Arthur Artis Oldham

Arthur Artis Oldham (1886-1980), was born and lived in Wisbech and researched the history of the town and district. Subjects he researched and published included bridges, rivers, Windmills and public houses. He married Ellen (Nellie) Fewster and had two children. His works are now out of print and out of date but still used by local historians. Copies of his manuscripts and papers are deposited at the Wisbech & Fenland Museum and at other museums, Wisbech Library holds copies of his books in the reference library. In 1979 Cambridgeshire Libraries published The Inns & Taverns of Wisbech with a foreword by David G.Rayner although the content had not been updated since the 1950 edition except for the addition of a map. He retired to Norwich where he died in 1980.[1]

Titles included A History of Wisbech River (1933), Wisbech Bridges, Inns and Taverns of Wisbech (1950),[2] Wisbech Windmills, Windmills around Wisbech, The Inns & Taverns of Wisbech (1979) and Windmills in and around Wisbech (1994).

Windmills in and around Wisbech and Windmills around Wisbech were only produced in typed and handwritten copies. The two were merged into one publication as Windmillls in and around Wisbech with additional material by Robert Bell in 1994.[3] Manuscripts and other papers are deposited in museums and record offices [4]

Since his books were written more pubs have closed and a few opened, the Wisbech Canal filled in, the ownership and operators of the Port of Wisbech changed, bridges demolished and new ones built, flood defences built and later improved and the last remaining Wisbech milltower turned into a residence. More recent book titles on these topics can be seen in the Wisbech Further Reading section.