East Cambridgeshire (locally known as East Cambs) is a

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

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. Its council is based in the cathedral city of Ely. The district also contains the towns of Littleport and

Soham Soham ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of East Cambridgeshire, in Cambridgeshire, England, just off the A142 road, A142 between Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely and Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket. Its population ...

and surrounding rural areas, including parts of

the Fens The Fens or Fenlands in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a system o ...

. Since 2017 the district has been a constituent member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, led by the directly elected

Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough The mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is a combined authority mayor, first 2017 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election, elected in May 2017. The mayor is leader of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. This o ...

. The neighbouring districts are

South Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district of Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 162,119 at the 2021 census. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Chesterton Rural District and South Cambri ...

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 ...

, Fenland,

King's Lynn and West Norfolk King's Lynn and West Norfolk is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in the town of King's Lynn. The district also includes the t ...

and

West Suffolk West Suffolk may refer to the following places in Suffolk, England: * West Suffolk (county), a county until 1974 * West Suffolk District, a local government district established in 2019 * West Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency), an electoral di ...

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under 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 ...

. The new district covered the area of three former districts, which were all abolished at the same time: * Ely Rural District * Ely Urban District * Newmarket Rural District The new district was named East Cambridgeshire, reflecting its position within the wider county.

Governance

East Cambridgeshire District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by

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 ...

. The whole district is also covered by

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 ...

es, which form a third tier of local government.

Political control

The

Conservatives 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 civilizati ...

had been elected with a majority of the seats at the 2023 election. The council went under

no overall control In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...

following a change in allegiance in August 2024, which left the Conservatives with exactly half the council's seats. The Conservatives continue to form the council's administration by virtue of holding the chair's casting vote. The Liberal Democrats and the Independent councillor have sat together as the Liberal Democrat and Independent Group since November 2024. The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: (Put "East Cambridgeshire" in search box to see specific results.)

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2011 have been:

Composition

Following the 2023 election, a by-election in April 2024, a change of allegiance in August 2024, a resignation in March 2025 and a by-election in May 2025, the composition of the council is: The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last full review of boundaries in 2019 the council has comprised 28

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s, representing 14 wards. Elections are held every four years.

Premises

The council is based at The Grange on Nutholt Lane in Ely. The building was originally a large Victorian house. It served as a maternity hospital from the 1940s until the 1970s. The building was acquired around the time East Cambridgeshire was created in 1974 and converted to offices. Several large extensions have since been added.

Archaeology

The Fenland Survey of

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

finds carried out in the 1980s mentions an enumeration of findings made between 1884 and 1994 in the region to the north of Devil's Dyke and

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 ...

, from the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

, the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

(the region south of Devil's Dyke is not yet included in the survey). By far the greatest quantities of bronze objects found in England were discovered in East Cambridgeshire. The most important Bronze Age finds were discovered in Isleham (more than 6500 pieces), Stuntney,

, Wicken,

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, ...

, Coveney,

Mepal Mepal is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. Mepal is part of the East Cambridgeshire district, and is located just north of the A142 road between Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely and Chatteris. First listed as ''Mepahala'' in the 12th century, the v ...

and Wilburton. These findings include

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

spear A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...

-heads,

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

axe An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...

s, palstaves,

knives A knife (: knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...

s, rapiers,

armour Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

, decorative equipment (in particular for horses) and many fragments of sheet

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

. The greater part of these objects have been entrusted to the Moyse's Hall Museum in

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

while other items are in the University of Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in

. Other finds include traces of

cremation Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

s and barrows, golden torques, an extensive ditch system and a wooden track-way between Fordey Farm (Barway) and

Little Thetford Little Thetford is a small village in the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Thetford, Cambridgeshire, Thetford, south of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely in Cambridgeshire, England, about by road from London. The village is built on a boul ...

. Bronze razors have also been found and it is well known that

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

shaved their cheeks.

Parishes

The whole district is divided into

es. The parish of Ely holds

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a monarch, national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, ci ...

, and the parish councils for Soham and Littleport take the style "town council".

Settlements in East Cambridgeshire

* Aldreth * Ashley * Barway * Bottisham * Brinkley * Burwell * Chettisham * Cheveley *

* Coveney * Dullingham * Ely (City) * Fordham * Haddenham * Isleham *

Little Downham Situated in the east of Cambridgeshire, the village of Little Downham is located north of the city of Ely. The Parish of Downham comprises Little Downham and Pymoor. It has an approximate population of 2660 with approximately 35 miles for foo ...

* Littleport *

Lode In geology, a lode is a deposit of metalliferous ore that fills or is embedded in a fracture (or crack) in a rock formation or a vein of ore that is deposited or embedded between layers of rock. The current meaning (ore vein) dates from th ...

* Longmeadow *

* Prickwillow * Pymoor * Queen Adelaide * Reach *

(Town) * Stetchworth * Stretham * Stuntney *

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

* Swaffham Bulbeck * Swaffham Prior * Upware * Wicken * Wilburton * Witcham * Witchford * Woodditton

References

{{coord, 52.387, 0.294, display=title, region:GB_scale:100000 Non-metropolitan districts of Cambridgeshire