Historical Archives & Apparitions

01/09/2026

The Lychgate

Many of our beautiful Fenland Churches have lychgates at their entrances.

These pretty gateways are often decorated with flowers in films and romanticised but they are actually there for another purpose and that is to do with death.

They started appearing in the 7th century and were simple carved timber and mainly thatched structures, always on the boundary to the church.

The name comes from an old English word, lic, which means co**se or body which may give you a clue for their purpose.

In the Middle Ages it shifted to lich gate and then changed the i to a y but remained as two separate words “lych gate”, it has also more recently been hyphenated “ lych-gate” but now generally is one word of “lychgate”

As churches became more popular, people wanted to bury their dead in consecrated ground. Ordinarily people died at home and their body’s were wrapped in a shroud and brought to the church on a large cart known as a bier. Within the lychgate, there would be a stone or table for the body to rest on, or they would remain on the beir within the structure.

If they were to remain there over night, people would stand guard to avoid people messing with the remains, and in later times scare away body snatchers. The roof protecting them and the body from poor weather.

The lychgate also marked the boundary to consecrated ground, the priest would meet the pallbearers and lead the way to the church for the funeral.

As time went on, more mortuaries were used and the need for bodies to be kept waiting within the gates was significantly reduced. Although the priest may still meet the funeral procession at the gate, they have became more decorative and used as a meeting point or in many places war memorials.

Most surviving lychgates date from the 15th - 16th century but there are also newer ones.

St Mary’s church in Doddington Cambridgeshire has a more modern lychgate which is listed.

It’s is described as “ Lych Gate. Dated 1907 on lintel. Decorated style Oak framed with hipped red plain tile roof surrounded by wooden cross. Limestone and rubble plinth. Plastered posts with curved brackets to roof timbers, wooden cill beams. Pair of oak gates with pierced panels included for group value “

There are many legends around lychgates and one piece of folklore is around the guard of the gate. It is said that the soul of the last person buried in the cemetery must stand guard at the lychgate until the next person dies.

In addition, there was folklore around the lychways. These were ancient designated pathways used to carry bodies from remote houses to the parish church for burial. It is said that if a dead body was carried along the lychway on private land, the path would then be a permanent right of way.

It’s always lovely seeing a lychgate at a local church, especially when decorated with flowers or dressed up for a wedding. No longer fully used for their original intention.

24/08/2026

American hero sadly loses his life in Benwick crash

Captain Donald Roberts was a 29 year old US Airforce pilot who was born in Rochester New York.

He was part of ‘The Buzzards’, a nickname given to the 510th Fighter Squadron who were stationed at RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk.

On the 17th April 1989, he was returning to base from a practice bombing run in the wash in his Fairchild Republic A-10A Thunderbolt when he got in to trouble.

The American Air Force has never released what happened to his plane due to military classification protocols, however it is thought that he experienced sudden catastrophic mechanical failure.

Indeed local witnesses described him having sudden technical malfunction whilst flying low over the surrounding area. He would have had the opportunity to eject to safety however it is widely accepted that he chose to remain in the plane in order to use what little controls he had left to steer the plane away from houses into an open field.

He crashed near Ibbersons Drove, sadly losing his life.

There is a small memorial on the edge of the field containing the crash site, many people will drive past this regularly and not know of the huge sacrifice one man made to protect the local people.

This is a fairly recent event and I am sure there are people who will remember this. I wanted to share his story so his sacrifice is always remembered

21/08/2026

World War 2 Pill Boxes. - A brief history

During 1940 and 1941 many pill boxes were built as part of a national defence programme. We had been at war for around 9 months but a huge evacuation of allied troops from Dunkirk triggered the programme as it made us very vulnerable to German attack.

The pill boxes were situated in areas vulnerable to German invasion such as waterways and open fields.

It was feared that German soldiers and spys could parachute in and land on the Fens. In addition our extensive waterways and railway lines were key travel corridors across the country. The pillboxes were built strategically around these key routes.

They were guarded 24 hours a day by a mix of part time voluntary home guard and soldiers from the 3rd Isle of Ely Battalion. In addition searchlight units were used close to the forty foot to keep an eye on the skies for Luftwaffe planes or parachutes.

They didn't see active combat but were actively guarded and used for drills and training.

Their concerns around invaders were warranted as a German spy did parachute onto land not far from the area. He was called Josef Jakobs and he landed in Ramsey Hollow in 1941.

He was only caught due to an injury and was later executed as a German spy in the tower of London. (More information on my previous post about him https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DcfdtMrzD/ )

In Chatteris, Doddington and Benwick, a number were built and although some were demolished, a few survive today, you can see them when you drive around with most on private land but a couple are directly accessible on the roadside.

It amazes me that after over eighty years, they are still standing and although obviously weathered on the outside, they remain in good condition inside.

Please don't visit those on private land without permission 😊

There is more information on pillboxes in the local museums and also on this website https://chatteris.ccan.co.uk/content/tag/pill-box

20/08/2026

The drought is really showing up at archaeology from the sky.

Anyone with a drone fancy looking over the local area to see if there's anything showing?

Drought Stories Continue to Capture National Attention

Following Monday’s feature in The Times, the Commission’s Welsh drought stories continue to attract national media interest.

Yesterday, Dr Toby Driver appeared on both BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine programme at midday, in discussions about the drought at 12.16pm, and then again, on Radio 4’s The World at One, where the drought was the final topic at around 1.40pm. Both discussions explored the remarkable archaeological crop marks currently being revealed in Wales by the dry conditions.

On Jeremy Vine, Toby spoke with his usual enthusiasm about what these extraordinary crop marks can reveal about Wales’s ancient past.
If you missed it, you can listen again on BBC Sounds — both programmes are a fascinating insight into how the drought is helping to reveal traces of Wales’s hidden archaeological landscape.

Image: before-and-after comparison of Caerhun Roman Fort (NPRN 95640), Conwy, with the colour bands rebalanced to reveal the buried archaeology.

19/08/2026

Yesterday Cambridgeshire Constabulary posted about PC Peak who disappeared on the 18th August 1855 and has never been seen since.

I thought there must be more on this and have come across an article from the Cambridge Chronicle, transcribed by Capturing Cambridge.

Cambridge Chronicle and Journal 1st September 1855

THE LATE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF THE WICKEN POLICE CONSTABLE.

About a fortnight ago the sudden disappearance of a member of the Cambridgeshire rural police-force created created quite a sensation in the neighbourhood of Burwell, Wicken, Soham and Fordham and rumours soon spread that he must have met with foul play, rumours the more easily credited from the circumstances under which the disappearance took place, the character of the man himself, and the strenuous exertions of the other members the force, headed by Captain Davies, the Chief Constable, and his deputy, Mr. Low, and backed, (indeed in many cases personally aided) by the most influential inhabitants to discover signs of the fate of the missing constable or the reason of his sudden withdrawal from his duty.

It is to be regretted that up to the present time all these exertions have been fruitless; unless indeed an inference may be drawn from the fact of the vigilant search instituted having failed in eliciting anything leading to the belief that the constable had been otherwise than fairly treated, that he had suddenly taken himself off under mysterious and certainly discreditable circumstances. It is the duty of a journalist in such a case to present all the attainable evidence to his readers, and leave them to form their own opinions; and we shall content ourselves with doing merely remarking at the outset that our correspondent’s information has been gleaned from the most reliable resources, and that he has kindly been allowed access the reports relating to the matter matter now in the possession of the Chief Constable.

It would appear that the missing constable Peak (26) was a member of the Wicken detachment, and performed his duty according to the usual routine on the 17th of August. On that day there was a sale by auction at the Lion public house, Wicken, that which did not terminate until about nine pm. At the conclusion of the sale, from forty to fifty persons were left assembled in the house, and Peak continued going in and out at intervals until about 2 a.m. on the 18th. At this hour Peak expressed his intention of leaving for good but the landlord (Cranwell) pressed him to continue about the house as he feared a disturbance among the parties congregated inside; and at the request of the latter he entered the house several times afterwards, and finally, ejected two parties who were noisy. The house was cleared at 3.15 a.m. and the company being dispersed, Peak said to the landlord. “Good morning; I’ve got an hour and a half’s walk, and then I will go to bed.” This is the last that can be heard of him. Peak had a pint of beer and a shilling’s worth of brandy and water in the house altogether; but the time in which he took it extended over some hours and he was perfectly sober when he left. Three men were fighting in the village at 4.0 a.m. of the 18th, but Peak was not there

When Peak left Wicken, he was dressed in a brown straw hat, a brown great coat, a check coat, dark cloth vest, and a pair of coarse uniform trousers, with black neck tie and Wellington boots. The walk to which he alluded to to Cranwell was to the lower part of North street, Burwell, where he ought, according to disciplimentary regulations, to have attended a conference of the neighbouring patrol, meeting at this particular spot at 4.0 am but he did not appear. The apparent singularity of his dress is accounted for by the fact that the members of the force have license to wear private clothes at night, on common occasions, in order to save their day uniforms; he had a staff and handcuffs in his pockets. His absence from the conference alluded does not appear to have created any great surprise, us the men are allowed to absent themselves in case of any sudden contingency arising on their beat, they properly accounting for such absence in a report to their head-quarters.

Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th passing over without any tidings of the missing man, much alarm was felt and on Monday a rigorous search was instituted, which has been continued ever since, but without throwing any light upon his face. The search has been headed by Captain Davies and Mr. Low, assisted by six or eight members of the force daily, to say nothing of the efficient aid afforded by the inhabitants, headed by the Incumbent, and Mr Johnson of Wicken and Mr. Miller, surgeon, of Soham, all of whom have taken deep interest in the affair. The Fens, and towns and villages for miles round, have been searched without success, that is, up to Thursday evening last, not drop of water that would float a cork, within three miles, being left uninspected or undragged. All the outports and police-stations in the kingdom have been communicated with, but with the same result. A female at Brighton it is said, to whom he formerly paid attention, has been written to, but she has neither seen nor heard anything of him.

Richard Peak was from Caxton and had joined the police in 1851 aged about 20. He was stationed at Burwell and given responsibility for the village of Wicken.

On 17th August 1855 Peak’s job was to police a crop auction at the Lion public house in Wicken. During the evening Peak was seen getting drinks at the bar out of uniform. He also broke up a small disturbance. The landlord, William Cranwell saw Peake for the last time at 3.15 a.m.

Peake failed to report for work in Burwell at 4 a.m. that morning. Other police was called in to search routes between Wicken and Burwell but he was never found.

In 1880 a skeleton was pulled from a pond in Wicken showing damage to the skull. Later a skeleton was recovered during renovation work at the Anchor in Burwell. Neither of these remains has been shown to be that of PC Peak

End of article.

It is said that people locally knew what had happened to him, but they took this secret to their graves. Until he is found, we will never know his true fate.

18/08/2026

The Sconce March

Based near Eastwood Cemetery in March you will find earthworks that are all that remain of The Sconce, a scheduled monument, likely constructed between 1643-1645 during the early part of the English Civil War.

During the Civil War, March was a Parliamentarian (Cromwell supporters) area however Royalists, (supporters of King Charles I) were not far away in parts of Peterborough, Crowland and Kings Lynn. Fighting occurred along this “border” and many defensive forts were built in the area due to this.

It was thought that the March Sconce was one of these however it was never finished and was roughly built.

Some believe It was built as a training exercise by unskilled workers. Others believe that it was not finished for other reasons, as the strategic location of the Sconce does make sense in the landscape of its time.

Whatever the thoughts are, there is no evidence that it saw “action” but it is definitely an interesting part of our local and national history.

For more details on the Sconce, here is a 1991 report written on behalf of CCC by Oxford Archaeology

https://eprints.oxfordarchaeology.com/4011/1/CCCAFU_report034.pdf

17/08/2026

We have hit our first 100 followers 🤗

Thank you so much to every single one of you.

This is a brand new page just sharing my history nerdiness and it's lovely that you want to see it.

Please invite others who may also be interested in local history

Thank you 😊

16/08/2026

The history of the Forty Foot (40ft) drain (Cambridgeshire)

The drain is very well known in the local area, mainly due to the terrible road conditions that run alongside it seemly a constant issue (see my previous post about peat based roads!).

I travel here daily for livestock upkeep and I often wonder about the history of such an important part of of the local area.

The 40ft is also called Vermuydens Drain. It is referred to as the 40ft as that was the measurement between the two banks when it was built. Many believe that the name refers to the amount dug in a specified time period. There are sources that outline both but my own research tends to favour the bank measurement.

It was cut in around 1651 under the direction of Sir Cornelius Vermuyden as part of the great draining of the fens. It was originally dug to drain Ramsey Mere and joined the Old Bedford River. It now joins 16 ft drain and the eastern end is obsolete.

The conditions would have been really harsh for the people working on it. There were very few skilled workers, and these were mainly Dutch and had more senior roles such as surveyors and engineers.

The majority were prisoners of war, Scottish soldiers who were captured in the battle of Dunbar and Worcester as part of the English civil war. These were later joined by Dutch prisoners and French Protestant refugees.

Makeship camps were made along the drain for these workers to live in. These moved as each section of the drain was completed. They were kept away from local towns and villages partially because of the risk of escaping and also due to hostility of the locals to the drainage project.

The conditions were deplorable. It was cold, exposed and wet with inadequate food or shelter. They had to work long hours in wet conditions with only basic tools of the time. The guards were harsh and attempts to escape or refusal to work was taken very seriously, there was an agreement in place that summary executions without trial could take place.

Hundreds of individuals died of malnutrition, disease or exhaustion during the building of the drains and many of these were as a result of the 40ft cut.

The drainage project was fiercely apposed by locals as it was a complete change of life and many feared that their livelihoods and homes would be significantly effected. The civil war had not long concluded, with a King executed and the country was in a significant round of change. Fen Folk have always been suspicious and isolated from much of the country around them and the additional unrest made this worse.

As a result of this a local movement called the Fen Tigers was formed and they tried many tactics to stop the drainage going ahead. In the end they were not successful and the landscape of the Fens changed forever.

Today the 40ft Drain has a busy road along side which is a main route to surrounding towns, villages and a feeder road to larger places like Peterborough.

The drain itself is managed by the Middle Level Commissioner and is home to many birds and other wildlife. You also see the occasional boat cruising by and people fishing on the bank or magnet fishing on the bridges.

Sadly as in its creation, many people have become victims of the 40ft. There are limited old records but there have been at least 12 deaths in the previous few decades.

A beautiful yet very tragic waterway.

There is a lot of information on the Fen Tigers and the draining of the fens in local museums so I would recommend you take a look.

NB photos are from February 2026 when the road was closed for maintenance. Other photo is from the South 40ft in Lincolnshire but shows how workers may have cut the drain

Thank you James R Anderson for the additional information added to the post 😊

13/08/2026

As part of the Chatteris Burial project, I recently visited Chatteris General Cemetery, or Meeks Cemetery as it’s locally known.

The area around this cemetery has been used to bury individuals for a very long time. There have been burials relating back to Roman, medieval and a former plague cemetery nearby, as well as the New Road Parochial cemetery and of course the church.

Meeks cemetery was opened in the early 1800’s and was a general cemetery which meant that anyone, regardless of faith, could be buried there.

It was called Meeks due to the local family who looked after the cemetery and lived in the lodge.

It closed around 1860, when the larger Parochial cemetery was opened, however there are a few newer burials including some from the First World War.

Looking around it this week, it’s a peaceful ground that has been overtaken by nature. A large number of graves are unmarked or the headstones are so weathered or covered in foliage, that they are ineligible. However it is very well documented with every grave being photographed and named on the find a grave website.

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2491374/meeks-cemetery?

I find it a beautiful yet bitter sweet place to visit. It’s a haven for local wildlife and really has gone back to nature, but also feels like a lot of graves have been forgotten over time.

However a very important part of the Chatteris local history and definitely worth a visit for remembrance and reflection