Fen Tigers

[Redroger]

 In the Fens north of Cambridge there was a group of people I believe living on the fringes of the law from the restoration of 1660 until the late 19th century known as the Fen Tigers. I believe that they were extreme Protestants who were persecuted by the restored Stuarts as they had largely been supporters of Oliver Cromwell. Does anyone know more about them please?

[pinefamily]

A different explanation here.
http://www.greatfen.org.uk/heritage/drained-fens

[Redroger]

Thank you, a very interesting site; but not so far as I can see a mention of the Fen Tigers.

[youngtug]

Thank you, a very interesting site; but not so far as I can see a mention of the Fen Tigers.

From pinefamily's link;

The local villagers were fiercely opposed to the draining, believing it would deprive them of their traditional means of livelihood from wildfowling, fishing and reed cutting and would replace the fenland with arable land owned by strangers. The “Fen Tigers” tore down the dykes, ditches and sluices that had just been built and set the reedbeds on fire, so stopping work. But by the end of the 17th Century much of Vermuyden’s hugely ambitious project had been completed, with the Bedford River and New Bedford River carrying water more quickly northwards to the Wash.

[chempat]

?
http://vcp.e2bn.org/case_studies/casestudy11770-tigers-of-the-fens-the-littleport-and-ely-rioters-reports-page.html

http://www.literarynorfolk.co.uk/fens.htm

Several different names with no explanations:
http://home.freeuk.com/fenhistory/history.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1447156/These-Fen-folk-dont-get-on-with-incomers.html

Possibly tiger from tike:
https://archive.org/stream/fenlandnotesand00unkngoog/fenlandnotesand00unkngoog_djvu.txt

Geographical area covered, without explanation:
http://www.huntsfhs.org.uk/Whatis.html

[Redroger]

Thank you, a very interesting site; but not so far as I can see a mention of the Fen Tigers.

My apolgies it is of course there. How I missed it first time is beyond me. Thanks to Young Tug for showing me the way.
I am getting an interesting response with these documents, but so far no surnames prominent in my family have been noticed.

[Peter Cornwell]

Redroger,

It was a CORNWALL who went around Littleport blowing a horn to rally the reported 200 locals who gathered at The Globe Inn at the start of the famous riot there in May 1816. Apparently he had sense enough to avoid any implication in what then followed so escaped the justice meted out to others.

[Redroger]

many thanks Peter. I assume there is a connection?

[jbml]

Growing up in Cambridge in the 1970s and 1980s, I real all about the Fen Tigers regularly in the Cambridge Evening News.

They were the local speedway team ...