River Wissey - History

History

Documentary evidence for the history of the river is scarce, compared to the neighbouring River Lark and River Little Ouse, both of which had a sizeable town at the head of navigation, whereas the Wissey does not. The Wissey is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, when it was navigable from "Oxenburgh" to King's Lynn and Cambridge, and there are remains of a medieval settlement near the river at Oxborough Ferry. It was mentioned in 1575, when the Commissioners of Sewers, meeting at King's Lynn, ruled that it should be cleared and made wider between Stokebridge and Whittington, and that the bridge at Stoke Ferry should be repaired. This bridge was contentious, as the Abbot of Ely lost the ferry tolls when it was built. He destroyed it, to protect his income, but was required to re-instate it by the Hundred Court.

There were wharfs at Oxborough Hithe in the 1750s, handling trade in coal and grain, and evidence of boathouses 1-mile (1.6 km) further upstream at Northwold. The only Act of Parliament which covered the Wissey was passed in 1814, and this was more concerned with drainage than with navigation. Commissioners were appointed, who had responsibility for drainage in the parishes of Northwold, Stoke Ferry, Wereham, West Dereham and Wretton. They were empowered to widen the river between Hilgay Creek's End and Stoke Bridge, with the cost being borne by local landowners. They could also levy tolls on anyone using the north bank, although they could only use such tolls to repair the bank.

Trade continued to the wharf at Oxborough Hithe and to another at Stoke Ferry until at least 1858, and may have continued for years afterwards, as the railway from Denver did not arrive until 1882. A barge called Wissey was operated by J Coston from Hilgay, which was known to have reached Cambridge in 1896 and 1898. In the 1930s, A Jackson was trading corn from Stoke Ferry, while one of the busiest times for the river was between 1925 and 1943. Wissington sugar-beet factory was opened in 1925, and until 1941 could only be reached by river or by the Wissington Light Railway, which crossed the river at the western edge of the factory. The site was then requisitioned by the Ministry of Agriculture who used Italian prisoners of war to refurbish the railway and construct roads to the factory. Three tugs, named Hilgay, Littleport and Wissington were used to pull a fleet of 24 steel barges, which were used to take the beet to King's Lynn during the winter months and to bring coal in the reverse direction during the summer.