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Coordinates: 52°16′26″N 0°19′48″E / 52.274°N 0.330°E
| Burwell | |
  Burwell
Burwell shown within Cambridgeshire |
|
| Population | 5,833 (2001) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | East Cambridgeshire |
| Shire county | Cambridgeshire |
| Region | East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CAMBRIDGE |
| Postcode district | CB25 |
| Dialling code | 01638 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | South East Cambs |
| List of places: UK • England • Cambridgeshire | |
Burwell is a large village in Cambridgeshire with a population of 5,833 (2001 Census). Burwell Lode runs along the western edge of the Village, with all land north and west of that being part of the area known as The Fens. The village name means "Spring by the Fort", referring to Burwell Castle, located close to a spring in the south of the village. The term for a resident of the village is "Burwellian".
Children attend Burwell Village College (Primary School) up until the age of 11 and then go to the secondary school's of either Soham or Bottisham.
Contents |
Location and early history
The village is located 4 miles NW of Newmarket, 10 miles ENE of Cambridge and 9 miles SSE of Ely. Burwell measures 1/2 mile east to west and 1.5 miles north-south. The Devil's Dyke Ancient Monument passes approximately 1 mile south west of the village. Burwell was recorded as Burewelle in the Domesday Book, when it was held by The Abbot of Ramsey. The history of the village and surrounding area is displayed at the Burwell Museum of Fen Edge Village Life.
The village is located at the head of Burwell Lode, a man-made waterway which connects it with the River Cam. The present course, created in the mid 17th century, replaced an older route which was probably Roman in origin.[1] The lode splits into two at the village, and each branch served a series of basins, warehouses and wharves, which were located at the bottom of long strips of land, with the merchants' houses at the other end of them.[2]
The village and the lode became more important with the opening in the 1850s of the Burwell Chemical Works, owned by T. T. Ball. By the 1890s, it had become the Patent Manure Works, was owned by Colchester and Ball, and around 10,000 tons of goods each year were shipped along the lode, using three steam tugs and a large fleet of lighters. Prentice Brothers Ltd built barges in the village until 1920, and continued repairing them there after they bought the fertilizer factory in 1921. The factory was later owned by Fisons, and boats continued to be used to move the fertiliser to Fenland farms until 1948. Commercial use of the lode ceased in 1963, when the traffic in sugarbeet stopped.[1]
Places of interest
St Mary's Church
Burwell has a very large and interesting parish church. There are some pictures and a description at the Cambridgeshire Churches website [3].
Burwell Castle
The village is the site of an unfinished castle, situated in Spring Close, grid reference TL587661. The final wall was knocked down by the Fire Brigade testing a fire hose in the 1930s, but the dry moat is still clearly visible. The castle was built during "The Anarchy", the internal conflict of the mid 12th century in the reign of King Stephen. Although a settlement had been reached such that the throne would pass to Henry II on Stephen's death, the Barons of the time took the opportunity to fight their own battles.
Among these Geoffrey de Mandeville was particularly troublesome and, after turning against Stephen, had set up an impregnable base around Ely. From his base he would attack local towns, such as Cambridge, and so the king ordered castles be built to surround Geoffrey. The few sites at which it is known such castles were to be constructed include Rampton (Giant's Hill), Ramsey (Booth's Hill) and Burwell.
At Burwell, a moat had been constructed and the stone keep partially built when Geoffrey attacked and was mortally wounded. His revolt thus collapsed and the castle was left unfinished. The narrow lane running along the side of the church next to Spring Close, where the Castle is located, is named "Mandeville".
The moat is all that remains of the castle, the last surviving wall was knocked down accidentally in the 1930's by the local Fire Brigade testing a hose.
The Barn Fire on Cuckolds Row
On the 8th of September 1727, a puppet show visited Burwell and put on a show, held in a barn on what is now Cuckolds Row, near the centre of the village. After the barn had filled with an audience from Burwell and surrounding villages, the doors were nailed shut to prevent further people getting in, a simple act which was key to the tragedy which resulted.
One person who could not get into the barn sat with a candle lantern and peered in to watch the show. However, the person accidentally knocked the lantern into the barn, setting fire to the hay within. With no way to escape, 78 people (51 of them, children) perished in the ensuing blaze.
The deceased are buried in the churchyard of St. Marys parish church, at the opposite end of the High Street, with a gravestone engraved with a blazing heart with angels' wings. On 8 September 2005, a plaque was unveiled at the site of the barn in memorial of the fire.[4]
Burwell Museum
Rural history museum depicting life through the centuries on the edge of the Cambridgeshire fens. Opened in 1992, it is housed in a collection of interesting buildings, some are reconstructed from other sites (such as the 18th century timber framed barn) and others are built in the local style using mainly reclaimed materials (such as the wagon sheds/granary display area). The displays are set out as 'scenes' (rather like stage sets) with lots of individual artefacts making each display. This should give visitors a better idea of how, where and when items were used. The neighbouring Grade II* listed windmill, Stevens' Mill, is also part of the Museum and can be visited when the Museum is open. Burwell Museum is open 2-5pm on Thursdays, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays from Easter to the end of October (some Special Events have extended opening hours). Much more information plus photos, videos, contact details and forthcoming Special Events list can be found on the Burwell Museum website[5]
Clunch quarry
Up until the early 20th century the building material clunch was dug in Burwell. Remains of the open quarry can be seen either side of Bloomsfield. Clunch was used to build many of the houses in Burwell and remains the name of the local parish magazine.
Twinning
The village is twinned with two villages: Lizy-sur-Ourcq and Mary-sur-Marne and one small town: Ocquerre. These are all situated in France, but only Lizy is mentioned on the signs as you enter the village. A plate commemorating the twinning is located on a wall on the outside of the Year 3 classroom at the village primary school: Burwell Village College (Primary) which educates local 4-11 year olds. The village falls into the catchment areas of both Bottisham and Soham Village Colleges, which provide education at secondary school level (11-16 yrs).
Sport
Burwell Swifts F.C. play football in Division Four B of the Kershaw Cambridgeshire Football League, with a reserve team in Division Five B. There are also two youth football clubs; the Burwell Swallows[6] and Burwell Tigers.[7]
Burwell Cricket Club[8] is based on Tan House Lane.
Recent accolades
The village was awarded the Best Kept Village award for East Cambridgeshire in 1998, 1999 and 2004, and won the same award for the whole county in 2000.
Notable residents
- Edward Fitzball, Playwright
- Oliver Jarvis, Racing Driver[9]
- Francis Pym, Minister in Margaret Thatcher's government lived at The Tan House.
- Jon Ridgeon, athlete, grew up in Burwell.
- John Louis Mansi, actor from 'Allo 'Allo!
See also
- Burwell Tramway
- Cambridge to Mildenhall railway
Burwell railway station - Exning Road Halt railway station
- List of places in Cambridgeshire
- HMS Burwell (H94)
References
- ^ a b The Canals of Eastern England, (1977), John Boyes and Ronald Russell, David and Charles, ISBN 978-0715374153
- ^ The River Great Ouse and tributaries, (2006), Andrew Hunter Blair, Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson, ISBN 978-0-85288-943-5
- ^ This church's page at the Cambridgeshire Churches website
- ^ "Ceremony to mark tragic blaze" Cambridge Evening News, 13 September 2005
- ^ www.burwellmuseum.org.uk
- ^ Burwell Swallows Football Club
- ^ Burwell Tigers F.C
- ^ Burwell Cricket Club
- ^ Bio on oliverjarvis.com
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
