An exhibition at Peckover House has prompted a member of staff at the riverside property to pen a book detailing the life and times of Georgian Wisbech.

Cambs Times: Diane Calton Smith has written a book, A Georgian House On The Brink.Picture: Steve Williams.Diane Calton Smith has written a book, A Georgian House On The Brink.Picture: Steve Williams. (Image: Archant)

Dianne Calton Smith, who has worked at Peckover for nine years, wrote her book, A Georgian House on the Brink, after helping set up an exhibition at the venue last year.

“Somebody asked if they could have my notes about the displays, but I didn’t really have any notes to speak of, which is when I decided to write a book,” she said.

She began by exploring the early life of the house which spread into discovering what 1700s Wisbech and the Fens would have been like to live in at that time.

She said: “The Wisbech that emerges, using old maps, letters and books for research, brings a great many surprises as well as feeling comfortably familiar.

“A colourful, vibrant town with its busy port and market comes to light, complete with eccentric characters and strange facts.”

She said that discovering a world that used to exist on our doorstep had been fascinating, so much so, that the more she found out, the more she wanted to know.

Ms Calton Smith has always lived in and around Fenland and over the years has written poetry, articles and short stories based on the landscape she loves.

Writing a history of the area seemed a natural next step, she said, and she has found A Georgian House on the Brink, a real pleasure to write.

The book is published by New Generation and is available locally at the Peckover House gift shop, Wisbech and Fenland Museum and Etcetera. It is also available through Waterstones Online and Amazon at £9.99.