Editing Sutton Bridge (section)

==History==
The early 19th-century village consisted of a few farmhouses and cottages straggled along the track which passed for a main road. The parish church is dedicated to St Matthew, and is the only [[flint]] church in Lincolnshire.

===Marshes===
Stretching to the east and north was a vast, fast flowing expanse of marshes known as Cross Keys Wash, through which the River Nene (earlier, the Wellstream) wound its way to the sea. The whole area is composed of sand and silt, shifting regularly as the water cut new channels. The track across the marshes between Lincolnshire and Norfolk was passable at low water and needed a guide for a safe passage. Livestock, travellers, wagons and coaches were lost into the quicksand of the marshes.

Since reclamation began in the 16th century of the estuary between [[Long Sutton, Lincolnshire|Long Sutton]] and Sutton Bridge, The Wash House (now the Bridge Hotel) marked the start of the safe track and it was possible to hire guides to help the general travellers and also the drovers with their herds of cattle, flocks of sheep or geese safely over the marsh.

===King John losing the Crown Jewels===
[[File:John ohne.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|left|King John of England (1166–1216)]]
It was recorded by contemporary chroniclers that on 12 October 1216 [[King John of England|King John]]'s [[crown jewels]] and other valuable crown possessions were lost in [[marsh]]land when the horse-drawn baggage train of his army, in passing from Bishop's Lynn (now King's Lynn) en route to [[Sleaford]], attempted to cross the causeway and ford across the mouth of the Wellstream without a guide.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Neil |last1=Walker |first2=Thomas |last2=Craddock |title=The History of Wisbech and the Fens |publisher=R. Walker |url=https://archive.org/details/historywisbecha01cradgoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/historywisbecha01cradgoog/page/n234 211] | access-date = 10 August 2009 |year=1849 }}</ref> John, on departing from Bishop's Lynn, had apparently chosen the safer route via [[Wisbech]] in the [[Isle of Ely]]. The baggage train route was usable only at low tide. The horse-drawn wagons moved too slowly for the incoming tide or flood tide, and most were lost with only a few men surviving. The king died a week later of [[dysentery]], and was succeeded to the throne by his 9-year-old son, [[Henry III of England|Henry III]].

The location of the incident is usually supposed to be somewhere near the site of Sutton Bridge, on the [[River Nene]]. The name of the river changed as a result of the redirection of the [[Great Ouse]] during the 17th century, and Bishop's Lynn became King's Lynn as a result of [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]'s rearrangement of the [[Church of England|English Church]].

During the early part of the 20th century, several privately sponsored archaeological attempts were made to discover the exact location of King John's long-lost treasure, on {{convert|10|mi}} of reclaimed land between Sutton Bridge and Wisbech.<ref name="TWTM">{{cite news|title=Treasure Secrets are Revealed|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/37259237/|format=JPG|publisher=[[The Winnipeg Tribune]] Magazine|location=Winnipeg|page=8|date=20 January 1934|access-date=12 November 2014|quote=Search For King's Riches on Stretch of Reclaimed Land}}</ref> Modern scientific equipment, such as the magnetic variometer method were implemented, from the headquarters of Fen Research Ltd., located at Dovecote Farm in [[Walpole, Norfolk#Walpole St Peter|Walpole St. Peter]], which had been purposely formed to search for King John's treasure.<ref name="TWTM" /> The research company was financially sponsored by the wealthy American James R. H. Boone of [[Baltimore]], and included on the board Sir [[Francis Hill]] and Sir R. E. [[Mortimer Wheeler]], keeper of the [[London Museum (1912–1976)|London Museum]].<ref name="TWTM" />

In 2021 it was reported in the local newspaper that another treasure hunter had claimed to have found the location of the treasure.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/i-know-what-happened-to-king-johns-treasure-after-he-left-9201649/|website= Lynn News|title= King John's Treasure|date= 2 June 2021|accessdate= 4 January 2022}}</ref>

===Railway===
[[File:Sutton Bridge Station.jpg|thumb|right|Sutton Bridge railway station, early 20th century]]
The first railway reached the village in 1862 with [[Sutton Bridge railway station]]. The actual operation of the railways caused problems when ships were using the river. With no radio communication between the two, news of the approaching ship depended on visual warning.

===The Great War===
A war memorial to those who gave their lives for their country 1914-1918 was erected in the churchyard of St Matthew's church. The war memorials online website states that the names of 48 men are inscribed on the memorial and also those from the Second World War.