Odsey is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in 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 ...

Steeple Morden Steeple Morden is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, about south west of Cambridge and west of Royston. It is part of the South Cambridgeshire local government district. The parish is combined with the parishes of Abingt ...

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, close to the border with

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. It lies just off the

A505 road The A505 is a road in the East of England. It follows part of the route of the Icknield Way and the corresponding Icknield Way Path and runs from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire to the A11 road (England), A11 Abington Interchange North in Cam ...

roughly equidistant between Royston and

Baldock Baldock ( ) is a historic market town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. The River Ivel rises from springs in the town. It lies north of London and north northwest of the county town of Hertford. Nearby towns inc ...

. It is the location of Ashwell and Morden railway station, which serves the nearby villages of Ashwell, Steeple Morden and Guilden Morden, and offers direct train links to

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 ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Kings Cross. The original " Hundred of Odsey" was named after the hamlet, and the area was important in the past as a stop on the

Icknield Way The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills. Background It is generally said to be, withi ...

. A Grade II listed war memorial to those from the local area killed in the First and Second World Wars stands on Station Road, north of the railway station. It is made of

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...

and is in the form of a

Stone of Remembrance The Stone of Remembrance is a standardised design for war memorials that was designed in 1917 by the British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens for the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC). It was designed to commemorate the dead of World War I, to b ...

thought to be designed by

Sir Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...

. It was paid for by Sir George Fordham. In Guilden Morden parish lie Odsey House and its neighbour, Odsey Grange, which form part of a group of listed buildings. Odsey House was built for

William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire (1672 – 4 June 1729) was a British nobleman and politician. He was the eldest son of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire and Lady Mary Butler. A prominent Whig, he was sworn of the Privy Cou ...

in the early 18th century as a lodge for the Odsey horse races. It is

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, of three storeys and built of red brick with lighter tones of red and gauged brick dressings. A covered passageway runs north from the house to a single-storey building originally built as a kitchen. A wall with outbuildings connects the kitchen building to an earlier stable block of Odsey Grange. The Grange itself dates from 1705 and was originally the "Jockey house". A coach house and stable range complete the former racing establishment. The Odsey estate was sold by the Cavendish family to brothers Edward and George Fordham in 1793.

References

External links

Hamlets in Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire District {{Cambridgeshire-geo-stub