Swaffham Prior

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Swaffham Prior
Swaffham Prior.jpg
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Swaffham Prior
Location within Cambridgeshire
Area7.62 sq mi (19.7 km2)  [1]
Population841 (2011Census) [2]
  Density 110/sq mi (42/km2)
OS grid reference TL567639
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town CAMBRIDGE
Postcode district CB25
Dialling code 01638
List of places
UK
England
Cambridgeshire
52°15′N0°18′E / 52.25°N 0.3°E / 52.25; 0.3

Swaffham Prior is a small village in East Cambridgeshire, England.

Contents

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]

Village sign in Swaffham Prior UK SwaffhamPrior (SideB).jpg
Village sign in Swaffham Prior

Churches

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 Cambridgeshire Fens 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]

Historical population of Swaffham Prior
Year18011811182118311841185118611871188118911901
Population92510279921017813
Year19111921193119411951196119711981199120012011
Population [7] 634683687764765841
Census: 1801 2001 [1] 2011 [8]

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 3 Research Group (2010). "Historic Census Population Figures and 2001 area". Cambridgeshire County Council. Archived from the original (XLS) on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  2. "Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics. Area: Swaffham Prior (Parish)". ONS. 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  3. "About Swaffham Prior's Heat Network". Cambridgeshire County Council. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  4. Holton, Kate; Thomas, Natalie; McKay, Hannah (6 December 2023). "Vast village heat pump tests one route to net zero for rural Britain". Reuters. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  5. "Swaffham Prior: Churches Pages 294-301 A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 10, Cheveley, Flendish, Staine and Staploe Hundreds (North-Eastern Cambridgeshire). Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 2002". British History Online. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  6. A Vision of Britain (2004). "A vision of Britain between 1801 and 2001". University of Portsmouth and others. Archived from the original on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  7. No census 1941 due to WWII
  8. "Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics. Area: Swaffham Prior (Parish)". ONS. 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.

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