Huntingdonshire
Contents
Nearby Places
Nearby churches
Adboldesle (xii cent.), Albedesley, Abbodesle, Abbotesley (xiii cent.), Albodesle (xiv cent.).
There is no mention of Abbotsley in the Domesday survey of 1086. It seemed to have formed into a separate township during the first half of the 12th century when it then had a separate church.
The parish of Abbotsley is mostly about 100 ft above ordnance datum. The sub-soil is Oxford and Ampthill clay. A stream, called the Abbotsley Brook, joins a feeder of the River Ouse and for for a short distance formed the county boundary of Huntingdonshire. The parish was inclosed under a private Act of Parliament in 1836.
The village lies along the road from Great Gransden to St Neots about 4.5 miles from Gamlingay. Originally there were many 17th century half-timbered cottages with thatched or tiled roofs, some still surviving.
Monumental Inscriptions from St Margaret's Church (1334 to 1985) and the Parish Churchyard (1646 to 1999)are available as fiche set M29 from the Huntingdonshire FHS.
Census information for this parish (1841 - 1891) is held in the Huntingdon Records Office.
The full 1841 Census of Abbotsley Parish is included on Fiche Set C80.
The full 1851 Census of Abbotsley Parish is included in Fiche Set C30.
The full 1891 Census of Abbotsley Parish is available as fiche set C13.
A surname index of the 1881 Census of the St Neots Registration District, in which Abbotsley was enumerated (RG11/1611, Folios 109a - 118a), and which took place on 3rd April 1881, is available as Fiche C5.
The above referenced fiche are published by the Huntingdonshire FHS.
OS Grid Square TL 227566.
The church of St Margaret consists of a chancel, north vestry, nave, north
aisle, south aisle, west tower and north porch. The walls are of pebble rubble
with stone and clunch dressing and the roofs are of stone and
lead.
Although there was a church here about 1138, the earliest
architectural evidence seems to follow after the suit of 1272 when the Abbot of
Jedworth established his right to it. The chancel arch of this period, with a
south arcade and aisle of c.1300-10, possibly suggests the date of the first
stone church on the site. Some 20 years later, a north arcade and aisle were
added and, at the end of the century, a west tower was built, the nave
lengthened by about 7 ft., and the clearstory added. The church was restored in
1854 and 1861; in the latter year, the chancel, which appears to have been
contempory
with the chancel arch, and the north vestry and north porch, were rebuilt. The
tower was restored in 1884.
Baptisms: 1767-1813, 1813-1865, 1865-1914.
Banns: 1754-1812,
1823-1941.
Marriages: 1754-1812, 1813-1837, 1837-1963.
Burials:
1767-1812, 1813-1921.
Bishop's Transcripts: 1604-5, 1608, 1610, 1612,
1618-19, 1625-7, 1631, oddments 1665-76/1662-6, 1678, 1682-8, 1690-1,
1693-1702, 1704-16, 1718-20, 1722-86, 1787, 1788-1812/1813-24/1825-58.
These are available in the Huntingdon Records Office.
The Huntingdonshire Marriage Indexes include marriages from this parish. These are, at present, issued in alphabetical listings in series: 1601-1700, and 1701-1754, and are available from the Huntingdonshire FHS.
Abbotsley was originally in the St Neots Registration District, which itself became a sub-district of Huntingdon. From 1st April 1997, it has been in the Huntingdon Registration District.
A GENWEB page on Abbotsley is available.
An old map of the parish of Abbotsley in the 19th century is available.
The war memorial with detailed information about those who fell is available on the Roll of Honour site for Huntingdonshire.
Population in 1801 - 287
Population in 1851 - 453
Population in 1901 -
329
Population in 1951 - 283
Population in 1971 - 307
Population in 1991 -
444.
The parish of Abbotsley was in the St Neots Union for Poor Law
administration.
Births and Deaths registered in the St Neots Union
Workhouse (1913 - 1952) are available from the
Huntingdonshire FHS.
The parish of Abbotsley contains 1723 acres of land.
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