March town centre

SO what do you know about your town, what do you think you know, and what might we have got wrong about your town? Jamie Clarke posts some facts and figures but which one is most definitely wrong?

March town centre

•Modern March lies on the path of the Roman road, the Fen Causeway and there is evidence of Roman settlements in the area.

•In geological terms the Fens are some of the youngest landscapes in Britain, created by glacial deposits from the last ice age.

•St Wendreda, to whom the church is dedicated, is the town’s own saint and the only known church dedication to this saint is here. The church is world famous for its beautiful double-hammer beam roof and together with 120 carved angels.

•In 1872, The Cambridgeshire Times reported that Queen Victoria arrived for lunch at the Griffin for lunch only to be told that it was the chef’s day off.

March town centre

•In 1849, Cholera killed 441 people and drew Government attention to the Town and its sanitation or lack of it. March was regarded as the worst place in the country and drastic action was required to provide fresh water, drainage, clean streets and privies (toilets) for everyone. It was only until 1960 that March had its own sewage system in place.

•March was once a minor port town but the River Nene is now mainly occupied by pleasure boats. March’s market has a rich history also and date’s back to the 16th century.

•Whitemoor marshalling yard – opened in 1929 – was once one of the busiest and biggest in Europe during the late 1930’s. It served as a marshalling yard for the old London North Eastern Railway and came to prominence during the Second World War. However, from the 1960s it began to decline and later became derelict. It is now used as a recycling depot by Network Rail.

•The March March march is a walk from March to Cambridge, which has been performed annually in the month of March by students and academics from Cambridge University since 1979.