Huntingdon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Huntingdon |
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| Market town | |
 Huntingdon Town Hall and The Thinking Soldier War Memorial |
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 Huntingdon
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| Population | 23,732 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | TL245725 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HUNTINGDON |
| Postcode district | PE26, PE28, PE29 |
| Dialling code | 01480 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament |
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Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there in 1599 and became its Member of Parliament (MP) in the 17th century. The former Conservative Prime Minister (1990–1997) John Major served as its MP from 1979 until his retirement in 2001.
Contents
History
Huntingdon was founded by the Anglo-Saxons and Danes. Mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it seems that it was a staging post for Danish raids outside of east Anglia until 917, when the Danes relocated to Tempsford, before being crushed by Edward the Elder. It prospered successively as a bridging point of the River Great Ouse, as a market town, and in the 18th and 19th centuries as a coaching centre, most notably The George Hotel. The town has a well-preserved medieval bridge that used to serve as the main route of Ermine Street over the river. The bridge only ceased to be the sole crossing point to Godmanchester in 1975, with the advent of what is now the A14 bypass.
Its valuable trading position was secured by the now vanished Huntingdon Castle. The site is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and is home to a beacon used to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Spanish Armada.
In 1746, the botanists Wood & Ingram of nearby Brampton developed a cultivar species of elm tree, Ulmus × hollandica 'Vegeta', which was named the "Huntingdon Elm" after the town.
Original historical documents relating to Huntingdon, including the borough charter of 1205, are held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at the County Record Office Huntingdon.
Between the railway station and the old hospital building, stands a replica cannon. In the 1990s the replica was installed to replace an original Crimean War one, that stood there until the Second World War, being scrapped for the war effort. When the replica was installed it was placed in the opposite direction to the original.
The George
The George Hotel, on the corner of High Street and George Street was once a posting house. It was named after St. George in 1574 and was bought some 25 years later by Henry Cromwell, grandfather of Oliver Cromwell. Charles I made The George his headquarters in 1645. Later Dick Turpin is reputed to have been a visitor when it was a coaching inn on the Great North Road. The mid-19th century saw two wings of the inn burnt down but two were saved including the one with the balcony overlooking the yard. Since 1959 the courtyard and its balcony have been the setting for performances of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the Shakespeare at The George Trust.
Geography
The town lies on the north bank of the River Great Ouse, opposite Godmanchester and close to the market town of St Ives in the east and the village of Brampton in the west. Huntingdon now incorporates the village of Hartford to the east, and the developing areas of Oxmoor, Stukeley Meadows and Hinchingbrooke to the north and west.
Between Godmanchester, Huntingdon and Brampton lies England's largest meadow, Portholme Meadow. Around 257 acres (1 km²) in size and containing many rare species of grass, flowers and dragonfly, it is the only known habitat of the Marsh Dandelion in Britain. It acts as a natural reservoir for holding water in times of flood enabling the river to run off slowly, thereby helping to prevent flooding of nearby towns. It has also served as a horse race course and once was a centre for aviation.
Business
Huntingdon is home to many local businesses, including a local Horseracing Course, Huntingdon Racecourse. Hinchinbrooke Business Park has many offices and warehouses located on it.
Climate
The nearest weather station for which long term weather data is available is RAF Wyton, 3 mi (5 km) north east of the town centre, although more recently Monks Wood, 5 mi (8 km) to the north west, also provides data.
As with the rest of the British Isles, Huntingdon experiences a strongly temperate maritime based climate, free from temperature extremes, with rainfall fairly evenly spread throughout the year.
The absolute maximum recorded at Wyton was 35.4 °C (95.7 °F) during August 1990, although the temperature at Monks Wood rose to 35.1 °C (95.2 °F) during July 2006. Typically the warmest day will average 29.7 °C (85.5 °F), and 16.0 days a year will rise to 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above.
Typically 43.2 nights of the year will report an air frost. The absolute minimum at Wyton (from 1960) was −16.1 °C (3.0 °F) recorded during January 1982. On average, the coldest night of the year will fall to −7.7 °C (18.1 °F)
With rainfall at under 550 mm per year, the Huntingdon area is amongst the driest in the UK – 103.4 days on average will record at least 1 mm of rain. All averages mentioned refer to the period 1971–2000.
Demography
Population
Between 1801 and 1901, the current area of Huntingdon consisted of four parishes: Huntingdon All Saints, Huntingdon St Benedict, Huntingdon St John and Huntingdon St Mary. The populations of these were counted in the ten-year UK census and ranged in the period between 2,368 in 1801 and 4,735 in 1891. (The census was omitted in 1941.)
| Parish |
1911 |
1921 |
1931 |
1951 |
1961 |
1971 |
1981 |
1991 |
2001 |
2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huntingdon | 4,464 | 4,644 | 4,570 | 5,282 | 14,648 | 15,451 | 20,099 | 23,732 |
All population census figures are taken from the report Historic Census figures Cambridgeshire to 2011 by Cambridgeshire Insight. For the censuses of 1961 and 1971, Huntingdon was combined with Godmanchester.
In 2011, the parish covered an area of 2,765 acres (1,119 hectares). The population density in that year was 5,493.1 inhabitants per square mile (2,120.9 inhabitants per square kilometre).
Culture and community
The former Literary and Scientific Institute is now Commemoration Hall.
There are 3 RAF stations within 4 mi (6 km) of the town: RAF Brampton, once home to Headquarters RAF Support Command and now part of the Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO); RAF Wyton, once a major flying station but now also part of the DLO; and RAF Alconbury currently occupied by the United States Air Force.
Part of the medieval infirmary hall of St Johns on the marketplace became Huntingdon Grammar School and was attended by Cromwell and diarist Samuel Pepys. The building is now the Cromwell Museum, run by Cambridgeshire County Council.
Legends
Once a convent, Hinchingbrooke House is said to be haunted. The bridge over the Alconbury Brook named Nun's bridge is said to be also haunted by one of the nuns who once lived at the old convent that is now Hinchingbrooke House. It's said she is often accompanied by another ghost which resembles the appearance of a nurse. The myth goes that the nun had a lover, a monk who caused them to be murdered. In 1965 a married couple reported seeing the ghosts on the bridge, and again when they returned home the same night.
Transport
Rail
Huntingdon railway station has direct services to London Kings Cross station, trains take just over an hour on modern trains. It is served by Great Northern. Thameslink services between Horsham in West Sussex and Peterborough via Blackfriars and St Pancras in London run every half hour.
Bus
There are direct bus services to Peterborough, St Neots, Ramsey, St Ives and Cambridge, and within the town and to Hinchingbrooke Hospital. Most buses are provided by Stagecoach East and Whippet.
Air
Luton and Stansted airports are within 40 miles (64 km).
Religious sites
Once renowned for many more churches within the town, there are now four Church of England churches in Huntingdon, which together with the churches in the adjacent villages Great and Little Stukeley are members of the Huntingdon Team Ministry in the Diocese of Ely. The four churches are All Saints' (next to the Market Square), St Mary's (opposite Pathfinder House), St Barnabas (on the Oxmoor estate) and All Saints', Hartford.
International relations
Twin towns
Salon de Provence, France
Szentendre, Hungary
Wertheim am Main, Germany
Sport
The highest-ranking football club, Huntingdon Town, plays in the United Counties League. Huntingdon United RGE plays in the Cambridgeshire League.
Education
The local primary schools are Hartford Junior School, Huntingdon Primary School, Thongsley Fields Primary School, St John's Primary School, Stukeley Meadows Primary School and Cromwell Academy Primary School. Spring Common School is a special-needs school. Secondary schools include St Peter's School and Hinchingbrooke School. Further education colleges include Huntingdonshire Regional College, Hinchingbrooke School sixth-form college and St Peter's sixth form.
Notable residents
Names are in birth order. Data are from the subject's Wikipedia article except where referenced.
Arts and entertainment
- Henry Compton (Charles Mackenzie, 1805–1877), actor, born in Huntingdon
- George Mackley (1900–1983), wood engraver, born in Huntingdon
- Terry Reid, (born 1949), rock vocalist and guitarist, born in Huntingdon
- The Charlottes (formed 1988), indie rock band formed in Huntingdon.
- Ceara O'Neill (born 1990), actor and musician, born in Huntingdon
- Himesh Patel (born 1990), actor, born in Huntingdon
Literature
- Henry of Huntingdon (c. 1088–1157), historian (Historia Anglorum) and Archdeacon of Huntingdon
- Samuel Pepys (1633–1703), diarist, attended Huntingdon Grammar School in about 1644.
- Basil Montagu (1770–1851), jurist, barrister, writer and philanthropist, and illegitimate son of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich and Martha Ray
- Robert Carruthers (1799–1878), local historian (History of Huntingdon) and journalist
Religion
- Christina of Markyate (c. 1096–98 – c. 1155), anchoress and prioress, was born in Huntingdon.
Science and engineering
- Michael Foster (1836–1907), physiologist and academic, was born in Huntingdon.
- Robert William Edis (1839–1927), architect and writer on decoration, was born in Huntingdon and educated at Huntingdon Grammar School.
- Walter Samuel Millard (1864–1952), naturalist and conservationist, was born in Huntingdon.
- John Hilton Grace (1873–1958), neurologist and Fellow of the Royal Society, died in Huntingdon.
Sports
- Walter Yarnold (1893–1978), first-class cricketer, was born in Huntingdon
- Josh Gifford, (1941–2012), National Hunt jockey and trainer, was born in Huntingdon.
- Oliver Gavin (born 1972), racing car driver, was born in Huntingdon.
- Charlotte Edwards (born 1979), international women's cricketer, was born in Huntingdon.
- Darren Bent (born 1984), footballer, was raised in Huntingdon.
- Harriet Lee (born 1991), Paralympic swimmer, was born in Huntingdon.
- James Sykes (born 1992), first-class cricketer, born in Huntingdon
- James Kettleborough (born 1992), first-class cricketer, was born in Huntingdon.
- Alex Martin (born 1992), first-class cricketer, was born in Huntingdon.
- Todd Kane (born 1993), footballer, was born in Huntingdon.
- George Furbank (born 1996), England international professional rugby union player was born in Huntingdon
See also
In Spanish: Huntingdon para niños
