Welney is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

the Fens The Fens or Fenlands in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a system o ...

of England and the county of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. The village is about south-west of the town of

Downham Market Downham Market, sometimes simply referred to as Downham, is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Norfolk, England. It lies on the edge of the Fens, on the River Great Ouse, approximately 11 miles south of King's Lynn, 39 ...

, south of the town of

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

and west of the city of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. The county boundary with

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

is adjacent, with the city of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

to the south. Welney is immediately to the west of the

Old Bedford River The Old Bedford River is an artificial, partial diversion of the waters of the River Great Ouse in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England. It was named after the Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford, fourth Earl of Bedford who contracted with the ...

, River Delph and

New Bedford River The New Bedford River, also known as the Hundred Foot Drain because of the distance between the tops of the two embankments on either side of the river, is a navigable man-made cut-off or by-pass channel of the River Great Ouse in the Fens of C ...

, which are parallel channels and are here crossed by the A1101 road. Welney is on the

Ouse Washes Ouse Washes is a linear biological Site of Special Scientific Interest stretching from near St Ives, Cambridgeshire, St Ives in Cambridgeshire to Downham Market in Norfolk, England. It is also a Ramsar site, Ramsar internationally important we ...

, an area of

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

conservation. WWT Welney, near the village, is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

in the care of the

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is an international wildfowl and wetland conservation charity in the United Kingdom. History The trust was founded in 1946 by the ornithologist and artist Sir Peter Scott as the Severn Wildfowl Trust. ...

. Nearby there are also the RSPB Ouse Washes, a reserve managed by the

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

. The parish covers an area of and had a population of 528 in 217 households at the 2001 census, which had increased to 542 by the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local government the parish falls within the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

King's Lynn and West Norfolk King's Lynn and West Norfolk is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in the town of King's Lynn. The district also includes the t ...

History

In the 14th century Welney was called ''Wellenhe'', meaning ‘a river called Welle’ (the old name of the Old Croft River). In the 18th century

Woad ''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, dyer's-weed, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, ''Isati ...

was grown in the parish. In 1820 a road was built from Welney across

The Wash The Wash is a shallow natural rectangular bay and multiple estuary on the east coast of England in the United Kingdom. It is an inlet of the North Sea and is the largest multiple estuary system in the UK, as well as being the largest natural ba ...

to the

(also known as the Hundred Foot Drain), where a ferry-boat was established opposite the public house of Thomas Golding, formerly Washington's; this provided a direct route into

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

through

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and ...

from

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

, Ely and Cambridge. In the second half of the 19th century Welney became significant for its skaters. On 21 February 1855 Turkey Smart of Welney became champion skater of the Fens. James Smart of Welney became champion on 21 January 1891. William Loveday of Welney came 2nd to James Aveling of March in the amateur championship. St Mary's Church in Welney is dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

References

External links

* .
Information from Genuki Norfolk
on Welney.
Welney's website
{{authority control Villages in Norfolk King's Lynn and West Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk

History

Further reading

References

External links