Alconbury is a village 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

, England. Alconbury is situated within

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

which is a

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

of Cambridgeshire as well as being an historic county of England. Alconbury lies approximately north-west of

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of 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 C ...

History

Alconbury was listed as ''Acumesberie'' and ''Almundeburie'' in the

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

of Leightonstone in Huntingdonshire 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086. There was one manor 17.5 households at Alconbury. The survey records that there were 18 ploughlands with the capacity for a further two, and of meadows. The church is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul. The Great North Road passed through the village and Alconbury Weston to the north-west. The A1 was dualled from

Water Newton Water Newton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Water Newton lies approximately west of Peterborough. Water Newton is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being ...

to Alconbury Hill in three stages in 1958. The £1.25million A1 bypass opened in December 1964, joining the road at the point where it now meets the A1307 (former A604 and A14) at the junction at the top of a hill. It followed part of the former A604. In November 1998, the bypass was converted into the A1(M) which terminates next to the village. The former road is partly the B1043 which is also part of the former A14 and the rest of the former A1 to

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

. Units of the US Air Force were based at Alconbury from 1942 to 1945, and then from 1953 to 1995.

Government

As a civil parish, Alconbury has its own elected parish council, made up of ten members. The second tier of local government is

Huntingdonshire District Council Huntingdonshire District Council is the local authority for the district of Huntingdonshire in Cambridgeshire, England. The council is based in the town of Huntingdon. The district also includes the towns of Godmanchester, Ramsey, St Ives and ...

which is a

of Cambridgeshire. Alconbury is a part of the district ward of ''Alconbury and The Stukeleys'' and is represented on the district council by one councillor. The village's highest tier of local government is

Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council for non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire, England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county, which additionally includes the City o ...

. Alconbury is a part of the electoral division of ''Huntingdon'' and is represented on the county council by two councillors. Cambridgeshire County Council is now based near the village, in New Shire Hall, at

Alconbury Weald Alconbury Weald is a new settlement in the civil parish of The Stukeleys, in the Huntingdonshire district, of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. The settlement lies to the north-west of the town of Huntingdon, and to the south of Peterborou ...

. At Westminster, Alconbury is in the parliamentary constituency of

. The current MP is the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Ben Obese-Jecty Benjamin Obese-Jecty (, born September 1979) is a British Conservative politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon since 2024. Early life Obese-Jecty's father was originally Ghanaian and came to Britain on the SS ''Apapa' ...

, who has represented the constituency since 2024. Alconbury was in the historic and

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...

until 1965. From 1965, the village was part of the new administrative county of

Huntingdon and Peterborough Huntingdon and Peterborough was a short-lived administrative county, administrative and Geographical counties of England, geographical county in East Anglia in the United Kingdom. It existed from 1965 to 1974, when it became part of Cambridgesh ...

. In 1974, following the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, Alconbury became a part of the county of Cambridgeshire.

Geography

Alconbury is in the district of Huntingdonshire and gives its name to

RAF Alconbury Royal Air Force Alconbury, or more simply RAF Alconbury, is an active Royal Air Force station near Huntingdon, England, that for many years was used by the USAF. The airfield is in the civil parish of The Stukeleys, close to the villages of G ...

, as well as the new

development, situated on the former airfield of RAF Alconbury. The village is near to the point where a major north–south trunk road, the A1, crosses the only major east–west trunk road: the A14. In 2005, there were proposals to convert the former airfield into a freight-only commercial airport to benefit from these surface links, however these proposals never came to fruition. Nearby, to the east, are

The Stukeleys The Stukeleys is a civil parish in the district of Huntingdonshire, in Cambridgeshire, England, consisting of the villages of Great Stukeley and Little Stukeley, and the new settlement of Alconbury Weald being built on the old RAF Alconbury site ...

Great Stukeley Great Stukeley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of The Stukeleys. It is north-west of Huntingdon. Great Stukeley is in Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as a historic coun ...

and

Little Stukeley Little Stukeley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of The Stukeleys, in Cambridgeshire, England. Little Stukeley lies approximately north-west of Huntingdon. Little Stukeley is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a n ...

. Just north of the A1/A14 junction is Alconbury Hill.

Demography

Population

In the period 1801 to 1901, the population of Alconbury was recorded every ten years by the

UK census Coincident full censuses have taken place in the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom every ten years since 1801, with the exceptions of 1941 (during the Second World War), Ireland in 1921/Northern Ireland in 1931, and Scotland in 2021. ...

. During this time the population was in the range of 483 (the lowest in 1801) and 967 (the highest in 1851). From 1901, a census was taken every ten years with the exception of 1941 (due to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

). 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 Alconbury in 2011 was 327.4 persons per square mile (126.4 per square kilometre).

Amenities

The village has a

Neighbourhood Watch A neighborhood watch or neighbourhood watch (see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also called a crime watch or neighbourhood crime watch, is an organized group of civilians devoted to crime a ...

group, cricket club, football teams, community choir, a

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

, a doctor's surgery, post office and Memorial Hall. There is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

primary school. A service station on the B1043/A14 junction closed in August 2007 and re-opened in 2012 under new owners, however this has since been demolished and is now the site of a Maritime Transport Office and Depot. There are several annual events held in the village including The Neighbourhood Watch Summer Fête, Village Show, Harvest Supper. Biannual events - Christmas tree festival, Scarecrow Festival, open gardens.

References

External links

Victoria County history entry for Alconbury

Alconbury Parish Council

{{authority control Villages in Cambridgeshire Huntingdonshire Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire