From the 17th century onwards small communities developed at the edge of the Fens to serve the growing local industries of turf and sedge cutting.
A picture taken in 1988 of the cottage before restoration
Living conditions in the cottages were very basic. Drinking water was obtained from a pump by the road-side. each dwelling had a bucket-closet, emptied at night by the soil-man.
The Bucket-closet
This example of a Fenland cottage has been restored as part of the historical display at Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire.
I am semi-retired after a career in medical sciences. I now work from home doing independent research and consultancy amongst other things. One advantage of this is that I do have time to indulge my interests including birdwatching, natural history, steam trains and history particularly ancient history.
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Reblogged this on sed30's Blog.