Place:Cambridgeshire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Cambridgeshire (known, archaically, as the County of Cambridge and abbreviated Cambs) is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. The principal settlement is the city of Cambridge.

Cambridgeshire was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Grantbridgeshire" (or rather Grentebrigescire) (cf the river Granta). The county contains most of the region now popularly known as Silicon Fen.

Changes in Administration since 1888

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Covering a large part of East Anglia, Cambridgeshire today is the result of several local government unifications. Cambridge was traditionally divided into two sections:

• the south, around the City of Cambridge, known as Cambridgeshire,
• and the northern part of the county, known as the Isle of Ely.

In 1888 when county councils were introduced, separate administrations for the two parts were set up.

In 1965, these two administrative counties were merged to form Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely. Under the Local Government Act 1972 this union was merged with the county to the west, Huntingdon and Peterborough (which had itself been created in 1965 by the merger of Huntingdonshire with the Soke of Peterborough. Between 1888 and 1965 the Soke of Peterborough had been a part of Northamptonshire with its own county council). The resulting post-1974 county was called, simply, Cambridgeshire.

Since 1998, the City of Peterborough has been a unitary authority, separately administered or governed, but is associated with Cambridgeshire for ceremonial purposes such as Lieutenancy, and functions such as policing and the fire service.

for references in the section above see Wikipedia

As a modern county Cambridgeshire is divided into six districts:

• Peterborough District (unitary authority),
• Huntingdonshire District,
• East Cambridgeshire District,
• South Cambridgeshire District,
• Fenland District, and the
• City of Cambridge District.

There is a diagram in Wikipedia. The word district has been added in WeRelate to differentiate between these new municipal formations and the identically named ancient areas from which some of them were formed.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The area that is now Cambridgeshire was settled at about the 6th century by groups of Angles, who pushed their way up the Ouse and the Cam, and established themselves in the fen-district, where they became known as the Gyrwas, the districts corresponding to the modern counties of Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire being distinguished as the lands of the North Gyrwas and the South Gyrwas respectively. At this period the fen-district stretched southward as far as Cambridge, and the essential unity which it preserved is illustrated later by its inclusion under one sheriff, chosen in successive years from Cambridgeshire proper and the Liberty of the Isle of Ely.

In 656 numerous lands in the neighbourhood of Wisbech were included in the endowment of the abbey of Peterborough, and in the same century religious houses were established at Ely and Thorney, both of which, however, were destroyed during the Danish invasions of the 9th century. After the Treaty of Wedmore, the district became part of the Danelaw. On the expulsion of the Danes by Edward the Elder in the 10th century it was included in East Anglia, but in the 11th century was again overrun by the Danes, who in the course of their devastations burnt Cambridge. The first mention of the shire in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the valiant resistance which it opposed to the invaders in 1010 when the rest of East Anglia had taken ignominious flight. The shire-system of East Anglia was in all probability not definitely settled before the Norman conquest of England, but during the Danish occupation of the 9th century the district possessed a certain military and political organization round Cambridge, its chief town, whence probably originated the constitution and demarcation of the later shire.

Division of Cambridgeshire

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

At the time of the Domesday Survey in 1985 the county was divided as now, except that the Isle of Ely, which then formed two hundreds having their meeting-place at Witchford, is now divided into the four Hundreds of Ely, Wisbech, North Witchford and South Witchford, while Cambridge was formed into Cambridge Borough by itself. Flendish Hundred was then known as Flamingdike.

Ecclesiastically, Cambridgeshire was formerly included in the Diocese of Lincoln. On the creation of the Diocese of Ely in 1109, almost the whole county was placed in that diocese. In 1291 the whole county, with the exception of parishes in the deanery of Fordham and Diocese of Norwich, constituted the Archdeaconry of Ely, comprising the deaneries of Ely, Wisbech, Chesterton (Cambridgeshire), Shingay, Bourn, Barton (Cambridgeshire) and Camps.

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The Isle of Ely formerly constituted an independent franchise in which the bishops exercised quasi-palatinate rights, and offences were held to be committed against the bishop's peace. These privileges were considerably abridged in the reign of Henry VIII, but the Isle still had separate civil officers, appointed by the bishop, chief among whom were the chief justice, chief bailiff, deputy bailiff and two coroners.

Cambridgeshire has always been remarkable for its lack of county families, and for the frequent changes in the ownership of estates. No Englishmen retained lands of any importance after the Conquest, and at the time of the Domesday Survey the chief lay proprietors were Alan, Earl of Brittany, whose descendants the Zouches retained estates in the county until the 15th century; Picot the sheriff, whose estates passed to the families of Peverell and Peche; Aubrey de Vere, whose descendants retained their estates till the 16th century; and Hardwinus de Scalariis, ancestor of the Scales of Whaddon.

From the time of Hereward's famous resistance to William the Conqueror in the fen-district, the Isle of Ely was intimately concerned with the great political struggles of the country.

• It was defended against King Stephen by Bishop Nigellus of Ely, who fortified Ely and Aldreth, which in 1144 was held for the Empress Matilda by Geoffrey de Mandeville.
• During the struggles between John and his barons, Faukes de Breaut was made governor of Cambridge Castle, which, however, surrendered to the barons in the same year.
• The Isle of Ely was seized by the followers of Simon de Montfort in 1266, but in 1267 was taken by Prince Edward.
• At the Reformation period the county showed much sympathy with the Reformers, and in 1642 the knights, gentry and commoners of Cambridgeshire petitioned for the removal of all unwarrantable orders and dignities, and the banishment of Popish clergy.
• In the Civil War of the 17th century Cambridgeshire was one of the associated counties in which the King had no visible party, although the University assisted him with contributions of plate and money.

Cambridgeshire returned three members to Parliament in 1290, and in 1295 the county returned two members, the borough of Cambridge two members, and the city of Ely two members, this being the sole return for Ely. The university was summoned to return members in 1300 and again in 1603, but no returns are recorded before 1614, after which it continued to return two members. Under the Reform Act of 1832 the county returned three members.

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Cambridgeshire is historically an agricultural county. The Domesday Survey mentions over 90 mills and numerous valuable fisheries, especially eel-fisheries, and contains frequent references to wheat, malt and honey. The county had a flourishing wool-industry in the 14th century, and became noted for its worsted cloths. The Black Death of 1349 and the ravages committed during the Wars of the Roses were followed by periods of severe depression, and in 1439 several Cambridgeshire towns obtained a remission of taxation on the plea of poverty. In the 16th century, barley for malt was grown in large quantities in the south, and the manufacture of willow baskets was carried on in the fen-districts. Saffron was extensively cultivated in the 18th century, and paper was manufactured near Sturbridge. Sturbridge fair was at this period reckoned the largest in Europe, the chief articles of merchandise being wool, hops and leather; and the Newmarket races and horse trade were already famous. Large waste areas were brought under cultivation in the 17th century through the drainage of the fen-district, which was brought to completion about 1652 through the labors of Cornelius Vermuyden, a Dutchman. The coprolite industry was very profitable for a short period from 1850 to 1880, and its decline was accompanied by a general industrial and agricultural depression.

Research Tips

• Original historical documents relating to Cambridgeshire are now held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at Shire Hall, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB7 4GS
• The Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire Family History Society has transcribed the parish registers for many if not all the ancient parishes of Cambridgeshire and these can be purchased from the Society as separate pdfs.
• A History of the County of Cambridge. Seven volumes from British History Online (Victoria County Histories). This is by far the most complete history of the parishes of the county to be found online. From the numbering it would appear that some parts of the county are yet to be published online, but the first two volumes for any county are of little interest to the genealogist. The chapters are ordered by the divisions of the county called hundreds, but each parish is listed in the volume's content page.

• A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3, the City (Cambridge) and University of Cambridge (published 1959)
• A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 4, City of Ely; North Ely and South Ely, Witchford and Wisbech Hundreds (the cathedral city and liberty of Ely and the rural areas to the west and northwest, including the port of Wisbech) (published 2002)
• A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 5, the Hundreds of Longstowe and Wetherley, west of Cambridge (published 1973)
• A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 6, the three Hundreds of Chilford, Radfield and Whittlesford (in the south of the county, on the border with Essex) (published 1978)
• A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 8, Armingford and Thriplow Hundreds (south and west of Cambridge) (published 1982)
• A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 9, Chesterton, Northstowe, and Papworth Hundreds (the suburban and rural areas to the north and northwest of Cambridge) (published 1989)
• A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 10, Cheveley, Flendish, Staine and Staploe Hundreds (northeastern Cambridgeshire) (published 2002)

• GENUKI has a page on Cambridgeshire and pages for each of the ecclesiastical or ancient parishes in the county. These give references to other organizations who hold genealogical information for the local area. Each parish page includes a map of the parish provided by Open Street Maps.
• The FamilyTree Wiki has a series of pages similar to those provided by GENUKI which may have been prepared at a later date.
• A Vision of Britain through Time, section "Units and Statistics" for each parish and borough leads to analyses of population and organization of the county from about 1800 through 1974.
• Map of Cambridgeshire divisions in 1888 produced by UK Ordnance Survey and provided online by A Vision of Britain through Time
• Map of Cambridge divisions in 1944 produced by UK Ordnance Survey and provided online by A Vision of Britain through Time