Introduction

Conspiracy theories may feel like a product of the modern internet age, but the roots of flat Earth belief stretch back almost 200 years. Surprisingly, this story begins in the flat and watery landscape of the Cambridgeshire Fens, where a series of experiments fueled one of history’s most controversial pseudoscientific movements.

Local historian Camay Chapman-Cameron, based in March, has traced how these experiments and their fallout shaped the rise of modern flat Earth thought.

The Spark: Washington Irving’s Columbus Myth

The idea that people in Christopher Columbus’s time believed the Earth was flat was popularized by Washington Irving in his 1828 biography of Columbus. Irving wrongly claimed sailors feared they might fall off the edge of the Earth.

In reality, navigators of the era already knew the Earth was spherical—Columbus’s errors were due to miscalculating distances, not disbelief in a globe.

Samuel Rowbotham and the Bedford Level Experiments

The central figure in the Fens’ flat Earth tale is Samuel Rowbotham, a Manchester-born Christian who distrusted science and despised Newton’s theories.

In the mid-1800s, Rowbotham carried out his Bedford Level Experiments on a straight six-mile stretch of the Old Bedford River. He believed that if a flag on a boat could still be seen through a telescope across the distance, it would prove the Earth was flat.

Rowbotham claimed success and repeated the experiment several times over the next three decades. In 1865, he published Earth Not a Globe, further spreading his theory.

John Hampden and the Famous Wager

Rowbotham’s work might have faded into obscurity, but John Hampden, the son of a clergyman, reignited it. Convinced by Rowbotham’s ideas, Hampden offered £500 to anyone who could disprove them.

Enter Alfred Russel Wallace, the naturalist who co-discovered evolution alongside Charles Darwin. In 1870, Wallace demonstrated Earth’s curvature at the same site using the laws of refraction.

Hampden refused to accept defeat, sparking lawsuits, libel battles, and even death threats. Wallace never received the prize money but endured years of harassment from Hampden.

Later Champions of the Flat Earth Cause

Another prominent supporter was Elizabeth, Lady Blount (1850–1935), who promoted flat Earth theory despite widespread ridicule.

The movement later found traction in the United States, where some believers used the Book of Enoch to justify their claims. Historian Chapman-Cameron notes that today’s flat Earthers share the same “towering self-righteous rage” as Rowbotham and Hampden.

Legacy of the Fens in Flat Earth Belief

Though disproven countless times, the Bedford Level Experiments remain a touchstone for flat Earth believers. What began as a fringe obsession in the Cambridgeshire Fens in the 19th century has echoed into the present day, illustrating the enduring power of conspiracy theories—and the difficulty of quashing them once they take root.