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Fenstanton 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 ...
in Cambridgeshire, England, south of St Ives in
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 ...
, 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 and historic county. Fenstanton lies on the south side of the River Ouse. Known as ''Stantun'' in the 11th century, ''Staunton'' and ''Stanton Gisbrit de Gant'' in the 13th century, the name Fenstanton (and ''Fennystanton'') appeared from the 14th century. The name "Fenstanton" means "fenland stone enclosure".


History

Lying on the
Via Devana Via Devana is the name given to a Roman Road in England that ran from Colchester in the south-east, through Cambridge in the interior, and on to Chester in the north-west. These were important Roman military centres and it is conjectured that th ...
, the
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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
road that linked the army camps at
Godmanchester Godmanchester ( ) is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It is separated from Huntingdon, to the north, by the valley of the River Great Ouse. Being on the Roman roads ...
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 ...
, Fenstanton was the site of a Roman villa, possibly designed to keep order after an attack on the forces of the IX Legion Hispana, as they retreated from an ambush at Cambridge by
Boudicca Boudica or Boudicca (, from Brythonic * 'victory, win' + * 'having' suffix, i.e. 'Victorious Woman', known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as , ) was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed up ...
's tribesmen. The first evidence of a Roman crucifixion in the UK was discovered in a burial in Fenstanton in 2017, when a skeleton of a man was found with a nail through his heel. In 2021, the bones were unearthed. The inhabitants of Fenstanton rose in support of
Hereward the Wake Hereward the Wake (Old English pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɛ.ward/ , modern English pronunciation / ) (also known as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman and a leader of local resistance to the Norman Conquest of E ...
after the
Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
in 1066. From his stronghold on the
Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an Administrative counties of England, administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to ...
Hereward led resistance against the Normans, causing King William I to assemble a force in Cambridge to deal with the problem. Men were summoned from
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 ...
but they did not pass Fenstanton and escaped with their lives only by swimming across the river. Fenstanton was listed 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 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 Toseland in Huntingdonshire; the name of the settlement was written as ''Stantone'' in the Domesday Book. In 1086 there was just one manor at Fenstanton; the annual rent paid to the lord of the manor in 1066 had been £17 and the rent had fallen to £16 in 1086, and the parish contained 33 households. By 1086 there was already a church and a priest at Fenstanton.


Geography

The original Fenstanton bypass opened in early February 1965, as a single carriageway three-lane road, built by
Cementation Company The Cementation Company is a British civil engineering and construction business. It is currently a part of the Swedish construction and development company Skanska. Established as the Francois Cementation Company in 1910, the company specialis ...
. It was the first part of the busy A604 to be improved. This was improved when the Godmanchester to
Bar Hill Bar Hill is a purpose-built village with a population of 4,000 about 4 miles (7 km) northwest of Cambridge, England on the A14 road, just east of the Prime Meridian. History Prior to the building of the Bar Hill settlement the area was ...
section, of the A604, was built by Sir Alfred McAlpine (Southern), opening in April 1981. The Bar Hill to
Swavesey Swavesey is a village lying on the Prime meridian (Greenwich), Prime Meridian of the world in Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 2,463. The village is situated 9 miles to the north west of Cambridge and 3 miles south east of St Ives, ...
section had opened first, in early December 1980. It was the A14 from 1994 until 2022. The archaeological works undertaken as a result of the large road improvement scheme found Early Bronze Age burials and cremations at Fenstanton Gravels and give an insight into
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 ...
funerary practices.


Government

As a civil parish, Fenstanton has a parish council consisting of twelve councillors. 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
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 and has its headquarters in Huntingdon. Fenstanton is a district ward and is represented on the district council by one councillor. The 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 ...
which has administration buildings in
Alconbury Alconbury is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Alconbury is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being an historic county of England. Alconbury lies approximatel ...
. Fenstanton is part of the electoral division of ''The Hemingfords and Fen Stanton'' and is represented on the county council by one councillor. Fenstanton 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 ...
of Huntingdonshire 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 ...
. Then 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 ...
, Fenstanton became a part of the county of Cambridgeshire. At
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
, Fenstanton is in the parliamentary constituency 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 ...
, and elects one Member of Parliament by the
first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
system of election. From 2001 to 2024 the MP was
Jonathan Djanogly Jonathan Simon Djanogly (born 3 June 1965) is a British politician and solicitor who served as Shadow Solicitor General for England and Wales from 2004 to 2010 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts and Legal Aid from 2010 to 2 ...
of the Conservative Party. In 2024
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' ...
was elected as the new Conservative MP.


Demography


Population

In the period 1801 to 1901 the population of Fenstanton 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 704 (the lowest was in 1801) and 1120 (the highest was in 1861). 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 Fenstanton in 2011 was 812.7 persons per square mile (313.8 per square kilometre).


Culture and community

The village supports two public houses: The Crown and Pipes and the Duchess. In 1851 there were eight recorded pubs: The Bell, the Crown, the George, the King William IV, the Rose & Crown, the Royal Oak, the White Horse, Woolpack and the Duchess. There is a post office, as well as a primary school with an attached pre-school, shared with neighbouring Hilton. There is a convenience store called Ash's Shop, which won the Small Convenience Store of the Year award at the 2021 Convenience Awards Fenstanton is the current operating base of Stagecoach in Huntingdonshire.


Notable people

The village is the ancestral home of John Howland, one of the Pilgrims who arrived on the
Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...
in 1620 at
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
, Massachusetts. In the 18th century
Lancelot "Capability" Brown Lancelot "Capability" Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783) was an English gardener and landscape architect, a notable figure in the history of the English landscape garden style. Unlike other architects ...
, the famous landscape gardener, bought the Lordship of the Manor of Fenstanton and Hilton from the
Earl of Northampton Earl of Northampton is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created five times. Earls of Northampton, First Creation (1071) * Waltheof (d. 1076) * Maud, Queen of Scotland (c.1074–1130/31) * Simon II de Senlis (1103–1153) * Simon II ...
. Brown and his wife Bridget are buried in the parish churchyard and the chancel bears a memorial to them and two of their sons, John and his wife Mary and Lancelot Brown Junior with his wife Frances memorialised across the nave. Notable antiquarian
M. R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English medievalist scholar and author who served as provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936) as well as Vice-Chancellor of the Univers ...
wrote a ghost story entitled " The Fenstanton Witch", which was not published till after his death. The story also mentions the village of Lolworth, which is a few miles away.


Religious sites

The parish church of St Peter and St Paul dates from the 13th century, though there was an earlier church on the site listed in the
Domesday Survey 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 ...
. The octagonal spire on the west tower dates from the 14th century, and the church is noted for its chancel, built by 14th-century rector William de Longthorne. The east window, 17 feet in width, is impressive for a church of its size. The six bells date from the 17th and 18th century, the latest being hung in 1981, a gift from The Howland Society in America, descendants of the Mayflower Pilgrims mentioned above. The village also has both a Baptist and a United Reformed Church.


References


Further reading

*Dady, Jack. (2000) ''Beyond Yesterday: A History of Fenstanton''. Huntingdon: Archived Books. See village website


External links


Village websiteCapability Brown's unfinished garden
* {{authority control Villages in Cambridgeshire Huntingdonshire Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire