Fen Skating - Fen Skaters - Welney Skaters

Welney Skaters

Welney, a small village on the banks of the Old Bedford River, in the heart of the Fens on the Cambridgeshire-Norfolk border and three miles from the nearest railway station, produced so many top skaters that it became known as the "metropolis of speed skating". Members of the Smart and See families dominated British skating for two generations.

Turkey Smart (1830-1919) was champion in the 1850s. Gutta Percha See (1832-1898) usually ran second to his brother-in-law Turkey Smart, although he had a better season in 1861. Both Turkey Smart and Gutta Percha See continued to race long past their prime, and were still taking to the ice for exhibition races in their sixties. Of Turkey Smart’s six sons only one – James - became a skater. Gutta Percha’s sons George and Isaac both became top skaters.

Fish Smart (1856-1909) was champion for a decade from 1878. He gained his name from his swimming prowess. His father, Charles Smart, had been a fast skater but had never mastered the art of slowing down for the barrel turn so had never featured in racing. Fish Smart’s younger brothers Jarman Smart and James Smart were also top skaters. Over a ten-year period Fish Smart was virtually unbeatable. He was a popular sportsman; a poem was composed in his honour and a racehorse was named after him. Fish Smart left Welney to work on construction sites around England and had a spell in Egypt working on the unfinished Sudanese railway, but returned to skate in the Fens when it froze. In January 1889 he relinquished his title to his younger brother James. Fish Smart was killed in an accident at work on Hull dockyard railway in 1909.

James Smart (1865-1928) was the youngest brother of Fish and Jarman Smart. Unlike his brother Fish and uncle Turkey he always skated under his real name; attempts to call him Eagle to distinguish him from his cousin James Turkey Smart did not stick. He won the professional title of Great Britain in 1890, 1895 and 1900 and the Littleport Cup in 1892. He also won a world championship and a Dutch championship. Having spent some time training in Norway, he set up an agency to sell Norwegian skates in Britain.

George See (1862-1946) usually skated second to his cousins Fish Smart and James Smart, but took the British professional title in December 1892 when James Smart refused to defend his title. George’s younger brother Isaac See was four times placed in the professional championship but never won.

Other top skaters from Welney included: George, Robert and Tom Watkinson, John Hills, John Wiles, Robert Naylor, Knocker Carter, bricklayer Harry Kent, and the Hawes brothers, brickmakers Alfred, William and James. Jane Winters, one of the fastest women skaters, came from Upwell but lived in Welney after marrying a Welney man. The Loveday brothers were top amateur skaters.