Hilton, Cambridgeshire facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hilton
Hilton Turf Maze
Hilton
Population	1,052 (2011)
OS grid reference	TL289661
Shire county	Cambridgeshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HUNTINGDON
Postcode district	PE28
Police	Cambridgeshire
Fire	Cambridgeshire
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	Huntingdon
List of places UK England Cambridgeshire 52°17′N 0°07′W / 52.28°N 0.11°W / 52.28; -0.11

The Church of St Mary Magdalene, Hilton

Hilton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Hilton lies approximately 11 miles (18 km) north-west of Cambridge. Hilton is situated within Huntingdonshire, which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England. The parish adjoins those of Elsworth, Fenstanton, Hemingford Abbots, Hemingford Grey, Papworth Everard and Papworth St Agnes. The Church of England parish church is dedicated to St Mary Magdalene and is a Grade I listed building; it has a peal of six bells. Historically, the village was in Huntingdonshire for over 1,000 years until 1974.

A fragment of a wall painting on plaster, made for Captain Sparrow (1601–1651), at Park Farm, Hilton, probably around the time of his marriage in 1633, is now in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. The fragment depicts two figures representing the senses of Taste and Sight and was donated by David Garnett and his wife Angelica Bell of Hilton Hall, who were members of the Bloomsbury Group.

On the village green is a turf maze that was cut by William Sparrow in 1660.

Demography

Population

In the period 1801 to 1901 the population of Hilton was recorded every ten years by the UK census. During this time the population was in the range of 223 (recorded in 1801) to 387 (recorded in 1861).

From 1901, a census has been taken every ten years, with the exception of 1941 (due to the Second World War).

All population census figures from the report Historic Census figures Cambridgeshire to 2011 by Cambridgeshire Insight.

In 2011, the parish covered an area of 1,322 acres (535 hectares) and so the population density of Hilton in 2011 was 509.3 persons per square mile (196.6 per square kilometre).

Landmarks

With an entrance from the main village street, Hilton Hall is an English country house dating from the early 17th century, but much altered.

On the village green is a turf maze (or labyrinth) some 55 ft (16.5 m) in diameter, one of only eight remaining in England. A stone pillar at its centre records that the maze was cut by William Sparrow (1641–1729) in 1660. The Latin inscriptions, above and below a coat of arms (presumably Sparrow's), reads:

"Sic transit gloria mundi" ("Thus the glory of the world passes away") "Gvlielmvs Sparrow, Gen., natvs ano. 1641. Aetatis svi 88 qvamdo obiit, hos gyros fornavit anno 1660" ("William Sparrow, Gentleman, born in the year 1641. Aged 88 when he died, he formed these circles in the year 1660").

The English inscription reads "William Sparrow departed this life the 25th August, Anno Domini 1729, aged 88 years".

Latin inscription on the central pillar of Hilton turf maze

The design of the maze is similar to the famous pavement labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral, laid in 1235. An illustration by W.H. Matthews in his "Mazes and Labyrinths" (1922) shows several paths leading to the central circle: the erection of the pillar at its centre, some 69 years after it had been cut, could have confused the design, or the paths may simply have become overgrown. Recent maintenance has made the maze conform to the standard medieval pattern.

It has been suggested that the young Sparrow might have recut the maze on the site of an earlier one that had become indistinct from lack of maintenance. There is no evidence to support this theory, but the dating of turf mazes is notoriously difficult. There was a turf maze of a similar design in the nearby village of Comberton; that maze was called "the Mazles", but it no longer exists.

Notable residents

• The writer David Garnett, his wife Angelica Garnett and his daughter Amaryllis Garnett lived at Hilton Hall.

See also

In Spanish: Hilton (Cambridgeshire) para niños