HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Elm is a village and
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the
Fenland District Fenland is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. It was historically part of the Isle of Ely. The district covers around of mostly agricultural land in the extremely flat The Fens, Fens. The council ...
of
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...
, England. In
Domesday Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
, it is called Helle. The village is about 1 miles or 2 km south of the market town of
Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland District, 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 ...
, immediately to the south of the Wisbech by-pass. The county boundary with
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
is immediately to the north and north-east. The northern part of Elm village, at Elm Low Road, acts as a suburb of Wisbech. Most of the village straddles the B1101 road, which meanders its way between Wisbech and
March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...
. The
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
had a resident population of 3,295, as recorded during the
2001 United Kingdom census A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th Census in the United Kingdom, UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organise ...
. The population including Coldham,
Collett's Bridge Collett's Bridge is a hamlet within the parish of Elm in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. It is situated on the eastern boundary of the district 1.5 miles east of Elm. It lies just off Gosmoor Lane, adjacent to the Wisbech/Littleport Road. ...
, Friday Bridge and
Ring's End Ring's End is a hamlet near Guyhirn in the Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. The population is included in the civil parish of Elm in the Fenland District. History Land surrounding Elm including Coldham suffered serious flooding, with lo ...
was 3,962 at the 2011 Census.


History


Prehistoric

Situated in the Fens, much of the parish would have been undrained salt marsh and salt lagoon, with any higher areas, such as that around Wisbech, forming fen-islands. Mesolithic hunter-gatherers would have fished and hunted waterfowl from these islands. Later, farmers would have grazed their sheep and other livestock on the marsh pastures. Scatters of worked flints have been found at Coldham and other sites.


Roman period

The area was occupied during the Roman period, with domestic finds scattered through the parish, concentrating along the Leam stream, which may have been canalised during the Roman period. Apart from agriculture, there is archaeological evidence of salt processing in the Elm area.


Medieval period

The Great Hey or High Fen was common to the
vill Vill is a term used in English, Welsh and Irish history to describe a basic rural land unit, roughly comparable to that of a parish, manor, village or tithing. Medieval developments The vill was the smallest territorial and administrative unit� ...
s of Elm, Leverington, Newton, Wisbech, Outwell, Upwell and Tydd St Giles. Drainage and falling sea levels may have prompted the settlement of Elm by the
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
period. In the 13th century the parish was prosperous enough to fund the building of a significant church.


Modern period

The lower-lying parts of the parish were probably not fully drained and reclaimed until as recently as the 17th to 19th centuries. Later satellite settlements formed to the south of the parish at Friday Bridge and at Coldham, alongside the Leam, where land was better drained. Elm, or Elme, once had a stop on the
Wisbech and Upwell Tramway The Wisbech and Upwell Tramway was a rural standard gauge tramway in East Anglia. It was built by the Great Eastern Railway between Wisbech, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, and Upwell, now in Norfolk, to carry agricultural produce. Although calle ...
, known as Elmbridge as it was just over the boundary in Norfolk near to a bridge that spanned the former
Wisbech Canal The Wisbech Canal was a broad canal from Wisbech, Isle of Ely in the Fenland area of Cambridgeshire, England. It ran from the River Nene at Wisbech to the Well Creek at Outwell now in Norfolk, which gave access to the River Great Ouse. I ...
. There were passenger stations serving the parish: Coldham for Pear Tree Hill, on the March–Wisbech line (1847), and Guyhirn on the March–Spalding line (1867). The canal connected the
River Nene The River Nene ( or ) flows through the counties of Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk in Eastern England from its sources in Arbury Hill in Northamptonshire. Flowing Northeast through East England to its mouth at Lutt ...
at Wisbech to a junction with the Well Creek and the Old River Nene at
Outwell Outwell is a village and civil parish in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk, in the English county of Norfolk.Ordnance Survey (2006). ''OS Explorer Map 228 – March & Ely''. At the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 2,083, ...
, and passed along the northern edge of Elm. The canal was abandoned, and finally filled in during the 1970s. Parts of it have been converted into a public green lane that starts at the post office, and terminates at the site of Collets Bridge. The tramway that ran alongside the canal was in turn closed to passengers from 1927. It discontinued as a line in 1966. Besides allotments and market-gardening, a number of apple, pear, and plum orchards have been planted on the better-drained soils close to the village centre in the north of the parish, while the lower-lying peat soils further out are cultivated as high grade arable land. The orchards (some of which have since been replaced by new housing developments) used to attract fruit pickers from London on working holidays. After the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, many of these seasonal visitors would stay at a disused
POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, an ...
at Friday Bridge. Today the camp is used mainly by seasonal agricultural workers, including some from abroad. A stream, known as The Leam, once flowed from March to Wisbech, past the church, and through the village. This stream has now been drained away, and only survives today as a pond to the south of Elm, at Friday Bridge. In 2018, Elm parish council ordered the removal of
bulrush Bulrush is a vernacular name for several large wetland graminoid, grass-like plants *Sedge family (Cyperaceae): **''Cyperus'' **''Scirpus'' **''Blysmus'' **''Bolboschoenus'' **''Scirpoides'' **''Isolepis'' **''Schoenoplectus'' **''Trichophorum'' ...
es from the pond.


Community facilities

Elm's facilities include a primary school, a post office, a local shop, butchers, hairdressers, garages, and two public houses - The Sportsman and the Elm Tree inn. A bus service stops in Elm, running between Wisbech and
March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...
. The nearest railway station is at
March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...
.
National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout the United Kingdom, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the charity Sustrans who were aided by a £42.5 million N ...
63 from Wisbech to
Burton on Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 7 ...
, passes directly through the village.


Landmarks

The parish church is a large needle-spired, stone building, mainly of Early English 13th-century origin, and is dedicated to All Saints. The church is a Grade I listed building. Other notable local buildings include the Grade II listed Elm House, that has been dated to 1630, and the Sportsman public house, two of nearly two dozen listed buildings in the parish.


Notable people

* Rev. Henry Jackson, Vicar of Wisbech St Mary. He died on 24 March 1863. He left £150 for the erection of a drinking fountain in Wisbech, £100 for a stained glass window in Wisbech church and £200 for a coloured window in Elm church. * Thomas Aveling (1824–1882), a pioneering agricultural engineer, was born in Elm on 11 September 1824 before moving to Hoo in
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
. He was the co-founder of
Aveling and Porter Aveling and Porter was a British agricultural engine and steamroller (road roller) manufacturer. Thomas Aveling and Richard Thomas Porter entered into partnership in 1862, and developed a steam engine three years later in 1865. By the ear ...
which became the largest manufacturer of
steam roller A steamroller (or steam roller) is a form of road roller – a type of heavy construction machinery used for leveling surfaces, such as roads or airfields – that is powered by a steam engine. The leveling/flattening action is achieved throug ...
s in the world. Thomas Aveling died on 7 March 1882 and is buried in the churchyard at St Werburgh Church, Hoo.


References


Peterborough Profile


External links

*
Elm Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in Cambridgeshire Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire Fenland District