Place:Benwick, Isle of Ely, England

Benwick is a village and civil parish in the Fenland District of Cambridgeshire, England. It is approximately 15 miles (24 km) from Peterborough and 30 miles (48 km) from Cambridge. The population of Benwick was recorded as 1,137 inhabitants in 452 households in the UK census of 2011.

The earliest records of village refer to a garrison built in Benwick by Geoffrey de Mandeville in 1143. In 1221, Benwick had 15 tenants and by 1251, 32. It used to be in the parish of Doddington, one of the largest parishes in England. Under the Doddington Rectory Division Act of 1856 it was divided into seven rectories or chapelries.

The following quotations from books and newspapers described Benwick in different centuries:

• H. C. Darby, in his book Drainage of the Fens (published 1956), records that in 1611 a scholar from the continent, toured the Isle of Ely, noting that the houses in Benwick were all surrounded by water, like islands, and the inhabitants were occupied with fishing and fowling.
• "In 1774 the Earl of Orford remarked of Benwick that 'the number of children crossing near a cottage and a school added much to the scene, in appearance much like the best Flemish Landscapes'". (from J. W. Childers Lord Orford's Voyage Round The Fens in 1774, published 2012)
• "From March in the Isle of Ely we hear of a most audacious and uncommon Outrage committed on the 6th inst. at Berwick, a small Village between March and Whittlesey, by a numerous Body of Irishmen, who having swarm'd in those Parts for Harvest-Work, upon a Quarrel with the Inhabitants they ravag'd and plunder'd the whole Town and the next Day they attempted the like at March (and) might probably have succeeded, had not Numbers from Whittlesey came opportunely to the Succour of the March-Men but after a sharp Engagement, wherein several were wounded on both Sides, the Irishmen were put to the Route, leaving behind them only five of their Companions, who were taken Prisoners and committed to Wisbech Goal'. (from the Newcastle Courant of Newcastle upon Tyne, retrieved in 2019)

From 1898 to 1966 Benwick was the terminus of the Benwick goods railway which ran from Three Horseshoes junction at Turves (a village in the parish of Whittlesey), on the Ely to Peterborough line. The station was on the road to Whittlesey.

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• Original historical documents relating to Cambridgeshire are now held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at Shire Hall, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB7 4GS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