Wisbech St Mary Civil Parish

The southern boundary of the parish is the north bank of the tidal river Nene.

The western boundary proceeds north from the river Nene at Cross Guns along the New Wryde Drain beyond Thorney Toll to the site of the dismantled M & GN Railway north of Bishop Lands.

The northern boundary runs from Bishop Lands to Mill Road, Murrow and then along the southern side of Back Road, Murrow until it reaches Seadyke Road and onwards to Bellamy’s Bridge. It continues along the White Engine Drain to Cheney Bridge and then to Barrett’s Bridge, at the junction with Panswell Lane.

The eastern boundary runs south from Barrett’s Bridge along Panswell Lane and then across the fields to the eastern end of the village of Wisbech St Mary. Continuing south along the western side of Bevis Lane, the boundary meets the river Nene at Bevis Hall.

Wisbech St Mary’s neighbouring parishes are Parson Drove to the to the north, Gorefield to the north-east, Wisbech St Peter to the east, Elm to the south and Thorney to the west.

The parish includes the villages of Guyhirn, Murrow and Wisbech St Mary together with the hamlets of Tholomas Drove and Thorney Toll. It is situated in the Wisbech Hundred, the Petty Sessional Division of Fenland, the Fenland District Council, the Cambridgeshire County Council and the Parliamentary Constituency of North-east Cambridgeshire.

The civil parish includes the ecclesiastical parishes of Wisbech Saint Mary, and Guyhirn and Rings End and part of the parish of Southea with Murrow. These lie in the Wisbech Deanery, the Archdeaconry of Wisbech and the Diocese of Ely. (See churches) There are three Methodist chapels.

The soil of the parish is loam with strong clay subsoil. The main occupation is farming with corn, root crops and fruit as the main crops. The parish covers some ten thousand acres of land that is well drained. The southern boundary of the parish is the north bank of the tidal river Nene. There are two main pumping stations that lift the water from numerous drains and dykes into the Nene. The parish lies within the North Level Drainage Commission.

The population of the civil parish is approximately 3000.

Education is provided for about 600 pupils in three primary schools; Wisbech St Mary and Guyhirn Church of England schools and Murrow County School. (See schools)

The parish has benefited from several charities since the beginning of the seventeenth century. The main benefactors were John Bend and Francis Hardy who left bequests to assist the poor and educate the children respectively. Additionally fifteen cottages were erected in 1835 to house poor labourers who paid rent of one shilling each year.