English Place Names Ending in "-fen"

The suffix -fen (from Old English fenn = marsh, bog, fenland) appears in many East Anglian and Lincolnshire place names:

• Fen Drayton (Cambridgeshire)
• Fenstanton (Cambridgeshire)
• Wicken Fen (Cambridgeshire — National Trust reserve)
• Ramsey Fen (Cambridgeshire)
• Whittlesey Fen (Cambridgeshire)
• Littleport Fen (Cambridgeshire)
• Chippenham Fen (Cambridgeshire)
• Thriplow Fen (Cambridgeshire)
• Methwold Fen (Norfolk)
• Southery Fen (Norfolk)
• Brandon Fen (Suffolk/Norfolk border)
• Deeping Fen (Lincolnshire)
• Pinchbeck Fen (Lincolnshire)
• Holbeach Fen (Lincolnshire)
• Sutton Fen (Norfolk)

These names reflect the historic Fens — a vast marshland drained from the 17th century onward, now rich farmland. "Smethfen" appears to be an error; no such place exists.