In the Port of Reach

Reach lies at the point where the Devil's Dyke meets the head of Reach Lode. The Devil's Dyke is a massive earth work that was constructed by the Saxons around 600 A.D. The Dyke was constructed by the Anglian Saxons to prevent invasion by the Mercian Saxons. Reach Lode like others in the area was probably constructed by the Saxons. In mediaeval times the Lode was used to transport clunch, which is chalk rock, to Cambridge and Ely. The lady chapel of Ely Cathedral was built of clunch. Reach was a busy port until the 18th Century but went into decline in the 19th Century. The last recorded cargo of clunch was carried in the 1930s.