Duxford is a village in

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, about south of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. It is part of

the Hundred Parishes The Hundred Parishes is a cultural heritage initiative focused on an area in the East of England recognized for its high concentration of cultural and historical significance. Although without formal recognition or status, the concept has the ble ...

area.

History

The village formed on the banks of the

River Cam The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distanc ...

, a little below its emergence from the hills of north

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. One of the more populous settlements in its

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 ...

, it was split into two ecclesiastical parishes in medieval times until they were united in 1834. Originally known as ''Duxworth'' and listed as ''Dukeswrthe'' in the 10th century, and ''Dochesuuorde'' 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, the village's name comes from "Worth (enclosure) of a man called Duc".

Churches

The village has two Grade I listed medieval parish churches, St John's Church and St Peter's Church. The two parishes were combined in 1874, services being held thereafter at St Peter's; St John's remained a chapel of ease and finally declared redundant. Still consecrated, it is now in the care of The Churches Conservation Trust. The churchyard has been cleared of headstones and is maintained by Duxford Parish Council. To the north of the village close to the Royston to Newmarket road lies Duxford Chapel, a 14th-century

chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or # a chantry chapel, a b ...

chapel that was probably part of the Hospital of St John. St Peter's is part of a small group of churches along with St Mary Magdalene, Ickleton and St Mary & St John, Hinxton. They are known jointly as 'Hinkledux' and services are divided between the three parishes. St Peter's has a bell-ringing group and hosts a pre-school meet up for new parents known as Tiddlers. The current rector is Rev. Lydia Smith. A

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

chapel was built in the late 18th century and licensed in 1794, and at its peak in 1850 had a weekly congregation of 350. The chapel joined with other Congregational churches in uniting with the Presbyterian Church of England in 1972, and was known as Duxford

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2024 it had approximately 44,000 members in around 1,250 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. The URC is a Trinitarian church whose theolog ...

. It is listed Grade II. The final service was held here was in June 2019 and it was sold for conversion to residences in 2021. It is now two separate residences, one of which is an Air BnB for short-term lets.

Airfield

Duxford gives its name to RAF Duxford (now called Duxford Aerodrome), a former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

that was used as a sector station during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

. Duxford Aerodrome was the home of Douglas Bader's Big Wing during that battle. Duxford airfield later became a fighter airfield for the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

operating

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

aircraft. In 1972 the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

began to house historically important aircraft in the hangars, which in 1977 became the

Imperial War Museum Duxford Imperial War Museum Duxford, also known as IWM Duxford or simply Duxford, is a branch of the Imperial War Museum near Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England. Duxford, Britain's largest aviation museum, houses exhibits, including nearly 200 aircraf ...

. The airfield was used in the motion picture '' The Battle of Britain''. During that production one of the hangars was blown up to simulate a

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

bombing raid. There are currently three all-weekend air shows a year which have good visibility from the village and it is common to see planes flying over the village, either leisure flights or in essential practice.

Village life

The village currently has two remaining pubs – The John Barleycorn and The Plough. Other former pubs and ale houses include The Wheatsheaf (which re-opened in 2018 as Graystones deli/cafe), the Three Horseshoes, first recorded in 1786, the King's Head which opened in the mid-19th century, the Flower Pot, located at the end of the old airfield runway on what is now Hunts Road, The Brewer's Arms on The Green, The Elms, long since disappeared in the 18th century and The Red Lion, now in the parish of Whittlesford. Until 2022 the village held a popular annual Advent Market at St John's Church which granted funds for local community projects. There is an annual Soap Box Derby every September which, since 2013, has raised £86,350 for

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

. There is a Duxford

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...

, and a well-supported bowls club. The National Garden Scheme sees several private gardens open to the public for one day a year including Robynet House and Duxford Mill. The local football team is Duxford United FC who play their home games on the recreation ground on Hunts Road. The Duxford Lawn Tennis Club has two courts on the same ground. The school is a Church of England Primary School in the Diocese of Ely which has a breakfast and after-school club (DX) and a playgroup on site. In May 2019, the foundations of a new village community centre were dug and the finished building was opened to the public in May 2020. It is now a thriving hub hosting many village and private events, social groups and meetings. There is a vibrant café, Café 19, which attracts a faithful clientele for their superb cakes, coffees and lunches. They also offer roast lunch on Sundays and a pie & pudding evening as well as themed events throughout the year. A new public green space was opened in 2020 known as Brewery Field; its landscaping is ongoing, including planting, sowing of chalk upland flowers and plants and public utility installations. As at 2024 there have been two successful Festivals of Nature which have attracted large crowds keen to find out about biodiversity, the environment and ways the community can help wildlife and nature locally. On 31 July 2020, a fire gutted the pre-school of Duxford School. It was rebuilt by Kier Construction and completed & reopened in 2023. in 2022, a new history society for village began and is resident, once a month, at the Duxford Community Centre. Their New Year's Day history walk on 1 January 2023 attracted such a large crowd that it made local headline news. The monthly parish magazine for the village, delivered free of charge to every household, is called The Duxford Chatterbox.

References

External links