Huntingdonshire
Contents
Nearby Places
Nearby churches
Cunictune (x cent.), Cunintone, Coninctune (xi cent.), Cunyngton, Conington (xiii-xiv cent.).
The parish of Conington lies on the west side of the Fen, and the greater part adjoins the Fen district where the land is flat and from which it gradually rises from about 2 ft. above sea-level in the east, to 40 ft. at the Ermine Street. Westward of Ermine Street, the land rises more abruptly and reaches 169 ft. at Conington Road Hill. The land is mostly pasture but there is also some good arable land and some residual woodland. Conington Fen, which occupies a large part of the eastern side of the parish, is now mostly drained and ultivated. Bog Oak, frequently found in the fens, is indicative of former forest land.
Before the 17th cenury the Fen was used mainly for feeding cattle and sheep, and the supply of peat turves - the cutting of which was regulated by the Fen reeves, who also looked after the maintenance and cleaning of the dykes and ditches. On St Luke's Day, on the tolling of the church bell, the tenants met at the church and went to the Fen to view the ditches belonging to their tenements. The systematic drainage was begun by Sir Thomas Cotton in 1639, and during the following year the first pump was installed. The cultivation of the Fen was then gradually taken in hand, but it was not until the 19th century that the greater part was ploughed. Inclosures began at the end of the 16th century.
The farms in the 17th century were mostly pastures, but after the purchase of the manor by Sir John Heathcote, the amount of arable land was increased. In 1751 a good deal of the land was planted with wode. In 1800 there were 270 acres of arable land which, by 1838 had fallen to 250 acres, but by 1888 it had risen again to 290 acres which by 1921 had increased to 600 acres; all this tended to increase the size of the farms.
The somewhat scattered village is on the east side of the A1(M) Motorway, following Ermine Street which became the Great North Road, and lies along Conington Lane which leads to the church and Conington Castle (or Manor House), the most famous owners of which were the Cotton and Heathcote families. The Crown and Woolpack (formerly, the Woolpack Inn) which was on the Ermine Street is said to have been frequented by the notorious highwayman, Dick Turpin, who died in 1739. The well-known episode of his putting on the shoes of his horse the wrong way in order to mislead his pursuers, is said to have taken place here.
There is a reference to a Guildhall (le Gyldawle) at Conington in 1523, and there were frequent bequests to the Guild of the Holy Trinity in the Wills of persons living in the parish in the 16th century. There was also a Guild of Our Lady mentioned in 1503.
Monumental inscriptions for this parish have not yet been recorded by the Huntingdonshire FHS.
Census information for this parish (1841 - 1891) is held in the Huntingdon Records Office.
The full 1841 Census of Conington Parish, and which took place on 7th June 1841, is available as fiche set C92.
The full 1851 Census of Conington Parish, and which took place on 30 March 1851, is available as fiche set C42.
A Surname Index of the 1881 Census of the Huntingdon Registration District, in which Conington was enumerated (RG11/1601, Folios 15a - 21a), and which took place on 3rd April 1881, is available as fiche set C3.
A full transcription of the 1891 Census of the Sawtry sub-District of the Huntingdon Registration District (RG12/1235) in which Woodwalton was enumerated, and which took place on 5th April 1891, has also been produced by the Huntingdonshire FHS (as Fiche C-7).
The above mentioned fiche are available from the Huntingdonshire FHS.
OS Grid Square: TL 181859.
The church of All Saints consists
of a chancel, north chapel, south chapel, nave, north aisle, south aisle, west
tower and small north and south porches. The walls are of stone rubble with
stone dressings, and the tower is faced entirely with ashlar. The roofs are
covered with lead and stone slates.
The church is mentioned in the
Domesday survey of 1086, but there is no indication as to the form of this
early building ot to its later evolution. The whole church was completely
rebuit at the latter end of the 15th century. Possibly, the lower parts of the
chancel walls may be of the 14th century, but the upper parts are of
approximately the same date as the church though slightly earlier. The tower is
slightly later than the nave, but this was not the first tower as in 1336 the
belfry of the church of St Mary (as it was then known) was rebuilt by the
parishioners.
In 1638, the embattled parapets were restored by Sir
Thomas Cotton. The church was again restored and repewed in 1841, and a new
east window was inserted in 1852. In 1862 the tower was strengthened with iron
girders, and other repairs were undertaken in 1897-99. By the year 2000, the
church had been closed and the parishoners were using the neighbouring Holme
parish church.
Baptisms: 1538-1698 (indexed transcriptions), 1660-1900 (indexed
transcriptions), 1813-1930, 1930-1975.
Banns: 1756-1895 (indexed
transcriptions), 1830-1975.
Marriages: 1583-1698/9 (indexed
transcriptions), 1660-1900 (indexed transcriptions), 1838-1956,
1959-1992.
Burials: 1583-1698/9 (indexed transcriptions), 1661-1900
(indexed transcriptions), 1814-1992.
Bishop's Transcripts: 1604-5,
1608-10, 1612, 1617-19, 1624-7/1683, 1685-8, 1690-3, 1696-7, 1701,
1705-6, 1709-52, 1754-84, 1786-7, 1789-1811, 1812-13/1813-21,
1823-4/1825-38, 1840, 1842-5, 1847, 1849-51, 1853, 1857-9.
These are available in the Huntingdon Records Office.
The Conington Parish Registers of All Saints (baptisms, marriages and burials) 1538-1918, on 2 microfiche, are available as fiche set D61 from the Huntingdonshire FHS.
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.
The parish of Conington was originally in the Huntingdon Registration District from 1st July 1837. Subsequently it became part of the Sawtry sub-District. Once again, from 1st April 1997, it is directly under the Huntingdon Registration District.
A GENWEB page for Conington is available.
A local area map of Conington with Holme is available. An old map of the parish of Conington in the 19th century is available.
The War Memorial inscriptions for this parish are available on-line.
Population in 1801 - 154.
Population in 1851 - 319.
Population
in 1901 - 268.
Population in 1951 - 348.
Population in 1971 -
247.
Population in 1991 - 212.
The parish of Conington was in the Huntingdon Union for Poor Law
administration.
Births and Deaths registered in the Huntingdon
Union Workhouse (1838 - 1949) are available, at a cost of £1.50, from the
Huntingdonshire FHS.
The parish of Conington occupied 3175 acres of land.
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