Christchurch, Cambridgeshire

Christchurch
Christchurch
	Christchurch parish church
	Christchurch Location within Cambridgeshire
Population	833 (2011)
OS grid reference	TL4996
District	Fenland ;
Shire county	Cambridgeshire ;
Region	East ;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Wisbech
Postcode district	PE14
Dialling code	01354
Police	Cambridgeshire
Fire	Cambridgeshire
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	North East Cambridgeshire ;
	List of places UK England Cambridgeshire 52°32′46″N0°12′10″E / 52.5460°N 0.2027°E

Last updated December 07, 2023

Christchurch is a village in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England.^[1]^[2] The population (including Tipp's End) of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 833.^[3] The village is sited close to the Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.

Christchurch has a small church, The Church of Christ, which was built in 1863 and consecrated in 1865. This is the source of Christchurch's claim to fame. The rector of the church from 1917 to 1928 was The Rev. Henry Sayers, father of the novelist, Dorothy L. Sayers. He and his wife were buried in unmarked graves in the churchyard at the behest of their daughter Dorothy. A plaque has since been installed in the churchyard to commemorate their interment. One of Sayers' novels, The Nine Tailors is set in the Christchurch and Upwell area.

The village was allegedly named after the church because of the two large oil paintings hanging in the nave. One depicts Christ crowned with thorns and the other his descent from the cross. Both were brought from Italy by Sir Roger Pratt. Until the turn of the century, the village name was still spelt "Christ Church", and prior to that was known as Brimstone-Hill, presumably after the butterfly which used to be common in the area.^[4] Local oral traditional also indicates that the name of Brimstone Hill was derived from the smell of rotting vegetation during the land reclamation projects of the 19th century.

Village facilities include a small combined village school and preschool. There is also a public house, The Dun Cow, which is tied to Elgood's Brewery of Wisbech. There is a recreation ground with football pitch and children's play area. The village playing field also has a skatepark, which was co-funded by donations and the Parish Council, and a new Village Hall next to the Bowling green adjacent to the playing field.

Governance

Christchurch has its own parish council. The village (as at 2022) forms part of the two-seat Elm & Christchurch district council Ward. This lies in the parliamentary constituency of North East Cambridgeshire.

Christchurch Eco

In September 2019, a local resident set up a community-driven environmental group, encouraging the community to find ways to help protect the planet, encourage better animal conservation, think about ways to reduce their carbon footprint, and find ways to recycle challenging waste streams using Terracycle. Items recycled include crisp packets, oral care products, Pringle tubes, and numerous other difficult to recycle items. There are currently four publicly open recycling stations around the village, and all items collected help raise much needed funds for the local primary school "Townley Primary" The group's actions have made it into local news press, including The Wisbech Standard, and The Fenland Citizen.

Related Research Articles

Cambridgeshire is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Peterborough, and the city of Cambridge is the county town.

Wisbech is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and only 5 miles (8 km) south of Lincolnshire. The tidal River Nene running through the town is spanned by two road bridges. Wisbech is in the Isle of Ely and has been described as 'the Capital of The Fens".

Burwell is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, some 10 miles north-east of Cambridge. It lies on the south-east edge of the Fens. Westward drainage is improved by Cambridgeshire lodes (waterways), including Burwell Lode, a growth factor in the village. A population of 6,309 in the 2011 census was put at 6,417 in 2019.

Fenland is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. It was historically part of the Isle of Ely. The district covers around 500 square kilometres (190 sq mi) of mostly agricultural land in the extremely flat Fens. The council is based in March. Other towns include Chatteris, Whittlesey and Wisbech.

March is a Fenland market town and civil parish in the Isle of Ely area of Cambridgeshire, England. It was the county town of the Isle of Ely which was a separate administrative county from 1889 to 1965. The administrative centre of Fenland District Council is located in the town.

Chatteris is a market town and civil parish in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England, situated in The Fens between Huntingdon, March and Ely. The town is in the North East Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency.

Bury is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Bury lies approximately 7 miles (11 km) north/north east of Huntingdon and is near to Ramsey and St Ives. Bury is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England.

Bluntisham is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,003. Bluntisham lies approximately 8 miles (13 km) east of Huntingdon. Bluntisham is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England. The villages of Earith, Colne, Woodhurst, and Somersham are all close by.

Fenstanton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, 2 miles (3 km) south of St Ives in Huntingdonshire, a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and historic county. Fenstanton lies on the south side of the River Ouse.

Tydd St Giles is a village in Fenland, Cambridgeshire, England. It is the northernmost village in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, on the same latitude as Midlands towns such as Loughborough, Leicestershire and Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The village is in the distribution area of one local free newspaper, The Fenland Citizen.

Wisbech was a rural district in Cambridgeshire in England from 1894 to 1974.

Parson Drove is a fen village in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. A linear settlement, it is 6 miles (10 km) west of Wisbech, the nearest town. The village is named after the central thoroughfare along which the village developed, a green drove, much wider than the current metalled road (B1166). The population at the 2001 Census was 1,030. The population is included in the civil parish of Wisbech St Mary.

Guyhirn is a village near the town of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, England. It is on the northern bank of the River Nene, at the junction of the A141 with the A47. The population is included in the civil parish of Wisbech St Mary. It is notable chiefly for the Chapel of Ease, a rare example of church architecture of the Interregnum (1649–1660), and as a key crossing point of the River Nene.

Upwell is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Upwell village is on the A1101 road, as is Outwell, its conjoined village at the north. The nearest towns are Wisbech to the north-west and Downham Market to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elm, Cambridgeshire</span> Human settlement in England

Elm is a village and civil parish in the Fenland District of Cambridgeshire, England. In Domesday, it is called Helle.

Little Thetford is a small village in the civil parish of Thetford, 3 miles (5 km) south of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England, about 76 miles (122 km) by road from London. The village is built on a boulder clay island surrounded by flat fenland countryside, typical of settlements in this part of the East of England.

Outwell is a village and civil parish in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk, in the English county of Norfolk.

Walsoken is a settlement and civil parish in Norfolk, England, which is conjoined as a suburb at the northeast of the town of Wisbech, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Gorefield is a village and civil parish in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England.

Newton-in-the-Isle is a village and civil parish in the Fenland District of the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, The village is 4 miles (6 km) to the north of Wisbech.

References

↑ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 143 Ely & Wisbech (Downham Market) (Map). Ordnance Survey. 2014. ISBN 9780319231319.
↑ "Ordnance Survey: 1:50,000 Scale Gazetteer" (csv (download)). www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk. Ordnance Survey. 1 January 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
↑ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
↑ Wisbech Hundred: Outwell and Upwell in A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 4, City of Ely; Ely, N. and S. Witchford and Wisbech Hundreds ( Victoria County History, London, 2002) pp. 206–219.

External links

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[OS143-1] Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 143 Ely & Wisbech (Downham Market) (Map). Ordnance Survey. 2014. ISBN 9780319231319.

[OSGaz50-2] "Ordnance Survey: 1:50,000 Scale Gazetteer" (csv (download)). www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk. Ordnance Survey. 1 January 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.

[3] "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.

[4] Wisbech Hundred: Outwell and Upwell in A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 4, City of Ely; Ely, N. and S. Witchford and Wisbech Hundreds ( Victoria County History, London, 2002) pp. 206–219.

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