Stow cum Quy , commonly referred to as Quy, 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 ...

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. Situated around north east 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 ...

lying between the Burwell Road (B1102) and the medieval Cambridge to Newmarket road (B1303, formerly A14), it covers an area of .

Origin of the name

The village's name derives from the joining of two settlements, one called Stow, meaning "high or holy place", that was around the present location of Quy church and Quy coming from ''Cowey'' or "Cow Island", the area around the Swan pub. ''Cum'' is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "with". It was referred to as "Stowe Quye" in medieval times.

History

The area has been occupied for millennia and

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 ...

remains have been found in the parish. A Roman villa has been found just to the west of Quy Hall. The Saxon

Fleam Dyke Fleam Dyke is a linear earthwork between Fulbourn and Balsham in Cambridgeshire, initiated some time between AD 330 and AD 510. It is three miles long and seven metres high from ditch to bank, and its ditch faces westwards, implying invading Saxon ...

runs close by the village. The two Saxon settlements of Stow and Quy built up on a raised area at the southern edge 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 ...

that ran north all the way to

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. The settlements were already joined by 1066, though had separate manors, and became a single ecclesiastical parish by the early 13th century. Stow was the area around the present parish church, and Quy around The Swan public house.

Jeremy Collier Jeremy Collier (; 23 September 1650 – 26 April 1726) was an English theatre critic, non-juror bishop and theologian. Life Born Jeremiah Collier, in Stow cum Quy, Cambridgeshire, Collier was educated at Caius College, University of Cambri ...

(1650–1727), the bishop and theatre critic, was born in the village and has a street named after him. The oldest parts of the parish church of St Mary at Stow End date from the 12th century. The nave and chancel were built around 1340. A

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

chapel was built in 1840 but closed just after 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 ...

and was demolished when the Wheatsheaf pub was extended.

Village life

Quy currently supports two public houses. The White Swan, or Swan, a timber-framed house, was open by 1750. The Prince Albert opened in the 1840s on the Newmarket Road and was renamed The Missing Sock after refurbishment in 2010. The Wheatsheaf at Stow End, which opened in the late 19th century, closed in 2019 and was demolished in 2024. Former pubs in the village were The Plough which opened in the late 18th century and was perhaps replaced by The Bush which was open from 1821 to 1904. The

village sign In many parts of England, an ornamental village sign is erected to announce the village name to those entering the village. They are typically placed on the principal road entrance or in a prominent location such as a village green. The desig ...

was erected to commemorate the

Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the Silver jubilee, 25th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth ...

. Children initially attend Bottisham Primary School in the nearby village and usually then go on to Bottisham Village College. Nearby are a number of places of interest including the National Trust property of

Anglesey Abbey Anglesey Abbey is a National Trust property in the village of Lode, northeast of Cambridge, England. The property includes a country house, built on the remains of a priory, 98 acres (400,000 m2) of gardens and landscaped grounds, and a worki ...

and Quy Fen, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (

SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

). Another nearby conservation area is Wilbraham Fen and there are several picturesque walks around the village. The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

of St Mary's is a Grade II

listed building 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 ...

. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

window dates from the 12th century and the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

chapels from the early 13th century; the chancel and nave arcades, with north and south aisles, were rebuilt in the early 14th century. The west tower dates from the late 14th century and the

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

from about 1500. Two chancel windows were unblocked in 1665 and in 1739 the east wall of the chancel was rebuilt and the chancel was shortened. The church was restored in about 1885, by W. White (1825-1900) St Mary's, alongside churches in four other neighbouring villages, is a part of the Anglesey Benefice, created in 2003, the vicarage for which is at

Bottisham Bottisham is a village and civil parish in the East Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England, about east of Cambridge, halfway to Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,983, including Ch ...

. Stow has no other places of worship.

Transport

The village is just off the A14 via the Quy interchange and is about two miles from the Newmarket Road Park and Ride. There is a bus service running between Cambridge and Newmarket passing through the neighbouring villages of Bottisham,

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 ...

and Burwell. Cycle access is good, thanks to a number of cycle paths. Quy railway station, on the

Cambridge to Mildenhall Railway The Cambridge to Mildenhall railway is a closed railway between Cambridge and Mildenhall, Suffolk, Mildenhall in England. It was built by the Great Eastern Railway, and opened in two stages, in 1884 and 1885. Traversing thinly populated agricultu ...

, opened in 1884. It closed to passenger traffic in 1962 and to goods in 1964.

Nearby villages

Teversham Teversham is a small village in Cambridgeshire, England, about from Fulbourn and about from the centre of Cambridge. History Teversham is a small parish that built up just to the south of the Cambridge to Newmarket road; it had only 27 villa ...

Gallery

File:St Mary's church in Stow-cum-Quy - geograph.org.uk - 2968051.jpg, St Mary's church File:Quy Hall, Cambridgeshire-geograph.org.uk-2298625.jpg, Quy Hall File:Stow cum Quy village sign1.JPG, Village sign

References

Notes

External links

The White Swan pubStow-cum-Quy Parish Council website
{{authority control Villages in Cambridgeshire Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire District