| Huntingdonshire District | |
|---|---|
 Shown within Cambridgeshire |
|
| Geography | |
| Status: | Non-metropolitan district |
| Region: | East of England |
| Admin. County: | Cambridgeshire |
| Area: - Total |
Ranked 35th 912.47 km² |
| Admin. HQ: | Huntingdon |
| ONS code: | 12UE |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total (2008 est.) - Density |
Ranked 100th 168,900 186 / km² |
| Ethnicity[1]: | 94.6% White 1.8%S.Asian 1.3% Black 1.4% Mixed |
| Politics | |
 Huntingdonshire District Council http://www.huntsdc.gov.uk/ |
|
| Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| Executive: | Conservative |
| MPs: | Jonathan Djanogly, Shailesh Vara |
Huntingdonshire (pronounced /ˈhʌntɪŋdənʃər/ or /ˈhʌntɪŋdənʃɪər/; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Historically it was a county in its own right. It includes St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots, and Ramsey.
Contents |
The earliest English settlers in the district were the Gyrwas, an East Anglian tribe, who early in the 6th century worked their way up the Ouse and the Cam as far as Huntingdon. After their conquest of East Anglia in the latter half of the 9th century, Huntingdon became an important seat of the Danes, and the Danish origin of the shire is borne out by an entry in the Saxon Chronicle referring to Huntingdon as a military centre to which the surrounding district owed allegiance, while the shire itself is mentioned in the Historia Eliensis in connection with events which took place before or shortly after the death of Edgar.
About 915 Edward the Elder wrested the fen-country from the Danes, repairing and fortifying Huntingdon, and a few years later the district was included in the earldom of East Anglia. Religious foundations were established at Ramsey, Huntingdon and St Neots in the 10th century, and that of Ramsey accumulated vast wealth and influence, owning twenty-six manors in this county alone at the time of the Domesday Survey. In 1011 Huntingdonshire was again overrun by the Danes and in 1016 was attacked by Canute. A few years later the shire was included in the earldom of Thored (of the Middle Angles), but in 1051 it was detached from Mercia and formed part of the East Anglian earldom of Harold. Shortly before the Conquest, however, it was bestowed on Siward, as a reward for his part in Godwins overthrow, and became an outlying portion of the earldom of Northumberland, passing through Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria and Simon de St Liz, Earl of Northampton to David I of Scotland. After the separation of the earldom from the crown of Scotland during the Bruce and Balliol disputes, it was conferred in 1336 on William Clinton; in 1377 on Guichard d'Angle; in 1387 on John Holland; in 1471 on Thomas Grey, afterwards marquess of Dorset; and in 1529 on George, Baron Hastings, whose descendants hold it at the present day.
The Norman Conquest was followed by a general confiscation of estates, and only four or five thanes retained lands that they or their fathers had held in the time of Edward the Confessor. Large estates were held by the church, and the rest of the County for the most part formed outlying portions of the fiefs of William's Norman favourites, that of Count Eustace of Boulogne, the sheriff, of whose tyrannous exactions bitter complaints are recorded, being by far the most considerable. Kimbolton was fortified by Geoffrey de Mandeville and afterwards passed to the families of Bohun and Stafford.
The hundreds of Huntingdon were probably of very early origin, and that of Norman Cross is referred to in 963. The Domesday Survey, besides the four existing divisions of Norman Cross, Toseland, Hurstingstone and Leightonstone, which from their assessment appear to have been double hundreds, mentions an additional hundred of Kimbolton, since absorbed in Leightonstone, while Huntingdon was assessed separately at 50 hides. The boundaries of the county have scarcely changed since the time of the Domesday Survey, except that parts of the Bedfordshire parishes of Everton, Pertenhall and Keysoe and the Northamptonshire parish of Flargrave were then assessed under this county.
Huntingdonshire was formerly in the diocese of Lincoln, but in 1837 was transferred to Ely. In 1291 it constituted an archdeaconry, comprising the deaneries of Huntingdon, St Ives, Yaxley and Leightonstone, and the divisions remained unchanged until the creation of the deanery of Kimbolton in 1879.
At the time of the Domesday Survey Huntingdonshire had an independent shrievalty, but from 1154 it was united with Cambridgeshire under one sheriff, until in 1637 the two Counties were separated for six years, after which they were reunited and have remained so to the present day. The shire court was held at Huntingdon.
In 1174 Henry II captured and destroyed Huntingdon Castle. After signing the Great Charter John sent an army to ravage this county under William, earl of Salisbury, and Falkes de Breauté.
In 1889, under the Local Government Act 1888 Huntingdonshire became an administrative county, with the new County Council taking over administrative functions from the Quarter Sessions. The area in the north of the county forming part of the municipal borough of Peterborough became instead part of the Soke of Peterborough administrative county, in Northamptonshire.
In 1965, under a recommendation of the Local Government Commission for England, it was merged with the Soke of Peterborough to form Huntingdon and Peterborough - the Lieutenancy county was also merged. Also at this time St Neots expanded westward over the river into Eaton Ford and Eaton Socon in Bedfordshire.
In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, Huntingdon and Peterborough merged with Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely to form the new non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire. A Huntingdon district was created based closely on the former administrative county borders, with the exclusion of the Old Fletton urban district became part of the Peterborough district, as did that part of Norman Cross Rural District in Peterborough New Town.
The district was renamed Huntingdonshire on 1 October 1984, by resolution of the district council.[2]
Original historical documents relating to Huntingdonshire are held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at the County Record Office in Huntingdon.
| Huntingdonshire | |
  Ancient and 1889 extent of Huntingdonshire |
|
| Geography | |
| Status | Administrative county (1889-1965) Ceremonial county (until 1965) |
| 1831 area | 241,690 acres (978.1 km2)[3] |
| 1961 area | 233,985 acres (946.90 km2)[4] |
| HQ | Huntingdon |
| Chapman code | HUN |
| History | |
| Origin | Historic |
| Created | In antiquity |
| Succeeded by | Huntingdon and Peterborough |
| Demography | |
|---|---|
| 1911 population - 1911 density |
55,577[4] 0.24/acre |
| 1961 population - 1961 density |
79,924[4] 0.34/acre |
| Politics | |
| Governance | Huntingdonshire County Council (1889-1965) |
 Arms of Huntingdonshire County Council |
|
The Local Government Commission considered in the 1990s the case for making a Huntingdonshire unitary authority as part of a general structural review of English local government, that led to unitary authorities in two other English counties that had been wiped from the map: Rutland and Herefordshire.
The Draft Recommendations envisaged three possible scenarios for structural change in Cambridgeshire: the preferred option and the third option had a unitary Huntingdonshire, whilst the second option would have seen Huntingdonshire combine with Peterborough and Fenland to form a "Peterborough and Huntingdonshire" unitary authority. The Final Recommendations of the Commission for Cambridgeshire recommended no change in the status quo in Cambridgeshire.[5] The districts of Peterborough and Huntingdonshire were referred back to the commission for a reconsideration in 1995. The commission recommended the creation of a Peterborough unitary authority, but proposed that Huntingdonshire remain part of the shire county of Cambridgeshire, noting that "there was no exceptional county allegiance to Huntingdonshire, as had been perceived in Rutland and Herefordshire".[6]
David McKie writing in the Guardian noted that "Writers-in demanded an independent Huntingdon; but MORI's more broadly-based poll showed that most Huntingdonians - that is, most of John Major's electors - were content to stay part of Cambridgeshire."[7]
After the failure of Huntingdonshire to become a unitary authority, a Huntingdonshire Society was set up to promote awareness of Huntingdonshire as a historic county, and to campaign for its reinstatement as an administrative and ceremonial entity. In 2002 it established an annual "Huntingdonshire Day" on 25 April, the birthday of Oliver Cromwell.[8][9]
Huntingonshire is the birthplace of bandy, now an IOC accepted sport.[10] According to documents from 1813 Bury Fen Bandy Club was undefeated for 100 years. A member of the club, Charles Tebbutt, wrote down the 1st official rules in 1882. He was also contributing a lot to spreading the sport to many countries.[11]
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
| Cambridgeshire | |
|---|---|
| Geography | |
| Status | Ceremonial & (smaller) Non-metropolitan county |
| Region | East of England[1] |
| Area - Total - Admin. council - Admin. area | Ranked 15th 3,389 km2 (1,309 sq mi) Ranked 15th 3,046 km2 (1,176 sq mi) |
| Admin HQ | Cambridge |
| ISO 3166-2 | GB-CAM |
| ONS code | 12 |
| NUTS 3 | UKH12 |
| Demography | |
| Population - Total () - Density - Admin. council - Admin. pop. | Ranked 28th 769,100 227 /km2 (588/sq mi) Ranked 18th 605,100 |
| Ethnicity | 94.6% White 2.6% S.Asian |
| Politics | |
| Cambridgeshire County Council | |
| Executive | Conservative |
| Members of Parliament | |
| Districts | |
Cambridgeshire ( /ˈkeɪmbrɪdʒʃər/ or /ˈkeɪmbrɪdʒʃɪər/; also known, archaically, as the County of Cambridge; abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. Modern Cambridgeshire was formed from the historic counties of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, together with the Isle of Ely and the Soke of Peterborough; it contains most of the region known as Silicon Fen. The county town is Cambridge.
Cambridgeshire is twinned with Kreis Viersen in Germany.
Contents |
Cambridgeshire is noted as the site of some of the earliest known Neolithic permanent settlements in the United Kingdom, along with sites at Fengate and Balbridie.
Cambridgeshire was recorded in the Domesday Book as "Grantbridgeshire" (or rather Grentebrigescire) (cf the river Granta). Covering a large part of East Anglia, Cambridgeshire today is the result of several local government unifications. In 1888 when county councils were introduced, separate councils were set up, following the traditional division of Cambridgeshire, for
In 1965, these two administrative counties were merged to form Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely.[2] Under the Local Government Act 1972 this merged with the county to the west, Huntingdon and Peterborough (which had itself been created in 1965 by the merger of Huntingdonshire with the Soke of Peterborough – previously a part of Northamptonshire which had its own county council). The resulting county was called simply Cambridgeshire.[3]
Since 1998 the City of Peterborough has been a separately administered area, as a unitary authority, but is associated with Cambridgeshire for ceremonial purposes such as Lieutenancy, and functions such as policing and the fire service.[4]
In 2002, the conservation charity Plantlife unofficially designated Cambridgeshire's county flower as the Pasqueflower.
A great quantity of archaeological finds from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age were made in East Cambridgeshire. Most items were found in Isleham.
The Cambridgeshire Regiment (or Fen Tigers) county based army unit fought in South Africa, WWI and WWII.
Due to its flat terrain and proximity to the continent, many RAF and USAAF bases were built for RAF Bomber Command in WW2. In recognition of this, the only American WW2 burial ground in England is located in Madingley Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial.
Most English counties have nicknames for their people, such as a Tyke from Yorkshire and a Yellowbelly from Lincolnshire; the traditional nicknames for people from Cambridgeshire are 'Cambridgeshire Camel' or 'Cambridgeshire Crane', referring to the wildfowl which were once abundant in the fens.
Original historical documents relating to Cambridgeshire are held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies.
Large areas of the county are extremely low-lying and Holme Fen is notable for being the UK's lowest physical point at 2.75 m (9 ft) below sea level. The highest point is in the village of Great Chishill at 146 m (480 ft) above sea level. Other prominent hills are Little Trees Hill and Wandlebury Hill in the Gog Magog Downs, Rivey Hill above Linton, Rowley's Hill and the Madingley Hills.
Cambridgeshire contains seven Parliamentary constituencies: Cambridge, Huntingdon, North East Cambridgeshire, North West Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, South Cambridgeshire, and South East Cambridgeshire.
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Cambridgeshire at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of English Pounds Sterling.
| Year | Regional Gross Value Added[5] | Agriculture[6] | Industry[7] | Services[8] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 5,896 | 228 | 1,646 | 4,022 |
| 2000 | 7,996 | 166 | 2,029 | 5,801 |
| 2003 | 10,154 | 207 | 2,195 | 7,752 |
AWG plc is based in Huntingdon. The RAF has a few bases in the Huntingdon and St Ives area. Most of Cambridgeshire is agricultural. Close to Cambridge is the so-called Silicon Fen area of high-technology (electronics, computing and biotechnology) companies. ARM Limited is based in Cherry Hinton.
Cambridgeshire has a completely comprehensive education system with 12 independent schools and over 240 state schools, not including sixth form colleges.
Some of the secondary schools act as Village Colleges, institutions unique to Cambridgeshire. For example Bottisham Village College.
Cambridgeshire is home to a number of institutes of higher education:
In addition, Cambridge Regional College and Huntingdonshire Regional College both offer a limited range of higher education courses in conjunction with partner universities.
These are the settlements in Cambridgeshire with a town charter, city status or a population over 5,000; for a complete list of settlements see list of places in Cambridgeshire.
The town of Newmarket is surrounded on three sides by Cambridgeshire, being connected by a narrow strip of land to the rest of Suffolk.
| Climate data for Cambridge | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 7.0 (44.6) | 7.4 (45.3) | 10.2 (50.4) | 12.6 (54.7) | 16.5 (61.7) | 19.4 (66.9) | 22.2 (72) | 22.3 (72.1) | 18.9 (66) | 14.6 (58.3) | 9.9 (49.8) | 7.8 (46) | 14.1 (57.4) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 1.3 (34.3) | 1.1 (34) | 2.9 (37.2) | 4.0 (39.2) | 6.7 (44.1) | 9.8 (49.6) | 12.0 (53.6) | 11.9 (53.4) | 10.1 (50.2) | 7.1 (44.8) | 3.7 (38.7) | 2.3 (36.1) | 6.1 (43) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 45.0 (1.772) | 32.7 (1.287) | 41.5 (1.634) | 43.1 (1.697) | 44.5 (1.752) | 53.8 (2.118) | 38.2 (1.504) | 48.8 (1.921) | 51.0 (2.008) | 53.8 (2.118) | 51.1 (2.012) | 50.0 (1.969) | 553.5 (21.791) |
| Source: Met Office | |||||||||||||
Cambridgeshire is the birthplace of bandy,[citation needed] now an IOC accepted sport.[9]] According to documents from 1813 Bury Fen Bandy Club was undefeated for 100 years. A member of the club, Charles Tebbutt, wrote down the first official rules in 1882.[citation needed] Tebbutt was instrumental in spreading the sport to many countries.[10]
| Key | ||
| Abbey/Priory/Cathedral | ||
| Accessible open space | ||
 | Amusement/Theme Park | |
| Castle | |
| Country Park | ||
| English Heritage | ||
| Forestry Commission | |
| Heritage railway | ||
| Historic House | ||
| File:Museum icon (red).svg | Museum (free/not free) | |
| National Trust | |
 | Zoo | |
|
|
As well as those born in the county there are many notable people from, or associated with, Cambridgeshire who moved there, particularly due to the presence of Cambridge University.
Cambridgeshire lays claim to Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell, Prime Minister John Major, businessmen Henry Royce and Peter Boizot, social reformers Octavia Hill and Thomas Clarkson, and economist John Maynard Keynes. Scientists include Brian J. Ford and Stephen Hawking, and Nobel laureate Harold Kroto. Literary figures who hail from Cambridgeshire include John Clare, Samuel Pepys, Lucy M. Boston, Jeffrey Archer, and Douglas Adams, Olaudah Equiano.
In entertainment, cartoonist Ronald Searle, comedian Rory McGrath, television presenter Sarah Cawood, and radio sports presenter Adrian Durham are all from Cambridgeshire. Paul Nicholas, Richard Attenborough and Warwick Davis are all associated with film, while musicians include Andrew Eldritch, lead singer of The Sisters of Mercy; Andy Bell, lead singer for Erasure; David Gilmour, Roger Waters and Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett of Pink Floyd; Don Airey, keyboardist in the rock band Deep Purple; trombonist Don Lusher; Keith Palmer, of dance music band The Prodigy; Nigel Sixsmith, founding member of The Art Of Sound and well known Keytar player; the members of Britain's Got Talent Popera band The Arrangement; Matt Bellamy and Operatic Bass-Baritone, Darren Jeffery. Athletes Joe Bugner, Sir Jack Hobbs, Louis Smith and Marty Scurll are also from the county. Richard Garriott, televangelist Peter Foxhall, and Hereward the Wake are from Cambridgeshire.
| Rutland | Lincolnshire | Norfolk | ||
| Northamptonshire | Suffolk | |||
| Cambridgeshire | ||||
| Bedfordshire | Hertfordshire | Essex |
| |||||||||||||||||
Cambridgeshire[1] is a historic county in the East Anglia region of England, part the United Kingdom.
For centuries much of the north east of the region was inaccessible marshland, until a programme of drainage assisted by Dutch engineers transformed the Fens into the country's most fertile farmland, leaving the landscape crisscrossed by canals and dotted with windmills.
The major population centres today remain concentrated in the south and west of Cambridgeshire, with the north and east of the region remains a bleak, empty landscape.
Cambridgeshire residents speak in the standard form of English common across South East England, and there should be little difficulty for English speakers in understanding them. Contrary to popular belief, most locals do not speak in the distinctive upper-class accents common amongst Cambridge University students.
St Neots, Huntingdon and Peterborough sit on the East Coast Main line between London and the north. Express trains stop at Peterborough only. Cambridge is served by a separate line.
Cross country services serve Peterborough, the county's main rail junction
The M11 from London terminates at Cambridge.
The region is well linked by rural bus services.
The region's chief attraction is the splendid architecture and attractive riverfront of the historic city of Cambridge. Further afield, attractions include:
Cambridgeshire isn't known for its food specialities. Traditional English roasts are served in attractive country pubs throughout the region. Cambridge offers the widest range of restaraunts to choose from, whilst Peterborough is the place to head for Italian.
The regions small towns and villages offer a particularly fine range of country pubs, many of which serve a good range of real ales. Most of the "local" beer served in the region comes from the Charles Wells brewery in Bedfordshire and Greene King brewery in Suffolk - you will see these names on pub signs everywhere in the region.
Cambridgeshire is a quiet and fairly prosperous region presenting relatively few hazards to the traveller. See the England section for more general safety tips.
| This article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow! |
Category: Outline articles
(There is currently no text in this page)
|
Singular |
Plural |
Huntingdonshire
| Huntingdonshire view Community messages | |
|---|---|
| Articles, images | Archaeology • Farms • Landmarks • Migrations and settlements • Photo gallery • Prehistory • Timeline |
| People | Births • Deaths • Families • Marriages • Residents |
| Daily life | before 1400 • 1400-1449 • 1420-1499 • 1500-1549 • 1520-1599 • 1600-1649 • 1620-1699 • 1700-1749 • 1750-1799 • 1800-1819 • 1820-1839 • 1840-1859 • 1860-1879 • 1880-1899 • 1900-1919 • 1920-1939 • 1940-1959 • 1960-1979 • 1980-1999 • 2000-present |
| Research | Huntingdonshire links • Birth records • Businesses • Cemeteries • Census data • Church records • Court records • Death records • Directories • Landowner records • Maps • Marriage records • Military records • Obituaries • Probate records • Queries |
| Huntingdonshire District | |
|---|---|
| File:CambridgeshireHungtingdonshire.png Shown within Cambridgeshire |
|
| Geography | |
| Status: | Non-metropolitan district |
| Region: | East of England |
| Admin. County: | Cambridgeshire |
| Area: - Total |
Ranked 34th 912.47 km² |
| Admin. HQ: | Huntingdon |
| ONS code: | 12UE |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total (2006 est.) - Density |
Ranked 92nd  166,600
/ km² |
| Ethnicity: | 97.2% White 1.0%S.Asian |
| Politics | |
| File:Arms-huntingdonshire.jpg Huntingdonshire District Council http://www.huntsdc.gov.uk/ |
|
| Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| Executive: | Conservative |
| MPs: | Jonathan Djanogly, Shailesh Vara |
Huntingdonshire (abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Historically it was a county in its own right. It includes St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots, and Ramsey.
Contents |
The earliest English settlers in the district were the Gyrwas, an East Anglian tribe, who early in the 6th century worked their way up the Ouse and the Cam as far as Huntingdon. After their conquest of East Anglia in the latter half of the 9th century, Huntingdon became an important seat of the Danes, and the Danish origin of the shire is borne out by an entry in the Saxon Chronicle referring to Huntingdon as a military centre to which the surrounding district owed allegiance, while the shire itself is mentioned in the Historia Eliensis in connection with events which took place before or shortly after the death of Edgar.
About 915 Edward the Elder wrested the fen-country from the Danes, repairing and fortifying Huntingdon, and a few years later the district was included in the earldom of East Anglia. Religious foundations were established at Ramsey, Huntingdon and St Neots in the 10th century, and that of Ramsey accumulated vast wealth and influence, owning twenty-six manors in this county alone at the time of the Domesday Survey. In 1011 Huntingdonshire was again overrun by the Danes and in 1016 was attacked by Canute. A few years later the shire was included in the earldom of Thored (of the Middle Angles), but in 1051 it was detached from Mercia and formed part of the East Anglian earldom of Harold. Shortly before the Conquest, however, it was bestowed on Siward, as a reward for his part in Godwins overthrow, and became an outlying portion of the earldom of Northumberland, passing through Waltheof and Simon de St Liz to David I of Scotland. After the separation of the earldom from the crown of Scotland during the Bruce and Balliol disputes, it was conferred in 1336 on William Clinton; in 1377 on Guichard d'Angle; in 1387 on John Floland; in 1471 on Thomas Grey, afterwards marquess of Dorset; and in 1529 on George, Baron Hastings, whose descendants hold it at the present day.
The Norman Conquest was followed by a general confiscation of estates, and only four or five thanes retained lands that they or their fathers had held in the time of Edward the Confessor. Large estates were held by the church, and the rest of the County for the most part formed outlying portions of the fiefs of William's Norman favourites, that of Count Eustace of Boulogne, the sheriff, of whose tyrannous exactions bitter complaints are recorded, being by far the most considerable. Kimbolton was fortified by Geoffrey de Mandeville and afterwards passed to the families of Bohun and Stafford.
The hundreds of Huntingdon were probably of very early origin, and that of Norman Cross is referred to in 963. The Domesday Survey, besides the four existing divisions of Norman Cross, Toseland, Hurstingstone and Leightonstone, which from their assessment appear to have been double hundreds, mentions an additional hundred of Kimbolton, since absorbed in Leightonstone, while Huntingdon was assessed separately at 50 hides. The boundaries of the county have scarcely changed since the time of the Domesday Survey, except that parts of the Bedfordshire parishes of Everton, Pertenhall and Keysoe and the Northamptonshire parish of Flargrave were then assessed under this county.
| File:EnglandHuntingdonshireTrad.png | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Area: (1831) | 241,690 acres |
| Rank: | Ranked 37th |
| Administration | |
| County town: | Huntingdon |
| Chapman code: | HUN |
Huntingdonshire was formerly in the diocese of Lincoln, but in 1837 was transferred to Ely. In 1291 it constituted an archdeaconry, comprising the deaneries of Huntingdon, St Ives, Yaxley and Leightonstone, and the divisions remained unchanged until the creation of the deanery of Kimbolton in 1879.
At the time of the Domesday Survey Huntingdonshire had an independent shrievalty, but from 1154 it was united with Cambridgeshire under one sheriff, until in 1637 the two Counties were separated for six years, after which they were reunited and have remained so to the present day. The shire-court was held at Huntingdon.
In 1174 Henry II captured and destroyed Huntingdon Castle. After signing the Great Charter John sent an army to ravage this county under William, earl of Salisbury, and Falkes de Breauté.
In 1889, under the Local Government Act 1888 Huntingdonshire became an administrative county, with the new County Council taking over administrative functions from the Quarter Sessions. The area in the north of the county forming part of the municipal borough of Peterborough became instead part of the Soke of Peterborough administrative county, in Northamptonshire.
In 1965, under a recommendation of the Local Government Commission for England, it was merged with the Soke of Peterborough to form Huntingdon and Peterborough - the Lieutenancy county was also merged. Also at this time St Neots expanded westward over the river into Eaton Ford and Eaton Socon in Bedfordshire.
In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, Huntingdon and Peterborough merged with Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely to form the new non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire. A Huntingdon district was created based closely on the former administrative county borders, with the exclusion of the Old Fletton urban district became part of the Peterborough district, as did that part of Norman Cross Rural District in Peterborough New Town.
The district was renamed Huntingdonshire on 1 October 1984, by resolution of the district council. [1]
Original historical documents relating to Huntingdonshire are held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at the County Record Office in Huntingdon.
The Local Government Commission considered in the 1990s the case for making a Huntingdonshire unitary authority as part of a general structural review of English local government, that led to unitary authorities in two other English counties that had been wiped from the map: Rutland and Herefordshire.
The Draft Recommendations envisaged three possible scenarios for structural change in Cambridgeshire: the preferred option and the third option had a unitary Huntingdonshire, whilst the second option would have seen Huntingdonshire combine with Peterborough and Fenland to form a "Peterborough and Huntingdonshire" unitary authority. The Final Recommendations of the Commission for Cambridgeshire recommended no change in the status quo in Cambridgeshire. [2] The districts of Peterborough and Huntingdonshire were referred back to the commission for a reconsideration in 1995. The commission recommended the creation of a Peterborough unitary authority, but proposed that Huntingdonshire remain part of the shire county of Cambridgeshire, noting that "there was no exceptional county allegiance to Huntingdonshire, as had been perceived in Rutland and Herefordshire". [3]
David McKie writing in the Guardian noted that "Writers-in demanded an independent Huntingdon; but Mori's more broadly-based poll showed that most Huntingdonians - that is, most of John Major's electors - were content to stay part of Cambridgeshire."[4]
After the failure of Huntingdonshire to become a unitary authority, a Huntingdonshire Society was set up to promote awareness of Huntingdonshire as a historic county, and to campaign for its reinstatement as an administrative and ceremonial entity. In 2002 it established an annual "Huntingdonshire Day" on 25 April, the birthday of Oliver Cromwell. [5] [6]
| File:Huntingdonshire1889.png | |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Status: | Administrative county |
| HQ: | Huntingdon |
| History | |
| Created: | 1889 |
| Abolished: | 1965 |
| Succeeded by: | Huntingdon and Peterborough |
Major Towns
Smaller towns and villages
| The County of Cambridgeshire |
|---|
 Districts of the East of England |
|---|
|
Babergh • Basildon • Bedford • Braintree • Breckland • Brentwood • Broadland • Broxbourne • Cambridge • Castle Point • Chelmsford • Colchester • Dacorum • East Cambridgeshire • East Hertfordshire • Epping Forest • Fenland • Forest Heath • Great Yarmouth • Harlow • Hertsmere • Huntingdonshire • Ipswich • King's Lynn and West Norfolk • Luton • Maldon • Mid Bedfordshire • Mid Suffolk • North Hertfordshire • North Norfolk • Norwich • Peterborough • Rochford • St Albans • St Edmundsbury • South Bedfordshire • South Cambridgeshire Southend-on-Sea • South Norfolk • Stevenage • Suffolk Coastal • Tendring • Three Rivers • Thurrock • Uttlesford • Watford • Waveney • Welwyn Hatfield Counties with multiple districts: Bedfordshire - Cambridgeshire - Essex - Hertfordshire - Norfolk - Suffolk |
| Historic counties of England |
|---|
|
Counties that originate prior to 1889 Bedfordshire • Berkshire • Buckinghamshire • Cambridgeshire • Cheshire • Cornwall • Cumberland • Derbyshire • Devon • Dorset • Durham • Essex • Gloucestershire • Hampshire • Herefordshire • Hertfordshire • Huntingdonshire • Kent • Lancashire • Leicestershire • Lincolnshire • Middlesex • Monmouthshire • Norfolk • Northamptonshire • Northumberland • Nottinghamshire • Oxfordshire • Rutland • Shropshire • Somerset • Staffordshire • Suffolk • Surrey • Sussex • Warwickshire • Westmorland • Wiltshire • Worcestershire • Yorkshire |
| This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Huntingdonshire. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. |
   | The Huntingdonshire Society - Huntingdonshire Society home page. |
| | Huntingdonshire - HUNTINGDONSHIRE in England, UK |
| | Vision of Britain - Vision of Britain | 1831 Census: Abstract of answers | Table [1] |
|
|
Top topics
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
.svg){kind=link}
