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Huntingdonshire

Nearby places

ABBOTSLEY

"ABBOTSLEY, a parish in the hundred of Toseland, in the county of Huntingdon, 4 miles south-east of St. Neots. It is situated on the old Roman road from St. Albans. The land in the parish is chiefly pasture. The living is a vicarage,* value £85, in the diocese of Ely. The patrons are the Masters and Fellows of Baliol College, Oxford. The church, which is dedicated to St. Margaret, is an ancient structure, with a square embattled tower, in which are five bells and a clock. It was entirely repaired in 1854, and has a handsome modern altar-piece in the chancel."

Cemeteries

• 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

• 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.

Churches

• Here are photographs of Churches etc. in the parish:
  • St. Margaret's Church, Abbotsley.
• The following Churches have their own websites:
  • St. Margaret's Church, Abbotsley

Church History

• 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.

Church Records

• The following are available in the Huntingdon Records Office.
  • 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.
• 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.

Civil Registration

• 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.

Description and Travel

• A GENWEB page on Abbotsley is available.

Gazetteers

• A transcript of the Abbotsley parish entries from 1932 Victoria County Series
• A transcript of the Abbotsley parish entries from Samuel Lewis's 1835 Topographical Dictionary of England,

Maps

• An old map of the parish of Abbotsley in the 19th century is available.

Military History

• The war memorial with detailed information about those who fell is available on the Roll of Honour site for Huntingdonshire.

Names (Geographical)

• Adboldesle (xii cent.),
• Albedesley,
• Abbodesle,
• Abbotesley (xiii cent.),
• Albodesle (xiv cent.)

Poorhouses and Poor Law Etc

• 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.

Population

• Population in 1801 - 287
• Population in 1851 - 453
• Population in 1901 - 329
• Population in 1951 - 283
• Population in 1971 - 307
• Population in 1991 - 444.

Statistics

• The parish of Abbotsley contains 1723 acres of land.