Wisbech prior to drainage schemes, it sat on the river Great Ouse. The port is Cambridgeshire's only gateway to the sea. In 1631 Sir Cornelius Vermuyden built the Horseshoe Sluice at Wisbech at a cost of £8,000. In 1680 the trade of Wisbech had increased sufficiently for the port to be reckoned independent and no longer a member of King's Lynn. In 1720 the corporation was licensed to buoy the channel for the first time. By 1751 it was possible in a dry year to walk across the river bed under Wisbech Bridge. Ship building was carried out in the late
Port of Wisbech Port of Wisbech Port of Wisbech is an inland port on River Nene in Wisbech, United Kingdom. It is mainly used for cargo and industrial purposes nowadays. Southern part of the port houses a number of berths for yachts. Regular shipments from and to Europe, mostly timber and forest goods from Baltic states. Wisbech served as a port in medieval times. After the estuary of the River Ouse became silted up, it was diverted into the sea at King's Lynn. This led to the construction of the present course of the River Nene from Peterborough to the Wash. The drained