[citation needed] The Great Hey or High Fen was common to the vills of Elm, Leverington, Newton, Wisbech, Outwell, Upwell and Tydd St Giles.

[citation needed] The lower-lying parts of the parish were probably not fully drained and reclaimed until as recently as the 17th to 19th centuries.

Later satellite settlements formed to the south of the parish at Friday Bridge and at Coldham, alongside the Leam, where land was better drained.

Parts of it have been converted into a public green lane that starts at the post office, and terminates at the site of Collets Bridge.

[8] Besides allotments and market-gardening, a number of apple, pear, and plum orchards have been planted on the better-drained soils close to the village centre in the north of the parish, while the lower-lying peat soils further out are cultivated as high grade arable land.

The orchards (some of which have since been replaced by new housing developments) used to attract fruit pickers from London on working holidays.

After the Second World War, many of these seasonal visitors would stay at a disused POW camp at Friday Bridge.

The parish church is a large needle-spired, stone building, mainly of Early English 13th-century origin, and is dedicated to All Saints.