__NOTOC__ Newton-in-the-Isle 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 the

Fenland District Fenland is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. It was historically part of the Isle of Ely. The district covers around of mostly agricultural land in the extremely flat The Fens, Fens. The council ...

of 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 ...

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 village is to the north of

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and ...

History

The "Isle" in Newton-in-the-Isle refers to the

. The village is situated on the Silt Fen (also known as the Townland), formed before 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 ...

. Newton was not 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 ...

'' and was probably settled later, with its first mention appearing in 1210. According to ''Gardiner'', " 1286 Sir Roger de Colvil married Desiderata, grand-daughter of Sir Stephen de Maresco,

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

of Newton,

Walsoken Walsoken is a settlement and civil parish in Norfolk, England, which is conjoined as a suburb at the northeast of the town of Wisbech, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire. The parish of Walsoken in the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census, had a popu ...

, and Tidd St Giles, and through her acquired Newton which became the chief residence of the ( Colville) family for over 500 hundred years", until it was sold in 1792. The College of St Mary by the Sea was founded here during the reign of Henry IV by Sir John Colville. Its endowments were specifically exempted from dissolution in the 1547 legislation of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

, the lands instead being transferred to support the rectory of Newton. The parish church of St James is a medieval structure with a tower. Formerly dedicated to St Katherine, it was built in the 12th century and widened in the 14th.

Woad ''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, dyer's-weed, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, ''Isati ...

(or wad) was grown and processed in the area. Woad mills were of two types:- permanent and temporary. The temporary woad mill taken down at Parson Drove in 1914 for the final time had previously been located at Newton, Spalding,

Tydd St Giles Tydd St Giles is a village and civil parish in Fenland, Cambridgeshire, England. It is the northernmost village in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire (bordering Lincolnshire), on the same latitude as Midlands towns such as Loughborough and Shrewsb ...

and Whaplode Marsh. Woad mills remained at

Algarkirk Algarkirk ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Boston in Lincolnshire, England. It is situated south-south-west from Boston and near the A16 road. It has a population of 406, falling to 386 at the 2011 census. An alternative vil ...

until 1927 and

Skirbeck Skirbeck is a historic village and suburb of Boston in Lincolnshire, England. Skirbeck is a long v-shaped formation wrapped around the south and east side of Boston parish. It has been incorporated into the Borough of Boston since 1932. It is in ...

until 1932. A model of a woad mill is on display in

Wisbech & Fenland Museum The Wisbech & Fenland Museum, located in the town of Wisbech in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, is one of the oldest purpose-built museums in the United Kingdom. The museum logo is W&F. History Initially a member-based organisation, ...

. A village public house, The White Lion, closed in 1993 A further public house, The Woadman's Arms, which derived its name from the woad that was grown in the village until the 19th century, closed in 2017. In 2016 Newton reverted to its earlier name of Newton-in-the-Isle. This was done due to issues distinguishing between other villages of the same name.

References

External links

*
Village website
{{authority control Villages in Cambridgeshire Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire Fenland District