75-501: Wisbech Town Hall is a historic building on North Brink, Wisbech , Isle of Ely , Cambridgeshire , England. The building incorporates the offices, council chamber and mayor's parlour of Wisbech Town Council , and is a Grade II listed building . The first town hall in Wisbech was a medieval building in Hill Street which dated from the 14th century. It was used as a guildhall and also as
150-439: A comic : "Fool your teachers, amaze your friends—send 6d in stamps and become a ventriloquist!" and sending off for the book. Not long after, his father bought him a ventriloquist's dummy and Ken called it Charlie Brown. He started entertaining at the local orphanage, then at various other local community functions. His distinctive buck teeth were the result of a cycling accident after a group of school friends dared him to ride
225-592: A ' Commission of Sewers ' meeting at the Castle, a crowd of soldiers plundered shops of some of his supporters. The town was near the frontier of the Parliamentary and Royalist forces in 1643. The Castle and town were put into a state of readiness and reinforced. A troop of horse was raised. Locally based troops took part in the Siege of Crowland in 1642. The town controlled the route from Lincolnshire to Norfolk particularly during
300-476: A ballad singer in the 1960s, and occasionally appeared in dramatic roles. He performed on radio and television and popularised the characters of the Diddy Men . Dodd was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to entertainment and charity. His stage career lasted for over 60 years, and he continued to perform until the end of 2017; he died on 11 March 2018, aged 90. Dodd was born on 8 November 1927 in
375-546: A ballad singer, Dodd occasionally released comedy novelty records , including the 1965 EP Doddy and the Diddy Men , featuring the song "Where's Me Shirt?" which Dodd co-wrote. In the 1960s, his fame in the UK was such that he rivalled the Beatles as a household name, and his records have sold millions worldwide. In 2021, Ken Dodd's recording of "Love is Like a Violin" was featured in
450-778: A bicycle with his eyes closed. Aged 18, he began working as a travelling salesman, and used his work van to travel to comedy clubs in the evenings. Before becoming a full-time professional performer, mostly on stage, his first known appearance on radio was in Variety Fanfare (producer: Ronnie Taylor , venue: Hulme Hippodrome ) made by the BBC in Manchester in 1950–1952. He said he gained his big break at age 26 when, in September 1954, he made his professional show-business debut as Professor Yaffle Chucklebutty, Operatic Tenor and Sausage Knotter at
525-507: A crowd formed and smashed the windows of Meacock's residence on the North Brink. The police charged the crowds and cleared the streets. The Wisbech Canal joining the River Nene at Wisbech was subsequently filled in and became the dual carriageway leading into the town from the east (now crossing the bypass). Wisbech War Memorial was unveiled on 24 July 1921. In 1929 The Wisbech Pageant
600-403: A field and the other in a residential area. Two houses and a bungalow were demolished on Ramnoth Road, causing the death of Bob Bowers, his two-year-old son Jonathan Bowers, and former town mayor Bill Trumpess. The 5-mile (8 km), £6 million A47 Wisbech/West Walton bypass opened in spring 1982. The Horsefair shopping centre opened by Noel Edmunds in 1988 is on part of Hill Street and
675-655: A former farmhouse in Knotty Ash , a suburb of Liverpool , to Arthur Dodd and Sarah (née Gray). He had an older brother, William and a younger sister, June. He went to the Knotty Ash School, and sang in the local church choir of St John's Church, Knotty Ash . He was to live in Knotty Ash all his life, dying in the house in which he was born, and often referred to the area—as well as its mythical " jam butty mines" and " black pudding plantations"—in his act. During
750-779: A place in The Guinness Book of Records for the world's longest ever joke-telling session: 1,500 jokes in three-and-a-half hours (7.14 jokes per minute), undertaken at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool , where audiences entered the show in shifts. Dodd appeared in many Royal Variety Performances . The last was in 2006, in front of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla , at the London Coliseum . Dodd toured frequently throughout his professional career, performing lengthy shows into his eighties, that often did not finish until after midnight. In his final year, he continued to tour
825-534: A population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and only 5 miles (8 km) south of Lincolnshire . The tidal River Nene running through the town is spanned by two road bridges. Wisbech is in the Isle of Ely (a former administrative county) and has been described as "the Capital of The Fens". Wisbech is noteworthy for its fine examples of Georgian architecture , particularly
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#1732891710380900-581: A portrait of the former local member of parliament , Alderman Richard Young , by Hugh Ford Crighton of Sheffield and a portrait of the former Speaker of the House of Commons , Viscount Hampden , by an unknown artist. Wisbech Wisbech ( / ˈ w ɪ z b iː tʃ / WIZ -beech ) is a market town , inland port and civil parish in the Fenland district in Cambridgeshire , England. In 2011 it had
975-551: A private burial service at Allerton Cemetery in Liverpool. Tickling sticks were placed on various statues around Liverpool in commemoration. At Liverpool Town Hall , St George's Hall , the Cunard Building and Liverpool Central Library , flags were lowered to pay respect. Theatre critic Michael Coveney declared in his appreciation for The Stage : "Ken Dodd was the greatest live performer I ever saw on stage anywhere." In
1050-483: A riot, when 2 were ordered for execution the following Saturday and twelve for transportation. The Wisbech Working Men's Club and Institute was formed as a result of an inaugural meeting in 1864. It was once considered one of the most financially successful of its type in England. It remains one of the oldest. In 1864 the Castle estate was purchased by Alexander Peckover. In 1932 his descendant Alexandrina Peckover gave to
1125-726: A third (temporary structure) in the High Street are referred to. A new theatre (now part of the Angles Theatre had been built in Deadman's Lane (later Great Church Street, now Alexandra Road) now Angles Theatre c1790. It was used to hold the auction of the contents of the castle, part of the estate of Edward Southwell on 8 November 1791. One of the earliest Female Friendly Societies was the Wisbech Female Friendly Society instituted on 1 February 1796. Wisbech and Ely shared
1200-538: A wealthy port handling agricultural produce. It was from this period that much of the town's architectural richness originates. Wisbech sat on the estuary of the River Great Ouse , but silting caused the coastline to move north, and the River Nene was diverted to serve the town. In 1781 Wisbech Literary Society was formed at the house of Jonathan Peckover. Theatres in both Pickard's Lane (a barn) and North End and
1275-549: A while, he introduced his act with the words, "Good evening, my name is Kenneth Arthur Dodd; singer, photographic playboy and failed accountant!" Dodd also made a joke that when income tax was introduced it was a mere 2p in every £1 earned, followed by the punchline "I thought it still was!" He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1982 New Year Honours for services to show business and charity and
1350-713: The Cambridgeshire Regiment . It also served as a British Restaurant during the Second World War. On 17 February 1946 a "Cambridgeshire Regiment Weekend" was held, to which everyone who had served in either battalion during the war was invited. On the Saturday, a separate reunion took place for each battalion, the 1st Battalion in Cambridge Drill Hall and the 2nd Battalion in the Wisbech Corn Exchange. On
1425-559: The Columbia label topped the UK singles chart for five weeks in 1965, becoming the biggest hit single in Britain that year and selling over a million copies in the UK alone. The recording was the third-highest selling song of the 1960s in Britain; at the time it was the UK's biggest selling single by a solo artist, and remains one of the biggest selling singles of all time. Dodd was selected to perform
1500-567: The Manchester Opera House . Dodd married Jones on 9 March 2018, two days before his death. Dodd was a supporter of the Conservative Party and campaigned for Margaret Thatcher in the 1979 general election. Dodd said that one of his biggest regrets in life was that he never had children. It was widely reported that he and Anne Jones were unable to conceive naturally. During his 1989 trial details of his personal life surfaced in
1575-598: The Mayflower to the New World with her husband William Bradford later to be Governor Bradford. Across the Eastern Counties, Oliver Cromwell 's powerful Eastern Association was eventually dominant. However, to begin with, there had been an element of Royalist sympathy within Wisbech. Bishop Matthew Wren was a staunch supporter of Charles I but even in 1640 was unpopular in Wisbech, after discovering his absence from
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#17328917103801650-626: The Nottingham Empire. He later said, "Well at least they didn't boo me off". He continued to tour variety theatres up and down the UK, and in 1955 he appeared at Blackpool , where, in the following year, he had a part in Let's Have Fun . His performance at the Central Pier was part of a comedy revue with Jimmy James and Company. Also on the same bill were Jimmy Clitheroe and Roy Castle . Dodd first gained top billing at Blackpool in 1958. Dodd
1725-706: The Quaker Peckover banking family in the 1790s. It is now owned by the National Trust (NT). Now known as Peckover House, the house was renamed in honour of the Peckover family by the NT. The Peckover Bank became part of Barclays Bank . In the 17th century, the inhabitants of the Fens became known as the "Fen Tigers" for their resistance to the draining of the common marshes. But the farmland created by drainage transformed Wisbech into
1800-844: The University of Chester at a graduation ceremony in 2009 in Chester Cathedral . He was awarded a Doctorate of Letters at Liverpool Hope University in 2010 during the university's Foundation Day celebrations. In 2016, Dodd was awarded the Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend Award, a recognition of his lifetime's contribution to the world of comedy. He received the award as part of the Slapstick Festival in Bristol. Dodd's relationships with women lasted for decades; Dodd's biographer Stephen Griffin wrote: "As ever, despite
1875-500: The 1853–54 cholera epidemic 176 deaths were reported in the town in 1854. The Wisbech death rate (49 per 10,000) was the fourth highest in the country. The following year saw £8,000 expenditure on sewerage works and £13,400 on water supplies. New public buildings such as the Exchange Hall and Public Hall (1851) provided modern larger venues for theatrical and other events. When Fanny Kemble gave her Shakespearean readings in 1855, it
1950-462: The 1999 television movie adaptation of Alice in Wonderland . Marking Dodd's ninetieth birthday, an appreciation by Guardian theatre critic Michael Billington noted that "Ken has done just about everything: annual Blackpool summer seasons, pantomimes, nationwide tours, TV and radio. He was a very fine Malvolio." Dodd was renowned for the length of his performances, and during the 1960s he earned
2025-634: The Borough council a piece of land to be laid out as an ornamental garden adjoining the War memorial. The town hosted the British Archaeological Association 's annual Congress in 1878. In August 1883 Wisbech and Upwell Tramway opened. It eventually closed in 1966 (passenger services finished in 1927). The steam trams were replaced by diesels in 1952. The Wisbech Standard newspaper was founded in 1888 and ceased printing in 2022. In April 1904
2100-522: The Burgesses of Wisbech. Thomas Steed Watson, Mayor, 1858. The Isle of Ely and Wisbech Advertiser was founded in 1845. The new Wisbech & Fenland Museum building opened in 1847 and continues to collect, care for and interpret the natural and cultural heritage of Wisbech and the surrounding area. On 1 March 1848 Eastern Counties Railway opened Wisbeach ( sic ) station (later renamed Wisbech East railway station ). It closed on 9 September 1968. In
2175-511: The December 2018 BBC TV retrospective, How Tickled We Were , the comic's biographer Michael Billington ranked Dodd alongside Lord Olivier as one of "the two theatrical geniuses of the British stage" in the writer's own lifetime. In the same broadcast, fellow Liverpudlian and comedian Jimmy Tarbuck declared Dodd "the greatest stage comic the country has ever seen". In October 2020, Dodd's headstone
2250-427: The Diddy Men ("diddy" being Scouse slang for "small"). At first an unseen joke conceived as part of Dodd's imagination, they later appeared on stage, usually played by children or puppets. Dodd worked mainly as a solo comedian, including in a number of eponymous television and radio shows and made fifteen appearances on BBC TV's music hall revival show, The Good Old Days . Although he enjoyed making people laugh, he
2325-554: The Isle of Ely Assizes , as a result the 1819 trial of Israel Garner and James Colbank, two local men, took place in Ely and sentence of hanging took place in Wisbech. Wisbech Regatta was first held in 1850. June 1858 The Russian Gun. —During the past week a brass plate has been added to the Russian Gun, bearing the inscription: — "This trophy of the late Russian War, presented by Queen Victoria to
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2400-436: The North Brink; the central section of three bays, which slightly projected forward, was arcaded on the ground floor. The first floor featured sash windows which were flanked by Ionic order pilasters supporting a pediment with a carving of cross keys of Saint Peter in the tympanum . The ground floor was originally used as a corn exchange and the first floor operated as gentlemen's club. There were three cellars under
2475-612: The Second World War he was evacuated with his school to Shrewsbury, where he attended the Priory Grammar School for Boys . He was also evacuated to the village of Penmachno, near Betws y Coed , where he attended the local village school and learnt Welsh. He then attended Holt High School , a grammar school in Childwall , Liverpool, but left at the age of 14 to work for his father, a coal merchant. Around this time he became interested in show business after seeing an advert in
2550-760: The Siege of King's Lynn in 1643 as it prevented reinforcements by land of the Royalists holding the Norfolk port. A town library was founded c. 1653 . In 1656 the bishop's palace was replaced by Thurloe 's mansion however after the Restoration the property reverted to the See of the bishop of Ely. Soap was taxed and manufacturers such as the Wisbech Soap Company required a licence. Based in an Old Market property facing
2625-680: The UK extensively, with his comedy, music and variety show. His final performance was on 28 December 2017 at the Echo Arena Auditorium in Liverpool. He said the secret of his success was simply, "I love what I do". Dodd had many hit records, charting on 18 occasions in the UK Top 40 , including his first single "Love Is Like a Violin" (1960), produced on Decca Records by Alex Wharton , which charted at number 8 (UK). His version of Bill Anderson 's song " Happiness " charted in 1964 and became Dodd's signature song. Dodd's recording of " Tears " on
2700-567: The Walt Disney film Cruella . In 1989, Dodd was charged with tax evasion. The ensuing trial, with the prosecution case led by Brian Leveson QC, produced several revelations. The Diddy Men , who had appeared in his stage act, were often played by local children from stage schools and were revealed never to have been paid. Dodd was also revealed to have very little money in his bank account, having £336,000 in cash (equivalent to £1,055,868 in 2023) stashed in suitcases in his attic. When asked by
2775-682: The back of the (River) Ouse", Ouse being a common Celtic word relating to water and the name of a river that once flowed through the town. A more scholarly opinion is that the first element derives from the River Wissey , which used to run to Wisbech, and that the name means 'the valley of the river Wissey'. A wide range of spellings is found on trade tokens in the Wisbech & Fenland Museum and in newspapers, books, maps and other documents, e.g. Wisbece , Wisebece , Wisbbece , Wysbeche , Wisbeche , Wissebeche , Wysebeche , Wysbech , Wyxbech , Wyssebeche , Wisbidge , Wisbich and Wisbitch , until
2850-487: The bailiff, Henry Leach, on 22 September 1835. Following the incorporation of the town as a municipal borough at the end of 1835, the building became the local town hall in 1836, and a council chamber was established on the first floor of the building. Magistrates' court hearings, which had been held in a first floor room in the Butter Market, were moved to more substantial facilities in the town hall in 1854. The building
2925-604: The blossoming romance, there was to be no talk of marriage... he thought that marriage could lead to complacency in a relationship, and caused some couples to stop putting in any effort." In 1955, Dodd began a 22-year relationship with Anita Boutin; they were engaged at the time of her death from a brain tumour in 1977, at the age of 45. Shortly after her death, Dodd began a relationship with Anne Jones, which lasted from 1978 until his death. They had first met in 1961 when Jones appeared in The Ken Dodd Christmas Show at
3000-554: The borough council contracted with the National Electric Construction Company Ltd for the installation of electric street lighting. On 30 October 1913 the Riot Act was read by the mayor in response to civil unrest in response to the death of the popular surgeon Doctor Horace Dimock. He had been arrested on charges of criminal libel on the information of Dr Meacock. On hearing that Dimock had taken his own life
3075-467: The building and a lean-to building at the north end. The arcading was considered no longer necessary within two decades and was infilled in 1831. The then Princess Victoria , accompanied by her mother, the Duchess of Kent , visited the town and stopped on the riverside before crossing the old Wisbech Bridge to receive a copy of William Watson's historical account of the ancient town and port of Wisbech from
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3150-637: The church and much of the rural part in Norfolk. The suburb of New Walsoken is now largely built up. A boundary marker in Wisbech Park was erected to record the event. Ring's End was transferred from Wisbech to Elm. In 1939 Wisbech Society and Preservation Trust was founded to safeguard the history and heritage of Wisbech. In 1949 the borough celebrated the 400th anniversary of receiving its charter. The Pageant in Sibalds Holme Park, Barton Road featured over 600 performers. The first Wisbech Rose Fair
3225-517: The first authentic references to Wisbech occurs in a charter dated 664 granting the Abbey at Medeshamstede (now Peterborough ) land in Wisbech and in 1000, when Oswy and Leoflede, on the admission of their son Aelfwin as a monk, gave the vill to the monastery of Ely . The folktale of Tom Hickathrift or Wisbech Giant is sometimes set about the time of the Norman Invasion . In 1086, when Wisbech
3300-510: The following day, the two battalions were brought by special trains to Ely and marched up to the Cathedral for a Service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance. In the 1960s the town hall became a popular concert venue and performers included the rock band , The Rolling Stones , in July 1963. The proprietor Norman Jacobs MBE also set up skating rinks, would run Saturday night dances and helped to bring some of
3375-537: The judge, "What does £100,000 in a suitcase feel like?", Dodd replied, "The notes are very light, M'Lord." He also said: "I am not mean, but I am nervous of money, nervous of having it, nervous of not having it" and described money as "important only because I have nothing else". Dodd was represented by George Carman QC, who in court quipped, "Some accountants are comedians, but comedians are never accountants". He described Dodd as "a fantasist stamped with lifelong eccentricities." The trial lasted three weeks; Dodd
3450-516: The letterbox causing £11,000 worth of damage to the ground floor. Tagg pleaded guilty to harassment and arson at Preston Crown Court in 2003. Dodd died aged 90 on 11 March 2018 at his home in Knotty Ash, the same home in which he was born and raised, soon after being hospitalised for six weeks with a chest infection. He had been touring with his stand-up stage show up until the end of 2017. Numerous stars paid tribute, including fellow Liverpudlian Paul McCartney . At his funeral on 28 March, which
3525-516: The local councils were merged. It subsequently became the meeting place of Wisbech Town Council . In 2017 the Wisbech Corn Exchange Conservation Trust was established with the objective of preserving the building: some open days were held allowing limited access to parts of the building which had been closed for years. Works of art in the town hall include a portrait of the abolitionist , Thomas Clarkson , by Samuel Lane ,
3600-477: The local school from early days; following the English Reformation , the school was renamed Wisbech Grammar School and re-established there in 1549. The current building in North Brink was commissioned as an Exchange Hall: it was designed by Joseph Medworth in the neoclassical style , built in ashlar stone and completed in 1811. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto
3675-411: The media, including revelations that he and Anne had undergone several failed rounds of IVF treatment in an attempt to start a family. In October 2001, a stalker, Ruth Tagg, harassed Dodd and Jones by sending them threatening letters and a dead rat, also appearing on the front row at almost all of his live shows during this time. She also attempted to burn down their house by pushing burning rags through
3750-615: The mid-1950s. His performances included rapid and incessant delivery of often surreal jokes, and would run for several hours, frequently past midnight. His verbal and physical comedy was supplemented by his red, white and blue " tickling stick " prop , although these could change for occasions such as St Patricks Day where he would choose a green, white and orange pair, and often introduced by his characteristic upbeat greeting of "How tickled I am!" He interspersed comedy with songs, both serious and humorous, and with his original speciality, ventriloquism . He also had several hit singles primarily as
3825-531: The other biggest names in show business to the Corn Exchange among those were Ken Dodd , Tom Jones , Frankie Vaughan and the Hollies , although he turned down the Beatles because they were too expensive at the time. It remained the headquarters of Wisbech Borough Council for much of the 20th century, but ceased to be their local seat of government when Fenland District Council was formed on 1 April 1974 when
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#17328917103803900-416: The parade of houses along the North Brink, which includes the National Trust property of Peckover House and the Crescent , part of a circus surrounding Wisbech Castle . The place name "Wisbech" is first attested in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 656, where it appears as Wisbeach . It is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as Wisbeach . The name Wisbech is popularly believed to mean "on
3975-405: The population was that of a large village. Some were farmers and others were fishermen. Richard I gave Wisbech a charter. King John of England visited the castle on 12 October 1216 as he came from Bishop's Lynn . Tradition has it that his baggage train was lost to the incoming tide of The Wash . Treasure hunters still seek the lost royal treasure. On 12 November 1236 the village of Wisbech
4050-427: The river, they were able to receive oil from the blubber yards of King's Lynn as well as coal, wood for casks and olive oil used in making the coarse, sweet and grey (speckled) soaps they produced from 1716 to about 1770. Wisbech's first workhouse located in Albion Place opened in 1722, it could accommodate three hundred inmates and cost £2,000. Bank House , with its walled garden, was built in 1722 and purchased by
4125-564: The same radio show recorded live at Hulme Hippodrome (probably, The Show Goes On , 1955) saying: “I once had the honour of being on the same bill, on the radio show as Max Miller, ‘the' Max Miller, the man, the grand-daddy of all comedians, was on that bill and I was on with Max Miller and he was a lovely man. Very happy days, the Hulme Hippodrome.” He interspersed the comedy with occasional songs, both serious and humorous, in an incongruously fine light baritone voice, and with his original speciality, ventriloquism. Part of his stage act featured
4200-400: The site of the old Horse Fair . Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd OBE (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English comedian , singer and occasional actor. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer" and was primarily known for his live stand-up performances. A lifelong resident of Knotty Ash in Liverpool , Dodd's career as an entertainer started in
4275-448: The song on A Jubilee of Music on BBC One on 31 December 1976, a celebration of the key pop successes of the Queen 's first 25 years as Britain's monarch. Dodd had two further UK top ten records: "The River (Le Colline Sono In Fiore)", written by Renato Angiolini with lyrics by Mort Shuman (number 3, 1965); and "Promises", written by Norman Newell and Tom Springfield (number 6, 1966). As well as his successful chart career as
4350-417: The spelling of the name of the town was fixed by the local council in the 19th century. During the Iron Age , the area where Wisbech would develop lay in the west of the Brythonic Iceni tribe's territory. Icenian coins have been found in both March and Wisbech. Like the rest of Cambridgeshire, Wisbech was part of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of East Anglia . It served as a port on The Wash . One of
4425-454: The town to a corporation. In the same year Wm. Bellman gave a plot of land for the Wisbech Grammar School schoolhouse. In 1333–4 the kiln in the town was producing 120,000 bricks. There were several fisheries belonging to the manor of Wisbech and in the 1350s the reeves of Walton and Leverington each sent a porpoise to Wisbech Castle, and the reeve of Terrington a swordfish. During the reigns of Elizabeth I , James I , and Charles I , there
4500-427: Was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to entertainment and charity. The award was formally conferred by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 2 March 2017. In 1993 Dodd won Top Variety Entertainer and was also awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at ITV 's British Comedy Awards . In 1994, Dodd appeared in the TV special An Audience with Ken Dodd . The show
4575-441: Was a state ecclesiastical prison in Wisbech for Catholics, many of whom died there owing to the insanitary conditions. A dispute arising amongst the Catholic prisoners was widely known as the Wisbech Stirs . In 1588 it is claimed that Robert Catesby and Francis Tresham were committed to Wisbeach Castle on the approach of the Spanish Armada . Among those held there was John Feckenham , the last Abbot of Westminster . The palace
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#17328917103804650-423: Was a success and introduced him to a younger audience. Dodd later became one of a select few to be given a second show, entitled Another Audience with Ken Dodd and originally broadcast in 2002. He was made a Freeman of the City of Liverpool in 2001. In a 2005 poll of comedians and comedy insiders to find the 'Comedians' Comedian', Dodd was voted amongst the 'Top 50 Comedy Acts Ever', ranked as number 36. He
4725-418: Was acquitted. Despite the strain of the trial, Dodd immediately capitalised on his new-found notoriety with a successful season running from Easter to Christmas 1990 at the London Palladium . It was there he had previously broken the house record for the longest comedy season at the theatre, in 1965, with a residency lasting 42 weeks. Some of his subsequent material mocked the trial and tax in general. For
4800-517: Was also a serious student of comedy and history, and was interested in Sigmund Freud and Henri Bergson 's analysis of humour. Occasionally, he appeared in dramatic roles, including Malvolio in William Shakespeare 's Twelfth Night on stage in Liverpool in 1971; on television in the cameo role of 'The Tollmaster' in the 1987 Doctor Who story Delta and the Bannermen ; as Yorick (in silent flashback) in Kenneth Branagh 's film version of Shakespeare's Hamlet in 1996; and as Mr. Mouse in
4875-420: Was at the Public Hall, not the old Georgian theatre . On Sunday 29 June 1857 a mob entered the town and broke the Corn Merchants windows and seized corn and demanded money from shopkeepers. On July the gentry and traders by beat of drum recruited about 500 men and went to Upwell and took 60 and placed them in irons. On 4 September a Report was made to the Lords Justices of 14 malefactors condemned at Wisbech for
4950-409: Was demolished and replaced with John Thurloe 's mansion in the mid-17th century, and Thurloe's mansion demolished in 1816 by Joseph Medworth , who also developed The Circus comprising The Crescent , Union Place and Ely Place with Museum Square and Castle Square familiar as the settings in numerous costume dramas. In 1620 former Wisbech residents William White and Dorothea Bradford (née May) sailed on
5025-447: Was described as "the last great music hall entertainer". His stand-up comedy style was fast and relied on the rapid delivery of one-liner jokes . He said that his comic influences included other Liverpool comedians like Arthur Askey , Robb Wilton , Tommy Handley and the "cheeky chappy" from Brighton , Max Miller . In a radio interview in 2002 he recalled how he was very happy to meet Max Miller while they were performing on
5100-422: Was extended to the rear to a design by Bellamy and Hardy to accommodate the extra space required by the justices in 1857. A new bridge across the River Nene was constructed in front of the town hall and was opened by the mayor, Thomas Steed Watson, on 9 November 1857. By 1909 the building was advertised as a skating rink. The building also served as a drill hall for a number of British Army units. In 1862 it
5175-424: Was held at Sibalds Holme Park on 4–5 September. The Pageant Master was Sir Arthur Bryant who had experience with the Cambridgeshire Pageant 1924, Oxfordshire Pageant 1926 and London Empire Pageants of 1928 and 1929. The Wisbech total attendance was estimated in excess of 25,000 people. In 1934 part of Walsoken parish, Norfolk was merged with Wisbech, bringing with it the schools, shops and public houses but leaving
5250-413: Was held by the abbot, there may have been some 65 to 70 families, or about 300 to 350 persons, in Wisbech manor. However, Wisbech (which is the only one of the Marshland vills of the Isle to be mentioned in the Domesday Book ) probably comprised the whole area from Tydd Gote down to the far end of Upwell at Welney . A castle was built by William I to fortify the site. At the time of Domesday (1086)
5325-417: Was held in 1963 when local rose growers sold rose buds in the parish church in aid of its restoration. The following year the borough twinned with Arles and set up a Wisbech-Arles twinning club. The first purpose-built council-run Caravan Site that accommodates travellers in the UK was built in 1975. On 21 September 1979, two Harrier jump jets on a training exercise collided over Wisbech; one landed in
5400-607: Was inundated by the sea. Hundreds were drowned, entire flocks of sheep and herds of cattle were destroyed, trees felled and ships lost. The castle was "utterly destroyed" but was rebuilt by 1246 when the constable or keeper was Wm Justice. King Edward II visited Wisbech in 1292, 1298, 1300 and 1305. The register of Bishop John Fordham of Ely appoints a Master of the Grammar Scholars in 1407 ( Wisbech Grammar School dates back to 1379 or earlier). Edward IV visited Wisbech in 1469. The Charter of Edward VI , 1 June 1549, raised
5475-494: Was led by the Bishop of Liverpool , Paul Bayes , thousands of fans joined the cortege which passed from his Knotty Ash home to Liverpool Cathedral . The service was attended by actors Ricky Tomlinson , Stephanie Cole and Miriam Margolyes , comedians Jimmy Tarbuck , Stan Boardman , Roy Chubby Brown and Jimmy Cricket , and television executive Michael Grade . After the service, Dodd was laid to rest, alongside both his parents, in
5550-593: Was made an honorary fellow of Liverpool John Moores University in 1997. A statue depicting Dodd with his trademark "Tickling Stick" was unveiled in Liverpool Lime Street railway station in June 2009. It was temporarily removed in 2017 for renovation works. Dodd was inducted into the exclusive show business fraternity, the Grand Order of Water Rats . Dodd was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from
5625-473: Was the venue for a parade by the Second Cambridgeshire (Wisbech) Rifle Volunteers, renamed E Company (Wisbech) 1st Rifle Volunteers in 1880. In 1889, it was the venue for the annual inspection of the unit, which was now renamed E Company (Wisbech Detachment) of the 3rd Cambridgeshire Volunteer Battalion, Suffolk Regiment . During Second World War the building was a headquarters for the 2nd Battalion of
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