Where We Meet No.14 Ivan Jaggs visits the Rotary Club of Wisbech at The Rose and Crown Hotel

For over 500 years the premises of the Rose and Crown have been used as a hostelry. In spite of the passing of the centuries and with the advent of the various means of transport, from the old mail cart, the railway and the motor car, it has, though modernised, maintained its Old World atmosphere.

Originally known as the Trumpet and Pheasant, the west side of the courtyard was added in 1601 when it became a coaching house.

Through the courtyard of the Rose and Crown, covered by the 150-year-old Wisteria, is the Tidnams Tipple Inn, a traditional English pub. The name derives from the Tidnam family who owned the hotel from 1857 to 1932. The family specialised in importing and bottling fine wines and spirits. The cellar of the hotel was once part of the many subterranean passages, which still exist under Wisbech. Here were stored some of the finest ports in England with Tidnam's port becoming famous worldwide.

The Wisbech area is rich in historical connections stretching back to Roman times through such well-known figures as Hereward the Wake and the luckless King John, who lost his baggage train together with a King's fortune in The Wash near Wisbech in 1216. The town grew up around its port, trading from medieval time but flourishing commercially with the draining of the Fens.

Originally the Fens were vast stretches of reed and sedge covered swamp, with communities supported on a few gravel islands. In summer, willows and other materials were harvested and used for making baskets and other essential items including small crude Fen houses. Peat was dug and stored for winter fuel, which provided cheer in the ever damp environment.

Folk lived by their wits on the abundance of wild fowl, fish and eels, jealously guarded from outside poachers. "Fen Slodgers" strode through the water on stilts or used vaulting poles if the water was too deep. In winter skates often provided a good method of transport on the frozen water. The wet, unhealthy surroundings gave rise to rheumatic and respiratory disorders and malaria, known as ague, which was carried by a spotted mosquito, which thrived in the swamps. Relief was sought by drinking large quantities of blue "poppy tea", (opium), or by smoking the dried leaves of the hemp plant, (cannabis), which also grew profusely.

In the 17th century, an ambitious Fen drainage scheme was formulated by the Duke of Bedford who owned most of the land in the Thorney area, which received the blessing of King Charles the First. The Duke and his fellow "Adventurers" invested a fortune in the scheme in return for large parcels of reclaimed land. In 1630 they engaged Cornelius Vermuyden, an eminent Dutch engineer, to undertake the work, starting with the 21-mile long Old Bedford River stretching from Earith to Denver Sluice. Technical problems and the Civil War delayed work, but in 1650 the Sixteen-Foot and Forty-Foot drains were cut and the tidal One Hundred-Foot drain, known as the New Bedford River, was begun.

Vermuyden's drains still play an important part in the present drainage system, which enables some of the most productive land in the country to be farmed.

In the 18th century, Wisbech landowners, merchants and warehouse owners, grew rich and built their rows of elegant houses along the banks of the river Nene. Facing each other across the water North Brink and South Brink are amongst the finest Georgian Streets in England. In the town centre, are the Crescent and the Castle, in an area brimming with Georgian architecture. The original Norman Castle was built shortly after the Norman Conquest to subdue the wild Fenmen led by Hereward the Wake. A Bishop's Palace replaced the Norman Castle in 1478 and, in the 17th century, by a fine mansion for John Thurbe, who was Oliver Cromwell's Secretary of State. Joseph Medworth, a local builder and speculator, built the present 'castle', a Regency Villa, in 1816, sadly, only the gate piers of the original mansion now remain.

Until the 13th century the Old Market was the trading centre for local farmers. It contained banks; implement and seed shops with the corn and cattle market close by. It is surrounded by fine Georgian properties. Those backing up to the river used to be served by an array of warehouses, which could be served directly from the ships. The present market place grew under the protection of the castle until it finally outstripped the Old Market in medieval times. The church end of the Market Place once accommodated stocks, a whipping post, a bull run for baiting and at the other end, a large horse trough. Today, markets are held each Thursday and Saturday.

Wisbech is the birthplace of Octavia Hill who was born in 1838. Although she is best known as one of the founders of the National Trust, her greatest achievements lie in the field of Housing Reform. She worked tirelessly to improve housing for the poorest sectors of society, managing many improvement and building schemes, particularly in London.

Another famous native of Wisbech was Thomas Clarkson, one of the leaders of the Abolitionist Movement, who pressed for the ending of the African Slave Trade and devoted his life to a tireless campaign against slavery. An impressive memorial to Thomas Clarkson towers over Bridge Street.

The traditional craft of brewing has taken place on the site of the North Brink Brewery for 200 years. The present owners, the Elgood family, mashed their first brew here on an autumn morning in 1878, and have continued to produce fine ales ever since. Behind the brewery is a super four-acre garden, which is open to the public from May to October.

During "Scatter Week" for South Cambridge members, three of us decided to visit the Wisbech Club. We were made most welcome by President Steve Waldron and his fellow members. We sampled, and enjoyed, the locally brewed Elgood Ale. The Rotary Club of Wisbech meets at the Rose and Crown Hotel, situated in the Market Place, on Mondays. First & third are Lunches at 12.55pm, second & fourth are Twilight with Dinner at 6pm. If you wish to visit phone Secretary Mark Vawser.

Many thanks to Mac Cotterell for his help with the history of Wisbech.