Lying 5 miles west of Newmarket, and two miles south west of Burwell, the village is often paired with its neighbour Swaffham Bulbeck, and are collectively referred to as 'The Swaffhams'. Swaffham Prior was often known as Great Swaffham in past centuries. It should not be confused with the town of Swaffham in Norfolk.
The village is the first in the United Kingdom to use a rural heating network.[3] The 1.7-megawatt system uses a combination of solar panels, heat pumps, underground storage and electric boilers. It delivers heat via a network of heavily insulated pipes under the streets. Homes that connect to it can tap into the heat via existing radiators and hot water appliances without changing equipment.
The installation of the £12 million system was made possible by a £3 million government grant and a local government loan along with resident payments via household bills spread over 60 years. [4]
The village is dominated by its twin churches that have served the parish since at least the 12th century – the Church of St Mary, and the Church of St Cyriac and St Julitta (dedicated to Saint Quiricus and Saint Julietta). In 1667 an act of parliament combined the churches under a single parish.
The church of St Mary was first built in Norman times, and over its history has at times been allowed to fall into ruin, only being fully restored at the start of the 20th century and serving as the sole parish church since 1903. It contains a rood screen, and has a series of stained glass windows showing scenes from World War I. [5]
The original church of St Cyriac and St Julitta (Cyriac's mother) was built prior to 1200, and may possibly have existed before 1066. The present chapel is a plain Gothic-style church, consisting of a small chancel and nave with three small transeptal chapels. The tower was built in the 15th century and contains 6 bells. Having fallen into disuse, in 1878 an order was received that the church be demolished, but the order was never carried out. It now serves as a hall for exhibitions and other functions. Scottish poet Edwin Muir (1887–1959) is buried here.
John George Witt, the barrister and Q.C./K.C., was born in 1836 at Denny Abbey, Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, and was a son of James Maling Witt (1799–1870), a prosperous farmer at Waterbeach and at Queens' College Farm, Swaffham Prior. J.G. Witt lived at Swaffham Prior during much of his youth and early manhood. He died in London in 1906. J.G. Witt's uncle, Dr. George Witt (1804 - 1869), was born at Swaffham Prior and died at 22 Princes' Terrace, Hyde Park, London. He was buried at Swaffham Prior.
History and background
Just a mile or so north of Swaffham Prior is the Anglo-Saxon defensive earthwork known as the Devil's Dyke, blocking a land route through the fens.
Swaffham Prior is an old village, and is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as possibly 'Great Swaffham', with Swaffham Bulbeck being 'Little Swaffham'. There are houses in the village dating back several centuries, with the 17th century being most prominent.[citation needed] Though previously a trading village, today it could be described as a 'dormitory' village especially looking back on its busier past.[citation needed] Local facilities include a local primary school and The Red Lion pub. There's also a village hall, hosting village feasts, village fêtes, etc.
Swaffham Prior is also known for its two windmills (one still operating as a mill) which are symbols of the village, seen on the village sign on Cage Hill.
Geography
Swaffham Prior chalk escarpment, observable only in a few places within the village is largely physically hidden from view. This local geological feature of the landscape is the chalk (local term clunch) escarpment of Swaffham Prior and it runs the full length of this East Cambridgeshire village dating back to Anglo-saxon times. The more modern sections of the village are built along the top of the escarpment with the older houses nestling below the cliff face backing on to the high street.
The chalk escarpment straddles two very different local eco-systems- the CambridgeshireFens to the west, where the land slopes down and the chalk heathland to the east, known locally as Swaffham Prior heath, part of the Greater Newmarket chalk heath, where the land height increases and plateaus into a larger area towards the east.
In a few places, the ridge of the escarpment is exposed, although usually within private property. A fraction of it can be seen from the high street, opposite the parish play area.
Demography
Census counts[1] for the village have been paired with Burwell and Reach at various times. These pairings due to boundary changes have been excluded from the table below.[6]
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.
East Cambridgeshire is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. Its council is based in the city of Ely. The district also contains the towns of Littleport and Soham and surrounding rural areas, including parts of the Fens.
Fordham is a village in rural Cambridgeshire, England. Fordham is part of the East Cambridgeshire district. It is four miles north of Newmarket, as well as being close to the settlements of Soham, Burwell, Isleham, Mildenhall and Chippenham.
Reach is a small village and civil parish on the edge of the fenland in East Cambridgeshire, England at the north end of Devil's Dyke, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Burwell.
A civil parish is a country subdivision, forming the lowest unit of local government in England. There are 264 civil parishes in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, most of the county being parished; Cambridge is completely unparished; Fenland, East Cambridgeshire, South Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire are entirely parished. At the 2001 census, there were 497,820 people living in the parishes, accounting for 70.2 per cent of the county's population.
Lode is a small village in East Cambridgeshire on the southern edge of The Fens. It lies just north of the B1102 between Quy and Swaffham Bulbeck, 8 miles (13 km) to the north east of Cambridge.
The Diocese of Ely is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in Ely. There is one suffragan (subordinate) bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon. The diocese now covers the modern ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire and western Norfolk. The diocese was created in 1109 out of part of the Diocese of Lincoln.
Newmarket was a rural district in Cambridgeshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It surrounded the town of Newmarket, in West Suffolk, on the north, west and south sides.
Chippenham is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, part of East Cambridgeshire district around 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east of Newmarket and 10 miles (16 km) north-east of Cambridge.
Fen Ditton is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, on the northeast edge of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 the parish had a population of 760. The parish covers an area of 5.99 square kilometres (2 sq mi).
Newmarket is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was created upon the splitting up of the three member Cambridgeshire constituency into three single member divisions in 1885. The seat was abolished in 1918.
Stetchworth is a small village and civil parish in East Cambridgeshire, England, 3 miles (5 km) to the south of the horse-racing centre of Newmarket and around 12 miles (19 km) east of Cambridge.
Swaffham Bulbeck is a small village in East Cambridgeshire, England.
The Cambridgeshire Lodes are a series of man-made waterways, believed to be Roman in origin, located in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. Bottisham, Swaffham Bulbeck, Reach, Burwell, Wicken and Monks Lodes all connect to the River Cam, while Soham and Cottenham Lodes connect to the River Great Ouse. All have been navigable historically, but some are no longer officially navigable.
The Church of St Cyriac and St Julitta is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Swaffham Prior, Cambridgeshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands in an elevated position above the village street, the B1102 road, some 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Cambridge. It is less than 30 metres (100 ft) from the adjoining Church of St Mary, and both churches share the same churchyard.
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