Huntingdon is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It is the traditional county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council. It is known as the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell, who was born in 1599.
Contents
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History 1
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Area 2
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Transport 3
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Culture 4
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Notable residents 5
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International relations 6
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See also 7
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References 8
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External links 9
History
Huntingdon was founded by the a well-preserved medieval bridge that used to serve as the main route of Ermine Street over the river. The bridge only ceased to be the sole crossing point to Godmanchester in 1975, with the advent of what is now the A14 bypass.
Sebastopol Cannon Huntingdon
Its valuable trading position was secured by the now vanished Huntingdon Castle. The site is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and is home to a beacon used to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Spanish Armada.
In 1746, the botanists Wood & Ingram of nearby Brampton developed a cultivar species of elm tree, Ulmus × hollandica 'Vegeta', which was named the "Huntingdon Elm" after the town.
The town has been represented in parliament by two prominent MPs: Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century, and former Conservative Prime Minister John Major from 1979 to 2001. It is currently represented by Conservative MP Jonathan Djanogly.
Original historical documents relating to Huntingdon, including the borough charter of 1205, are held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at the County Record Office Huntingdon.[1]
Huntingdon welcome sign
Between the railway station and the old hospital building, stands a replica cannon. In the 1990s the replica was installed to replace an original Crimean War one, that stood there until the Second World War, being scrapped for the war effort. When the replica was installed it was placed in the opposite direction to the original.
The George
The George Hotel, on the corner of High Street and George Street was once a posting house. It was named after
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Towns
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Major tributaries
(upstream to downstream by confluence)
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Major bridges
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Huntingdonshire District Council
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Huntingdon Town Council
External links
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^ [1] cambridgeshire.gov.uk
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^ Shakespeare at The George
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^ http://www.huntingdon-town.info/portholme.htm huntingdon-town.info
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^ http://www.huntingdonanglicanchurches.org.uk huntingdonanglicanchurches.org.uk
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^ http://www.francisfrith.com/huntingdon/photos/nuns-bridge-1901_46623/ francisfrith.com
References
See also
Twin towns
International relations
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Christina of Markyate (c. 1096–98 – c. 1155), anchoress and prioress, born in Huntingdon
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Oliver Cromwell (1599–1653), Lord Protector, born in Huntingdon
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Richard Cromwell (1626–1712), Lord Protector, born in Huntingdon
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Henry Cromwell (1628–1674), Lord Deputy of Ireland and chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin, born in Huntingdon
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Samuel Pepys (1633–1703), diarist, attended Huntingdon Grammar School in about 1644.
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Basil Montagu (1770–1851), jurist, barrister, writer and philanthropist, and illegitimate son of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich and Martha Ray
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Robert Carruthers (1799–1878), journalist and author of History of Huntingdon
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Henry Compton (Charles Mackenzie, 1805–1877), actor, born in Huntingdon
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Michael Foster (1836–1907), physiologist and academic, born in Huntingdon
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Robert William Edis (1839–1927), architect and writer on decoration, born in Huntingdon and educated at Huntingdon Grammar School
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Walter Samuel Millard (1864–1952), naturalist and conservationist, born in Huntingdon
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John Hilton Grace (1873–1958), neurologist and Fellow of the Royal Society, died in Huntingdon
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Walter Yarnold (1893–1978), first-class cricketer, born in Huntingdon
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Josh Gifford, (1941–2012), National Hunt jockey and trainer, born in Huntingdon
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Charlie Elphicke (born 1971), Conservative member of Parliament, born in Huntingdon
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Oliver Gavin (born 1972), racing car driver, born in Huntingdon
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Charlotte Edwards (born 1979), international women's cricketer, born in Huntingdon
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Darren Bent (born 1984), footballer
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Himesh Patel (born 1990), actor
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Ceara O'Neill (born 1990), actor and musician, born in Huntingdon
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Harriet Lee (born 1991), Paralympic swimmer, born in Huntingdon
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James Sykes (born 1992), first-class cricketer, born in Huntingdon
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James Kettleborough (born 1992), first-class cricketer, born in Huntingdon
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Todd Kane (born 1993), footballer
Notable residents
The town's highest ranked football club, Huntingdon Town, play in the United Counties League, whilst Huntingdon United RGE play in the Cambridgeshire League.
Sport
Once a convent, Hinchingbrooke House is said to be haunted. The bridge over the Alconbury Brook named Nun's bridge[14] is said to be also haunted by one of the nuns who once lived at the old convent that is now Hinchingbrooke House. It's said she is often accompanied by another ghost which resembles the appearance of a nurse. The myth goes that the nun had a lover, a monk who caused them to be murdered. In 1965 a married couple reported seeing the ghosts on the bridge, and again when they returned home the same night.
Legends
Interior of the Cromwell Museum.
Culture
Huntingdon town centre, looking North along the High Street towards All Saints' Church.
Luton and Stansted airports are within 40 miles (60 km).
Air
There are buses to Peterborough, St Neots, Ramsey, St Ives and Cambridge; all direct from Huntingdon, as well as within the town and to Hinchingbrooke Hospital. Most buses are provided by local company Go Whippet or Stagecoach in Huntingdonshire.
Bus
Huntingdon railway station has direct services to London Kings Cross station by a service operated by Great Northern.
Rail
Transport
With rainfall at under 550 mm[12] per year, the Huntingdon area is amongst the driest in the UK – 103.4 days on average will record at least 1 mm of rain.[13] All averages mentioned refer to the period 1971–2000.
Typically 43.2 nights[9] of the year will report an air frost. The absolute minimum at Wyton (from 1960) was −16.1 °C (3.0 °F)[10] recorded during January 1982. On average, the coldest night of the year will fall to −7.7 °C (18.1 °F)[11]
The absolute maximum recorded at Wyton was 35.4 °C (95.7 °F)[5] during August 1990, although the temperature at Monks Wood rose to 35.1 °C (95.2 °F)[6] during July 2006. Typically the warmest day will average 29.7 °C (85.5 °F),[7] and 16.0 days[8] a year will rise to 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above.
As with the rest of the British Isles, Huntingdon experiences a strongly temperate maritime based climate, free from temperature extremes, with rainfall fairly evenly spread throughout the year.
The nearest weather station for which long term weather data is available is RAF Wyton, 3 mi (5 km) north east of the town centre, although more recently Monks Wood, 5 mi (8 km) to the north west, also provides data.
Climate
Huntingdon is home to many local businesses, including a local Horseracing Course, Huntingdon Racecourse. Hinchinbrooke Business Park has many offices and warehouses located on it, including the computer refurbishment company GNG Computers.
Business
Old Town Hall and Thinking Soldier War Memorial at Huntingdon Market Square.
Local Primary schools include Hartford Junior School, Huntingdon Primary School, Thongsley Fields Primary School, St John's Primary School, Stukeley Meadows Primary School and Cromwell Park Primary School. Special needs schools include Spring Common School. Secondary schools include St Peters and Hinchingbrooke School. Further Education colleges include Huntingdonshire Regional College Hinchingbrooke school sixth form college and St Peter's Sixth Form.
Part of the medieval infirmary hall of St Johns on the marketplace became Huntingdon Grammar School and was attended by Cromwell and diarist Samuel Pepys. The building is now the Cromwell Museum, run by Cambridgeshire County Council.
Once renowned for many more churches within the town, there are now four Church of England churches in Huntingdon, which together with the churches in the adjacent villages Great and Little Stukeley are members of the Huntingdon Team Ministry[4] in the Diocese of Ely. The four churches are All Saints' (next to the Market Square), St Mary's (opposite Pathfinder House), St Barnabas (on the Oxmoor estate) and All Saints', Hartford.
There are 3 RAF Wyton, once a major flying station but now also part of the DLO; and RAF Alconbury currently occupied by the United States Air Force.
The former Literary and Scientific Institute is now Commemoration Hall.
Between Godmanchester, Huntingdon and Brampton lies England's largest meadow, Portholme Meadow.[3] Around 257 acres (1 km²) in size and containing many rare species of grass, flowers and dragonfly, it is the only known habitat of the Marsh Dandelion in Britain. It acts as a natural reservoir for holding water in times of flood enabling the river to run off slowly, thereby helping to prevent flooding of nearby towns. It has also served as a horse race course and once was a centre for aviation.
The town lies on the north bank of the River Great Ouse, opposite Godmanchester and close to the market town of St Ives in the east and the village of Brampton in the west. Huntingdon now incorporates the village of Hartford to the east, and the developing areas of Oxmoor, Stukeley Meadows and Hinchingbrooke to the north and west.
Area
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