Wisbech Ouse being a common Celtic word relating to water, and the name of a river that once flowed through the town. Alternatively, the first element may derive from the River Whissey which used to run to Wisbech or possibly ‘marshy-meadow valley or ridge’. OE Wisc or wisc + bece or baec. During the Iron Age, the area where Wisbech would develop lay in the west of the Brythonic Iceni tribe's territory. Icenian coins are known from both March and Wisbech. Like the rest of Cambridgeshire, Wisbech was part of the Kingdom of East Anglia after the Anglo-Saxon invasion. The first
Wisbech Gote down to the far end of Upwell at Welney. Wisbech Castle was built by William I to fortify the town. In 1216, King John of England visited the castle as he came from Bishop’s Lynn. Tradition has it that his baggage train was lost to the incoming tide of The Wash. Treasure hunters still seek the lost royal treasure. Edward IV visited Wisbech in 1469. The register of Bishop Fordham of Ely appoints a Master of the Grammar Scholars in 1407 (the Grammar School dates back to 1379 or earlier). The Charter of Edward VI, 1 June 1549 raised