St Ives, Cambridgeshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| St. Ives | |
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| Population | 15,860 |
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| OS grid reference | |
| District | Huntingdonshire |
| Shire county | Cambridgeshire |
| Region | East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ST IVES |
| Postcode district | PE27 |
| Dial code | 01480 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | Huntingdon |
| European Parliament | East of England |
| List of places: UK • England • Cambridgeshire | |
St Ives is a significant market town in the east of England, around 24 km north-west of the city of Cambridge and 110 km north of London. It lies in the traditional county of Huntingdonshire, though it is currently administered as part of Cambridgeshire.
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[edit] History and Importance
Previously called Slepe, its name was changed to St Ives after the body claimed to be that of a Persian bishop, Saint Ivo (not to be confused with Ivo of Kermartin), was found buried in the town. For the past 1,000 years it has been home to some of the biggest markets in the country, and in the thirteenth century it was an important entrepôt.
Built on the banks of the wide River Great Ouse between Huntingdon and Ely, St Ives has a famous chapel on its bridge. In the Anglo-Saxon era, St Ives's position on the river Great Ouse was strategic, as it controlled the last natural crossing point of the river. The flint reef at this point provides the foundations for the celebrated bridge.
In the 18th to 19th centuries, St Ives was a hub of trade and navigation. Goods would be brought into the town via barges, and livestock rested on the last fattening grounds before delivery to London's Springfield Market. As the railway was built and roads improved, the use of the River Great Ouse declined. It is now mostly used for leisure and recreation. August Bank Holiday 2007 will see the Waterways event coming to the town, 2-300 boats and an entire village with (allegedly) its own telephone system installed.
[edit] Attractions
The Monday market takes over the spacious town centre, and is particularly extensive on Bank Holidays (May and August). There is a Friday market, and a Farmers Market on the 1st and 3rd Saturday every month.
The Michaelmas Fair takes over for 3 days on the second Monday in October, and there is Carnival [1] and [2], the biggest public gathering in Huntingdonshire.
The trading importance of St Ives meant that it was very well provided with pubs, 66 in 1860 and 11 today. This side of its character still thrives, with many restaurants and at least three busy night-clubs.
The Norris Museum [3] holds a deal of local history, including a number of books written by its curator, Bob Burn-Murdoch. His occasional tours of the town are a treat, showing, amongst other things, how nearly every building on Market Hill has been a pub at one time or another.
There are some 10 places of worship, including a mosque and an Islamic Community Centre.
[edit] Facilities
St Ives has a main secondary school (St Ivo), 3 primary schools (Thorndown, Wheatfields and Westfield), a fire station, a police station, a bus station and 2 Post Offices.
There is an indoor recreation centre adjacent to the Burgess Hall and an outdoor recreation centre at the top end of the town. Both have football grounds, and the Colts also play football in Warners Park over the winter. The original swimming pool, fed by the river, is in the middle of Holt Island and is now used for canoeing practise and other activities.
St Ives also has a Rugby club on Somersham Road. The rugby club's junior side has been particularly successful, bringing home the first County Championship trophy in 2003.
[edit] St Ives's bridge with chapel
The bridge [4] is notable in another way. The southern two arches are different from the rest of it, rounded in form instead of being slightly gothic and pointed.
This is the shape they were rebuilt after Oliver Cromwell blew them up. He wished to prevent King Charles I's troops approaching London from the Royalist base in Lincolnshire.
[edit] Guided Bus
The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway [5] is being built to link St Ives to Cambridge along the trackbed of the disused railway. This 16 mile long concrete track will take slightly modified buses and become the longest such guided bus route in the world. The smooth and level access track alongside will make cycling the route practical for many people. Lifting the old rails in preparation for the £110 million project has started (avoiding the seasonal disturbance of bird nests), ground-breaking starts in Jan 2007 and the St Ives Park & Ride will be ready March 2008 [6]. The first full-length services are due at the end of 2008.
The guided bus out of St Ives will stop at Swavesey, Oakington, Histon, Arbury Park, Regional College, Science Park, Cambridge Station, Addenbrooke's, Trumpington Park & Ride.
The guided buses arriving from Cambridge will leave the concrete track at St Ives and continue to Huntingdon and Hinchingbrooke along regular roads. Major improvements have been budgeted for this section as well.
[edit] Flooding and pictures
St Ives has sometimes flooded, most recently at Easter 1998 [7] and in January 2003 [8]. In 2006, extensive flood protection was carried out on both sides of the river. To the South protecting Hemingford Grey and to the North protecting the town at the Waits. See [9]. Building on the flood plain is being discouraged at St Ives, as everywhere else, but is not entirely under control.
[edit] Mythology
The name "St Ives" is famous for the nursery rhyme/riddle As I Was Going to St Ives. There are some who dispute whether the rhyme refers to this town or another at the furthermost tip of England. However, the Cambridgeshire St Ives has a pub named "The Seven Wives" and was/is a leading market town, always much more famous and well-visited than any fishing village.
[edit] References
- St Ives at British Towns
- St Ives by David Bartlett
- St Ives by Philip Grosset
- St Ives Weather Station
- St Ives Town Council web-site
- Population figures
- Thorndown Community (Schools, Playgroup, Kids Club)
- Pavilion Playgroup
- St. Ives Youth Theatre
