This month we looked at the part played by the river Great Ouse in the life of St Ives. We started by examining the village of Slepe and the river crossing near the church. The finding of the the bones of St Ivo led to Ramsey Abbey making the most of the many pilgrims who flocked to Slepe. In 1110 King Henry I granted a charter for an annual fair which attracted merchants from all over Europe. This meant a bridge was needed -  a wooden one at first and then the stone bridge we know today. By the 1100s St Ives had become a major inland port with boats travelling from the Wash. The Riverport area - the Bridge, the Quay and surrounding lanes became the commercial heart of the town.

We heard about the Roundheads breaking the bridge fearing a Royalist attack and about the different goods being traded up and down the river. We learnt about the different incarnations of the Chapel on the bridge and the building of the New Bridges. AI provided "A Day in the life of a Waterman".

We learnt how the coming of the railway brought major changes to the water merchants. In fact many trades and businesses suffered.

In 2014 the Town Team was tasked with revitalising St Ives. The Riverport became a popular branding. Today there are many enterprises which make use of the river as do special events in the life of the town.