Eltisley
Encyclopedia
Eltisley is a village and civil parish in South
Cambridgeshire
, England
, on the A428 road
about 5.5 miles (9 km) east of St Neots
and about 11 miles (18 km) west of the city of Cambridge
. The population in 2001 was 421 people.
settlement among woodland. Eltisley (Hecteslei) is mentioned in the Domesday Book
:
"In Longstow Hundred. The Canons of Bayeux hold 3 hides in Eltisley. Land for 9 ploughs. In lordship 1½ hides; 3 ploughs there; 6 villagers with 10 smallholders have 6 ploughs. 5 cottagers; 6 slaves. Meadow for 3 ploughs; woodland, 20 pigs. The total value is and always was £13. Earl Algar held this manor".
Eltisley has a large village green
which was the junction of two ancient roads running from Cambridge
to St Neots
and from St Ives
to Potton
. The church stands immediately west of the green and several buildings from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries stand along its edge, suggesting that the green has been at the centre of the village for a long time. In 1868 it was earmarked for parishioners' recreation and exercise and cricket
is played there in summer. Eltisley Cricket Club was established in 1854 and a thatched pavilion stands on the village green. The Prisoner
episode, The Girl who was Death
used this cricket green for filming.
Until 1868, when it was turned into allotment
s, another green was sited to the east and in 1456, villagers were distinguished as living in either 'le Estende' or 'le Upende'; it appears that there have been at least two centres to the village since medieval times.
The parish's population doubled between 1801 and 1871, possibly because of its good road links. In addition to the St Neots-Cambridge and St Ives-Potton roads, the lane towards Caxton may also have been important. After 1871, the population began to decline; in 1961, only 253 people lived in Eltisley parish.
During World War II
, several babies were born in Mill House on The Green in Eltisley; the local nurse-midwife, Mrs. Rose, having taken in pregnant mothers for their confinements. In 2000, the Eltisley Historical Society published The Eltisley Millennium Book, which records the history of the village and the village as it was in the year 2000.
ward and on Cambridgeshire County Council
by one councillor for the Gamlingay electoral division. It is in the parliamentary constituency of South Cambridgeshire, represented at the House of Commons by Andrew Lansley
.
. Its borders are marked by isolated trees in many places, rather than following distinct geographical features.
Eltisley village is on the western edge of the parish, south of the A428 road
'Cambridge Road' west of its junction with the A1198
. The county town of Cambridge is 11 miles (18 km) to the east and the nearest town, St Neots, is 5.5 miles (9 km) west. London
is 50 miles (80 km) south. Croxton
is the next village west and Cambourne
lies to the east. Papworth Everard
is to the north along the B1040 and Waresley
to the south.
The parish is largely flat and ranges from 47 to 65 metres above sea level. The soil is a heavy clay on gault which, coupled with the terrain, made drainage difficult. Eastern Brook flows towards Caxton
and is a tributary of the Bourn Brook
. Eltisley Wood had reached its modern state by the early 19th century; a small wood at Papley Grove, in the north of the parish, is presumably what is left of the woodland that belonged to the prioress of Hinchingbrooke.
, 0.7% followed another religion and 23.6% were not religious or did not state a religion.
Some 17 buildings in Eltisley are listed, including a red telephone box
, a village pump and a mile stone on the St Ives road.
The oldest part of the current building, the aisled nave
, dates from around 1200. The tower and spire were probably built around the 15th century. Robert Palmer may have defaced some monumental effigies during his incumbency and in 1644, William Dowsing
destroyed a St Christopher. A strong gust of wind blew out the north window of the chapel in the 17th century and the whole north-west corner was rebuilt in the early 17th century. In 1878, £1,000 was spent on restoring the whole church. It is a Grade II* listed building.
In 1835 a Wesleyan Methodist
chapel was constructed; in 1851 the congregation numbered 120 and 45 children came to Sunday school. In 1901 it could hold 140 people but was sold in 1964. A Primitive Methodist chapel was built near the green in 1846 and was still in use in 1968. In 1897, the vicar estimated that 40 out of 90 households in the parish were dissenters.
South Cambridgeshire
South Cambridgeshire is a mostly rural local government district of Cambridgeshire, England. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Chesterton Rural District and South Cambridgeshire Rural District. It surrounds the city of Cambridge, which is administered separately from the district by...
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, on the A428 road
A428 road
The A428 road is a major road in central and eastern England. It connects the cities of Coventry and Cambridge by way of the county towns of Northampton and Bedford.-Coventry - Northampton:...
about 5.5 miles (9 km) east of St Neots
St Neots
St Neots is a town and civil parish with a population of 26,356 people. It lies on the River Great Ouse in Huntingdonshire District, approximately north of central London, and is the largest town in Cambridgeshire . The town is named after the Cornish monk St...
and about 11 miles (18 km) west of the city of Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. The population in 2001 was 421 people.
History
The name 'Eltisley' hints at its origin as an Anglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
settlement among woodland. Eltisley (Hecteslei) is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
:
"In Longstow Hundred. The Canons of Bayeux hold 3 hides in Eltisley. Land for 9 ploughs. In lordship 1½ hides; 3 ploughs there; 6 villagers with 10 smallholders have 6 ploughs. 5 cottagers; 6 slaves. Meadow for 3 ploughs; woodland, 20 pigs. The total value is and always was £13. Earl Algar held this manor".
Eltisley has a large village green
Village green
A village green is a common open area which is a part of a settlement. Traditionally, such an area was often common grass land at the centre of a small agricultural settlement, used for grazing and sometimes for community events...
which was the junction of two ancient roads running from Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
to St Neots
St Neots
St Neots is a town and civil parish with a population of 26,356 people. It lies on the River Great Ouse in Huntingdonshire District, approximately north of central London, and is the largest town in Cambridgeshire . The town is named after the Cornish monk St...
and from St Ives
St Ives, Cambridgeshire
St Ives is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England, around north-west of the city of Cambridge and north of London. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Huntingdonshire.-History:...
to Potton
Potton
Potton is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is 10 miles from Bedford and the population in 2001 was 4,473 people. In 1783 the 'Great Fire of Potton' destroyed a large part of the town. The parish church dates from the 13th Century and is dedicated to St Mary...
. The church stands immediately west of the green and several buildings from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries stand along its edge, suggesting that the green has been at the centre of the village for a long time. In 1868 it was earmarked for parishioners' recreation and exercise and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
is played there in summer. Eltisley Cricket Club was established in 1854 and a thatched pavilion stands on the village green. The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
episode, The Girl who was Death
The Girl Who Was Death
"The Girl Who Was Death" is a television episode of the British science fiction-allegorical series, The Prisoner. It originally aired in the UK on ITV on 18 January 1968...
used this cricket green for filming.
Until 1868, when it was turned into allotment
Allotment (gardening)
An allotment garden, often called simply an allotment, is a plot of land made available for individual, non-professional gardening. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individuals or families...
s, another green was sited to the east and in 1456, villagers were distinguished as living in either 'le Estende' or 'le Upende'; it appears that there have been at least two centres to the village since medieval times.
The parish's population doubled between 1801 and 1871, possibly because of its good road links. In addition to the St Neots-Cambridge and St Ives-Potton roads, the lane towards Caxton may also have been important. After 1871, the population began to decline; in 1961, only 253 people lived in Eltisley parish.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, several babies were born in Mill House on The Green in Eltisley; the local nurse-midwife, Mrs. Rose, having taken in pregnant mothers for their confinements. In 2000, the Eltisley Historical Society published The Eltisley Millennium Book, which records the history of the village and the village as it was in the year 2000.
Governance
Eltisley has a Parish Council. The parish is represented on the South Cambridgeshire District Council by three councillors for the BournBourn
Bourn is a small village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England. Surrounding villages include Caxton, Eltisley and Cambourne. It is 8 miles from the county town of Cambridge. The population of the parish was 1,764 people at the time of the 2001 census.Bourn has a Church of England...
ward and on Cambridgeshire County Council
Cambridgeshire County Council
Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council of Cambridgeshire, England. The council currently consists of 69 councillors, representing 60 electoral divisions. The Conservative Party has a majority on the council, having gained control in the 1997 local elections...
by one councillor for the Gamlingay electoral division. It is in the parliamentary constituency of South Cambridgeshire, represented at the House of Commons by Andrew Lansley
Andrew Lansley
Andrew David Lansley, CBE, MP is the UK Secretary of State for Health, who has been the Conservative Member of Parliament for South Cambridgeshire since the 1997 general election, and was Shadow Secretary of State for Health from June 2004 until becoming Secretary of State for Health in May 2010...
.
Geography
Eltisley parish is on the border of the historical county of HuntingdonshireHuntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
. Its borders are marked by isolated trees in many places, rather than following distinct geographical features.
Eltisley village is on the western edge of the parish, south of the A428 road
A428 road
The A428 road is a major road in central and eastern England. It connects the cities of Coventry and Cambridge by way of the county towns of Northampton and Bedford.-Coventry - Northampton:...
'Cambridge Road' west of its junction with the A1198
A1198 road
The A1198 is a road in Cambridgeshire, England, following the route of Ermine Street between the A505 at Royston, Hertfordshire and Godmanchester, near Huntingdon....
. The county town of Cambridge is 11 miles (18 km) to the east and the nearest town, St Neots, is 5.5 miles (9 km) west. London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
is 50 miles (80 km) south. Croxton
Croxton, Cambridgeshire
Croxton is a village and civil parish about 13 miles west of Cambridge in South Cambridgeshire, England. In 2001, the resident population was 163 people. Croxton Park is to the south of the current village and contains a large house and parkland....
is the next village west and Cambourne
Cambourne
Cambourne is a new settlement and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, in the district of South Cambridgeshire. It lies on the A428 road between Cambridge, 9 miles to the east, and St Neots and Bedford to the west. It comprises the three villages of Great Cambourne, Lower Cambourne and Upper...
lies to the east. Papworth Everard
Papworth Everard
Papworth Everard is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. It lies ten miles west of Cambridge and six miles south of Huntingdon, having along its centre Ermine Street, the old North Road, the Roman highway that for centuries served as a major artery from London to York, which is now the A1198...
is to the north along the B1040 and Waresley
Waresley
Waresley is on the B1040 road between Gamlingay and Eltisley, five miles south-east of the town of St Neots and seven miles north-east of Sandy, Bedfordshire, England...
to the south.
The parish is largely flat and ranges from 47 to 65 metres above sea level. The soil is a heavy clay on gault which, coupled with the terrain, made drainage difficult. Eastern Brook flows towards Caxton
Caxton, Cambridgeshire
Caxton is a small rural village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England. It is 9 miles west of the county town of Cambridge. In 2001, the population of Caxton parish was 480 people. Caxton is most famous for the Caxton Gibbet.-History:...
and is a tributary of the Bourn Brook
Bourn Brook, Cambridgeshire
Bourn Brook is a minor tributary of the River Cam in Cambridgeshire, England.It has its source just to the east of the village of Eltisley, 10 miles west of Cambridge, where the hills rise to around 60 metres above sea level...
. Eltisley Wood had reached its modern state by the early 19th century; a small wood at Papley Grove, in the north of the parish, is presumably what is left of the woodland that belonged to the prioress of Hinchingbrooke.
Demography
At the time of the 2001 census, 421 people were resident in Eltisley parish. All were white; 75.7% described themselves as ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, 0.7% followed another religion and 23.6% were not religious or did not state a religion.
Landmarks
Two plaques in the churchyard's lych gate commemorate Eltisley men who were killed in the First and Second World Wars.Some 17 buildings in Eltisley are listed, including a red telephone box
Red telephone box
The red telephone box, a public telephone kiosk designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, is a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom, Malta, Bermuda and Gibraltar, and despite a reduction in their numbers in recent years, red boxes can still be seen in many places and in current or former...
, a village pump and a mile stone on the St Ives road.
Religious sites
By around 1230, Eltisley parish church was dedicated to St Pandionia (or Pandwyna), who was said to have been a nun in the parish in the 10th century. Robert Palmer, vicar in 1575, destroyed a well in the churchyard where St Pandionia's body was meant to have been buried originally (in 1576 he was accused of taking church paving for his own use, permitting the vicarage to be used as an ale-house and playing cards when he should have been in church). Her body was said to have been reburied in the church in 1344 and the dedication to St John the Baptist was added later.The oldest part of the current building, the aisled nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
, dates from around 1200. The tower and spire were probably built around the 15th century. Robert Palmer may have defaced some monumental effigies during his incumbency and in 1644, William Dowsing
William Dowsing
William Dowsing was an English iconoclast who operated at the time of the English Civil War. Dowsing was a puritan soldier who was born in Laxfield, Suffolk...
destroyed a St Christopher. A strong gust of wind blew out the north window of the chapel in the 17th century and the whole north-west corner was rebuilt in the early 17th century. In 1878, £1,000 was spent on restoring the whole church. It is a Grade II* listed building.
In 1835 a Wesleyan Methodist
Methodist Church of Great Britain
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is the largest Wesleyan Methodist body in the United Kingdom, with congregations across Great Britain . It is the United Kingdom's fourth largest Christian denomination, with around 300,000 members and 6,000 churches...
chapel was constructed; in 1851 the congregation numbered 120 and 45 children came to Sunday school. In 1901 it could hold 140 people but was sold in 1964. A Primitive Methodist chapel was built near the green in 1846 and was still in use in 1968. In 1897, the vicar estimated that 40 out of 90 households in the parish were dissenters.