Huntingdonshire 
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Nearby Places
Nearby churches
Ramsey was the largest parish in Huntingdonshire; it lay on the border with Cambridgeshire. It consists almost wholly of fen-land which falls in many places to only 3 ft above ordnance datum. To the south, however, the land rises to 44 ft at the Bury boundary. Most of the land is rich fen-land soil is under cultivation; there is comparatively little pasture and no woodland. It forms part of the Middle Level of the Fen-land area which has been gradually drained over hundreds of years. The principle crops are market garden produce, particularly potatoes, celery and sugar beet.
The parish boundaries formerly ran through marshes and meres of the fen-land and were not, thus, clearly defined. Since the reclamation of the fens, they have become limited by streams and drains. On the north and east, they follow the county boundary which, having been also the divisions between the lands of the abbey of Ramsey and those of the abbey of Thorney and the Bishop of Ely, were in the 14th century for a long time questions of dispute. There is still a detached portion of the parish at Higney in Woodwalton parish, and Hepmangrove, formerly a part of Ramsey parish, was attached to Bury (q.v.) about the time of the Dissolution.
The early priviledged area of the abbey was BANLIEU (banleuca, leucata, leugata or lowy), nominally the distance of a league (2-3 miles) around the abbey. The first mention of the leugata or banlieu is in an undated charter of Henry I of 1100-2, which was confirmed by his grandson Henry II in another undated charter, probably of 1155. The origins of Ramsey Abbey are lost in time. However, it seems to have been with the grant of Edgar, confirmed by Edward the Confessor, which confirmed rights of sanctuary and exemption from episcopal and secular, but the definition of the area and rights probably belongs to the Norman period.
The town of Ramsey is situated on what was originally an island surrounded by Bury Fen on the south and Stocking Fen on the north, and was approached by a causeway on one side only. The abbey stood on the highest part of the island some 23 ft above sea level. It is not on a Roman road but is some seven miles east of Ermine Street. Until the end of the 12th century, the town was quite unimportant; it is not mentioned in the Domesday survey of 1086, and appears not to have had a parish church. By 1200 the town had grown sufficiently to make it worthwhile for the abbott to obtain a grant of market on Wednesdays. However, the market only served the local area because of the town's location on the edge of the Fens. By the time of the middle ages, the fair was largely agricultural but there were weavers and fullers with others who were connected with the cloth trade. Tanner, too, was a popular surname in the town.
By the 15th century, the market place had become built over when Little Whyte (which occupies part of it) appears. A fire appeared at Little Whyte on 29 August 1636 when many tenements were burned down. The Great Whyte (formerly known as the Whyte -Wythe, le Withe, le Wigthte) turns northward from Little Whyte. The names go back to the 13th century. The town developed into modern time as a centre for the local agricultural industry.
The abbey was gradually rebuilt in the 12th century following its near destruction by forces opposed to King Stephen. Additions were made during the 13th century and into the 14th century, and the gatehouse was rebuilt in the 15th century. After the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539, the monastic buildings were sold off as a source of building materials, much of it being used by colleges at Cambridge. The towers of Ramsey and Godmanchester parish churches were also built of them. The use of the abbey as a quarry continued well into the 17th century. All that is now left is a fragment of the Great Gate of the monastery which when perfect must have been a fine specimen of a 15th-century gatehouse; it is now used as a lodge.
The civil parish was divided in 1860 when the parish of Ramsey St Mary was formed; the balance of St Thomas's parish being known as "Ramsey Town".
The Monumental Inscriptions of Ramsey St Thomas have not yet been recorded by the Huntingdonshire FHS. The Monumental Inscriptions of Ramsey Municipal Cemetery is currently being transcribed, and will be available from the Huntingdonshire FHS later.
Monumental Inscriptions from Ramsey St Mary's Parish Churchyard (approximately 387 entries - fiche set M11) are available from the Huntingdonshire FHS.
Census information for this parish (1841 - 1891) is held in the Huntingdon Records Office.
The full 1841 Census of Ramsey Parish is available as fiche set C109.
The full 1851 Census of Ramsey Parish is available as fiche set C59.
A surname index of the 1881 Census of the Huntingdon Registration District, in which Ramsey was enumerated (RG11/1600, Folios 4a - 134b), and which took place on 3rd April 1881, is available as fiche set C3.
A full transcription of the 1891 Census of Ramsey Registration sub-District (RG12/1234) in which Ramsey was enumerated, and which took place on 5th April 1891, is available as fiche set C6.
The above mentioned fiche are available from the Huntingdonshire FHS.
OS Grid Square TL 291851.
The parish church of Ramsey
Town is dedicated to St. Thomas
A'Beckett of Canterbury. It is built mainly of rubble but the aisles and other
parts are of ashlar. The roofs of the chancel and nave are covered with tiles
and the aisles with lead. The church consists of a chancel, nave, north aisle,
south aisle, north chapel and south chapel and west tower.
The present
building was originally erected in 1180 is of a peculiar plan. The very small
chancel, the long nave and the absence of a tower from the original church, point
to the building having been designed for a hospital, infirmary or guest house.
After the introduction of stricter rule and more elaborate services in the 12th
century, particularly the Sunday Procession, the parochial services interfered
with those of the monks. Hence the accommodation for the parishioners outside
the monastic church was made at a later date than would have been expected.
The south chapel was destroyed about 1310. The aisles were apparently rebuilt
about 1500. The west tower was built in 1672. There was formerly a south porch
which was destroyed in 1843, which probably belonged to the period of the rebuilding
of the south aisle about 1500. A north vestry was built on the site of the north
chapel in 1910, and the church was restored in 1844 when some of its ancient fittings
were lost, including a chancel screen and some old glass. The gallery was removed
in 1903.
In the churchyard eastward of the chancel is the shaft of the
14th century churchyard cross, standing about 9ft high. The head has been lost.
OS Grid Square TL 256873.
The
church of St. Mary,
two miles north-east of Ramsey, was built by Mrs. Emmas Fellowes, widow of Mr.
William Henry Fellowes, in 1858. It is of stone in the 14th-century style and
consists of a chancel with north vestry, nave of five bays, aisles, south porch
and north-west tower with spire.
Methodism
first came to Ramsey at the very end of the 18th century, but it was not until
1811 that Ramsey was named as a Wesleyan Methodist Society in the St Neots Circuit.
In 1812, it was transferred to the new St Ives and Huntingdon Circuit. However
it was not until 1831 that a Chapel and school were built close to the High Street
approached by a path known as Bodger's Yard. It opened for worship on 23 September
1831.
By the 1890s a larger church was needed. A site had been acquired
in 1887, but it was not until 1897 that a committee was formed to raise the necessary
money. The new building was completed in 1899. It is still in use today.
A fuller history of Methodism in Ramsey is included as a preface to Fiche D41
(Ramsey Methodist Chapel Baptisms 1822 - 1901) obtainable from the Huntingdonshire FHS Bookstall..
Baptisms: 1559-1920 (indexed
transcript), 1559-1642/3, 1653-1673, 1673-1739, 1738-1812, 1813-1833, 1833-1858,
1858-1894, 1894-1921, 1921-1959.
Banns: 1754-1778, 1778-1801, 1801-1829, 1829-1839,
1839-1857.
Marriages: 1559-1837 (indexed transcriptions), 1559-1642, 1653-1673,
1673-1739, 1738-1812, 1754-1778, 1778-1801, 1801-1812, 1837-1854, 1854-1876, 1876-1904,
1904-1917, 1917-1929, 929-1940.
Burials: 1559-1921 (indexed transcript), 1559-1642/3,
1653-1673, 1673-1739, 1738-1812, 1813-1836, 1836-1847, 1848-1925.
Bishop's
Transcripts: 1604-5, 1608, 1610, 1612, 1617-19, 1625-6, 1670-2/1673-7, 1687-8,
1690, 1692, 1702, 1705-6, 1708, 1710-16, 1718, 1720, 1722-4, 1726-7, 1729-36,
1742-3, 1746-56/1756-8, 1761, 1763-5, 1768-74, 1789-1813/1813-26/1827-1836/1837-45/1846-58.
Baptisms, Marriages and Burials: 1859 to date. These are kept in the Church.
Only indexes to the Ramsey St. Mary's Registers 1859-1937 are available in the Huntingdon Records Office
Available registers and indexes are in the Huntingdon Records Office.
An indexed list of baptisms 1559 - 1920 from the Parish Church, giving full details from the Registers, is available as a set of 7 microfiche (fiche set D42).
An indexed list of marriages 1559 - 1920 from the Parish Church, giving full details from the Registers, is available as a set of 6 microfiche (fiche set D43).
The Huntingdonshire Marriage Indexes include marriages from the Ramsey ancient parish (including the area now part of the parish of Ramsey St. Mary). These are, at present, issued in alphabetical listings in series: 1601-1700, and 1701-1754, and are available on fiche.
An indexed list of burials 1559 - 1910 from the Parish Church, giving full details from the Registers, together with miscellaneous notes, is available as a set of 6 microfiche (fiche set D44).
Baptisms from the Methodist Chapel of Ramsey (1822 - 1901) are available (fiche set D41)
The above mentioned fiche are available from the Huntingdonshire FHS Bookstall.
Ramsey originally had its own (Ramsey) Registration District from 1st July 1837. Subsequently, it became a sub-District of Huntingdon until 31st March 1997. It has been in the Registration District of Huntingdon directly since 1st April 1997.
Further information on Ramsey has also been published by the Huntingdonshire District Council.
An old map of the parish of Ramsey in the 19th century is available.
The war memorial with detailed information about those who fell is available on the Roll of Honour site for Huntingdonshire as well as the Ramsey St Mary memorial.
Population
in 1801 - 1894.
Population in 1851 - 4645.
Population in 1901 - 4823.
Population
in 1951 - 5770.
Population in 1971 - 5646.
After 1981 the parish population
figures were divided into to the two de-facto parishes of Ramsey St. Mary and
Ramsey Town.
Population in 1981 - 5816 (Ramsey St. Mary parish) and 3652
(Ramsey Town).
Population in 1991 - 4995 (Ramsey St. Mary parish) and 5181
(Ramsey Town).
Ramsey
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 D-10, from the Huntingdonshire FHS.
The civil parish of Ramsey (including Ramsey St Mary) measures some seven miles across from east to west, and about five miles from north to south. Overall it comprises 16,969 acres.
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