The Fens - Fen Settlements

Fen Settlements

Many historic cities, towns and villages have grown up in the fens, sited chiefly on the few areas of raised ground. These include:

• Boston, port and administrative centre of the Borough of Boston;
• Chatteris, a market town;
• Crowland, one of the Fen Five monasteries; also a medieval triangular bridge;
• Ely (meaning "Isle of Eels"), whose cathedral – one of the Fen Five monasteries – is known as the "Ship of the Fens"; administrative centre of the East Cambridgeshire District Council;
• Holbeach, a market town;
• Littleport, a large village approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Ely;
• Little Thetford, settled on a boulder clay island within the fens since the Bronze Age, 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Ely;
• Long Sutton, a market town and home to UK's largest food cannery;
• March, a market town and administrative centre of the Fenland District;
• Market Deeping, a market town;
• Peterborough, the largest of the many settlements along the fen edge and sometimes called the "Gateway to the Fens"; its cathedral is one of the Fen Five monasteries; administrative centre of the Peterborough Unitary Authority;
• Ramsey, a market town; one of the Fen Five monasteries;
• Spalding, a market town, administrative centre of South Holland, and famed for its annual Flower Parade;
• Thorney, one of the Fen Five monasteries; later model village and agricultural estates of the Dukes of Bedford;
• Whittlesey, a market town; annual Straw Bear Festival;
• Wisbech ("capital of the fens"), a market town.

Ancient sites include:

• Flag Fen, a Bronze Age settlement.