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- the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia
Kennett is a small village and civil parish at the very eastern tip of Cambridgeshire, England. Situated around 2.5 miles (4.0 km) northeast of Newmarket and 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Bury St. Edmunds, it falls into the district of East Cambridgeshire.
The small parish of Kennett covers 1,431 acres (579 ha) and had a population of 353 at the 2011 UK census. Listed as "Chenet" in the Domesday Book of 1086, the village is named after the River Kennett, a tributary of the River Lark. The origin of the river's name is unclear, but it is of Celtic origin perhaps partially derived from 'cwm' meaning "summit".
The parish is roughly square in shape. The eastern border is largely made up of the meandering medieval course of the River Kennett, though the river has been straightened in sections since the border was defined. The border deviates to the east of the river for a kilometre or so, such that the land around Kennett Hall falls into the parish. The straight southern border with Suffolk follows the ancient Icknield Way. The relatively straight west and north borders are former field boundaries that separate it from Chippenham.
The earliest parts of the parish church of St Nicholas date to the 12th century. The river was forded at the southeast of the parish in around 1161 (from which the village of Kentford takes its name) and was navigable until at least the early 14th century, leading eventually to King's Lynn. A 13th century ferry across the Kennett was known as Kentfayre, and the Newmarket to Bury St. Edmunds road had a bridge over the river added in around 1600 on what became a busy turnpike.
The railway reached the parish in 1854 and Kennett railway station was opened at the southeast of the parish. It closed to goods trains in 1965 and became unstaffed after 1967, though trains between Cambridge and Ipswich still stop there, the only stop between Newmarket and Bury St. Edmunds. The Newmarket by-pass opened in the early 1970s and runs alongside the railway at the south of the parish.
The village's population increased from 90 in the 1790s to a peak of 208 in 1851 before dropping to around 160 by the end of the 19th century. Increasing to around 200 between 1930 and 1950 it remained steady at about 270 between 1961 and 1991.
Kennett Hall, on the site which served as the manor house from the 12th century, was built in around 1870 by William Godfrey. The house has Neo-Palladian windows on the three-bayed southwest front. In 1958 it was divided into flats, and rented by members of the American armed forces who serve at nearby bases in Suffolk.
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
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