A beautiful house of the 16th century belonged to one Thomas Rogers, whose daughter was mother of John Harvard, the founder of Harvard College, U.S.A. Among public buildings are the town hall, originally dated 1633, rebuilt 1767, and altered 186 3; market house, corn exchange and three hospitals.
Other institutions include a grammar school founded in the middle of the 16th century and provided for by a charter of Edward VI., the Cambridgeshire hospital, a custom-house, a cattle-market, and an important corn-exchange, for Wisbech has a large trade in grain.
There is a corn exchange and the agricultural trade is considerable; brushes and matting are manufactured.
Among these are the Corn Exchange in Mark Lane, where the privilege of a fair was originally granted by Edward I.; the Wool Exchange, Coleman Street; the Coal Exchange, Lower Thames Street; the Shipping Exchange, Billiter Street; and the auction mart for landed property in Tokenhouse Yard.
The principal buildings are the parish church of St Thomas (restored 1874), the church of St David (r866), a Roman Catholic church, and Baptist, Calvinistic, Methodist, Congregational and Wesleyan chapels; the intermediate and technical schools (1895), Davies's endowed (elementary) school (1789), the Gwyn Hall (1888), the town hall, with corn exchange in the basement storey, and the market-house.
