2 AUGUST 1902, Page 26

The History of Wicken. By M. Knowles. (Elliot Stock. 5s.

net.) --Wicken, a village of some importance in the Cambridgeshire Fens, is perhaps best known by the fact that the Manor belonged for a time to the Cromwell family. Henry Cromwell died at the Shinney in 1674; it passed first to Oliver, who died in 1685, and then to the second son, Henry. Henry's wife seems to have been a lady of decided views, for "she turned out the clergyman and entertained an Anabaptist Minister." We are not surprised, therefore, that she found it convenient to sell, or rather make her husband sell, the estate. It has changed hands many times since. Other more or less interesting details are given about the pariah. Probably the public that will appreciate them is not very large, but the spirit that prompts the writing of these local histories deserves all encouragement.