Barton, Cambridgeshire
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Barton is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It is about four miles south-west of Cambridge, near junction 12 of the M11 motorway, and according to the 2001 census had a population of 799.
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[edit] Establishments
The village includes two churches; a Church of England and a Baptist church, both on Church Lane. A Post Office and traditional village shop known as 'Conkers Stores' due to the many horse-chestnut trees lining the nearby road, New Road, by the Duck Pond and village green. The village has a large recreation ground with a full size football pitch, tennis courts, half pipe, children's play area, pavilion, bowls club, car park, and dog walks; as well as rough ground for general recreation. The recreation ground is nestled between the High Street and the A603, Wimpole Road. There is a Church of England Primary School under the Diocese of Ely, but run by Cambridgeshire County Council, that achieved highly in recent Ofsted inspections. A village hall and car park neighbours the school. There are two Public Houses in the village: The Hoops, on New Road; and the White Horse, on the High Street. There is no public Library in the village, however a mobile library bus visits once a week. There is a Q8 Pace petrol station on the A603, with an extensive shop.
[edit] Shopping and local business
Barton has an extensive shopping and business range. At the village shop complex, there is not only Conkers Stores, a traditional village shop and Post Office; but also a Shoe Shop and Hair and Beauty salon. The village has a Q8 Pace petrol station; as well as being home to the successful garage and second hand car retailer, Wallis and Sons Ltd. Barton is also home to a country shopping complex, Burwash Manor Barns. This is a complex of local businesses and shops including a Butcher selling local meats; a grocers selling organic produce, including produce grown on the farm itself; a tea rooms; a toy shop; a wine merchant; a Persian rug outlet; and many other shops. This complex alone gives the village of Barton a large sphere of influence over the local area.
[edit] Spheres of influence
[edit] Shopping/businesses
Barton has a large sphere of influence, arguably encompassing the whole of Cambridge and the surrounding area, due to Burwsh Manor Barns, a high class goods outlet, which many people are prepared to travel from a fair distance away. The village shop influences only the village, as other villages have similar establishments. The petrol station has a fairly large sphere of influence extending to Haslingfield, Toft, and Grantchester, as it is the only petrol station in the area.
[edit] Education
Barton Church of England primary has a sphere of influence encompassing the villages of Barton and Grantchester, to which a coach ferries pupils from daily. Barton is in the sphere of influence of Comberton for secondary schools, as the village is in the catchment area for Comberton Village College; a highly successful state comprehensive school, achieving the highest GCSE results of any state comprehensive in England in 2005. In terms of higher education, Barton is in the sphere of influence of the City of Cambridge which has Hills Road Sixth Form college - a highly achieving, traditional A level college; Long Road Sixth Form College - a successful, yet less formal college; Cambridge Regional College - a vocational college; and Impington Village College - the regional centre for the Interantional Baccalauriate. In terms of Public Schooling, there a several successful Public schools in the City of Cambridge, including St Faith's School (4-14), The Leys School (14-18), The Perse School (4-18), St John's College School (4-16), and Kings College School (4-16). Public Libraries influencing Barton are Cambridge City Library, the regional library (though currently closed for refurbishment), and Comberton Public Library. There is a Library bus that visits Barton once a week.
[edit] Employment/commuting
Employment within the village is very limited, and the majority of the population commute to other locations. Cambridge theoretically is the employment sphere encompassing Barton, however holds little truth in reality, with nearly every Barton household owning a motor vehicle, people may work anywhere in Southern Cambridgeshire. London also throws its sphere of influence over Barton, as it is easy to commute either by road or by rail. The M11 is under a mile from the village and provides a direct link North London, or the A603 joins the A505 and M1, linking Barton to London through Watford. Cambridge Rail Station is less than a fifteen minute drive away, and there are regular high speed trains to London Kings Cross, and slower trains to London Liverpool Street. There is also potential for international commuting, with London Stansted Airport a thirty minute drive from Barton down the M11.
