Place:Shingay, Cambridgeshire, England

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

Shingay is now a hamlet in the civil parish of Shingay cum Wendy in the South Cambridgeshire of Cambridgeshire, England around 5 miles northwest of Royston, Hertfordshire.

Shingay was a separate parish until 1957 when it was merged with neighbouring Wendy to form the present civil parish. The historical parish covered an area of 768 acres (311 ha). Its northern border with Croydon (formerly Croydon-cum-Clapton) followed the River Cam, and its eastern border with Wendy was marked by the "North Ditch". Its southern border with Abington Pigotts also largely followed drainage channels, and its western border with Steeple Morden followed field boundaries marked by Shingay Gate Farm. The parish was largely wooded until the mid-19th century, but little woodland now remains.

The medieval parish was dominated by the preceptory of the Knights Hospitallers which was situated on the south bank of the river and which owned all the land in the parish between the early 12th century and 1540. When the order was suppressed in 1540 it held land in 42 parishes in Cambridgeshire as well as five other counties. Its proximity to the Old North Road resulted in its hosting royalty at various points.

It is believed that the medieval village lay just to the east of the preceptory on the road towards Wendy. The village was depopulated in the 15th century. Population increased to a peak of 142 in 1851 but had dropped to 38 by the time it was merged with Wendy.

The former parish church was dedicated to St Mary and possibly built at the same time as the preceptory. The medieval church was demolished in the late 17th century and in 1697 a new chapel, consisting of just a single room of two bays and west bell turret, was built by the Earl of Orford who had just obtained the manor. The chapel fell into disuse in the 18th century and the final trace of the building was removed by 1836.

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• Original historical documents relating to Cambridgeshire are now held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at Shire Hall, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB7 4GS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