Wisbech Stirs Wisbech Stirs The Wisbech Stirs was a divisive quarrel between English Roman Catholic clergy held prisoner in Wisbech Castle in Cambridgeshire, towards the end of the reign of Elizabeth I of England. It set the regular clergy represented by the Society of Jesus, emerging as clerical leaders, who wished for a more ordered communal life in the prison, against some of the secular clergy. The arguments came to a head in 1594–5, and were then patched up, but distrust continued; the Stirs foreshadowed two generations of conflict, including the Archpriest Controversy, and the troubles over the Old Chapter, which likewise
Wisbech the population of Wisbech was 33,933, of whom 16,800 were male and 17,133 female. 6,748 were aged under 18 and 7,156 over 65. In 2014 it was reported by a popular national newspaper that of the town's 28,000 population 5,000 (about 18%) were Lithuanians. Several official places (libraries, surgeries, local council) provide translations into Lithuanian, as well as Polish, Latvian, Russian and Portuguese. The riverside location and fertile soils surrounding Wisbech allowed the town to flourish. The first half of the 19th century was a very prosperous time for the town and in 1851 the population was 9,594. It decreased