Fowlmere is one of the southernmost villages 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. The population of the

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 ...

at the 2011 Census was 1,206. It is very close to 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 ...

, and southwest of the city 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 ...

History

The village has an ancient landmark called the ‘Round Moat’, which is the remains of an early

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

settlement dating from around the ninth century. The Census Records from 1841 to 1891 can be found in the Cambridge Record Office. In addition, the 1851 Census for Fowlmere is available in full transcript form, on microfiche, from th
Cambridgeshire Family History Society Bookstall
The village was struck by an F1/T2 tornado on 23 November 1981, as part of the record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day.

Village life

Fowlmere has one pub, ''The Chequers'', which has operated since the 16th Century. It served as a coaching inn for travellers going into and from

and was even used as coffin storage for those travelling with bodies. It was notably mentioned in the diary of

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

, which is regarded as an important historical English diary. Nowadays, the pub serves as a local bar and restaurant that takes in patrons from many nearby villages. Fowlmere has no general convenience shop, but does have a small business park that houses several business. near the Village Hall. They are regularly used by locals for recreation and are maintained by the local council.

School

Fowlmere has one school, Fowlmere Primary School, which educates around 100 students a year. It is an extension of an old school building that has been used since its founding in 1861. It teaches pupils aged 4–11 (years reception to 6) and attracts pupils from Fowlmere,

Thriplow Thriplow () is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, south of Cambridge. The village also gives its name to a former Hundreds of Cambridgeshire, Cambridgeshire hundred. History The parish of Thriplow covers , roughly spanning the land between ...

and nearby Great Chishill, which does not have a Primary school of its own. The site lies opposite 'The Butts' which is a field and neighbourhood at the edge of the village. The school forms a large part of the community, as most of the children in the small village grow up around it.

Airfield

Fowlmere Airfield Fowlmere Airfield is a small airfield located northeast of Royston, Hertfordshire, Royston, Hertfordshire and southwest of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. It was previously a Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, sate ...

opened in late-1916 as an emergency landing ground for 75 (Home Defence) Squadron of the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

, who had their HQ in Bedford and dispersed their three flights to Yelling (St Neots), Old Weston (Thrapston) and Therfield (Baldock) on anti-Zeppelin duties. Its purpose was to receive aircraft lost, out of fuel or with engine troubles and was staffed with a minimum number of personnel whose prime task was to light flares to aid pilots in finding the site. It closed down after WW1. As

RAF Fowlmere Fowlmere Airfield is a small airfield located northeast of Royston, Hertfordshire and southwest of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. It was previously a Royal Air Force satellite station, RAF Fowlmere. History First World War Flying at ...

, near the edge of the village, it was the location for the RAF Station and transferred to the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) for use by their 339th Fighter Group during

World War II 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 ...

. The Group flew its first combat mission on 30 April 1944, and its last on 21 April 1945. The airfield now provides pilots with self-fly

Piper aircraft Piper Aircraft, Inc. is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, located at the Vero Beach Regional Airport in Vero Beach, Florida, United States and owned since 2009 by the Government of Brunei. Throughout much of the mid-to-late 20th cent ...

and servicing, as well as PPL training.

Natural history

The Fowlmere nature reserve (maintained by the

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

) is situated west of the village, between it and the village of

Melbourn Melbourn () is a large, nucleated settlement, clustered village in the far south-west of Cambridgeshire, England. Its traditional high street is bypassed by the A10 road (England), A10, intersecting the settlement's other main axis exactly north ...

. With of nature trails, it attracts many visitors. Several special birds are seen there, including:

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

water rail The water rail, western water rail or European water rail (''Rallus aquaticus'') is a bird of the rail family which breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Northern and eastern populations are migratory, but this ...

s, and grasshopper warblers. Fowlmere, along with several other Cambridgeshire villages, lays claim to a sighting of the infamous Fen Tiger, a supposed wild

big cat The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus ''Panthera'', namely the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. All cats descend from the ''Felidae'' family, sharing similar musculature, c ...

.Cambridge Paranormal

References

External links

Fowlmere's airfields – a brief history

Modern Air

Fowlmere Nature Reserve

Fowlmere Primary School
{{authority control Villages in Cambridgeshire Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire District