Capturing Cambridge
  • search
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
18th century map of Whittlesey Mere

Whittlesey (Whittlesea) Mere

History of Whittlesey Mere

1839 famous ice skating match took place. William Needham from March was defeated by Tomblin of Doddington. Needham however became undisputed champion until 1850.

The Mere was the great centre of ice-skating. It covered 2,000 acres and was nowhere more than 5 feet deep.

After Christmas in 1840 there is a newspaper report, printed in A Fenland Chronicle, of six thousand people gathering on the Mere to skate and watch the races.

The Illustrated London News, 1850 has a picture of a skating race.

In 1851 the last of the great inland lakes of the region, Whittlesey Mere between Ramsey and Peterborough, vanished.

Whittlesea Mere (MoC)

Whittlesey Mere after drainage (MoC42/68)

The top of the wooden post was once level with the surface of the ground.

Read Enid Porter’s essay: Whittlesey Mere

Whittlesea Mere, Enid Porter notes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whittlesey_Mere

Contribute

Do you have any information about the people or places in this article? If so, then please let us know using the Contact page or by emailing capturingcambridge@museumofcambridge.org.uk.

License

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Dear Visitor,

 

Thank you for exploring historical Cambridgeshire! We hope you enjoy your visit.

 

Did you know that we are a small, independent Museum and that we rely on donations from people like you to survive?

 

If you love Capturing Cambridge, and you are able to, we’d appreciate your support today.

 

Every donation makes a world of difference.

 

Thank you,

The Museum of Cambridge