Huntingdonshire
Contents
Nearby Places
Nearby churches
Sticiltone (xi cent.).
The parish of Stilton lies mainly on Oxford clay soil with small areas of Cornbrand. It was inclosed in 1805 by a private Act of Parliament. A few surface implements of the Neolithic age or later have been found in the parish, but of the Roman occupation, the only trace recorded at Stilton is a heavy silver-seal ring - perhaps dropped by some traveller on the Ermine Street.
From the position of the village on the Ermine Street (which later became the Great North Road), it obtained a certain importance as a posting station with inns of considerable size. the office of post-master was much sought-after in the 17th century by the rival innkeepers, one of whom offered to take the post not only without salary but would pay down £20 to £40 to obtain it.
Of the present day inns, "The Bell", an interesting stone house rebuilt in 1642 with mullioned windows and a very fine wrought-iron sign, was in existence before 1515. In 1613, the Herald sat in the "Angel Inn" to hold his visitations for this part of the country, and in 1620 it belonged to the Apreece family. Both Inns claimed to have been the first to sell Stilton cheese, and in 1725 the young Lord Harley, passing through Stilton, tasted and disapproved of the cheese sold at the Bell.
The cheese is said to have been made at Stilton before 1720, but it was popularised by Cooper Thornhill, landlord of The Bell about 1730, who, selling more than he could obtain locally, had it made by his relatives in Leicestershire.
The village suffered from very serious fires in 1729, 1798 and 1895, while the Manor House, which stands north-west of the church, was the scene of a fire in 1907. There were both Wesleyan and United Methodist chapels in the parish.
Monumental inscriptions for this parish have not been recorded by the Huntingdonshire FHS. However, Peterborough & District FHS have an interest in the parish.
Census information for this parish (1841 - 1891) is held in the Huntingdon Records Office.
The full 1841 Census of Stilton is available as fiche set C116.
The full 1851 Census of Stilton is available as fiche set C66.
A full transcription of the 1891 Census of the Stilton sub-District of the Peterborough Registration District (RG12/1225) in which Stilton was enumerated, and which took place on 5th April 1891, has also been produced by the Huntingdonshire FHS (as Fiche C-15).
The above mentioned fiche are available from the Huntingdonshire FHS.
An index of surnames in the 1851 Census of the Peterborough Registration District (HO107/1747) in which Stilton was enumerated (Folios 93B - 104 and 108B - 119), and which took place on 30th March 1851, has also been produced by the Peterborough & District FHS.
The Census is available in either microfiche or A5 booklet form Mr G Harbron, 7 Newby Close, Peterborough PE3 6PU, England. Please state which version you want.
OS Grid Square TL 160894.
The church of St Mary consists of a chancel with vestry and organ
chamber on the north, nave, north aisle, south aisle, west tower and
south porch. The walls are of rubble with stone dressings, and the roofs are
covered with stone slates and lead.
The church is not
mentioned in the Domesday survey of 1086, and the earliest parts of the
present church are the 13th century nave arcades, of which that on the
north is the slightly earlier. Practically all the rest of the church
was rebuilt in the 15th century, but the south porch and the vestry are
probably a little later, circa 1500. The chancel and the vestry are said to
have been rebuilt in 1808, when the vestry (originally a chapel) was reduced in
length.
The church was much restored in 1857 when the gallery was
removed from the west end, and the chancel and south porch restored. The
clearstory and the nave roof probably also belong to this restoration. Some
repairs were undertaken in 1887-88 when the chancel arch and the east wall of
the south aisle were rebuilt. In 1908-9, the south aisle was partially rebuilt
again.
Baptisms: 1660-1750, 1750-1783, 1783-1812, 1813-1893,
1893-1974.
Banns: 1754-1797, 1823-1947.
Marriages: 1660-1749/50,
1750-1771, 1754-1783, 1783-1812, 1813-1840, 1837-1960, (1954 marriages
are recorded under Caldecote parish), 1961-1973, 1973-1978.
Burials:
1660-1750/1, 1751-1783, 1783-1812, 1813-1885.
Bishop's Transcripts: 1604-5,
1608-10, 1612, 1617-19, 1620, 1625-7, 1660-4/1682-3, 1685-6, 1690-7, 1699-1702,
1705, 1708-32, 1734-60/1761-82, 1784-1813/1813-24/1825-9, 1831-9, 1851-9.
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 Bookstall.
Stilton was originally in the Peterborough Registration District of
Northamptonshire from 1st July 1837. Subsequently it was transferred to
the Stilton sub-District of Huntingdonshire. It was later transferred
back to the Peterborough District.
From 1st April 1998, marriage
records were transferred to the Huntingdon Registry Office, but the
births and burial records were retained by Peterborough.
A GENWEB page for Stilton is available.
An old map of the parish of Stilton in the 19th century is available.
The Stilton Memorial Hall covers the men who fell from Stilton, Folksworth, Morbourne, Washingley, Denton and Caldecot and contains detailed information for World War 1 and World War 2.
Population in 1801 - 509.
Population in 1851 - 803.
Population
in 1901 - 535.
Population in 1951 - 672.
Population in 1971 -
911.
Population in 1991 - 2230.
The parish of Stilton was in the Peterborough Union of Northamptonshire for Poor Law administration.
The parish of Stilton occupies 1638 acres of land.
Find Help, report problems, or contribute information.