Fen skating is a traditional form of ice skating in the Fenland of England. The Fens of East Anglia, with their easily flooded meadows, form an ideal skating terrain. Bone skates have been found in the area dating back to the medieval period.
It is not known when the first skating matches were held, but by the early nineteenth century they had become a feature of cold winters in the Fens. The golden age of fen skating was the second half of the nineteenth century, when thousands of people turned out to watch such legendary skaters as Larman Register, William "Turkey" Smart, (William) "Gutta Percha" See, and brothers George 'Fish' Smart (1858–1909) and James Smart (1865–1928). Members of the Bury Fen Bandy Club published rules of the game in 1882, and introduced it into other countries. The National Skating Association was set up in Cambridge in 1879 and took the top few fen skaters to the Netherlands, where they had a brief moment of international glory with James Smart becoming Britain's only ever world champion speed skater. The twentieth century saw a decline in the popularity of fen skating.
Early history While it is not known when and how metal-bladed skates were introduced into Britain from the continent, where they had been in use since the 13th century or earlier, in the fens metal skates were in use by the seventeenth century; before this people had attached sharpened animal bones to their feet to travel on ice.E Porter 1969 Fenland skating. Cambridgeshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough Life, February issue.
William Fitzstephen described skating on the Thames in the 12th century. Diarists Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn both recorded seeing skating on the canal in St. James's Park in London during the winter of 1662. Pepys wrote "...over to the Parke (where I first in my life, it being great frost, did see people sliding with their skeats which is a very pretty art)...".J Slater and A Bunch 2000 Fen speed skating: an illustrated history. March. As a recreation, means of transport and spectator sport, skating in the Fens was popular with people from all walks of life. Racing was the preserve of workers, most of them agricultural labourers. It is not known when the first skating matches were held, but by the early nineteenth-century racing was well established and the results of matches were reported in the press.
In January 1763 on the river at Wisbech, Hare of Thorney raced against a Danish sailor, the first day for 20 guineas and the second for 50 Guineas, the Dane winning both races. Also in January John Lamb and George Fawn skated between Wisbech and Whittlesey, around 25 km (15 miles) for Ten Guineas a side. Lamb came home first in 46 minutes.
An early advocate of the use of skates that could be screwed to the heels of boots (rather than tied to the boot) was the accomplished figure skater 'Captain' Robert Jones in his 1772 book A Treatise on Skating. Skates based on his designs were soon in manufacture in London.
In February 1810 a newspaper reported "On Monday, se'nnight, a silver cup was skaited for upon the rivet at Wisbech, which drew, together a great concourse of people from all parts of the neighbourhood, it was supposed there were at least 3000 persons upon the ice. The cup was won by a man of the name of Johnson, of Wimblington."
On Christmas Eve 1819 the Stamford Mercury published the challenge to skate a two- or four-mile course for any sum between twenty and one hundred pounds by Mr John Staplee of Croyland Bank.
On 17 January 1820 Croyland (Crowland) a £5 prize and 2-mile heats saw 18-year-old Charles Staplee (Crowland Bank) beat Mr. Young (Nordolph). In the other heat, Mr. Gettam beat John Staplee (Crowland Bank) and Gettam beat Charles Staplee in the final. Girdham, the poor fenman who skated the mile seven seconds under the three minutes on Thursday 4 January 1821, below Ely, unfortunately lost his life that night on his way home, by skating with great velocity against the trunk of a willow tree, not far distant from his own house at Upwell, on the river Cam. In January 1821 Staplee the younger beat May of Wisbech in a two-mile challenge at Crowland Wash for five Guineas a side.
In 1823 a Wisbech coach is shown in the background of a Chatteris skating match illustration by George Cruikshank. The cold winters of the 1820s and 1830s saw a number of fenmen make a name for themselves as skaters. They included: John Gittam and John Young of Nordelph; the Drake brothers of Chatteris; Perkins and Cave of Sutton; James May of Upwell; waterman John Berry of Ramsey; the Egars of Thorney; the Staples of Crowland; and William Needham of March.
Matches When it froze, skating matches were held in towns and villages all over the Fens. In these local matches, men (or sometimes women or children) would compete for prizes of money, clothing, or food. "During severe winters it is no uncommon thing to see joints of meat hung outside the village pub, to be skated for on the morrow".Cycling, 19 January 1895, p 19. The winners of local matches were invited to take part in the grand or championship matches in which skaters from across the Fens would compete for cash prizes in front of crowds of thousands.
The championship matches took the form of a Welsh main or "last man standing" contest. The competitors, 16 or sometimes 32, were paired off in heats and the winner of each heat went through to the next round. The farmers and gentry who organised the matches would raise a subscription for prize money. £10 was a typical purse in the mid-nineteenth century, with about half going to the winner and the rest divided amongst the other runners according to how far they had got in the contest. This was at a time when agricultural labourers typically earned about 11 shillings a week.
A course of 660 yards was measured out on the ice, and a barrel with a flag on it placed at either end. The course was divided down the middle with more barrels, sods of earth or piles of snow. The skaters were drawn in pairs, and started one either side of the barrel, skate down the course, round the barrel and back again, with each skater keeping to their own side of the ice. For a one-and-a-half-mile race, the skaters completed two rounds of the course, with three barrel turns. If there were 16 competitors the winner and runner-up would have skated a total of 6 miles.
There were also matches for women although they did not attract quite the same attention or prize money as the men's matches. The Cambridge Chronicle, after a long account of a match at Ely in February 1855 in which Turkey Smart beat Larman Register to win £7, told readers merely that "the white-bonneted Mepal girl won 10 shillings easily, and beat the Lynn girl – a good race".Cambridge Chronicle, 24 February 1855, p 8. By the 1890s the women had at least acquired names; the Hunts County Guardian reported in February 1892 that Mrs. Winters of Welney had beaten 13-year-old Miss Dewsbury of Little Thetford in the final of a half-mile match at Littleport.Hunts County Guardian, 27 February 1892.
As well as competing in matches, the top skaters issued challenges via the press. James Egar, aged 24 who died on 8 May 1823, the second son of Mr. Egar, of Thorney Fen; was one of the three brothers whose proficiency in skating led them to give a challenge to all England. Brothers Larman and Robert Register announced in the Cambridge Chronicle in 1853 that they could be backed to skate any two skaters in England for £20. And three years later Larman Register had teamed up with his vanquisher Turkey Smart to issue a similar challenge.
Another challenge for the fastest men was the straight mile with a flying start. In 1821 a Newmarket man made a wager of 100 guineas that a skater could cover a mile in three minutes. John Gittam of Nordelph won him his wager at Prickwillow with 7 seconds to spare. A generation later Turkey Smart was backed to skate a mile in two-and-a-half minutes, but failed by 2 seconds.
Fen skates
The oldest known Fen skates are thought to be from the 18th century. Some - a pair in the Museum of Cambridge, for example were made entirely of iron. In the Fens skates were called pattens, fen runners, or Whittlesey runners. The footstock was made of beechwood. A screw at the back was screwed into the heel of the boot, and three small spikes at the front kept the skate steady. There were holes in the footstock for leather straps to fasten it to the foot. The metal blades were slightly higher at the back than the front. In the 1890s fen skaters started to race in Norwegian-style skates. The Wisbech & Fenland Museum exhibits include a wide range of skates including early examples made from bone (found on Welney Marsh), pattens and Norwegian-style skates, as well as other fenland sports and past times. (https://www.wisbechmuseum.org.uk)
1800–1824 In February 1814 a local newspaper reported 'On Wednesday se’nnight a purse of eight guineas was skaited for on Wisbech river, by eight of the principal runners in the neighbourhood, which was won by a young man from Thorney, named Hickling. The number of spectators it is supposed exceeded 3000.' John Peck in his diary records going to Wisbech on Boxing Day 1815 to see a skating match on the River Nene 'between S. Jealous and R. Reynolds; won easily by Jealous'. He reports other matches in February 1816 On 21 February 1816 a subscription purse (free prize) was given by the Gentlemen of Wisbech, to be skated for on the river near the town, which was won by Joseph Peck, of Parson Drove, beating H. Green, of March, and six others. The novelty of seeing two young ladies, Miss S. Ulyat and Miss Peck, from Parson Drove, skating on the slippery element, attracted a universal notice.
The Cambridge Chronicle reported on a match in 1820.
On Monday 30th 1822 eight of the principal runners (matched as follows) Young and Magnis, May and Cave, Bradford and Hicklin, and Berry and Drake, skated for a prize of ten guineas. Young, May, Bradford and Drake were the four winning men, and ran in the following order for the prize: May beat Young, Bradford beat Drake, May beat Bradford; the last race was so strongly contested that there was scarcely half a-yard difference between the men. On 31st another prize, of ten sovereigns, was skated for at Chatteris, which was won by Young, who beat Cave, Gittam, May and Bradford with apparent ease.
On 14 January 1823 a match for a prize of ten sovereigns took place on the Forty-foot river near Chatteris. First heats Varlo of Benwick beat Drake of Chatteris; Green of March beat Burgess of Whittlesea; Bradford of Farcott beat Middlewitch of Newmarket; Young of Nordelph beat Cave of Sutton; Gittam of Nordelph beat Angood of Chatteris; May of Upwell beat Berry of Ramsey; Richardson of Glassom beat Minett of Manea. Second Heats Green beat Varlo; Bradford beat Terrey; Young beat Gittam; May beat Richardson. Third heats Bradford beat Green; May beat Richardson. Final Young beat Bradford. Little betting took place although there were said to be more than 6,000 present.
On 24 January a grand skating match took place on Wisbech River, sixteen of the first rate skaters from various places in the neighbourhood, on Friday for 10 sovereigns. FIRST HEATS. Winners. Trower, Upwell beat Eat, of Parson Drove; Cox, of Upwell beat Wright, of Parson Drove; Bartis, of Wisbech beat Pogson, of Wisbech St. Mary; Torry, of Wisbech beat Taylor, of Parsondrove; Burgess, of Outwell beat Cook of Postland; Thomas Youngs, of Northdelph beat Green, of March; May, of Upwell Beat Drake, of Chatteris; John Youngs, of Northdelph beat Egar, of Thorney. SECOND HEATS Trower beat Cox; Torry beat Pogson; Thomas Youngs beat Burgess; John Youngs beat May. Third heats Trower beat Torry; John Youngs beat Thomas Youngs. THIRD HEATS Trower beat Torry; Thomas Youngs beat John Youngs.