How much do you know about Ely, Cambridgeshire?

To the Eel Island, An Evening Journey 

In April we are publishing a new book by Charles Moseley, author and Cambridge Lecturer, To the Eel Island. 

Charles Moseley writes about his move from a fenland village to the nearby historic little city of Ely and breathes life into the history, natural world and people who have made his new home what it is today.

The book is a moving exploration of ‘belonging’ and of moving on, of the layers of past generations of the local people who have shaped the new place, and the changes over the years wrought by nature and the shifting Fenland landscape.

Here is a brief history of the Great Fen

https://www.greatfen.org.uk/about-great-fen/heritage/brief-history-great-fen

500 BC - 200 AD: Romans - the water falls and a road is built

500 - 1000: Early medieval period - monasteries appear and a new dyke helps with drainage

1000 - 1500: Late medieval period - an astonishing quantity of fish

1450 -1850: Early modern period - 'Gentleman Adventurers' drain the fens, despite opposition from the 'Fen Tigers'

1840 - 1900: Victorian period - steam power arrives and is used to drain the last mere

1900 - 2000: 20th Century - severe floods and disappearing peat put the future of the Great Fen under threat

2001: Modern day - The most ambitious habitat restoration in Europe is launched