Witchford
Encyclopedia
Witchford ˈwɪtʃfɔrd is a small village
near Ely
in Cambridgeshire
, England
.
Witchford houses the secondary school Witchford Village College
that serves all of the surrounding villages, including Haddenham, Little Thetford, Mepal, Stretham, Sutton, Wilburton and Witcham.
The village hosts the Grunty Fen Half Marathon road race, which has been staged annually in the village since 1991. The race begins and ends at Witchford Village College
and involves two laps into the nearby Grunty Fen
.
bombers of No. 196 Squadron RAF
, but after they relocated to RAF Leicester East
their place was taken by No. 115 Squadron RAF
flying Avro Lancaster
s. It was proposed to become a missile base thereafter (rumours were it was to become a Blue Streak base), which is why some of the older residents refer to the site (now an industrial park) as "The Rocket Base".
A museum dedicated to RAF Witchford is located in the village.
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...
near Ely
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Ely is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...
in 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...
.
Witchford houses the secondary school Witchford Village College
Witchford Village College
Witchford Village College is a secondary school in the village of Witchford. Currently, over 850 students, aged 11 to 16, and approximately 30 teachers...
that serves all of the surrounding villages, including Haddenham, Little Thetford, Mepal, Stretham, Sutton, Wilburton and Witcham.
The village hosts the Grunty Fen Half Marathon road race, which has been staged annually in the village since 1991. The race begins and ends at Witchford Village College
Witchford Village College
Witchford Village College is a secondary school in the village of Witchford. Currently, over 850 students, aged 11 to 16, and approximately 30 teachers...
and involves two laps into the nearby Grunty Fen
Grunty Fen
Grunty Fen was a former parish in Cambridgeshire, England, four miles south west of Ely. It was amalgamated with Wilburton parish in 1933.-History:...
.
RAF Witchford
The village was once the home to RAF Witchford, an airforce base that was built in 1942 and closed and broken up in 1946. It was initially home to the Vickers WellingtonVickers 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...
bombers of No. 196 Squadron RAF
No. 196 Squadron RAF
No. 196 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron originally formed as a training unit during World War I. It was active during World War II in Nos. 3, 4 and 38 Group RAF...
, but after they relocated to RAF Leicester East
RAF Leicester East
Royal Air Force Station Leicester East, more commonly known as RAF Leicester East, , was a Royal Air Force airbase, near the village of Stoughton, east southeast of Leicester, Leicestershire...
their place was taken by No. 115 Squadron RAF
No. 115 Squadron RAF
No. 115 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron during World War I. It was then equipped with Handley Page O/400 heavy bombers. During World War II the squadron served as a bomber squadron and after the war it flew in a similar role till 1958, when it was engaged as a radio calibration unit...
flying Avro Lancaster
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...
s. It was proposed to become a missile base thereafter (rumours were it was to become a Blue Streak base), which is why some of the older residents refer to the site (now an industrial park) as "The Rocket Base".
A museum dedicated to RAF Witchford is located in the village.