Newnham, Cambridgeshire

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Eltisley Avenue - a typical street in Newnham Croft Eltisley Avenue - geograph.org.uk - 3008.jpg
Eltisley Avenue – a typical street in Newnham Croft
The electoral boundary of Newnham ward Newn.tiff
The electoral boundary of Newnham ward

Newnham is a suburb of the city of Cambridge in England. Historically, the name refers to a hamlet centred on a mill on the River Cam, a short distance to the southwest of the city centre. The modern council ward of Newnham covers much of the west of the city. Several Cambridge University colleges are situated in this ward, including Newnham, Wolfson, Robinson, Selwyn and Darwin. In modern times Newnham has become one of the most affluent areas of Cambridge and sometimes features in national quality of life surveys. [1]

Contents

Newnham includes Granchester Meadows and Lammas Land, a recreation ground and playground.

History

The early hamlet of Newnham was situated on the west bank of the River Flit,[ dubious ] on an island of permanently dry land. The surrounding land was liable to flooding, particularly during the winter months. A permanent cut of the river leads to the Newnham watermill, which predated the Norman conquest of 1066, and is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The hamlet was linked to the town of Cambridge by a series of small bridges and fords over the various channels of the River Cam. A road led to the nearby village of Grantchester.

In 1256, the Carmelite order of monks established a convent in Newnham, with a church, cloister, dormitory and other buildings. Over the next 50 years, the order gradually moved from a contemplative tradition to more interactive religious practices. This, along with the fact that the convent was frequently cut off from Cambridge by winter flooding, led the order to move to Cambridge in 1292.

In the late 19th century, after the enclosure of the Cambridge fields, Newnham Croft was constructed – a middle-class suburb located partly within the Cambridge town boundary, and partly within the parish of Grantchester. In 1870, a church was built to serve the growing community. Initially, St Mark's Church on Barton Road (A603) was a daughter church to the parish of Grantchester. Newnham Croft was incorporated into the borough of Cambridge in 1911; Newnham was created as a separate parish in 1918. It is served by Newnham Croft Primary School.

From 1885, Sir George Darwin (son of Charles Darwin) lived in Newnham Grange (built in 1793), where he raised his children (including Sir Charles Darwin and Gwen Raverat). After the death of Sir Charles, son of Sir George, the building was acquired by the newly founded Darwin College.

Councillors

Members of Cambridge City Council for Newnham ward have included:

Related Research Articles

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Cambridge Whitefriars

The Cambridge Whitefriars, or Newnham Whitefriars, were a community of Carmelite friars who first settled in Chesterton outside Cambridge in the thirteenth century. Although granted permission by Henry III to build a house there in 1247, they instead moved into a house in Newnham donated to them by Michael Malherbe in 1249. It was situated in the parish of St-Peter-outside-the-gate in Trumpington and so fell under the jurisdiction of the Hospital of St John the Evangelist. Extensive monastic cells, a cloister and a church were constructed on three acres of land in Newnham. In 1290, however, because frequent flooding made it difficult to attend lectures and acquire provisions, the friars obtained permission from Edward I to move to land on Milne Street within Cambridge. They remained there from 1292 until 1538, when, as a result of the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII, their property was handed over to Queens' College, who demolished the monastic buildings. The site is now occupied by Walnut Tree Court and the college chapel. The only surviving remains can be seen in the well-preserved north wall of the Fellows' Garden, which formed the north wall of the Carmelite church. The locations of the sites in Chesterton and Newnham are unknown.

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St Botolphs Church, Cambridge Church in Cambridgeshire, England

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Ellen Wordsworth Darwin British academic

Ellen Wordsworth Darwin was an academic, a fellow and lecturer in English Literature at Newnham College in Cambridge (1879-1883), a member of the private and scholarly Ladies Dining Society at Cambridge and the second wife of the botanist Sir Francis Darwin, son of Charles Darwin. Their daughter was the poet Frances Cornford.

References

Coordinates: 52°11′53″N0°06′30″E / 52.1981°N 0.1084°E / 52.1981; 0.1084