Discover one of England's finest Georgian towns - steeped in history, alive with culture, and rich with the unique beauty of the Fenland landscape.
Years of history
Listed buildings
Annual events
National Trust rating
From Anglo-Saxon settlement to Georgian splendour - Wisbech has been shaping history for more than a millennium.
Wisbech is first mentioned in records associated with the Abbey of Ely. The name likely derives from Old English, meaning something close to "the back of the River Wissey."
Saxon Wisbech and the Domesday BookWilliam the Conqueror's survey records Wisbech with 73 households, 30 ploughlands, a castle, and a value of £12 - a substantial Fenland settlement held by the Abbot of Ely.
Read: Wisbech in the Domesday BookDutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden leads the great drainage works that transform the flooded Fenland into some of the most productive agricultural land in England, reshaping Wisbech's fortunes.
Read: How the Fens Were DrainedOne of the finest Georgian townhouses in England is built on North Brink. Later home to the Peckover family, Quaker bankers whose wealth and philanthropy shaped the town, it is now in the care of the National Trust.
Read: Peckover House and the Peckover FamilyBorn in Wisbech on 28 March 1760, Clarkson devoted his life to ending the British slave trade. His evidence-gathering, organising, and campaigning alongside William Wilberforce led directly to the Slave Trade Act of 1807.
Read: Thomas Clarkson, AbolitionistThe Angles Theatre on Alexandra Road opens in 1793 as one of the oldest purpose-built theatres in England. It has served the cultural life of Wisbech for more than two centuries and still stages a full year-round programme.
Arts and Culture in WisbechNorth Brink Brewery opens in 1795. Acquired by the Elgood family in 1878, it becomes one of the last surviving family-owned Georgian breweries in England, with 4 acres of gardens still thriving today.
Read: Elgood's, 230 Years of BrewingBorn at South Brink on 3 December 1838, Octavia Hill co-founded the National Trust in 1895, transformed social housing in Victorian London, and campaigned tirelessly for ordinary people to have access to green space.
Read: Octavia Hill, Co-Founder of the National TrustThe Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend bequeaths the original handwritten manuscript of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations to Wisbech Museum, where it remains in a safe - shown to visitors on request.
Read: The Dickens Manuscript in WisbechSmedley's opens one of England's first major canning factories in Wisbech, pioneering the industrial preservation of peas and soft fruits. The Wisbech area becomes the canning capital of England.
Read: Wisbech and the Rise of Food CanningPeckover House and its extraordinary 2-acre walled garden are given to the National Trust, ensuring their preservation for future generations. The garden, with its 300-year-old orange trees and 60-plus rose varieties, has changed remarkably little since the Victorian era.
Read: Peckover HouseMarket Place - local producers, crafts & street food
Wisbech Museum - new work by local Fenland artists
Wisbech's most beloved annual celebration since 1963
Drama, comedy and panto at one of England's oldest Georgian theatres (built 1793)