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
Wisbech Film Archive. A 1963 drama filmed using boats from Wisbech. 1975 Anglia TV report about the first purpose-built traveller site in GB. EAFA. Wisbech is noted for its unspoilt Georgian architecture, particularly along North Brink and The Crescent. It has been used in BBC One's 1999 adaptation of Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield" and ITV1's 2001 adaptation of "Micawber", starring David Jason. In 2000 The Antiques Roadshow was recorded at the Hudson Leisure centre. A "Wisbech Rock Festival" appears in the 1998 British comedy film "Still Crazy"starring Stephen Rea, Jimmy Nail, Billy Connolly and Timothy Spall, Bill Nighy, Juliet Aubrey, Helena