Place:Leverington, Isle of Ely, England

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

Leverington is a village and civil parish in the Fenland District of Cambridgeshire, England. The settlement is 2 miles to the north of Wisbech.

At the time of the 2001 UK Census, the parish's population was 2,914 people, increasing to 3,339 at the 2011 UK Census. (Wikipedia states that the population includes the hamlet of Four Gotes, but according to an Ordnance Survey map of 1900 showing parish boundaries, Four Gotes was in the parish of Tydd St. Giles to the north with the parish of Newton (near Wisbech) in between.)

The 13th century church of St Leonard is a Grade I listed building, noted for its spire, restored 15th-century, its "Tree of Jesse" window, and its carved font.

Leverington Hall, originally constructed in the 17th century, is also Grade I listed.

Until 1870, Parson Drove and Gorefield were part of Leverington parish. (Once again Wikipedia is to be questioned on this point. The 1900 OS map shows Gorefield as a village within Leverington parish.)

The following description from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72 is provided by the website A Vision of Britain Through Time (University of Portsmouth Department of Geography).

"LEVERINGTON, a village, a parish, and a [registration] sub-district, in Wisbeach [registration] district, Cambridge[shire]. The village stands near the boundary with Norfolk, 1 mile W of the river Nen, and 2 NW by N of Wisbeach [railway] station; and has a post office under Wisbeach. The parish contains also the hamlets of Drove-Fen, Swan-Gull, and Murrow, and the chapelry of Parson-Drove. Acres: 7,871. Real property: £21,249. Population: 2,143. Houses: 460.

"The property is subdivided; and several of the landowners farm their own estates. The surface was formerly fen; but now, in general, has a rich loamy soil.

"The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ely. Value: £2,350. Patron: the Bishop of Ely. The church is early English; was restored and beautified in 1856; comprises nave, aisles, chancel, and porch, with tower and spire; and contains sedilia, an ancient font, and several monuments. The [perpetual] curacy of Parson-Drove is a separate benefice. A chantry was formerly at Fitten-End; and an hospital was anciently at the village. There are an endowed school with £48 a year, and other charities, with £450. Bishop Warren and Nasmith, the editor of Tanner's "Notitia," were rectors."

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