Waterbeach
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Waterbeach | |
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| Population | 4,690 |
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| OS grid reference | |
| District | South Cambridgeshire |
| Shire county | Cambridgeshire |
| Region | East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CAMBRIDGE |
| Postcode district | CB25 |
| Dial code | 01223 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | South East Cambridgeshire |
| European Parliament | East of England |
| List of places: UK • England • Cambridgeshire | |
Waterbeach is a large fen-edge village north of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire in England, and belongs to the administrative district of South Cambridgeshire. The parish covers an area of 23.26 km².
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[edit] History
Waterbeach is on the Car Dyke, a Roman canal whose course can be traced as far as Lincoln. Recent archaeological investigations have found extensive evidence on Roman settlement at the south end of the village.
Waterbeach appears in the Domesday Book as Utbech.
In the 12th Century, the Knights Templar had a base at Denny Abbey located in the village.
[edit] Today
Waterbeach has numerous shops and a Post Office, a primary school, a Parish church dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, a Baptist Church famous for its connection with Charles Haddon Spurgeon, a small independent library, three public houses (The Sun, The White Horse and The Brewery Tap), a Tandoori restaurant (The Slap Up Tandoori) and a social club. Waterbeach railway station lies on the London (Kings Cross) to King's Lynn line, allowing some of its residents to commute to London for work. The village lies close to the busy A10 road that also links London to King's Lynn. A regular bus service also operates through the village that links Cambridge to the towns of March, Wisbech and Littleport and the small city of Ely.
The Royal Air Force base (now Waterbeach Barracks) in the north of the village was built in 1940. Hawker Hunter fighters arrived for the first time in May 1955 and, two years later, the prototype English Electric P1 (Lightning) visited there.
The parish contains two Scheduled Ancient Monuments: Denny Abbey (now a museum) and the site of Waterbeach Abbey (near the present church).
