Manea 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 District of Fenland,

Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an Administrative counties of England, administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to ...

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. The population (including Welches Dam) of the

at the 2021 census was 2,810. Landmarks are Manea railway station and

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

Welches Dam nature reserve on the

Ouse Washes Ouse Washes is a linear biological Site of Special Scientific Interest stretching from near St Ives, Cambridgeshire, St Ives in Cambridgeshire to Downham Market in Norfolk, England. It is also a Ramsar site, Ramsar internationally important we ...

. The village's

brass band A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...

, the Manea Silver Band, was formed in 1882; it meets at Manea Royal British Legion. Manea men's football team compete in local leagues and cup competitions.

History

Stonea Camp Stonea Camp is an Iron Age multivallate hill fort located at Stonea near March in the Cambridgeshire Fens. Situated on a gravel bank just above sea-level, it is the lowest hill fort in Britain. Around 500 BC, when fortification is thought to ...

, an Iron Age hill fort is located approximately 1 mile west of the village. Manea was once a hamlet in the parish of Coveney. In the seventeenth century, as part of a programme to drain the Fens,

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

planned to build a new town and summer palace, to be called Charlemont. The scheme was opposed by local residents, including

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

, the MP of nearby

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, who called the scheme "contrary to the law of God and nature". The village's

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

is dedicated to St Nicholas and was built in 1875 to replace a building dating from 1791. It is a Grade II listed building.

Manea Colony

The Manea Colony was set up in 1838 at Manea Fen as an experimental Utopian community but failed after a couple of years. It was based on the ideas of

Robert Owen Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist, political philosopher and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement, co-operative movement. He strove to ...

, a utopian socialist and founded by local farmer William Hodson. One of the earliest members of the colony was Samuel Rowbotham, a proponent of flat Earth theory. The buildings were built with bricks from the colony's brickworks and slate for roofing. Welsh slate from

Porthmadog Porthmadog (), originally Portmadoc until 1972 and known locally as "Port", is a coastal town and community (Wales), community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd, Wales, and the historic counties of Wales, historic county of Caernarfonshire. It li ...

was already arriving at the Port of Wisbech and

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

by 1830. The colony produced a newspaper ''the Working Bee'' on their own press. On 16 February 1841 Hodson published a notice stating that "The Late Friendly Society, called 'Manea Fen Colony' has been legally dissolved" in the ''Cambridge Chronicle'' of 20 February 1841. A model of the colony and copies of ''the Working Bee'' are on display at

Octavia Hill Octavia Hill (3December 183813August 1912) was an English Reform movement, social reformer and founder of the National Trust. Her main concern was the welfare of the inhabitants of cities, especially London, in the second half of the nineteent ...

's Birthplace House,

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 ...

. The ''Leicester Mercury'' on 24 April 1841 published details of a trial at Isle of Ely

Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388; they were extended to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535. Scotland establ ...

of 7 April. Hodson was fined £10 and Thomas Golding £1 for having on 13 February assaulted Maria Ward, a candidate for admission to the colony. Hodson emigrated and died on 18 April 1880 at

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 65,615, making it the List of cities in Wisconsin, tenth-most populous city in Wis ...

, US. In June 1904 a smallholding in the colony, comprising 32 a. 0 r. 15 p. with 5a. 3r. 24p. of fishing pits, occupied by Thomas Rolfe, was knocked down to S. H. Farrington of March for £1240. The Colony Farm 114a. 3r. 35p. with house, cottages, barn, and other farm-buildings, occupied by Samuel Dunhour, was withdrawn at £4020. F. J. Wise was solicitor to the vendors (the trustees of the late Mrs M. A. Wise). During September and October 2016 the Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) followed up geophysics surveys by Fenland Archaeological Society (FenArch) and conducted fieldwork as part of a HLF-funded project.

References

External links

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