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Wisbech & Fenland Museum

1847 establishments in EnglandCharles DickensDecorative arts museums in EnglandFenland DistrictFossil museums
Geology museumsLocal museums in CambridgeshireMuseums established in 1835Museums established in 1847Museums in CambridgeshireNatural history museums in EnglandPhotography museums and galleries in EnglandTheatre museumsUse British English from October 2019Wisbech
Museum Square. geograph.org.uk 1091228
Museum Square. geograph.org.uk 1091228

The Wisbech & Fenland Museum, located in the town of Wisbech in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, is one of the oldest purpose-built museums in the United Kingdom. The museum logo is W&F.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Wisbech & Fenland Museum (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Wisbech & Fenland Museum
Museum Square, Fenland District

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Wikipedia: Wisbech & Fenland MuseumContinue reading on Wikipedia

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N 52.663857 ° E 0.160976 °
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Museum Square

Museum Square
Fenland District
England, United Kingdom
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Museum Square. geograph.org.uk 1091228
Museum Square. geograph.org.uk 1091228
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Nearby Places

The Crescent, Wisbech
The Crescent, Wisbech

The Crescent consists of rows of terraced houses and religious buildings laid out as a circus in the town of Wisbech, England. Initiated by the developer Joseph Medworth and built between 1794 and c1815, it is a rare examples of a Georgian circus to be found in the United Kingdom. Most properties have Grade I or Grade II listed building status. Although some changes have been made to the various sites over the years, much of the Georgian facade remains as it was when first built. This development now lies within the Wisbech Conservation Area.Although locally referred to as The Crescent, the development consists of a circus including The Crescent, Union Place, Ely Place surrounding Medworth's former residence, the Regency period villa known as The Castle with two squares at either end (Museum Square and Castle Square). The museum was added in 1847 on a plot that had not belonged to Medworth. The two Places are separated by Market Street. This was created after Medworth bought from Mr John Powell a house that stood where the entrance to Market Street now is, and promptly demolished it. Later part of the Castle Estate was walled off to create a public space on which a war memorial was subsequently built.Many notable people have either lived or stayed in the circus since it was built over 200 years ago, and some are commemorated on special plaques attached to the relevant buildings. Some of the circus townhouses are still in residential use, others have been converted into office accommodation. A modern public library now occupies the site of a former chapel and a former chapel was converted into a Freemasons lodge.

Wisbech Castle
Wisbech Castle

Wisbech Castle was a stone to motte-and-bailey castle built to fortify Wisbech (historically in the Isle of Ely and now also in the Fenland District of Cambridgeshire, England) on the orders of William I in 1072, it probably replaced an earlier timber and turf complex. The layout was probably oval in shape and size, on the line still marked by the Circus. The original design and layout is unknown. It was rebuilt in stone in 1087. The castle was reputedly destroyed in a flood in 1236. In the 15th century, repairs were becoming too much for the ageing structure, and a new building was started in 1478 under John Morton, Bishop of Ely (later Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of England). His successor, John Alcock, extended and completed the re-building and died in the Castle in 1500. Subsequent bishops also spent considerable sums on this new palace. The Bishop's Palace was built of brick with dressings of Ketton Stone, but its exact location is unknown. In later Tudor times, the rebuilt castle became a notorious prison. The site was again redeveloped in the mid-17th century and yet again in 1816 by Joseph Medworth. A 1794 plan of the 'castle' exists; this only shows the 'castle' as it existed at the end of the 18th century, prior to the development of the site to its current form. The Regency building known as The Castle, Museum Square, Wisbech PE13 3ES was given Grade II* listed status on 31 October 1983 following the vaults Grade II listed in 1969. It now stands in the middle of a circus.