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Formerly a hamlet of Doddington which was formed into a parish in 1868. The parish of Benwick was united with that of Doddington in 1982 and the parish church of St. Mary was demolished 1983-85.
"BENWICK, formerly a hamlet of Doddington, is now a parish, 5 miles west from Wimblington station on the Cambridge and Wisbech section of the London and North Eastern railway, 8 north-west by road from Chatteris and 8 south-west from March, in the union and hundred of North Witchford, Isle of Ely petty sessional division and county court district of March, rural deanery of March, and in the archdeaconry of Wisbech and diocese of Ely. "
"The land, which consists entirely of fen, is also distributed among many freeholders. The soil is fen; subsoil, clay and gault. The chief crops are wheat, barley, oats and roots. The area is 3,181 acres of land and 27 of water; the population in 1921 was 808."
[Kelly's Directory - 1929]
The Monumental Inscriptions from the Baptist churchyard reside in the Cambridge Record Office.
"There is a cemetery here, 28 perches in extent; it is under the control of the Parish Council. "
[Kelly's Directory - 1929]
The Census Records from 1841-1891 can be found in the Cambridge Record Office and also at Wisbech Library. In addition the 1851 Census for Benwick is available in full transcript form, on microfiche, from the Cambridgeshire Family History Society Bookstall.
"The church of St. Mary was erected in 1854, at a cost of £2,500, the money being raised under "Gilbert's Act," and constituting an annual charge upon the living until the whole amount, with interest, is paid off: the church is a edifice in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, south porch and a western tower with spire containing a clock and one bell: the church was partially restored and the shire rebuilt in 1902, at cost of £300: there are sittings for about 400 persons. The register dates from the year 1851."
"There are Baptist and Wesleyan chapels."
[Kelly's Directory - 1929]
The church was demolished in 1983 and the parish re-united with Doddington. Funds are currently being raised to build a new ecumenical place of worship on the site of the old church, but this may take several years.
Benwick, St. Mary: Records of baptisms 1851-1979, marriages 1851-1978, burials 1851-1982, banns for 1851-1982 reside in the Cambridge Record Office.The Bishop's Transcripts for the years 1851-57 can be found in the Cambridge University Library.
Wesleyan Methodist Church: Records exist at the Cambridge Record Office for the Chatteris Wesleyan Circuit of which Benwick is part.
Primitive Methodist Church: Records exist at the Cambridge Record Office for the Ely Primitive Circuit of which Benwick is part.
Benwick has it's own village web site called www.lilyholtroad.co.uk
The Benwick War Memorial has been transcribed and and the men researched, the criteria for a persons name appearing on this memorial was that they had attended the Benwick day school.
Land Tax: records were compiled afresh each year and contain the names of owners and occupiers in each parish, but usually there is no address or place name. These records reside in the Cambridge Record Office for the years 1798-1801 and 1946-1948.
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[Last updated 9 February 2008 Martin Edwards]