Around the year 1000 Oswy and Leoflede gave the manor of Wisbech to Ely Abbey. In 1086 ir was held by the Abbot, and in 1109 the vill was divided between the Convent and the Bishop. The bishop's manor, later Wisbech Barton, remained in the hands of successive bishops until 1652, while the Convent's manor, called Wisbech Murrow, became Wisbech St Mary, to the W of the main settlement.