March, Cambridgeshire
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March is a Fenland
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
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
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 ...
area 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. It was the
county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...
of the Isle of Ely which was a separate administrative county from 1889 to 1965. The administrative centre of Fenland District Council is located in the town. The town grew by becoming an important railway centre. Like many Fenland towns, March was once an island surrounded by
marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
es. It occupied the second largest "island" in the
Great Level Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...
. As the land was drained, the town grew and prospered as a trading and religious centre. It was also a minor
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...
before becoming, in more recent times, a market town and an administrative and railway centre. March is situated on the banks of the navigable old course of 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 ...
, today mainly used by pleasure boats.


History

March was recorded as ''Merche'' in the
Domesday Book 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 ...
of 1086, perhaps from the
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
''mearc'' meaning 'boundary'. Modern March lies on the course of the Fen Causeway, a
Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...
, and there is evidence of Roman settlements in the area. Before the draining of the fens, March was effectively an island in the marshy fens. The town probably owes its origin to the ford on the old course of 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 ...
, where the road between Ely and
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 two chief towns of the Isle of Ely, crossed the river. At one time shipping on the River Nene provided the basis of the town's trade, but this declined with the coming of the railways in the 19th century. A single arch bridge was built over the River Nene towards the north end of the town in 1850. High Street, which is the chief thoroughfare, is continued over the bridge to Broad Street on the north side of the Nene, and The Causeway is lined with a fine avenue of elm and other trees. A theatre was built for Joseph Smedley in 1826. HM Prison Whitemoor, opened in 1991, lies slightly to the northwest of the town. Whitemoor is a maximum security prison for nearly 500 men in Category A and B.


Governance

There are three tiers of local government covering March, at
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 ...
(town),
district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
, and county level: March Town Council, Fenland District Council, and
Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council for non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire, England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county, which additionally includes the City o ...
. The district and county councils are also members of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, led by the directly elected
Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough The mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is a combined authority mayor, first 2017 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election, elected in May 2017. The mayor is leader of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. This o ...
. The town council is based at March Town Hall in the Market Place. A town mayor is elected by councillors at the annual meeting in May each year. The town council administers allotments, sponsors band concerts and owns the March Museum. Fenland District Council is also based in the town, at Fenland Hall on County Road. March is in the parliamentary constituency of North East Cambridgeshire.


Administrative history

March was historically a
chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status A chapelry had a similar status to a Township (England), township, but was so named as it had a chapel of ease ...
within the
ancient 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 ...
of Doddington, which formed part of the North Witchford
hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...
of Cambridgeshire. The chapelry of March became a separate
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 1866. The North Witchford hundred formed part of the
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 ...
, which was historically a
liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
under the secular jurisdiction of the
Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with ...
. The bishop's jurisdiction was ended by the Liberty of Ely Act 1837. A local board district covering the chapelry of March was established in 1851. Such districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the
Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...
. March Urban District Council built the Town Hall in 1900 to serve as its headquarters. Between 1889 and 1965, the Isle of Ely was an
administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...
with its own county council, whilst also forming part of the wider geographical county of Cambridgeshire.
Isle of Ely County Council Isle of Ely County Council was the county council of the Isle of Ely in the east of England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and was abolished on 1 April 1965. The county council was based at County Hall, March. It was amalgamated with C ...
chose to base itself in March, building County Hall on County Road in 1909 (renamed Fenland Hall in 1974). Between 1965 and 1974, the administrative county covering March was called
Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely was, from 1965 to 1974, an administrative county, administrative and Geographical counties of England, geographical county in East Anglia in the United Kingdom. In 1974 it became part of an enlarged Cambridgeshire. ...
. March Urban District was abolished in 1974 under the
Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
. District-level functions passed to the new Fenland District Council. A
successor parish Successor parishes are Civil parishes in England, civil parishes with a parish councils in England, parish council, created in England in 1974. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of Urban district (England and Wales), urban d ...
called March was created covering the area of the abolished urban district, with its parish council taking the name March Town Council.


Markets

With a long history of trading, in the reign of
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
, March was a minor port. In 1566 eight boats, capable of carrying one, one and a half, or two cartloads, were used in the coal and grain trades. A certain amount of traffic in coal and other commodities, carried in barges, was observed by Dugdale in 1657. Local tradesmen's tokens of 1669, and a silver shilling token of 1811, have been noted. Originally a market appears to have been held near the original town (then village) centre, on land beside The Causeway. A Market Cross (now called The Stone Cross) points towards the existence of an early market and this cross was erected in the early 16th century. This site was near St
Wendreda Wendreda, also known as Wendreth, was an Anglo-Saxon nun, healer, and saint, perhaps of the 7th century. She was uncertainly reported as a daughter of Anna of East Anglia, King Anna of Kingdom of East Anglia, East Anglia, a Christian king, whic ...
's Church. In 1669, the town successfully petitioned King Charles II and in 1670 he granted the Lord of the Manor of Doddington a Royal Charter with the right to hold a market with two annual fairs, in spite of the opposition of Wisbech Corporation. This market was held on Fridays. The Lord of the Manor of Doddington, who owned a large part of March, gave special permission to the townspeople to sell their goods on some of his land in the town centre. This site, now called the Market Place, was then known as Bridge Green Common and later named Market Hill. In 1785, the tolls were assessed at £6 per year. Soon after this the market appears to have lapsed, though the fairs continued to prosper. The development of the market was impeded by the lack of a covered hall and because market day in several neighbouring towns fell on the same day (Friday). In 1807, the
Vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...
decided that it was not hygienic for goods to be loaded or unloaded in the vicinity of the market and ordered all saw pits, timber and other encroachments around the Market Place to be removed. The market was struggling during this time and an attempt to revive it in 1821 was not very successful. A Buttercross, also known as a market house, was erected in 1831. This building also housed the town fire engine and had an upstairs room that for a time housed the Clock House School and later the Town Surveyor's Office. This office was covered by a turret which housed the Town Clock (purchased by public subscription about 1750) and the Fire Bell. In later refurbishments this clock was re-housed in St Peter's Church Tower. The Town Stocks were also placed in the Market Place and local offenders (and those who refused to go to church) were placed in them. The want of a market house was remedied, in a makeshift fashion, by Sir Henry Peyton (who was the Lord of the Manor of Doddington). His building, however, was only by , and provided only 14 stalls under cover. After the opening of the railway in 1847 another attempt was made to increase the market. In 1851 the market had been said to be "making progress"; and £150 was subscribed to give a treat to the poor at its reopening. The clash with other market days was solved in December 1856 by changing market day from Friday to Wednesday "by private arrangement and without any formalities". The tolls were, however, collected in an arbitrary and haphazard way; they were assessed for poor rate purposes at £10. Statute fairs for the hiring of servants took place each autumn, this was also an opportunity to socialise, and shows and ginger bread stalls were set up, the large numbers could also attract pickpockets. In 1872, the Board of Health bought a Shand and Mason
fire engine A fire engine or fire truck (also spelled firetruck) is a vehicle, usually a specially designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to ...
that was the town's first steam appliance and was housed in the Market House. In the same year the vestry agreed to erect a
urinal A urinal (, ) is a sanitary plumbing fixture similar to a toilet, but for urination only. Urinals are often provided in men's public restrooms in Western countries (less so in Muslim countries). They are usually used in a standing position. ...
at the back of the Buttercross for use by boys attending the Clock House School, but would not erect a water closet (toilet). The market toll-keeper in 1888, though he had no fixed scale of charges and kept no record of receipts, was said to be taking about £50 a year. The success and prosperity of the market fluctuated over the years and an attempt by the Local Board to purchase the market rights to mark
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
's
Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali language, ...
of 1887 was a failure. However, in 1897, Sir Algernon Peyton agreed to sell the market rights, the Market Place and Market House to March Urban District Council for £800. At that time the market was leased to F. B. Phillips, who agreed to surrender his lease in 1898 subject to receiving the market tolls for one year without charge. The market rights passed to Fenland District Council following the local government reorganisation in 1974. The current (2020) market days are Wednesday and Saturday.


Religion

The inhabitants of the town are served by eleven churches.


St Wendreda's Church

St Wendreda, to whom the oldest church in the town is dedicated, is the town's own saint and March is the only known church dedication to her. She was a 7th-century
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
who may have been a daughter of King
Anna of East Anglia Anna (or Onna; killed 653 or 654) was List of monarchs of East Anglia, king of East Anglia from the early 640s until his death. He was a member of the Wuffingas family, the ruling dynasty of the East Angles, and one of the three sons of Eni of ...
(killed 654) one of the first Christian Kings of the kingdom of East Anglia. Two of her possible sisters, Etheldreda and Sexburgha, who were the abbesses of Ely and Minster-in-Sheppey respectively, are better known saints. She is also associated with Exning, Suffolk. The saint's relics were enshrined in gold in
Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...
, until in 1016 they were carried off to battle in the hope they would bring victory to Edmund Ironside, the son of King Ethelred. But at the
Battle of Ashingdon The Battle of Assandun (or Ashingdon) was fought between Danish and English armies on 18 October 1016. There is disagreement whether Assandun may be Ashdon near Saffron Walden in north Essex, England, or, as long supposed, Ashingdon near R ...
the army of King Canute captured the relics and he presented them to
Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...
. In 1343 the relics were returned to March, but their final resting place is unknown. The church is known for its magnificent double-hammer beam roof with 120 carved angels; it is regarded as one of the best of its kind.
John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman, (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architect ...
described the church as "worth cycling 40 miles in a head wind to see". The church describes itself as an evangelical church "with an emphasis on biblical teaching".


Other churches

In Victorian times, other Church of England churches were built in March, nearer to where most of the inhabitants now lived.
Thomas Henry Wyatt Thomas Henry Wyatt (9 May 1807 – 5 August 1880) was an Anglo-Irish architect. He had a prolific and distinguished career, being elected president of the Royal Institute of British Architects for 1870–1873 and being awarded its Royal Gold Me ...
was responsible for the design of St John's (consecrated 1872), St Peter's (built 1881) and St Mary's ( Westry, built 1874). The four March Anglican churches now share a 'Team Ministry'. Trinity Church is now a joint Methodist and United Reformed Church. It was built as a Methodist church in the late 19th century to replace the small St Paul's Methodist Chapel in Gas Road. Development work was carried out during the late 1980s to convert St Paul's Methodist Church into Trinity Church by joining St Paul's, the United Reformed Church, and the Primitive Methodist church. Centenary Baptist Church, founded in 1700, is a member of the Baptist Union. Additionally, there is a Grace Baptist church, Providence Baptist, which was rebuilt in 1873. An Elim Pentecostal Church meets in March Community Centre. March Evangelical Fellowship meets on Upwell Road
Fenland Community Church
is unique in the local area in focussing on the needs of people with learning difficulties. Roman Catholics are served by weekly masses in the Anglican church in Chatteris, the combined parish of March and Chatteris being dedicated to Our Lady of Good Counsel and St Peter.


Folklore

An "old legend told how the people of March in the 13th century endeavoured to build a church on the site where the present cross stands, but the devils were utterly opposed to the proposal. They considered the fenland was especially theirs ... As fast as the people of March dug their foundations and built their church the devils came and pulled the work down... This conflict lasted some years, when the March people, not to be beaten, set up the stone crucifix as an object of terror to the devils. It succeeded in its object. The devils left the town, and that is how the cross came to occupy its present position, which no doubt would have been the better site for the church."


March Museum

March has its own museum, located on the High Street. It is in the building that was originally the South District Girls School, constructed in the 1850s, it went from school to school, until 1976 when the building was purchased by the Town Council. The Museum was opened in 1977. It is open every Saturday and Wednesday from 10:30 – 15:30 and contains a vast amount of local memorabilia, both from March, and its surrounding villages. Such artefacts include the clock face from the Church of St Mary, Benwick and a large collection of cameras.


Transport


Rivers

The town is on either side of the River Nene (Old Course). A narrow boat marina provides berths and boats for hire.


Roads

The town now has a western bypass to take the A141 and some of the traffic away from the town centre. The B1099 and B1101 pass through the town.


Railways

The town was an important railway centre, with a major junction between the
Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...
and Great Northern Railway at March railway station. The station is from London by rail, north of
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 ...
, north west of Ely and south 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 ...
. Whitemoor
marshalling yard A classification yard (American English, as well as the Canadian National Railway), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, and Australian English, and the former Canadian Pacific Railway) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway y ...
s, built in the 1920s and 30s, were once the second largest in Europe, and the largest in Britain. They were gradually phased out during the 1960s and shut down in 1990. HM Prison Whitemoor was built on part of the site. The natural regeneration of the remaining resulted in its classification as a potential country park. In addition, a new housing development was constructed adjacent to the site. However, in 2002,
Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...
identified a need for a supply depot and redeveloped part of the site. The tracks of the March to Wisbech line remain and currently (2019) a review is taking place to assess reopening the Bramley Line. The line has been identified as a priority for reopening by the Campaign for Better Transport.


March March march

The "March March march" is a walk from March to Cambridge, which has been walked in the month of March by students and academics from the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
since 1979. The marchers sing the "March March March March". The point of the walk is that it is pointless; it has spawned a shorter version called the May Manea Mania.


March delivery office

March
Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...
sorting office A sorting office or processing and distribution center (P&DC; name used by the United States Postal Service (USPS)) is any location where postal operators bring mail after collection for sorting into batches for delivery to the addressee, whic ...
(previously a full post office) dates from 1936. It is unusual in that it is one of a handfulThe website http://britishpostofficearchitects.weebly.com/ lists Bradford-on-Avon, Builth Wells, Chester-le-Street, Havant and Wallingford of post offices that display the
royal cypher In modern heraldry, a royal cypher is a monogram or monogram-like device of a country's reigning Monarch, sovereign, typically consisting of the initials of the monarch's name and title, sometimes interwoven and often surmounted by a Crown (heral ...
from the brief reign of
Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...
.


Economy

In the town centre there are independent shops and retailers such as Boyes,
Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...
,
Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...
,
Lidl Lidl ( ) is a trademark, used by two Germany, German international discount supermarket, discount retailer chain store, chains that operates over 12,600 stores. The ''LD Stiftung'' operates the stores in Germany and the ''Lidl Stiftung & Co. K ...
and
Superdrug Superdrug Stores plc (trading as Superdrug) is a health and beauty retailer in the United Kingdom, and the second largest behind Boots UK. The company is owned by AS Watson (Health & Beauty UK) Limited which is part of the A.S. Watson Group. ...
. Out-of-town development has taken place. In 2008, Meadowland retail park opened with an Argos Superstore, Mattressman, Carpetright,
Halfords Halfords Group PLC is a UK retailer of motoring and cycling products and services. Through Halfords Autocentre, they provide vehicle servicing, MOT, maintenance and repairs in the United Kingdom. Halfords Group is listed on the London Stock E ...
and The Original Factory Shop.
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...
also extended their store to a significantly larger store next to
B & M B & M Retail Limited, trading as B&M, is a British multinational variety store and garden centre chain founded in 1978 and based in Speke. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. B&M is part of t ...
. The town centre has several bars and restaurants. In 2008, the Barracuda Group changed the landmark Ye Olde Griffin Hotel into a "Smith & Jones" branded pub it is now back to being branded as The Ye Olde Griffin Hotel. It is now part of the Stonegate pubs chain. In March 2011 J D Wetherspoon opened a pub in the former Hippodrome cinema and bingo hall. The town's major employers are Whitemoor Prison, Tesco and Sainsbury's, and the many food processing factories in the area.


Sport and leisure

March has a
Non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...
club, March Town United, who play at the GER Sports Ground on Robingoodfellows Lane. They won the United Counties Division One title in the 1953–54 season and the Eastern Counties League in the 1987-88 season. They now play in the Norwood Nature Reserve is a site north of the railway station.


Notable people

* William Barker (1817–1894), gold prospector * Benjamin Gimbert (1903–1976), awarded the
George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...
* Louise Hazel (born 1985), heptathlete * Wentworth M. Johnson (born 1939), writer * Kevin Painter (born 1967), darts player * Martin Peerson (ca. 1570–ca. 1650), composer * Rex Tucker (1930–1996), TV director * Eric Sherbrooke Walker (1887–1976), owner of Treetops Hotel * Jason Wing (born 1965), Olympic bobsleigher * Terry Woodgate (1919–1985), footballer


See also

* Dunhams Wood *
List of places in Cambridgeshire This is a list of cities, towns and villages in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It includes places in the former county of Huntingdonshire, now a district of Cambridgeshire. A * Abbotsley * Abbots Ripton * Abington Pigotts * Alconbury ...
* Neale-Wade Academy * Norwood Road nature reserve


Further reading

* * * * *


References


External links


March Town Council
{{authority control Market towns in Cambridgeshire Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire Fenland District