Warboys
Encyclopedia
Warboys is a village
in Huntingdonshire
(now part of Cambridgeshire
), England
, near Ramsey
and north east of Huntingdon
.
and village on what was the eastern side of Huntingdonshire
bordering on Cambridgeshire. It was returned in the Domesday
survey of 1086 amongst the lands of St. Benedict of Ramsey
.
The north-east part is Fenland
, with the higher land to the south being of stiff clay. The land falls from about 114 feet (35 m) above sea-level in the south to 2 foot (0.6096 m) in the fenland of the north and north-east. Nearly 3/4 of the area is arable upon which potatoes are largely grown, and also corn and beans, etc. Warboys Wood is the only remaining piece of woodland.
The village lies on high ground in the south-west part of the parish overlooking the fen to the north-east. It has grown up at the foot of a fork formed at the junction of the main road from St. Ives to Ramsey
, with a branch road leading eastwards over Warboys Heath on to Fenton. The main road, as it passes through the village, is called Church Street, and the branch road is High Street. The church is at the south end of the village. There are three or four old cottages in the village, including the White Hart Inn on the north side of the High Street - a 17th-century brick house with a thatched roof.
In 1774 an Act of Parliament
was passed for draining certain lands in Warboys, including 300 acres (121 ha) called High Fen and 60 acres (24 ha) part of New Pasture. In 1795, an Act was passed for dividing, enclosing and draining the open common fields in Warboys. A further Act was passed in 1798 to amend the previous Act as regards the lands allotted in lieu of tithes.
A local landmark is the clock tower, built in 1887 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria on the throne. Warboys is also famous for the trial of the so-called "Witches of Warboys
". Much witch related iconography can be found in the village, including part of the emblem of the local primary school.
The village was one of two sites in Huntingdonshire included in the Survey of English Dialects
(SED). The other was Kimbolton
. The traditional dialect of Warboys recorded in the SED was characterised by a 'Canadian raising
' type alternation in the vowel of the PRICE lexical set.
, the RAF operated a bomber airfield just south west of the village called RAF Warboys
. Wellingtons
operated there from 1942 until early 1943 when they were replaced by Lancasters
. After early 1944, the airfield was used for training until flying operations ended late in 1945. All the buildings and land were sold by 1964.
Nothing now remains of the church which existed as the time of the Domesday survey of 1086.The earliest church of which there is now evidence was built in the middle of the 12th century, probably when the church and its possessions were granted by Abbot Walter to the almonry of Ramsey Abbey. This church consisted of the present nave and a north aisle. The chancel arch, the responds at each end of the north aisle and a small piece of walling at the south-west corner of the nave of this church still survive.
Early in the 13th century, the Norman north aisle, with the arcade, was rebuilt and immediately after, the south aisle with its arcade was added. In the middle of the 13th century the west tower, with its broached spire of ashlar, was built, and it was evidently intended at this date to extend the aisles westwards to the line of the west wall of the tower. If this intention was then carried out, the south extension was rebuilt in the latter part of the 14th century when the south porch was added. The north extension was also rebuilt in the early part of the 15th century when the north porch was added.
The chancel was rebuilt and shortened before the beginning of the 19th century and, in 1832, it was extended eastwards apparently to its original length and considerably altered. At this date large galleries were erected in both aisles and the tower, the floor being lowered a foot to give headroom under them. The east wall above the chancel arch, and west wall of the tower, were cased in lath and plaster, a vestry was formed at the west end of the north aisle, all the walls were coated with thick plaster and wooden mouldings fixed below the clearstory window and in other places. The spire was restored in 1898 and in 1926 the tower and south aisle were underpinned. The additions of 1832 (except those to the chancel) were removed and the floor restored to its former level.
From 2008 to 2010 further reordering took place with the interior to assist the worship to be more flexible and to give more opportunity for the building to be more versatile and comfortable. The 1927 pews were removed to be replaced by moveable chairs, the organ was overhauled and restored and moved to a new location to the west of the south door. A raised platform was installed in front of the chancel steps. The font was moved form the central location of the aisle to a position to the east of the south door. The chancel saw some changes with the front choristers book rests being relocated to become the communion rail in front of the alter and the front choristers benches replaced by chairs. The 1927 electric heating was replaced by gas central heating, and the font of the building carpeted.
In November 2009 the building housing the youth club was condemned and all work based there had to cease. However much work continues.
Warboys Youth Action is open to new project ideas and will resource those projects identified that are not easily accessible to the young people of the community.
Anyone wanting to know more can make contact by leaving their contact details at the village library.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
(now part of 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...
, near Ramsey
Ramsey, Cambridgeshire
Ramsey is a small Cambridgeshire market town and parish, north of Huntingdon and St Ives. For local government purposes it lies in the district of Huntingdonshire within the local government county of Cambridgeshire....
and north east of Huntingdon
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It is the traditional county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council. It is known as the birthplace in 1599 of Oliver Cromwell.-History:Huntingdon...
.
History
Warboys is a large parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
and village on what was the eastern side of Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
bordering on Cambridgeshire. It was returned in the Domesday
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...
survey of 1086 amongst the lands of St. Benedict of Ramsey
Ramsey, Cambridgeshire
Ramsey is a small Cambridgeshire market town and parish, north of Huntingdon and St Ives. For local government purposes it lies in the district of Huntingdonshire within the local government county of Cambridgeshire....
.
The north-east part is Fenland
Fenland
Fenland is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. Its council is based in March, and covers the neighbouring market towns of Chatteris, Whittlesey, and Wisbech, often called the "capital of the fens"...
, with the higher land to the south being of stiff clay. The land falls from about 114 feet (35 m) above sea-level in the south to 2 foot (0.6096 m) in the fenland of the north and north-east. Nearly 3/4 of the area is arable upon which potatoes are largely grown, and also corn and beans, etc. Warboys Wood is the only remaining piece of woodland.
The village lies on high ground in the south-west part of the parish overlooking the fen to the north-east. It has grown up at the foot of a fork formed at the junction of the main road from St. Ives to Ramsey
Ramsey, Cambridgeshire
Ramsey is a small Cambridgeshire market town and parish, north of Huntingdon and St Ives. For local government purposes it lies in the district of Huntingdonshire within the local government county of Cambridgeshire....
, with a branch road leading eastwards over Warboys Heath on to Fenton. The main road, as it passes through the village, is called Church Street, and the branch road is High Street. The church is at the south end of the village. There are three or four old cottages in the village, including the White Hart Inn on the north side of the High Street - a 17th-century brick house with a thatched roof.
In 1774 an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
was passed for draining certain lands in Warboys, including 300 acres (121 ha) called High Fen and 60 acres (24 ha) part of New Pasture. In 1795, an Act was passed for dividing, enclosing and draining the open common fields in Warboys. A further Act was passed in 1798 to amend the previous Act as regards the lands allotted in lieu of tithes.
A local landmark is the clock tower, built in 1887 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria on the throne. Warboys is also famous for the trial of the so-called "Witches of Warboys
Witches of Warboys
The Witches of Warboys is the name used to describe the accusation, trial and execution for witchcraft of Alice Samuel and her family between 1589 and 1593 in the village of Warboys, in the fens of England.- The trial :...
". Much witch related iconography can be found in the village, including part of the emblem of the local primary school.
The village was one of two sites in Huntingdonshire included in the Survey of English Dialects
Survey of English Dialects
The Survey of English Dialects was undertaken between 1950 and 1961 under the direction of Professor Harold Orton of the English department of the University of Leeds. It aimed to collect the full range of speech in England and Wales before local differences were to disappear...
(SED). The other was Kimbolton
Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire
Kimbolton is a large village in Cambridgeshire, England. It is approximately east of Higham Ferrers, west of St Neots and west of Cambridge, north of Bedford and south of Peterborough.-Castle:...
. The traditional dialect of Warboys recorded in the SED was characterised by a 'Canadian raising
Canadian raising
Canadian raising is a phonetic phenomenon that occurs in varieties of the English language, especially Canadian English, in which certain diphthongs are "raised" before voiceless consonants...
' type alternation in the vowel of the PRICE lexical set.
RAF Warboys
In World War IIWorld 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...
, the RAF operated a bomber airfield just south west of the village called RAF Warboys
RAF Warboys
RAF Warboys was a World War II Royal Air Force heavy bomber station, situated just outside the village of Warboys in Huntingdonshire ....
. Wellingtons
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
operated there from 1942 until early 1943 when they were replaced by Lancasters
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
. After early 1944, the airfield was used for training until flying operations ended late in 1945. All the buildings and land were sold by 1964.
Church
The church of St Mary Magdalene, formerly of the Blessed Mary the Virgin, consists of a chancel, nave, north aisle, south aisle, west tower, north and south porches.Nothing now remains of the church which existed as the time of the Domesday survey of 1086.The earliest church of which there is now evidence was built in the middle of the 12th century, probably when the church and its possessions were granted by Abbot Walter to the almonry of Ramsey Abbey. This church consisted of the present nave and a north aisle. The chancel arch, the responds at each end of the north aisle and a small piece of walling at the south-west corner of the nave of this church still survive.
Early in the 13th century, the Norman north aisle, with the arcade, was rebuilt and immediately after, the south aisle with its arcade was added. In the middle of the 13th century the west tower, with its broached spire of ashlar, was built, and it was evidently intended at this date to extend the aisles westwards to the line of the west wall of the tower. If this intention was then carried out, the south extension was rebuilt in the latter part of the 14th century when the south porch was added. The north extension was also rebuilt in the early part of the 15th century when the north porch was added.
The chancel was rebuilt and shortened before the beginning of the 19th century and, in 1832, it was extended eastwards apparently to its original length and considerably altered. At this date large galleries were erected in both aisles and the tower, the floor being lowered a foot to give headroom under them. The east wall above the chancel arch, and west wall of the tower, were cased in lath and plaster, a vestry was formed at the west end of the north aisle, all the walls were coated with thick plaster and wooden mouldings fixed below the clearstory window and in other places. The spire was restored in 1898 and in 1926 the tower and south aisle were underpinned. The additions of 1832 (except those to the chancel) were removed and the floor restored to its former level.
From 2008 to 2010 further reordering took place with the interior to assist the worship to be more flexible and to give more opportunity for the building to be more versatile and comfortable. The 1927 pews were removed to be replaced by moveable chairs, the organ was overhauled and restored and moved to a new location to the west of the south door. A raised platform was installed in front of the chancel steps. The font was moved form the central location of the aisle to a position to the east of the south door. The chancel saw some changes with the front choristers book rests being relocated to become the communion rail in front of the alter and the front choristers benches replaced by chairs. The 1927 electric heating was replaced by gas central heating, and the font of the building carpeted.
Warboys Youth Action
Warboys Youth Action is a charity established in 1993 and exists to promote the moral, physical and spiritual well being of those between 11 and 18 years of age who live in the parish. With a reputation as the provider of a youth club which was housed in part of the old school at the rear of the library. Recent years, and the appointment of a new committee of Trustees in 2008 has seen the work of Warboys Youth Action become a much broader project based work.In November 2009 the building housing the youth club was condemned and all work based there had to cease. However much work continues.
- C21 Web Radio a project in partnership with Cambridgeshire and Youthoria see www.c21webradio.net
- Detached Youth Work - with no fixed base WYA provides a detached youth work team working in the village making contact with a wide range of young people in the places that they meet and use.
- Text Talk the mobile phone information service for the target age group.
- www.warboys.org a web site with information for local young people created and maintained by young people.
- Offshore sailing - in partnership with a youth sail training charity WYA can provide local young people offshore sailing experience and learn a skill for life.
Warboys Youth Action is open to new project ideas and will resource those projects identified that are not easily accessible to the young people of the community.
Anyone wanting to know more can make contact by leaving their contact details at the village library.