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- the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia
Fordham is a village and civil parish in rural Cambridgeshire, England. Fordham is part of the East Cambridgeshire District. It is four miles north of the centre of Newmarket which it borders as a parish, as well as being close to the settlements of Soham, Burwell, Isleham, Mildenhall and Chippenham.
The parish of Fordham covers 4,331 acres (1,753 ha) in an irregular shape. Its southern border is the county border with Suffolk and most of its southeastern border with Snailwell follows the path of the River Snail. It also borders Chippenham and Isleham to the east, Soham to the north, and Burwell to the west, as well as having a short boundary with Wicken at its western tip. In 1953 the civil parish was merged with that of Landwade, a tiny parish of only 147 acres (59 ha) situated on the edge of Newmarket which is across the county border in Suffolk.
In the Middle Ages the village was home to Fordham Priory, a Gilbertine priory and cell to Sempringham Priory, that was founded in the reign of Henry III in the 13th century by Robert de Fordham. Fordham Abbey, a Grade II* listed Georgian manor house was built on the site of the Priory in the eighteenth century.
The parish church has been dedicated to St. Peter since around 1850, prior to which it had been dedicated to St. Mary since at least the 14th century. The present building consists of a chancel with side chapels and a two-storeyed north chapel, an aisled and clerestoried nave with south porch and west tower. It is a Grade I listed building.
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- Original historical documents relating to Cambridgeshire are now held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at Shire Hall, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB7 4GS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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