Place:Coton, Cambridgeshire, England

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

Coton is a small village and civil parish about three miles (about 5 km) west of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England and about the same distance east of the Prime Meridian. It is in the South Cambridgeshire District. The parish covers an area of 392 hectares (970 acres). In the 2001 UK census it had a population of 773, with approximately 336 dwellings and 322 households. The population at the 2011 UK census was 910.

Coton is approximately bounded to the north by the Madingley Road, which forms part of the Cambridge to St. Neots road; to the west by open fields which separate the village from that of Hardwick; to the south by open fields separating it from Barton and to the east by the M11 motorway, which divides it from the city of Cambridge and, to the southeast, the village of Grantchester. Coton lies roughly equidistant from junctions 12 and 13 of the M11.

Coton is not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, as the land forming the village belonged at that time to Grantchester. However, in the Middle Ages, Coton became a separate parish. There are no references to a separate Coton population prior to 1500, but by 1563, 21 families are recorded as living in the village. The population grew slowly over the next two centuries, reaching 126 by 1801 and then more than trebled to 390 during the 19th century.

History

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Coton, Cambridgeshire.

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• Original historical documents relating to Cambridgeshire are now held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at Shire Hall, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB7 4GS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