Huntingdonshire
Contents
Nearby Places
Nearby churches
Huntendune porte (vii cent.), Huntendun, Huntandune (x cent.), Huntendonia id es Mons Venatorum (xii cent.), Huntyngdon (xiii cent.).
The Borough and Town of Huntingdon lies on the Roman Road of Ermine Street. Huntingdon has always remained an agricultural town. It is pleasantly situated among pastoral scenery on the north bank of the River Ouse. Ermine Street (which later became known as the Great North Road) running north-west through the town, always formed the main thoroughfare. There is little trace in its vicinity of the settlement of early man, and during the Roman Occupation, though there may have been a small village here, it was insignificant and perhaps a bridgehead to the more important settlement at Godmanchester.
Huntingdon owes its importance to its position at the crossing of the River Ouse by the much frequented Ermine Street on its way from London to Lincoln and York. On the south side of the crossing of the ancient roads from the south-east and the south-west, and on the north side from the north-east and north-west, converge on Ermine Street and become united to it before reaching the bridge. (During the late 20th century, a Motorway/dual carriageway system has now bypassed the town so easing congestion).
The town, by having control of the crossing of the Ouse, was of considerable strategic importance in the time of war, as the Ouse was the first real barrier or defensible line from London on the Ermine Street route to the north. Before the St. Ives bridge was built in the 12th century, Huntingdon Bridge was probably the lowest bridge on the Ouse, so that a considerable amount of goods from overseas, by way of the Wash and King's Lynn was unladen on its wharves.
The Danes, as a military and trading people, were not slow to see the importance of the site, and it is in connection with the Danish campaignes of the 10th century that we first hear of Huntingdon. The Danes would naturally choose the northern bank of the river, which was the side in touch with their base, in the same way as the site at Godmanchester, lying on the south bank, had been selected on the side nearer the Roman Headquarters in London. At Huntingdon, the Danes had constructed defensive earthworks as a stronghold against the Saxon Kings.
Indirect evidence shows that already Huntingdon was a market town, for in 974 a charter to Peterborough states that there was to be no other market than Peterborough between Stamford and Huntingdon. King John issued a Charter to the Borough on 7 August 1205. Another Charter to Thorney Abbey likewise shows that St. Mary's Priory existed at this late.
By the 13th century, there were 16 churches in Huntingdon. By 1500 these had settled as four ecclesiastical parishes, which remained until 1921 despite the fact that two parish churches had been demolished in 1668.
The matching four civil parishes remained until 1921 when Huntingdon civil parish was formed. There was a boundary change in 1935, and the civil parish was abolished in 1961 when the civil parish of Huntingdon and Godmanchester was created
Census information for Huntingdon Town is given on each of its four parish pages.
The full 1841 Census of Huntingdon and its Parishes is available as fiche set C101.
The full 1851 Census of Huntingdon and its Parishes is available as fiche set C51.
A surname index of the 1881 Census of the Huntingdon Registration District, in which all four Huntingdon parishes were enumerated (RG11/1604, Folios 4a - 12a), and which took place on 3rd April 1881, is available as fiche set C3.
A full transcription of the 1891 Census of the Huntingdon Registration District (RG12/1237) in which the four Huntingdon parishes and the Huntingdon Union Workhouse were enumerated, and which took place on 5th April 1891, is available as fiche set C9.
The above mentioned fiche are available from the Huntingdonshire FHS.
The Registration District of Huntingdon has served the Borough since 1st July 1837.
There were originally 16 ancient parishes in Huntingdon. These
were:
Huntingdon All
Saints.. This was abolished in 1667 to create Huntingdon All Saints
with St John by union.
Huntingdon Holy Trinity. This was derelict by the
14th century.
Huntingdon St Andrew. This was in decay after
1529.
Huntingdon St Benedict..
This was abolished in 1668 to create Huntingdon St Mary and St
Benedict.
Huntingdon St Botolph. Site unknown.
Huntingdon St
Clement. Not mentioned after 1372.
Huntingdon St Edmund. United in
1312 with Huntingdon St Mary.
Huntingdon St. George. Mentioned only
in the 17th century.
Huntingdon St Germain. Mentioned on a 17th
century map, but there is no earlier mention.
Huntingdon St John. Abolished in 1667 to create
Huntingdon All Saints and St John.
Huntingdon St Lawrence. No mention after
the 13th century.
Huntingdon St Martin. United in 1343 with Huntingdon St
Mary.
Huntingdon St
Mary.. Gained Huntingdon St Martin in 1343, and Huntingdon St
Clement in 1372. Abolished in 1668 to create Huntingdon St Mary and St
Benedict.
Huntingdon St Michael. In ruins by the 16th century when it was
united with Huntingdon St Peter.
Huntingdon St Nicholas. Site
unknown.
Huntingdon St Peter. It was in ruins by the later 16th
century.
There is also a modern church of St
Barnabas but this is likely to have any history for family
historians.
Information on the Huntingdon Team
Ministry at the beginning of the 21st cent. is available.
There are municipal pages for the Borough and Town of Huntingdon and connecting pages from the Huntingdon District Council links to the town provide more recent information.
A GENWEB page for Huntingdon is available.
An old map of the parishes in Huntingdon in the 19th century is available.
The on-line Newspaper which covers parts of Huntingdonshire (notably Huntingdon, St. Ives and districts) is the Cambridge Evening News.
A breakdown of population figures for each of the four parishes of
Huntingdon up to 1921 can be found on each of those pagish pages. From 1951 the
Borough population figures include the parish of
Hartford.
Population in 1801 - 2035
Population in 1851 -
4872
Population in 1901 - 4261
Population in 1951 - 7784
Population in
1971 - 13415
Population in 1991 - 15434
Huntingdon Borough was part of the Huntingdon Union (for Poor Law
administration).
Births and Deaths registered in the Huntingdon
Union Workhouse (1838 - 1949) are available, as fiche set D10, from the Huntingdonshire FHS.
The Borough of Huntingdon consists of 1074 acres of land.
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