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- the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia
Snailwell is a small village and civil parish in the East Cambridgeshire District of Cambridgeshire, England around 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of Newmarket.
The parish of Snailwell covers an area of 2,034 acres (823 ha) in the extension of eastern Cambridgeshire that surrounds the town of Newmarket in Suffolk. The western and southern boundaries also form the border between Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, with the southern boundary following the line of the ancient Icknield Way (now the B1506 road). The northern boundary with Fordham follows the River Snail that rises in the parish, and the eastern boundary with Chippenham follows field boundaries. The population of the parish in the UK census of 2011 was 224.
The parish has been occupied since at least the Bronze Age when woodland was cleared. Ten tumuli, discovered in 1879, were situated alongside the Icknield Way but were flattened in 1941 when preparing space for a wartime airfield. RAF Snailwell was open from 1941 until 1946 just north of the railway line towards Bury St. Edmunds and housed primarily American Air Force personnel with contingents from the R.A.F., the 302 Polish squadron and the Royal Belgian Air Force (those who escaped when Belgium surrendered to the Nazis in 1940). Sections of the concrete track and air-raid shelters can still be seen.
Due to its proximity to Newmarket, the village has been heavily involved in the breeding and training of horses since the Jockey Club of Newmarket bought 421 acres (170 ha) in the village for training in around 1882. In around 1900 Snailwell Stud was founded to the southwest of the village and grew to one of the most renowned in the country.
There has been a church in Snailwell since at least the 11th century and the present parish church dates from this period. Now dedicated to St Peter, it was dedicated to St Andrew in the 13th century.
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- Original historical documents relating to Cambridgeshire are now held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at Shire Hall, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB7 4GS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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