IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Bedford Bank, WISBECH, PE14 9TB

This is shown as "Colony Fm" on the 1:50000 sheet, which would make it the site of the shortlived Owenite Manea Fen community founded by William Hodson in 1838. However, I believe this was further southeast near the Old Bedford River. http://www.welney.org.uk/Manea_Colony/Manea_colony.htm . Seen across Manea Fifties from beside Straight Drain.

This bungalow is on the site of the former Colony Farm - see Image The name 'Fifties' refers to the areas of the nearby fen that were separated by ditches, usually of about fifty acres in size.

Apart from the barn which is used by a local farmer as a grain intervention store, there are no other farm buildings nearby. A bungalow, unrelated to the barn, is called 'The Sycamores' (see OS 1:25,000) after the two trees standing next to the track. The name 'Colony Farm' (OS 1:50,000) relates to the short-lived Owenite Manea Colony, formed in 1838. As referred to in Image the actual site of the colony was probably adjacent to the Old Bedford River, although no visual evidence remains. This farm may have taken its name from the nearby colony, but it is more likely that this was not the actual site. A separate interesting fact is that a Handley-Page Halifax aircraft crashed in the field opposite the farm in April 1944, having been shot down by an intruder Messerchmitt, with the loss of six of the seven crew. See http://www.aircrewremembrancesociety.com/raf1944/Dibbins.html

This undulating track leads north-westwards from the Old Bedford River towards the former farm. The farmland in this area is below sea-level.

This view, towards Welney Fifties, is taken from outside The Sycamores, a bungalow on the site of the former Colony Farm. It shows the location of the crash of a Handley-Page Halifax on 25 April 1944, which had been shot down by an enemy Messerschmitt. See http://www.aircrewremembrancesociety.com/raf1944/Dibbins.html