Cambridgeshire Places

GREAT ABINGTON

GREAT ABINGTON is a parish and village, on the south bank of the river Granta and on the main road from Cambridge to Linton and Haverhill, 1 mile east from Pampisford station on a branch of the London and North Eastern railway from Cambridge to Haverhill, 2¾ north-west from Linton, 8 north from Saffron Walden and 8 south-east from Cambridge, in the hundred of Chilford, union and petty sessional division of Linton, county court district of Saffron Walden, rural deanery of Camps and archdeaconry and diocese of Ely. The church of St. Mary the Virgin is an ancient edifice of flint and rubble, chiefly in the Norman and Early English styles, consisting of chancel, nave, south aisle, east porch and a south tower containing 2 bells: on the north side of the chancel is a monument with recumbent effigy in alabaster to Sir William Halton kt. of the Middle Temple, ob. 20th November, 1639: the church was repaired in 1895, at a cost of £500, and the south aisle in 1900, at a cost of £200: the church affords 200 sittings. The register dates from the year 1664. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £114, with residence, in the gift of the trustees of the late John James Emerson esq. who are impropriators of the rectorial tithes, and held since 1906 by the Rev. Frederic Benjamin Brandon Whittingham T.D., M.A. of Wadham College, Oxford, and A.K.C. who is also vicar of Little Abington, where he resides. The institute was erected in 1909 by the late John James Emerson esq. and is used for public meetings, clubs, entertainments &c. Abington Hall, the residence of James John Emerson esq. J.P. is a handsome mansion, prettily seated in a well-timbered park of about 100 acres, through which flows the river Granta. James John Emerson esq. J.P. is lord of the manor and principal landowner. The soil is chiefly light, but certain parts are heavy; subsoil, chalk and gravel. The chief crops are wheat, oats and barley. The area is 1,558 acres; the population in 1921 was 219.

Kelly's Directory - 1929

LITTLE ABINGTON

LITTLE ABINGTON is a parish and village, on the north side of the river Granta and on the road from Cambridge to Linton and Haverhill, about 1¼ miles north-east from the Pampisford station on the Cambridge and Haverhill section of the London and North Eastern railway, 3 north-west from Linton and 8 south-east from Cambridge, in the hundred of Chilford, union and petty sessional division of Linton, county court district of Saffron Walden, rural deanery of Camps and archdeaconry and diocese of Ely. The church of St. Mary is an ancient structure of flint and rubble, in the Norman and Early English styles, consisting of chancel, nave, north transept, south porch and an embattled western tower containing one bell : the church was thoroughly restored in 1885, when a stained east window was presented by. the late Edmund John Mortlock esq. : there are 120 sittings. The register dates from about the year 1668. The living is vicarage, net yearly value £119, with residence, in the gift of the trustees of the late John James Emerson esq. and held since 1906 by the Rev. Frederic Benjamin Brandon Whittington T.D., M.A. of Wadham College, Oxford, and A.K.C. who is also vicar of Great Abington. James John Emerson esq. J.P. is lord the manor and the principal landowner. The soil mixed; subsoil, chalk and gravel. The chief crops are wheat, oats and barley. The area is 1,309 acres; population in 1921 was 194.

Kelly's Directory - 1929

ABINGTON PIGOTTS

Otherwise known as Abington-by-Shingay or Abington-in-the-Clay.

ABINGTON PIGOTTS (or Abington-in-the-Clay) a parish, 5 miles north-west from Royston station on the Hitchin, Royston and Cambridge branch of the London and North Eastern railway and 14 south-west from Cambridge, in the hundred of Armingford, pett sessional division of Arrington and Melbourn, union and county court district of Royston, rural deanery of Shingay and archdeaconry and diocese of Ely. The church of St. Michael is a small but ancient building of clunch and rubble, in the Early English and Decorated styles, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch vestry on the north side and an embattled western tower, restored in 1924, containing 4 bells: in the church are memorials to John Piggott 1613 and 1617, Mary Foster Pigott 1816, and other members of that family from 1827 to 1884, and also to Henry and Elizabeth Lynn 1662-3: there are 200 sittings. In the churchyard is a Runic cross of Portland stone, erected in memory of the men of the parish who fell in the Great War, 1914-18. The register dates from the year 1653. The living is a rectory annexed to the vicarage of Litlington, joint net yearly value £6ig, with residence and including 24 acres of glebe, in the alternate gift of the trustees of the late Thomas Graham-Foster-Pigott esq. and Clare College, Cambridge, and held since 1921 by the Rev. Magens de Courcy-Ireland M.A. of St. Peter's College, Cambridge. The trustees of the late Thomas Graham-Foster-Pigott esq. are lords of the manor. The principal landowners are the Pigott family, and David Marshall Sinclair and William Bath esqrs. A market, granted to the Bassingbournes, about the year 1335, was formerly held here on Fridays. The soil is clayey and chalky; subsoil, clay. The chief crops are wheat, barley and beans. The area is 1,237 acres; the population in 1921 was 149.

Kelly's Directory - 1929

BALSHAM

BALSHAM is a village and parish, 4 miles north-north-east from Linton station, 4 north from Bartlow station on the Cambridge and Sudbury section of the London and North Eastern railway, and 10 south-east from Cambridge, in the hundred of Radfield, union and petty sessional division of Linton, county court district of Cambridge, rural deanery of Camps and archdeaconrv and diocese of Ely. The church of the Holy Trinity it a very handsome edifice of flint, rubble and white brick, in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles, consisting of large chancel, clerestoried nave, aisles, south porch and an embattled western tower containing a clock and 5 bells: the chancel retains 24 stalls of the 14th century ; there is a handsome rood screen of the same date, and a fine brass to John Sleford, rector, Master of the Wardrobe to Edward III, and canon of Ripon and Wells, who rebuilt the chancel and part of the church and erected the stalls, and died in 1401 ; the brass includes his effigy in cope, with figures of saints, under a fine canopy and has a marginal inscription; there is a similar brass to Dr. John Blodwell, formerly dean of S. Asaph, ob. 1462, and also a brass effigy of Johannes Lindsell, d. 1612 (inscription lost): in the south aisle is a memorial window, erected in 1866, to the Rev. Edward Wollaston M.A. 33 years rector, his wife Elizabeth and their daughter Agnes Cornthwaite: the church was restored and a new organ-chamber built in the year 1875, under the direction of Mr. William Butterfield, architect, and in 1914 the tower was repaired, a side chapel has been erected on the site of the former old chapel of St. Nicholas; it is a self-contained structure, made partly of the old panelling originally taken from the church or the old rectory and partly of new wood, with carved cresting made by the present rector; the chapel contains the Elizabethan altar formerly used in the church; the carved inlaid work in connection with the altar is the work of the rector and of men instructed by him; the elaborately carved font cover, placed in 1927 near the tower arch, is also the work of the rector ; by the altar is a handsome carved inlaid Litany desk, which is a memorial to Dr. Head, chief warden for 30 years: there is a book containing the names and records of the men parishioners who served in the Great War, 1914-18, and a carved oak tablet with the names of the rectors from 1220 there are 800 sittings. The register dates from the year 1558. The living is a rectory, net yearly value £676, including 500 acres of glebe with residence, in the gift of the Governors of the Charterhouse, and held since 1910 by the Rev. Herbert John Edwin Burrell M.A. of Magdalen College, Oxford, hon. canon of Ely. In the churchyard there is a stone cross with the Calvary carved on one side and the Virgin Mary and Child on the reverse, erected in memory of the men of the parish who fell in the Great War, 1914-18. There is a Congregational chapel, erected in 1833, with sittings for 300 persons. Charities amounting to £33 8s. 8d. yearly are distributed in coal and money, and a sum of £3 3s. 9d. is available for the National school. The Governors of Charterhouse are lords of the manor, and the rector, H. Long esq. H. S. Gray esq. and C. F. Ryder esq. are the principal landowners. The soil is clay and chalk; subsoil, chalk. The chief crops are wheat, barley and oats. The area is 4,550 acres; the population in 1921 was 654.

Kelly's Directory - 1929

CROYDON-WITH-CLOPTON

"Croydon-cum-Clopton is a parish, and is generally know by the name of Croydon; it is 7 miles north-west from Royston and 4 south from Old North Road station, in the hundred of Armingford, union of Caxton and Arrington, county court district of Royston, rural deanery of Shingay and archdeaconry and diocese of Ely. The church of All Saints is described in the decree of the Bishop of Ely for the union of the two parishes, A.D. 1561, as "ampla et ornata," but seems to have been reduced; it is a structure of brick and stone, in the Perpendicular style, and consists of chancel, nave, aisles and transepts; the chancel was repaired during the late incumbency, and new windows inserted; that at the east end is stained, representing The Institution of the Lord's Supper, in memory of the wife of the late rector; and one on either side of the chancel is likewise stained: subjects - The Adoration of the Magi, to Rev. R.S.B. Sandilands, late rector, and The Anointing of Jesus' feet by Mary, to his sister. The register dates from the year 1672. Clopton is a rectory; Croydon is a vicarage, endowed with part of the rectory; the gross yearly value is £528, with residence, in the gift of Major James John Gape, and held since 1864 by the Rev. Henry Stone M.A. of Exeter College, Oxford. Major James John Gape, who is lord of the manor, and the Master and fellows of Downing College, Cambridge, are the chief landowners. The soil is clayey, and the subsoil chalk and gault. The chief crops are wheat, oats and barley. The area is 2,711 acres; rateable value, £2,577; the population in 1881 was 478."

Kelly's Directory - 1883

KIRTLING

KIRTLING is a parish and village 5£ miles south-east from Newmarket which is the nearest railway station, in the hundred of Cheveley, union, petty sessional division arid county court district of Newmarket, rural deanery of Cheveley and archdeaconry and diocese of Ely. The church of All Saints is an ancient building of flint with stone dressings, chiefly in the Norman style, and consists of chancel, clerestoried nave, aisles, north and south porches and a western towel supported by immense buttresses and containing 5 bells: in the church are the tombs of several of the North family, including Sir Edward North M.P. for Cambridgeshire, 1st Baron North. ob. 31 Dec, 1564, and his son, Sir Roger North de Kirtling, knight banneret and 2nd Baron, ob. 3 Dec 1600; the tomb of the latter bears his recumbent effigy in armour with gold spurs, the head resting on a baron's helmet and a couchant lion at the feet, the whole being surmounted by a canopy supported on six carved pillars; a third tomb commemorates Dudley, 4th baron, K.B. ob. 1677; and there are memorials to others of the family, dated 1665-6; there is also an ancient brass: the church affords 372 sittings. The register dates from the year 1585. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £359, with residence, in the gift of the Earl of Harrowby, and held since 1927 by the Rev. Samuel Verner Wylie, of Glasgow University. There is a Primitive Methodist chapel here. seating 80 persons. A cross of Dartmoor granite was erected in 1921 at the junction of Kirtling with the hamlet of Upend, as a memorial to the men of this parish who fell in the Great War, 1914-18. Kirtling Towers, the seat of Lord North T.D., J.P. is all that now remains of the ancient Kirtling Hall, originally built about the reign of Henry VI but the main part of the building was pulled down in 1801 by George, 3rd Earl of Guilford and 9th Baron North; Princess Elizabeth, afterwards Queen, was a state prisoner at Kirtling Hall, under the charge of Edward, 1st Lord North: attached to the house is a Roman Catholic chapel, built in 1877 and dedicated to Mary Immaculate and St. Philip, and there is a house for the priest near the chapel; the public are admitted to mass at 9 a.m. Lord North T.D.. J.P. who is lord of the manor, and Stephen Goodwin Howard esq. C.B.E., D.L., J.P. are the principal landowners. The soil is heavy loam; subsoil, clay; whilst to the north-east of the parish there is an outcrop of upper chalk. The chief crops are wheat, barley, beans and oats, The area is 3,126 acres; the population in 1921 was 553.

UPEND is a hamlet in this parish, about 1£ miles north-east.

Kelly's Directory - 1929

MANEA

Manea is situated North West of Ely close to the Hundred Foot Drain. It is a straggling village which twists and turns North to South. The cemetery is situated on the Eastern side of the village on a road leading to the Nature Reserve.

This was the other half of Coveney, grown much bigger than its parent. Isolated on its lower island, Manea has on its south side a small rise known as Charlemont where King Charles I had planned a small town, an aim thwarted by his untimely end. The church of St. Nicholas was built in 1875 to replace one built in 1791, which had replaced an earlier one where foundations were insecure. We live in a time of redundant churches so it is surprisng to discover Manea provided itself with a new Primitive Methodist chapel in 1990, this replacing the one originally in Station Road, which had been closed for thirty years. Meanwhile the worshippers continued in the St. Nicholas church schoolroom. The cottages surrounding the original chapel still stand, one of these was Fred Stoke£s butcher£s shop, beyond this was an old washhouse, beyond which stood a shop used by rock-maker William Thompson, who attended fairs. Manea£s station on the London - Lynn line is still used.

FEN and MARSHLAND VILLAGES - Anthony Day
Published by S.B. Publications ISBN : 1 85770 041 4

MANEA (or Maney), formerly a parochial chapelry and hamlet of Coveney, is now an ecclesiastical parish, near the old Bedford river and in the middle of the Fens of the Isle of Ely, with a station 1 mile north from the village on the Ely and Peterborough section of the London and North Eastern railway, 81 miles from London, 8 south-east from March and 9 north-east from Chatteris, in the North Witchford union. South Witchford hundred, petty sessional division, county co

urt district and rural deanery of March, archdeaconry of Wisbech and diocese of Ely. The church of St. Nicholas, erected at a cost of £4,000, partly on the site of the old church, and opened April 1, 1875, is a building of stone in the Early Decorated style, consisting of chancel, nave, north transept, north aisle, vestery and turret over the chancel arch containing one bell; there are 350 sittings. The register dates from the year 1708. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £649, inluding 10 acresof glebe and residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Ely, and held since 1925 by the Rev. Francis Falkner Herbert M.A. of Emanual College, Cambridge, hon. C.F. A house adjoining the churchyard, previously an inn, was bought in 1902, and converted into a vicarage house in 1903. There are Primitive and Wesleyan Methodist chapels. Earthen jars and urns containing burnt bones have been frequently found in the parish. The soil is loam and fen; subsoil, clay. The chief crops are wheat, barley, oats, beans, potatoes and carrots. The area is 5,642 acres of land and 34 of water; the population in 1921 was 1,463 in the civil and 1,404 in the ecclesiastical parish, which is wholly dependent on husbandry. By Orders, which came into operation March 25, 1884, detached parts of the parishes of Downham, Wentworth, Witcham and Witchford, in the Ely union, were amalgamated with this parish.BEDLAM FENS lies 2 miles north-east, FODDER FEN 2 miles to the north, CRANMORE FEN 2½ miles north-north-east, and BYALL FEN half a mile to the south.

Kelly's Directory - 1929

PARSON DROVE

The beautiful medieval church of St. John Baptist lies on the B1166 at the Church End part of the village. The chancel was said to have been washed away in the floods of 1613 and the church itself has been unused since 1974 but is still maintained by the Redundant Churches Fund. At the western end of the village a long green skirting the road is planted with oaks and has an old village cage, which was later used as a fire engine shed, surmounted by a Victorian Jubilee clock. The remains of a woad mill which used to stand in this parish are now in Wisbech museum.

The Cambridgeshire Fens - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

Near Murrow, Parson Drove is a long, scattered village built on a green drove that was wider than the present road. Here stood one of the last woad mills in England until 1910. Samuel Pepys came here on 17th and 18th September, 1663 and, of course, set down his impressions. They were unfavourable. He came to see to the affairs of his late aunt Beatrice and mentions his uncle Perkins, husband of another aunt, Jane Pepys, who were living in poverty in Parson Drove. Samuel lodged at the Swan Inn which much later, in 1834, belonged to Charles Boucher, a brewer, who altered it drastically. Pepys made it clear he loathed the fen country with its crude dwellings, rough roads and mosquitoes driving him to distraction and Parson Drove had more than its share of these. The village£s separate existence from Leverington was recognised in 1784 when the Parson Drove School Board was established. The school was replaced in 1933, the new one being dedicated to Alderman Payne of Cambridge. The jailhouse had a clocktower added to it to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897.

FEN and MARSHLAND VILLAGES - Anthony Day
Published by S.B. Publications ISBN : 1 85770 041 4

PARSON DROVE is a chapelry in Leverington civil parish, 2½ miles north from Murrow station on the London and North Eastern railway from March to Doncaster, and the Peterborough to Sutton Bridge branch of the Midland and Great Northern joint railway and 6 south-west from Wisbech, in the hundred union, petty sessional division, county court district, rural deanery and archdeaconry of Wisbech and diocese of Ely. The ecclesiastical parish was formed in 1870 from the civil parish of Leverington. The Church of St. John the Baptist is an edifice of stone and brick in the Early English style, cosisting of nave, aisles, north and south porches, and an embattled western tower containing 5 bells; in 1895 the roof of the church was raised and restored; there are 400 sittings. The register dates from the year 1657. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £646, with glebe and residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Ely, and held since 1918 by the Rev. Arthur Parnham, of Chichester College. The parish shares one-third of the interest of £90, left by John Bend in 1593, the remaining two-thirds being assigned to Wisbech St. Mary. There is no manor. The soil is rich loam; subsoil, clay and silt. The chief crops are wheat, oats, potatoes, beans and fruit. The area is 4,078 acres of land and 18 of water; the population in 1921 was, of the civil parish 959 and of the ecclesiastical parish 200.

Kelly's Directory - 1929

WHITTLESFORD

WHITTLESFORD is a parish and village, near the river Cam, with a station 1 mile south-east from the village on the London and Cambridge section of the London and North Eastern railway, 45 miles by road from London, 7 west from Linton and 7 south from Cambridge, in the hundred of its name, union end petty sessional division of Linton, county court district of Cambridge, rural deanery of Camps and archdeaconry and diocese of Ely. The church of SS Mary and Andrew is a structure of flint of the 11th century, with additions of the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries, and consists of chancel with chantry on the south side, nave, south aisle, south porch of oak (1350) and an embattled central tower containing 6 bells: the tower was restored and the bells rehung in 1905 at a cost of £1,600: the font is Norman, and there are some ancient carved oak screens: on the north side of the tower is a turret, which gives access to the belfry, and formerly also to the rood loft: the chancel retains a small piscina and sedilia in three divisions, formed by the continuation downwards of the mullions of the south-east window: the south chantry or chapel, which opens into the chancel by two Perpendicular arches, has also a small piscina: in 1912 the chancel was restored, at a cost of £592, and an east window and a reredos were erected: the nave arcade is Early English : on the eastern battlements of the tower are two shields of arms of Beauchamp and Scalers: a memorial table was placed in 1904 to the Rev. James Robertson M.A. vicar here 1891-1904: during the years 1875-82 a sum of £650 was spent in restoring and embellishing the interior; in the course of the work the remains of a very beautiful alabaster reredos were discovered in the chancel wall: in 1906 a new organ was provided, at a cost of about £300: in 1908 the aisle roof was renewed and the walls of the church restored, at a cost of £520: the nave was thoroughly restored in 1922: there are 280 sittings. The register dates from the year 1559. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £340, including 74 acres of glebe and residence, in the gift of Jesus College, Cambridge, and held since 1904 by the Rev. Reginald Letts M.A. of that college, who is also rural dean of Camps and hon. canon of Ely. The Congregational chapel, erected in 1903, at a cost of £1,400 is an edifice of red brick with a turret. In the centre of the village is a cross of Portland stone, erected in 1919 as a memorial to the men of this parish who fell in the Great War, 1914-18: there is also a village institute on the Duxford road, erected as a war memorial in 1921. The various charities amount to £105 yearly, which sum is distributed to the poor chiefly in coals and money. Joseph Avery Tickell esq. who is lord of the manor, Albert Jennings seq. and the Cambridge County Council are the principal landowners. The soil is gravelly; subsoil, chalk. The crops are wheat, barley, oats and peas. The area is 1,969 acres of land and 7 of water; the population in 1921 was 980.

Kelly's Directory - Cambridgeshire - 1929