ENGLISH-FENS-L Archives

Archiver > ENGLISH-FENS > 1999-01 > 0916862190


From: "Peter Wright" <>
Subject: Re: Bottisham, CAM.
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 19:56:30 -0000


Hi Sharon,

You ask what does 'Fens' mean? The fens are a geographic, rather than
adminstrative area, of England, sprawling across several counties including
parts of Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Huntingdonshire and Norfolk.

They were originally marshland which has been drained progressively since
Roman times. They may still be reclaiming land from the Wash ( the bay
between Norfolk and Lincolnshire). The land is all flat and is at, near or
below sea level, and is characterised by its straight, though bumpy roads
and its straight artificial rivers and drains, many of which are above the
level of the surrounding land. The original marshes had many islands and
this was where most villages and towns were sited. The place name ending
'ey' or 'ea' means island.

It is now an area of rich arable land with mainly silt soil in the north and
east and peat soil in the south and west. Its isolation before the main
drainage efforts lead to its people having an independent streak - 'fen
tigers', as they refered to themselves.

Its beauty, well that is definitely in the eye of the beholder, I hated it
when I first moved there as a child (flat, boring and windy) but soon grew
to love it (big skies, long views). It is an acquired taste, but now I no
longer live there, I miss it.

I Hope this helps,

Peter Wright

-----Original Message-----
From: Sharon Bagnall <>
To: <>
Date: 20 January 1999 04:28
Subject: Bottisham, CAM.

>Hello Listers,
> Thank you for your warm welcome Clive. I have only been listening
in
>for a few days and have found the mail lists very interesting.
> My name is Sharon BAGNALL and I am from Wollongong(just south of
>Sydney), on the South Coast of N.S.W., Australia. I am a Trained Nurse and
I
>think you would call me a health visitor/midwife over there.
> My interests are exclusively from Bottisham, CAM., and my surname
>interests are: WHITE, SPALDING, BENTLEY, CHRISTMAS, STULMAN?, KING,
>HOUTCHEN, MARSH, BARTON, MUNNS(MUNES), NORMAN, EAGLE, JAGGARD, SCOTT,
>SKARLING, OSBOURNE, NELSON. The name of NORMAN takes me back to 1621 still
>in Bottisham.
> If anyone has any interest in the above names or can tell me a bit
>about Bottisham today or in the past, I would love to hear from you.
> I don't mean to sound dense and I suppose I should look it up but
>what does FENS mean???
> Regards,
> Sharon Bagnall
> From hot & humid
Wollongong,NSW,AUST.
>

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