St Neots, Huntingdonshire, England. Geographical and Historical information from 1932.

ST NEOTS:
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1932.

"ST NEOTS, the parish of St. Neots originally formed part of Eynesbury but when, in 1113, the Priory of St Neots was given the whole Manor in which their Priory was situated (see - Church History), the monks formed their land and tenants into a separate township and the name "St Neots" was given to it. The first recorded use of the new name is in 1156/7, but the final severance was probably not made until 1204 when the ecclesiastical division of the parishes was made. Geographically, the new parish practically cut Eynesbury into two portions.

The sub-soil of St. Neots parish is mainly Oxford clay. The River Ouse forms the western boundary and its tributaries - the Hen Brook and Gallow Brook - form parts of the southern and northern boundaries. The Priory stood on the river a little way to the north but only a few stones now remain.

The original town grew up around the Priory but the chief cause of the town's prosperity was apparently a ford or ferry, and later a bridge, across the Ouse. By letters patent in 1629, the River Ouse was made navigable by Arnold Spencer from St. Ives to St. Neots, and thence towards Bedford. This considerably increased the prosperity of the town, and a river-borne trade in coal, corn and other commodities grew up.

Main roads from Huntingdon, Kimbolton and Bedford converge at this point on the west side of the river, and like roads from Godmanchester, Cambridge and Sandy on the east side. They are all fed by secondary roads from neighbouring villages.

In 1876, the town and parish was placed under a local board, but in 1895 the parish was divided into two new civil parishes known as the Urban and Rural Districts. The Urban District consisted of the the civil parish of St. Neots and the parish of Eynesbury, and the Rural District contained the remaining 2697 acres of land. In 1965, part of the Bedfordshire civil parish of Eaton Socon was added to St. Neots Urban District."