Christchurch, Cambridgeshire

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Christchurch
Christchurch Parish Church (geograph 4715449).jpg
Christchurch parish church
Cambridgeshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Christchurch
Location within Cambridgeshire
Population833 (2011)
OS grid reference TL4996
District
Shire county
Region
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
List of places
UK
England
Cambridgeshire
52°32′46″N0°12′10″E / 52.5460°N 0.2027°E / 52.5460; 0.2027

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.

Contents

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.

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cambridgeshire</span> County of England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisbech</span> Town and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burwell, Cambridgeshire</span> Village in Cambridgeshire, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fenland District</span> Non-metropolitan district in Cambridgeshire, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">March, Cambridgeshire</span> Town and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluntisham</span> Village in Cambridgeshire, 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.

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisbech Rural District</span>

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parson Drove</span> Human settlement in England

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.

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upwell</span> Village in Norfolk, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Thetford</span> Village in Cambridgeshire, England

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newton-in-the-Isle</span> Human settlement in 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

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