Godmanchester ( ) is a town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the Huntingdonshire district of

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to t ...

, England. It is separated from

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cr ...

, to the north, by the valley of the

River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the W ...

. Being on the Roman road network, the town has a long history. It has a waterside location, surrounded by open countryside of high value for its biodiversity but it remains highly accessible, with a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

line to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the

A1 road A list of roads designated A1, sorted by alphabetical order of country. * A01 highway (Afghanistan), a long ring road or beltway connecting Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar * A1 motorway (Albania), connecting Durrës and Kukës * A001 highw ...

and M11/ A14 which run nearby.

Etymology

The town was listed as ''Godmundcestre'' in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

, and was subsequently known as ''Gutmuncetre, Gudmencestre, Gudmundcestria, Gum(m)uncestre, Gumencestre, Guncestre, Gumcestria, Gumecestre, Gommecestre, Gomecestria, Gummecestre, Gurmund(es)cestre, Gormecestre, Gormancestre, Gomecestre, Gunnecestre, Gurmecestre, Godmechestre, Gurminchestre, Gumchestre, Gurmencestre, Gumcestre, Gumestre, Godmonchestre, Gumecestur'' and ''Gumycestre''. The root itself is uncertain but the same as the town of

Godalming Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settlement ...

, suggesting it may be derived from the

ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and us ...

of the

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Euro ...

who settled

Sub-Roman Britain Sub-Roman Britain is the period of late antiquity in Great Britain between the end of Roman rule and the Anglo-Saxon settlement. The term was originally used to describe archaeological remains found in 5th- and 6th-century AD sites that hin ...

. The second element ''mund'' is the

nominative In grammar, the nominative case ( abbreviated ), subjective case, straight case or upright case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or (in Latin and formal variants of Eng ...

plural The plural (sometimes list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical number, grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the ...

of the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

word ''munda'', meaning "protector" or "guardian." The suffix ''chester'' derives from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old Englis ...

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical ef ...

of the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

word ''castrum'', and was used by the

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened ...

to denote the location of a former Roman (or sometimes pre-Roman) military fort. The most likely translation is thus the nouns "Goths-guards-fort." Attributions to the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

King Guðrum c.835–890 are considered to be ahistorical founding myths reflective of the changes in Anglo-Saxon perceptions of the Goths over time. A typical pronunciation was performed by the indie band ''The Howl and The Hum'' in their song, ''Godmanchester Chinese Bridge''. A minority of visitors, former residents and residents continue to pronounce the place as ''Gumster'', though this has long-since been superseded by ''Godmunchester'', with stress on the first syllable.

History

The town is on the site of the Roman town of ''Durovigutum''. There is archaeological evidence of

Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

ic and earlier habitation prior to the establishment of a key

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

town and a

mansio In the Roman Empire, a ''mansio'' (from the Latin word ''mansus,'' the perfect passive participle of ''manere'' "to remain" or "to stay") was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or ''via'', maintained by the central government for the use ...

( inn), so the area has probably been continuously occupied for more than 2,000 years. The remains of a

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

temple circa 2900 BC, aligned to the Beltane sunrise, were documented between the town and the village of Hemingford Abbots. The location is likely to have been originally settled due to the

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

beds providing a ford across the

. The settlement was at a crossroads of

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London ('' Londinium'') to Lincoln ('' Lindum Colonia'') and York ('' Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earn ...

, the Via Devana (from

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, between

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

) and a military road from

Sandy, Bedfordshire Sandy is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire, England. It lies to the east of Bedford, to the south west of Cambridge and north of Central London. The town has a population of around 13,400 based on 2015 estimates. Th ...

. The Roman settlement was sacked by

in the third century. In contrast to

, archaeological finds have been extensive in the centre of Godmanchester, which has two

conservation areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

of early recognition, including many timber-framed Tudor houses, the largest being Tudor Farm, dating from 1600 and restored in 1995. The town's prosperity over the centuries has been closely tied to its strategic position on the old

Roman Road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

from London to York. It is suggested that, in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

allowed development of an inland port by digging the

Mill Lade A mill race, millrace or millrun, mill lade (Scotland) or mill leat (Southwest England) is the current of water that turns a water wheel, or the channel (sluice) conducting water to or from a water wheel. Compared with the broad waters of a mil ...

. The place was listed as ''Godmundcestre'' in the

of 1086 in the Hundred of Leightonstone in Huntingdonshire. The survey records that there were 26 ploughlands, with capacity for a further 31 and, in addition to the arable land, there were of meadows, of woodland and three water mills, a church and a priest. Godmanchester was first recognised with a town charter by King John in 1212, although it had been a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

and royal manor for some years. King James I granted a second Royal Charter in 1604. Farm Hall, on West Street, was used as a bugged detention centre for German nuclear scientists as part of

Operation Epsilon Operation Epsilon was the codename of a program in which Allied forces near the end of World War II detained ten German scientists who were thought to have worked on Nazi Germany's nuclear program. The scientists were captured between May 1 ...

, from July 1945 to January 1946.

Government

Godmanchester Town Hall (geograph 3279645)

Godmanchester was a

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

based at Godmanchester Town Hall in the county of Huntingdonshire until 1961. It was then part of the borough of Huntingdon and Godmanchester until 1974. At county level, the town was in Huntingdonshire until 1965, when it became part of the new administrative county of

Huntingdon and Peterborough Huntingdon and Peterborough was a short-lived administrative and geographical county in East Anglia in the United Kingdom. It existed from 1965 to 1974, when it became part of Cambridgeshire. Formation The Local Government Act 1888 created ...

. In 1974, the former, relatively diminutive, county of Huntingdon and Peterborough was absorbed into the administrative county of Cambridgeshire. The highest tier of local government is Cambridgeshire County Council, locally represented by two county councillors serving ''Godmanchester and Huntingdon East'' (electoral division). The second tier of local government, the planning authority and council-tax collecting body, is

Huntingdonshire District Council Huntingdonshire District Council is the local authority for the district of Huntingdonshire in Cambridgeshire, England. Based in Huntingdon, it forms the lower part of the two tier system of local government in the district, below Cambridgeshi ...

, a

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shire counties'') in a two-tier arrangement. Non- ...

, locally represented by two councillors elected for an eponymous ward. The third and lowest tier of local government is Godmanchester

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...

. The council comprises 17 councillors, including a mayor and a deputy mayor. At Westminster, Godmanchester is represented in the

seat in the House of Commons since 2001 by Jonathan Djanogly ( Con).

Demography

Population

Since 1801, the population has been recorded every ten years by the UK census, the only exception being in 1941 due to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. In the 19th century, the population ranged from 1,573 (in 1801) to 2,438 (recorded in 1861). The fastest growth, an 81% increase in population, was between 1981 and 1991 Population figures since 1911 are: All population census figures from report ''Historic Census figures Cambridgeshire to 2011'' by ''Cambridgeshire Insight''. In 2011, the parish covered an area of and so the population density for Godmanchester in 2011 was 876.5 persons per square mile (338.4 per square kilometre). By 2016 Godmanchester had a population of about 6800 in 3,100 homes; it is expected that this will further increase to at least 4050 homes and 8600 residents by 2036.

Culture and community

The town has a waterside location surrounded by open countryside of high value for its biodiversity, agricultural land value, scenic beauty and landscape quality. Godmanchester Causeway Dusk

There are several bridges across the Great Ouse to Huntingdon. The

Old Bridge, Huntingdon The Old Bridge in Huntingdon (now part of Cambridgeshire, England) is a well-preserved medieval stone bridge over the River Great Ouse, connecting Huntingdon to Godmanchester. History The town has long been an important bridgehead, with ...

, a historic, medieval bridge, was the only one until 1975 when the original bypass route which is now used as a

local road The road hierarchy categorizes roads according to their functions and capacities. While sources differ on the exact nomenclature, the basic hierarchy comprises freeways, arterials, collectors, and local roads. Generally, the functional hierarc ...

was built. Pedestrian traffic across the river is principally served by three additional footbridges. England's largest meadow

Portholme Portholme (or Port Holme on Ordnance Survey mapping) is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Parish of Brampton between Huntingdon and Godmanchester in Cambridgeshire, England. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, and a Sp ...

may be accessed from Godmanchester or Huntingdon, but lies within the Parish of

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it t ...

. It remains an important flood plain, but has served as an equestrian racecourse and centre for early aviation. To the North and East of the town are West and Eastside Common ( SSSI), and Godmanchester Nature Reserve. These commons are intersected by The

Ouse Valley Way The Ouse Valley Way is a 150-mile footpath in England, following the River Great Ouse from its source near Syresham in Northamptonshire to its mouth in The Wash near King's Lynn. The path begins outside the King's Head pub in Syresham and ends ...

and Pathfinder Way long-distance footpaths, and the route of a disused railway which connected the demolished Godmanchester Station and St Ives. South of the town centre are the headquarters and a large operational shelter of veterinary/rescue charity Wood Green Animal Shelters. A number of small businesses, plus

DHL DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. ...

and

Coop Coop, COOP, Co-op, or ''variation'', most often refers to: * A chicken coop or other enclosure * Cooperative or co-operative ("co-op"), an association of persons who cooperate for their mutual social, economic, and cultural benefit ** Housing co ...

warehouses are situated on the southern edge of the town, on Chord Business park, Roman Way Industrial Estate and Cardinal Business Park. Original historical documents relating to Godmanchester, including the original church parish registers, local government records, maps, photographs and the surviving borough charters, are held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at the County Record Office, Huntingdon. In October 2003,

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's ''

Songs Of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns sung in churches of varying denominations from around the UK. The series was first broadcast in October 1961. On that occasion, the venue was the Ta ...

'' was once again (previous transmission 1976) hosted by the parish church of St Mary the Virgin and featured the new hymn tune ''Godmanchester'', written by the then vicar, Peter Moger.

Landmarks

Chinese Bridge

One of the town's largest public works of art and of landscaping is its Chinese Bridge, which connects to a water meadow. Local legend has it that the bridge was built without the use of nails or other fixings. The bridge was removed by crane on 9 February 2010. A new replica was built off-site in two parts and was installed on 15–16 February 2010. Today the Chinese Bridge does feature nails. The claims are believed to be false; a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

, had the same urban myth. Expert commentators write that the original nails had corroded away, masking their presence.

Twin towns – sister cities

Godmanchester is twinned with: * Wertheim am Main, Germany *

Salon-de-Provence Salon-de-Provence (, ; oc, label= Provençal Occitan, Selon de Provença/Seloun de Provènço, ), commonly known as Salon, is a commune located about northwest of Marseille in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d ...

, France *

Szentendre Szentendre () is a riverside town in Pest County, Hungary, between the capital city Budapest and Pilis- Visegrád Mountains. The town is known for its museums (most notably the Open-Air Ethnographic Museum), galleries, and artists. Due to its ...

, Hungary *

Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and '' comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines. History The city's origins are very ancient. ...

, Italy Facilitated by Huntingdon and Godmanchester Twinning Association

Sport and leisure

The

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

club

Godmanchester Rovers F.C. Godmanchester Rovers Football Club is a football club based in Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Bearscroft Lane. History Established in 1911,Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2016) ''Non-League ...

play at Bearscroft Lane, whose teams play in various regional divisions.

Transport

In 2019 the six lane A14 was opened allowing heavy traffic to pass unhindered over the long Great Ouse Viaduct, south of the town. The arterial road connects the West Midlands to the Haven ports of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring District, Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-w ...

and

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northeast of London. H ...

and via the M11 to London. Since opening in 2020 the A1307 provides a resilient route for light vehicles, north across the river into Huntingdon, or south to St. Ives and Cambridge . (Historically this route has been repeatedly renamed: most recent first, A1307, A14, A604, Via Devana). The

A1198 road The A1198 is a road in Cambridgeshire, England, which runs between the A505 at Royston, and the A1307 on the outskirts of Huntingdon. Settlements along route * Royston * Kneesworth * Waddon Gap * Arrington * Caxton * Cambourne * Papwo ...

links traffic to the A14 or to Royston, and is used for shorter journeys south avoiding the A1. Huntingdon railway station, a semi-major stop on the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running b ...

is less than from the town centre by car. The town of

and railway station may also be accessed on foot via the expansive meadow or by National Cycle Network route 51. Huntingdon has at least 2 buses per hour in daytime plus school buses. At least one bus per hour links the town with Cambridge directly.

Notable people

* Stephen Marshall ( 1594 – 1655), prominent non-conformist churchman, before and during the

Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

, *

Sir Oliver Cromwell Sir Oliver Cromwell ( – 28 August 1655) was an English landowner, lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1589 and 1625. He was the uncle of Oliver Cromwell, the Member of Parliament, general, and Lord Pr ...

(1562-1655), Uncle to the Lord Protector and ruler of England, Oliver Cromwell, * Sir William Prescott 1st Baronet of Godmanchester, (1874–1945), Civil Engineer and Member of Parliament. Father of Sir Richard Stanley Prescott. On the death of his uncle, Sir

Mark Prescott Sir Mark Prescott, 3rd Baronet (born 1948), is an English race horse trainer with over 2000 winners to his name, including Alpinista, winner of the 2022 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He is based at Heath House Stables, an historic 50 box yard at ...

, a race horse trainer from Newmarket became 3rd

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

, * Fred Beart (1850–1895), cricketer, was born in Godmanchester, * Nigel Bonner (1928-1994), Antarctic marine mammal specialist, retired to Godmanchester and died there, * Timothy Machin (born 1948), cricketer, was born in Godmanchester, * Simon Thurley (born 1962), historian and presenter, grew up in Godmanchester, * Darren Bent (born 1984), England international and Premier League footballer played for

as a youth.

Notes

References

Sources

External links

Godmanchester Town CouncilGodmanchester Porch MuseumGodmanchester Community Association Web site featuring photo records in the 'scrapbook'
{{authority control Towns in Cambridgeshire Populated places on the River Great Ouse Huntingdonshire Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire