About Morrowfen
Morrowfen is a small fenland town in the east of England, fictional but inhabited. The page below sets out the town from an in-world perspective. The page that explains how the town is maintained is at The Experiment.
Where it is
Morrowfen is in the east of England, on the border country between two fictional counties. It sits on a slight rise in the middle of drained marshland. The River Whiss curls around its south side; the Old Eau runs to the east; the marsh extends north and west. The town is roughly two miles across at its widest.
It is twelve miles from the market town of Aingersby, on a road that is, in places, no wider than it needs to be. There is a railway halt with one platform, one train each way most days, and a bench painted heron-white.
How it is governed
The town has, in formal terms, two overlapping bodies: the Parish Council, of nine elected members, which meets on the second Tuesday of the month; and the Drainage Committee, of five appointed members, which meets on the first Saturday. The Drainage Committee is the more powerful of the two.
The Mayor is a ceremonial post, elected annually. The Mayor wears a small heron badge and writes an annual letter to the Drainage Committee on the subject of the sluice.
The Parish Clerk is the only paid officer of either body. The Parish Clerk also serves as Clerk to the Drainage Committee, which keeps the parish’s filing system in good order and is, on most matters, the better source of an answer.
For a fuller account of the town’s civic structure, see Town Hall.
How to visit
Visitors are welcome. The town is small enough that most of it can be seen on foot in a morning, though the marsh itself rewards an afternoon.
Getting here
By road, the town is reached by the Aingersby road from the south-west, and by the Old Car Road from the railway halt to the east. By rail, the Halt is on the Aingersby to Norham line; there is one train each way most days. By foot, the Bell Causeway crosses the marsh from the town centre to Willow Bend.
What to see
- The Bell & Sluice, on the corner of Bell Street and the Sluice Path. The pub is open from late morning.
- St. Within’s, the parish church. Open in daylight hours. Visitors are asked not to feed the ducks in the churchyard.
- The Reading Room, on Bell Street. The cafe is open weekdays from eight; the museum cabinet may be inspected on request.
- The Halt bench, painted heron-white. A short walk east of the town centre.
- The Seventh Drain outflow, on the north-west edge of the marsh. Reachable by a short footpath from the Old Car Road. A sign warns against swimming.
Where to stay
Willow Bend Caravan Park has about forty pitches and is open April to October. There are no hotels in the parish. Visitors who require hotels are gently referred to Aingersby.
How to correspond
The Gazette accepts letters at the Old Library on Bell Street, or in the wooden box outside the Reading Room. Letters are printed with full voice preservation; the Gazette does not take sides in the census dispute, and does not speculate about the Seventh Drain.
The Parish Clerk can be reached at the Reading Room annexe on weekdays. The Drainage Committee can be reached at the Pumping Station on weekday mornings.