes 19th-century photographs of Wisbech and
1012-612: A prominent member of the London Missionary Society . The museum holds a collection by Margaret George (1899–1983): Social documentary photographer. Margaret was the daughter of the vicar of Guyhirn & Ring's End in 1918. She was given her first camera at twelve years of age. She photographed the daily life of the village from workers in the fields to mothers holding their newborns. She exhaustively dated and annotated her photographs, even naming animals. These were, in turn, archived in albums. Until 2023, admission
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#17327919596661104-738: A regular basis: They happened around me. Back then, racism was very in your face. There was the National Front against black and foreign people and the police were also very racist. I got stopped four times after I bought a BMW when I became successful with poetry. I kept getting stopped by the police so I sold it. In a session with John Peel on 1 February 1983 – one of two Peel sessions he recorded that year – Zephaniah's responses were recorded in such poems as "Dis Policeman", "The Boat", "Riot in Progress" and "Uprising Downtown". Having moved to London, Zephaniah became actively involved in
1196-575: A series of books of photos by Geoff Hastings and Andy Ketley were published; the first print run of 100 copies of Images of Wisbech no.1 sold out in a week and was reprinted the same month. Images of Wisbech no.2 followed in December. Images of Wisbech no.3 was launched in February 2020 to coincide with an illustrated talk by writer William P. Smith. Images of Wisbech no.4 followed in November
1288-703: A supporter of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and joined demonstrations calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands , describing the activism as the "Anti Apartheid movement". He was also a supporter of the BDS ( Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions ) movement. Zephaniah self-identified as an anarchist ; observing in a 2022 interview: "...there are places that live without government and live peacefully and happily. A lack of power means people of course aren't fighting over it and
1380-472: A total of seven albums of original music. Zephaniah was connected with – and served as patron for – many organizations that aligned with his beliefs. Zephaniah became a vegetarian at the age of 11, and then became a vegan at the age of 13, when he read poems about "shimmering fish floating in an underwater paradise, and birds flying free in the clear blue sky". He was an honorary patron of The Vegan Society , Viva! , and EVOLVE! Campaigns , and
1472-435: A total of seven younger siblings, including his twin sister, Velda. Zephaniah wrote that he was strongly influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica and what he called "street politics", and he said in a 2005 interview: Well, for most of the early part of my life I thought poetry was an oral thing. We used to listen to tapes from Jamaica of Louise Bennett , who we think of as the queen of all dub poets. For me, it
1564-672: A visit to the Palestinian occupied territories , contained poetry and travelogue. Zephaniah was poet-in-residence at the chambers of Michael Mansfield QC, and sat in on the inquiry into Bloody Sunday and other cases, these experiences led to his Too Black, Too Strong poetry collection (2001). We Are Britain! (2002) is a collection of poems celebrating cultural diversity in Britain. He published several collections of poems, as well as novels, specifically for young people. Talking Turkeys (1994), his first poetry book for children,
1656-487: A woad mill at Parson Drove and associated items are on display. Woad growing industry was mostly confined to the Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire Fens. A display of items linked to the Cambridgeshire Regiment is found in the uppermost gallery. This collection includes Hours of Idleness by Lord Byron , Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and The Monk by Matthew Lewis . W&F has
1748-456: A workers' co-operative in Stratford , which led to the publication of his first book of poetry, Pen Rhythm (Page One Books, 1980). He had earlier been turned down by other publishers who did not believe there would be an audience for his work, and "they didn't understand it because it was supposed to be performed". Three editions of Pen Rhythm were published. Zephaniah said that his mission
1840-657: Is a market town , inland port and civil parish in the Fenland district in Cambridgeshire , England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and only 5 miles (8 km) south of Lincolnshire . The tidal River Nene running through the town is spanned by two road bridges. Wisbech is in the Isle of Ely (a former administrative county) and has been described as "the Capital of The Fens". Wisbech
1932-530: Is different. He's a one-off, and he has always been one of my favourite poets." The same year, he was appointed professor of poetry and creative writing at Brunel University London . In 2016, Zephaniah wrote the foreword to Angry White People: Coming Face-to-Face with the British Far Right by Hsiao-Hung Pai . Zephaniah's frank autobiography, The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah ,
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#17327919596662024-455: Is found on trade tokens in the Wisbech & Fenland Museum and in newspapers, books, maps and other documents, e.g. Wisbece , Wisebece , Wisbbece , Wysbeche , Wisbeche , Wissebeche , Wysebeche , Wysbech , Wyxbech , Wyssebeche , Wisbidge , Wisbich and Wisbitch , until the spelling of the name of the town was fixed by the local council in the 19th century. During the Iron Age ,
2116-650: Is noteworthy for its fine examples of Georgian architecture , particularly the parade of houses along the North Brink, which includes the National Trust property of Peckover House and the Crescent , part of a circus surrounding Wisbech Castle . The place name "Wisbech" is first attested in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 656, where it appears as Wisbeach . It is recorded in
2208-640: Is on part of Hill Street and the site of the old Horse Fair . Benjamin Zephaniah Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah ( né Springer ; 15 April 1958 – 7 December 2023) was a British writer, dub poet , actor, musician and professor of poetry and creative writing. He was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008. In his work, Zephaniah drew on his lived experiences of incarceration, racism and his Jamaican heritage. He won
2300-520: The BBC Radio 4 Young Playwrights Festival Award in 1998 and was the recipient of at least sixteen honorary doctorates . A ward at Ealing Hospital was also named in his honour. His second novel, Refugee Boy , was the recipient of the 2002 Portsmouth Book Award in the Longer Novel category. In 1982, he released an album, Rasta, which featured the Wailers performing for the first time since
2392-1021: The British Guild of Beer Writers and the Cambridgeshire Association for Local History . The museum was shortlisted for the Kids in Museums 'Family Friendly Museum Award' 2021 in the Best Small Museum class. The Friends were short-listed for the BAFM 'Impact Award' in 2022. The Friends won the BAFM Friends of the Year Award in 2023. The museum received £5,000 from the Benefact Group's Movement For Good annual programme of giving in 2024. The museum operates
2484-703: The British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote . In 2003, he was offered appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) but publicly rejected the honour , stating that: "I get angry when I hear that word 'empire'; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers, brutalised". Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Springer
2576-536: The EU but the way that we're leaving is completely wrong." In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, he signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn 's leadership in the 2019 general election . The letter stated: "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and
2668-582: The University of North London (in 1998), the University of Central England (1999), Staffordshire University (2001), London South Bank University (2003), the University of Exeter , the Open University (2004), the University of Westminster (2006), the University of Birmingham (2008) and the University of Hull (DLitt, 2010). In 2008, he was listed at 48 in The Times list of 50 greatest post-war writers. A ward at Ealing Hospital
2760-654: The Wisbech Stirs . In 1588 it is claimed that Robert Catesby and Francis Tresham were committed to Wisbeach Castle on the approach of the Spanish Armada . Among those held there was John Feckenham , the last Abbot of Westminster . The palace was demolished and replaced with John Thurloe 's mansion in the mid-17th century, and Thurloe's mansion demolished in 1816 by Joseph Medworth , who also developed The Circus comprising The Crescent , Union Place and Ely Place with Museum Square and Castle Square familiar as
2852-549: The 'Friends' and other organisations have been important sources of funds. More recently a 'Supporters Circle' scheme using monthly Direct Debits of £5 Clarkson, £10 Peckover or £20 Townsend has been launched by the museum. Annual returns are made to the Charity Commission website. 52°39′50″N 0°09′40″E / 52.663857°N 0.160976°E / 52.663857; 0.160976 Wisbech Wisbech ( / ˈ w ɪ z b iː tʃ / WIZ -beech )
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2944-493: The 1086 Domesday Book as Wisbeach . The name Wisbech is popularly believed to mean "on the back of the (River) Ouse", Ouse being a common Celtic word relating to water and the name of a river that once flowed through the town. A more scholarly opinion is that the first element derives from the River Wissey , which used to run to Wisbech, and that the name means 'the valley of the river Wissey'. A wide range of spellings
3036-508: The 400th anniversary of receiving its charter. The Pageant in Sibalds Holme Park, Barton Road featured over 600 performers. The first Wisbech Rose Fair was held in 1963 when local rose growers sold rose buds in the parish church in aid of its restoration. The following year the borough twinned with Arles and set up a Wisbech-Arles twinning club. The first purpose-built council-run Caravan Site that accommodates travellers in
3128-749: The Castle estate was purchased by Alexander Peckover. In 1932 his descendant Alexandrina Peckover gave to the Borough council a piece of land to be laid out as an ornamental garden adjoining the War memorial. The town hosted the British Archaeological Association 's annual Congress in 1878. In August 1883 Wisbech and Upwell Tramway opened. It eventually closed in 1966 (passenger services finished in 1927). The steam trams were replaced by diesels in 1952. The Wisbech Standard newspaper
3220-692: The Exchange Hall and Public Hall (1851) provided modern larger venues for theatrical and other events. When Fanny Kemble gave her Shakespearean readings in 1855, it was at the Public Hall, not the old Georgian theatre . On Sunday 29 June 1857 a mob entered the town and broke the Corn Merchants windows and seized corn and demanded money from shopkeepers. On July the gentry and traders by beat of drum recruited about 500 men and went to Upwell and took 60 and placed them in irons. On 4 September
3312-608: The Isle to be mentioned in the Domesday Book ) probably comprised the whole area from Tydd Gote down to the far end of Upwell at Welney . A castle was built by William I to fortify the site. At the time of Domesday (1086) the population was that of a large village. Some were farmers and others were fishermen. Richard I gave Wisbech a charter. King John of England visited the castle on 12 October 1216 as he came from Bishop's Lynn . Tradition has it that his baggage train
3404-573: The Longer Novel category, and went on to sell 88,000 copies. In 2013, Refugee Boy was adapted as a play by Zephaniah's long-time friend Lemn Sissay , staged at the West Yorkshire Playhouse . In May 2011, Zephaniah accepted a year-long position as poet-in-residence at Keats House in Hampstead , London, his first residency role for more than ten years. In accepting the role, he commented: "I don't do residencies, but Keats
3496-668: The Museum's Celtic material is a highly decorated Iron Age Wisbech Scabbard (c.300 BC), found locally by Samuel Smith . Pottery and other artefacts recovered in the soils of the Welle Stream (an extinct Fenland river) give an insight into life in the Iron Age, Roman and Medieval Periods. W&F acquires finds from digs in the area, it recently received some of the collection of the 2009 Dig in The Castle . W&F also worked with
3588-833: The Restoration the property reverted to the See of the bishop of Ely. Soap was taxed and manufacturers such as the Wisbech Soap Company required a licence. Based in an Old Market property facing the river, they were able to receive oil from the blubber yards of King's Lynn as well as coal, wood for casks and olive oil used in making the coarse, sweet and grey (speckled) soaps they produced from 1716 to about 1770. Wisbech's first workhouse located in Albion Place opened in 1722, it could accommodate three hundred inmates and cost £2,000. Bank House , with its walled garden,
3680-556: The UK was built in 1975. On 21 September 1979, two Harrier jump jets on a training exercise collided over Wisbech; one landed in a field and the other in a residential area. Two houses and a bungalow were demolished on Ramnoth Road, causing the death of Bob Bowers, his two-year-old son Jonathan Bowers, and former town mayor Bill Trumpess. The 5-mile (8 km), £6 million A47 Wisbech/West Walton bypass opened in spring 1982. The Horsefair shopping centre opened by Noel Edmunds in 1988
3772-470: The W & F on 14 April to explore its wonderful library. The visit marked a new partnership between Cambridge University Library and W & F, who are working together to shine a light on the collections and develop projects of mutual interest. The University of Cambridge Museums formed a partnership with W&F (which is even older than the Fitzwilliam Museum ), sharing resources. In 2021
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3864-528: The Wisbech High Street project and Fenland Archaeological Society to carry out a community dig on the museum's grounds and loaned items for a temporary exhibition and open day at Wisbech castle in 2019. W&F houses a Victorian collection of artefacts which illustrate much about the Egyptian lives and beliefs. A dismembered mummified hand is mounted on a red velvet cushion. Other items include
3956-525: The admission of their son Aelfwin as a monk, gave the vill to the monastery of Ely . The folktale of Tom Hickathrift or Wisbech Giant is sometimes set about the time of the Norman Invasion . In 1086, when Wisbech was held by the abbot, there may have been some 65 to 70 families, or about 300 to 350 persons, in Wisbech manor. However, Wisbech (which is the only one of the Marshland vills of
4048-682: The anti-slavery campaigner Thomas Clarkson . A significant exhibit is the original manuscript of Charles Dickens ' Great Expectations , the bequest of the Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend in 1863. Other notable artefacts include reputedly Napoleon 's Sèvres breakfast service, said to have been captured at the Battle of Waterloo , and Thomas Clarkson 's chest containing examples of 18th-century African textiles, seeds and leatherwork, which he used to illustrate his case for direct trade with Africa. In 1910 Baron Peckover
4140-676: The area where Wisbech would develop lay in the west of the Brythonic Iceni tribe's territory. Icenian coins have been found in both March and Wisbech. Like the rest of Cambridgeshire, Wisbech was part of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of East Anglia . It served as a port on The Wash . One of the first authentic references to Wisbech occurs in a charter dated 664 granting the Abbey at Medeshamstede (now Peterborough ) land in Wisbech and in 1000, when Oswy and Leoflede, on
4232-527: The common marshes. But the farmland created by drainage transformed Wisbech into a wealthy port handling agricultural produce. It was from this period that much of the town's architectural richness originates. Wisbech sat on the estuary of the River Great Ouse , but silting caused the coastline to move north, and the River Nene was diverted to serve the town. In 1781 Wisbech Literary Society
4324-582: The culture and economy of the Fens up until modern mechanisation developed in the 20th century. In addition, the history of Borough and port is represented by collections which include a shipping industry display - the port authority is now the Fenland District Council, the town was a major port for grain and wood, slates, coal and stone was imported to serve the area's needs. Crime and punishment items used locally are on display. The town once had
4416-566: The death of Bob Marley as well as a tribute to the political prisoner (later to become South African president) Nelson Mandela . The album gained Zephaniah international prestige and topped the Yugoslavian pop charts. It was because of this recording that he was introduced to Mandela, and in 1996, Mandela requested that Zephaniah host the president's Two Nations Concert at the Royal Albert Hall , London. Zephaniah released
4508-441: The death of Bob Marley , acting as a tribute to Nelson Mandela . It topped the charts in Yugoslavia , and due to its success Mandela invited Zephaniah to host the president's Two Nations Concert at the Royal Albert Hall , London, in 1996. As an actor, he had a major role in the BBC's Peaky Blinders between 2013 and 2022. A vegan and animal rights activist , who self-identified as an anarchist , Zephaniah supported changing
4600-447: The estate of Edward Southwell on 8 November 1791. One of the earliest Female Friendly Societies was the Wisbech Female Friendly Society instituted on 1 February 1796. Wisbech and Ely shared the Isle of Ely Assizes , as a result the 1819 trial of Israel Garner and James Colbank, two local men, took place in Ely and sentence of hanging took place in Wisbech. Wisbech Regatta was first held in 1850. June 1858 The Russian Gun. —During
4692-410: The fossils to be seen are ichthyosaurs, belemnites, sea urchins and shark teeth. The extensive archaeology collection of the W&F enables visitors to understand the development of Fenland life from the pre-historic through medieval times to the recent past. W&F's Romano- British collection features fine examples of pottery as well as a skeleton of a c.1700-year-old woman from Coldham. The jewel of
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#17327919596664784-416: The information of Dr Meacock. On hearing that Dimock had taken his own life a crowd formed and smashed the windows of Meacock's residence on the North Brink. The police charged the crowds and cleared the streets. The Wisbech Canal joining the River Nene at Wisbech was subsequently filled in and became the dual carriageway leading into the town from the east (now crossing the bypass). Wisbech War Memorial
4876-437: The library was extended. The museum retains its original display cases and bookcases. The building suffers from subsidence owing to its location over the site of the former moat to Wisbech Castle , settlement of the infill having resulted in movement to the front elevation of the building closest to St Peter's Church . In 1887 the library was extended. The museum houses several important collections relating to local history and
4968-432: The main objective of society is to look after each other." He appeared in literature to support changing the British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote for electing members of parliament to the House of Commons in the Alternative Vote referendum in 2011. In a 2017 interview, commenting on the ongoing Brexit negotiations , Zephaniah stated: "For left-wing reasons, I think we should leave
5060-418: The manor of Wisbech and in the 1350s the reeves of Walton and Leverington each sent a porpoise to Wisbech Castle, and the reeve of Terrington a swordfish. During the reigns of Elizabeth I , James I , and Charles I , there was a state ecclesiastical prison in Wisbech for Catholics, many of whom died there owing to the insanitary conditions. A dispute arising amongst the Catholic prisoners was widely known as
5152-413: The museum and publish books on local history. Current (2024) membership subscriptions individual £10 and £15 for two persons at the same address. The Life and Times of Chauncey Hare Townshend, a Victorian Collector (1998), The Trade of a Farmer: John Peck of Parson Drove by Dian Blawer was published in 2000. An East Anglian Odyssey: the story of the DaSilva puppet company (2006) by Chris Abbott. In 2019
5244-399: The museum for three hours a day for a salary of £25 and a residence on the premises. In 1845 the museum building was sold and the museum moved to the present purpose-built building in 1847. Originally designed to house both the Museum (founded in 1835) and Literary Society (founded in 1781), these merged in 1877 and after obtaining all the shares the Museum and Literary Society trustees became
5336-526: The museum is open only on Saturdays. The museum has been upgraded to include a lift to access different levels. The W&F has a reference library of c.12,000 volumes. Non-fiction works of History, Biography, Medicine, Travel and Exploration comprise the bulk of the collection with less Fiction and Drama, and Theological and Political works are uncommon. The 1882 catalogue of the library was reprinted in 2011 by Cambridge University Press. The Friends of Wisbech and Fenland Museum Charity (283506) raise funds for
5428-424: The museum received a £616k grant from Historic England for roof repairs to begin in spring 2021. To celebrate the museum's 175th anniversary in 2022 the Friends arranged a concert 'Steps in Time' by Hexachordia, which was held in Wisbech Castle owing to building work in the museum. The W&F collection includes agricultural implements, drainage tools and pipes, shooting and fishing equipment and as such reflects
5520-447: The past week a brass plate has been added to the Russian Gun, bearing the inscription: — "This trophy of the late Russian War, presented by Queen Victoria to the Burgesses of Wisbech. Thomas Steed Watson, Mayor, 1858. The Isle of Ely and Wisbech Advertiser was founded in 1845. The new Wisbech & Fenland Museum building opened in 1847 and continues to collect, care for and interpret the natural and cultural heritage of Wisbech and
5612-428: The sale without very good reasons and would hold a town inquiry. The manuscript had been bequeathed by Chauncey Hare Townsend "for the benefit of the town and neighbourhood of Wisbech" with the proviso that it “should never be sold or exchanged but deposited in the same museum for ever." The sale was abandoned. In the 1950s Fenland Archaeological Society operated from the museum. In May and June 2018 an archaeological dig
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#17327919596665704-409: The same year. Images of Wisbech no.5 was published in October 2021. Volume no.6 was published in 2022. Wisbech Inns, Taverns and Beer-houses: Past and Present vol 1 was published in December 2021. Vol 2 was published the following month. Volumes 3 and 4 were published in 2022, volume 5 in 2023 and volume 6 in 2024.These publications received awards from the British Association of Friends of Museums ,
5796-413: The schools, shops and public houses but leaving the church and much of the rural part in Norfolk. The suburb of New Walsoken is now largely built up. A boundary marker in Wisbech Park was erected to record the event. Ring's End was transferred from Wisbech to Elm. In 1939 Wisbech Society and Preservation Trust was founded to safeguard the history and heritage of Wisbech. In 1949 the borough celebrated
5888-451: The settings in numerous costume dramas. In 1620 former Wisbech residents William White and Dorothea Bradford (née May) sailed on the Mayflower to the New World with her husband William Bradford later to be Governor Bradford. Across the Eastern Counties, Oliver Cromwell 's powerful Eastern Association was eventually dominant. However, to begin with, there had been an element of Royalist sympathy within Wisbech. Bishop Matthew Wren
5980-552: The sole owner, with the curator living on site Now a Grade II* listed building , it was designed by architect George Buckler, son of John Buckler . The museum opened with a lecture from Professor Adam Sedgwick , Vice-Master of Trinity College, Cambridge , on 27 July 1847. The building had been erected at the cost of between two and three thousand pounds, the capital having been raised by 100 shares of £25 each. Guests included Major General Sir Harry Smith , Lord George Manners , Hon. Eliot Yorke , Algernon Peckover and family. In 1877
6072-404: The surrounding area by Samuel Smith ; the Lilian Ream collection, topographical images of East Anglia taken by Herbert Coates in the 1920s, Wisbech building and street scenes photographed by Geoff Hastings in the 1950s and 1960s and photographs in the 1970s by George Annis . It also has some of the earliest examples of photographs of Madagascar taken in the 1850s by William Ellis (1794–1872),
6164-458: The surrounding area. On 1 March 1848 Eastern Counties Railway opened Wisbeach ( sic ) station (later renamed Wisbech East railway station ). It closed on 9 September 1968. In the 1853–54 cholera epidemic 176 deaths were reported in the town in 1854. The Wisbech death rate (49 per 10,000) was the fourth highest in the country. The following year saw £8,000 expenditure on sewerage works and £13,400 on water supplies. New public buildings such as
6256-768: The time". In November 2003, Zephaniah was offered appointment in the 2004 New Year Honours as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for which he said he had been recommended by Tony Blair . But he publicly rejected the honour and in a subsequent article for The Guardian , elaborated on learning about being considered for the award and his reasons for rejecting it: "Me? I thought, OBE me? Up yours, I thought. I get angry when I hear that word 'empire'; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised... Benjamin Zephaniah OBE – no way Mr Blair , no way Mrs Queen . I am profoundly anti-empire ." Zephaniah spoke in favour of
6348-446: The vested interests of a few." In 1998, Zephaniah was a winner of the BBC Young Playwrights Festival Award with his first ever radio play Hurricane Dub . In 1999, he was the subject of an illustrated biographical children's book by Verna Wilkins , entitled Benjamin Zephaniah: A Profile , published in the Black Stars Series of Tamarind Books . Zephaniah was awarded at least 16 honorary doctorates, by institutions including
6440-400: Was a staunch supporter of Charles I but even in 1640 was unpopular in Wisbech, after discovering his absence from a ' Commission of Sewers ' meeting at the Castle, a crowd of soldiers plundered shops of some of his supporters. The town was near the frontier of the Parliamentary and Royalist forces in 1643. The Castle and town were put into a state of readiness and reinforced. A troop of horse
6532-424: Was an animal rights advocate. In 2004, he wrote the foreword to Keith Mann 's book From Dusk 'til Dawn: An insider's view of the growth of the Animal Liberation Movement , a book about the Animal Liberation Front . In August 2007, he announced that he would be launching the Animal Liberation Project, alongside People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals . In February 2001, his book The Little Book of Vegan Poems
6624-529: Was associated with freedom fighters and liberators, so it hurts when I see that the home of my parents is now associated with the persecution of people because of their sexual orientation." In 2016, Zephaniah curated We Are All Human , an exhibition at the Southbank Centre presented by the Koestler Trust , which exhibited art works by prisoners, detainees and ex-offenders. Zephaniah was
6716-591: Was born on 15 April 1958, in the Handsworth district of Birmingham, England, where he was also raised. He referred to this area as the "Jamaican capital of Europe". The son of parents who had migrated from the Caribbean – Oswald Springer, a Barbadian postman, and Leneve (née Honeyghan), a Jamaican nurse who came to Britain in 1956 and worked for the National Health Service – he had
6808-570: Was built in 1722 and purchased by the Quaker Peckover banking family in the 1790s. It is now owned by the National Trust (NT). Now known as Peckover House, the house was renamed in honour of the Peckover family by the NT. The Peckover Bank became part of Barclays Bank . In the 17th century, the inhabitants of the Fens became known as the "Fen Tigers" for their resistance to the draining of
6900-629: Was carried out by Archaeological Project Services (APS) as part of the Wisbech High Street project on the museum grounds. Members of Fenland Archaeological Society (FenArch) and the public took part in this community dig. In 2018 the building was included on the Heritage at Risk Register . Benjamin Zephaniah visited the museum in 2018 to make a recording for the BBC 2 series Inside Culture with Mary Beard ; Zephaniah named W&F as his favourite museum. The 'Friends of Cambridge University Library’ visited
6992-491: Was educated at Broadway School , Birmingham, from which he was expelled aged 13, unable to read or write due to dyslexia . He was sent to Boreatton Park approved school in Baschurch , Shropshire. The gift, during his childhood, of an old, manual typewriter inspired him to become a writer. It is now in the collection of Birmingham Museums Trust . As a youth, he spent time in borstal and in his late teens received
7084-579: Was formed at the house of Jonathan Peckover. Theatres in both Pickard's Lane (a barn) and North End and a third (temporary structure) in the High Street are referred to. A new theatre (now part of the Angles Theatre had been built in Deadman's Lane (later Great Church Street, now Alexandra Road) now Angles Theatre c1790. It was used to hold the auction of the contents of the castle, part of
7176-523: Was founded in 1835 and was originally located in two rooms of 16 Old Market Place, a detached part of the house of George Snarey, and opened in July. The collections could be seen 'from 11 to 2 o'clock every Friday'. In 1839 admission was one shilling. Wisbech Institute was permitted to bring members for a tour at 6d per member. In 1841 the curator, Captain Schulz R.N., was advertising for an attendant to supervise
7268-565: Was founded in 1888 and ceased printing in 2022. In April 1904 the borough council contracted with the National Electric Construction Company Ltd for the installation of electric street lighting. On 30 October 1913 the Riot Act was read by the mayor in response to civil unrest in response to the death of the popular surgeon Doctor Horace Dimock. He had been arrested on charges of criminal libel on
7360-608: Was free for all visitors. Since 1 May 2023 adults have been charged £5 on entry, which buys a year-long season ticket. The museum is open 10am - 4pm Tuesday to Saturday. It is sometimes open on Bank Holidays but usually closed on Sundays. The W&F is an important venue for widening interest in Wisbech and Fenland and regularly participates in Fenland-wide events and Twilight at the Museums. It puts on activities for families and individuals as well as temporary exhibitions, workshops and other events. During January and early February
7452-503: Was lost to the incoming tide of The Wash . Treasure hunters still seek the lost royal treasure. On 12 November 1236 the village of Wisbech was inundated by the sea. Hundreds were drowned, entire flocks of sheep and herds of cattle were destroyed, trees felled and ships lost. The castle was "utterly destroyed" but was rebuilt by 1246 when the constable or keeper was Wm Justice. King Edward II visited Wisbech in 1292, 1298, 1300 and 1305. The register of Bishop John Fordham of Ely appoints
7544-424: Was outspoken about the importance of the way history is represented in the curriculum of schools. Zephaniah made minor appearances in several television programmes in the 1980s and 1990s, including The Comic Strip Presents... (1988), EastEnders (1993), The Bill (1994), and Crucial Tales (1996). In 1990, he appeared in the film Farendj , directed by Sabine Prenczina and starring Tim Roth . He
7636-582: Was published by AK Press . Zephaniah spoke extensively about his personal experiences of anti-Black racism in Britain and incorporated his experiences in much of his written work. In 2012, Zephaniah worked with anti-racism organisation Newham Monitoring Project , with whom he made a video, and Tower Hamlets Summer University (Futureversity) about the impact of Olympic policing on black communities. In that same year, he also wrote about cases of racially abusive language employed by police officers and "the reality of police racism that many of us experience all
7728-470: Was published to coincide with his 60th birthday in 2018, when BBC Sounds broadcast him reading his own text. "I'm still as angry as I was in my twenties," he said. The book was nominated as "autobiography of the year" at the National Book Awards . The Birmingham Mail dubbed him "The people's laureate". On the publication of his young adult novel Windrush Child in 2020, Zephaniah
7820-621: Was raised. Locally based troops took part in the Siege of Crowland in 1642. The town controlled the route from Lincolnshire to Norfolk particularly during the Siege of King's Lynn in 1643 as it prevented reinforcements by land of the Royalists holding the Norfolk port. A town library was founded c. 1653 . In 1656 the bishop's palace was replaced by Thurloe 's mansion however after
7912-578: Was re-elected president of the Museum and Literary Institution at its 74th annual meeting. The museum holds an extensive collection of maps, which were exhibited in Cambridge in 1934, Peckover House 1954 and 1976 and the museum in 1993. In 1947 the Museum Committee recommended to the trustees that the manuscript of Dickens' Great Expectations , valued at thousands of pounds, be sold. The Charity Commissioners stated that they could not agree to
8004-479: Was reprinted after six weeks. In 1999, he wrote his first novel Face – a story of "facial discrimination", as he described it – which was intended for teenagers, and sold some 66,000 copies. Poet Raymond Antrobus , who was given the novel when he had just started attending a deaf school, has written: "I remember reading the whole thing in one go. I was very self-conscious about wearing hearing aids and I needed stories that humanised disability, as Face did. I
8096-478: Was still struggling with my literacy at the time, and I understood Benjamin as someone who was self-taught and had been marginalised within the education system. And so he really felt like an ambassador for young people like me." Zephaniah's second novel Refugee Boy , about a 14-year-old refugee from Ethiopia and Eritrea , was published in August 2001. It was the recipient of the 2002 Portsmouth Book Award in
8188-580: Was the "castaway" on the 8 June 1997 episode of the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs , where his chosen book was the Poetical Works of Shelley . In 2005, BBC One broadcast a television documentary about his life, A Picture of Birmingham, by Benjamin Zephaniah , which was repeated by BBC Two on 7 December 2023. In December 2012, he was guest editor of an episode of the BBC Radio 4 programme Today , for which he commissioned
8280-538: Was to fight the dead image of poetry in academia , and to "take [it] everywhere" to people who do not read books, so he turned poetry readings into concert-like performances, sometimes with The Benjamin Zephaniah Band. His second collection of poetry, The Dread Affair: Collected Poems (1985), contained a number of poems attacking the British legal system . Rasta Time in Palestine (1990), an account of
8372-402: Was two things: it was words wanting to say something and words creating rhythm. Written poetry was a very strange thing that white people did. His first performance was in church when he was 11 years old, resulting in him adopting the name Zephaniah (after the biblical prophet ), and by the age of 15, his poetry was already known among Handsworth's Afro-Caribbean and Asian communities. He
8464-511: Was unveiled on 24 July 1921. In 1929 The Wisbech Pageant was held at Sibalds Holme Park on 4–5 September. The Pageant Master was Sir Arthur Bryant who had experience with the Cambridgeshire Pageant 1924, Oxfordshire Pageant 1926 and London Empire Pageants of 1928 and 1929. The Wisbech total attendance was estimated in excess of 25,000 people. In 1934 part of Walsoken parish, Norfolk was merged with Wisbech, bringing with it
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