Cambridgeshire

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Cambridgeshire
Image:EnglandCambridgeshire.svg
Geography
Status Ceremonial & (smaller) Non-metropolitan county
Region East of England[1]
Area
- Total
- Admin. council
- Admin. area		 Ranked 15th
3,389 km²
Ranked 15th
3,046 km²
Admin HQ Cambridge
ISO 3166-2 GB-CAM
ONS code 12
NUTS 3 UKH12
Demographics
Population
- Total (2006 est.)
- Density
- Admin. council
- Admin. pop.		 Ranked 29th
752,900
222 / km²
Ranked 20th
589,600
Ethnicity 94.6% White
2.6% S.Asian
Politics
Arms of Cambridgeshire County Council
Cambridgeshire County Council
Executive Conservative
Members of Parliament
Districts
Image:Cambridgeshire_Ceremonial_Numbered.png
  1. Cambridge
  2. South Cambridgeshire
  3. Huntingdonshire
  4. Fenland
  5. East Cambridgeshire
  6. Peterborough (Unitary)

Cambridgeshire (or, archaically, the County of Cambridge; abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the United Kingdom, 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. Modern Cambridgeshire was formed from the historic county of Cambridgeshire, together with the former county of Huntingdonshire, the Isle of Ely and the Soke of Peterborough; it contains most of the region known as Silicon Fen. The county town is Cambridge.

Cambridgeshire is twinned with Kreis Viersen in Germany.

Contents

[edit] History

Cambridgeshire is noted as the site of some of the earliest known Neolithic permanent settlement in the United Kingdom, along with sites at Fengate and Balbridie.

Cambridgeshire was recorded in the Domesday Book as "Grantbridgeshire" (or rather Grentebrigescire). Covering a large part of East Anglia, Cambridgeshire today is the product of several local government unifications. In 1888 when county councils were introduced, two were set up, following the traditional division of Cambridgeshire into the area in the south around Cambridge, and the liberty of the Isle of Ely. In 1965, these two administrative counties were merged to form Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely. In 1974, this then merged with the county to the west, Huntingdon and Peterborough (which had been created in 1965 by the merger of Huntingdonshire with the Soke of Peterborough - a part of Northamptonshire which had its own county council). The resulting county was called simply 'Cambridgeshire'.

Since 1998 the City of Peterborough has been a separately administered area, as a unitary authority, but is associated with Cambridgeshire for ceremonial purposes such as Lieutenancy, and functions such as policing and the fire service.

In 2002, the conservation charity Plantlife unofficially designated Cambridgeshire's county flower as the Pasqueflower.

A great quantity of archaeological finds from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age were made in East Cambridgeshire. Most items were found in Isleham.

The Cambridgeshire Regiment (or Fen Tigers) county based army unit fought in South Africa, WWI and WWII.

Most English counties have nicknames for people from that county, such as a Tyke from Yorkshire and a Yellowbelly from Lincolnshire; the traditional nickname for people from Cambridgeshire is 'Cambridgeshire Camel' or 'Cambridgeshire Crane', referring to the wildfowl which were once abundant in the fens.

Original historical documents relating to Cambridgeshire are held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies.

[edit] Geography

Large areas of the county are extremely low-lying and Holme Fen is notable for being the UK's lowest physical point at 2.75 m (9 ft) below sea level. The highest point is in the village of Great Chishill at 146 m/480 ft above sea level. Other prominent hills are Little Trees Hill and Wandlebury Hill in the Gog Magog Downs, Rivey Hill above Linton, Rowley's Hill and the Madingley Hills.

[edit] Economy

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Cambridgeshire at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of English Pounds Sterling.

Year Regional Gross Value Added[2] Agriculture[3] Industry[4] Services[5]
1995 5,896 228 1,646 4,022
2000 7,996 166 2,029 5,801
2003 10,154 207 2,195 7,752

AWG plc is based in Huntingdon. The RAF has a few bases in the Huntingdon and St Ives area. Most of Cambridgeshire is agricultural. Close to Cambridge is the so-called Silicon Fen area of high-technology (electronics, computing and biotechnology) companies. ARM Limited is based in Cherry Hinton.

[edit] Education

[edit] Primary and Secondary

Cambridgeshire has a completely comprehensive education system with 12 independent schools and 29 state schools, not including sixth form colleges.

[edit] Tertiary

The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. One of the campuses of Anglia Ruskin University is located in Cambridge as is one of the regional centres of the Open University.

[edit] Settlements

These are the settlements in Cambridgeshire with a town charter, city status or a population over 5,000; for a complete list of settlements see list of places in Cambridgeshire.

Heraldic badge of the county council
Heraldic badge of the county council

The town of Newmarket is surrounded on three sides by Cambridgeshire, being connected by a narrow strip of land to the rest of Suffolk.

[edit] Places of interest

Key
Image:AP_Icon.PNG Abbey/Priory/Cathedral
Accessible open space Accessible open space
Amusement/Theme Park
Image:CL_icon.svg Castle
Country Park Country Park
Image:EH icon.svg English Heritage
Image:Forestry commission logo.svg Forestry Commission
Heritage railway Heritage railway
Historic house Historic House
Museum (free)
Museum		 Museums (free/not free)
National Trust National Trust
Zoo

[edit] Famous people from Cambridgeshire

Map of the Cambridgeshire area (1904)
Map of the Cambridgeshire area (1904)

As well as those born in the county there are many notable people from, or associated with, Cambridgeshire who moved there, particularly due to the presence of Cambridge University.

Cambridgeshire lays claim to Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell, Prime Minister John Major, businessmen Henry Royce and Peter Boizot, social reformers Octavia Hill and Thomas Clarkson, and economist John Maynard Keynes. Scientists include Brian J. Ford and Stephen Hawking, and Nobel laureate Harold Kroto. John Clare, Samuel Pepys and Douglas Adams are all famous literary figures who hail from Cambridgeshire, as does Jeffrey Archer.

In entertainment, cartoonist Ronald Searle, comedian Rory McGrath, television presenter Sarah Cawood, and radio sports presenter Adrian Durham are all from Cambridgeshire. Paul Nicholas, Richard Attenborough and Warwick Davis are all associated with film, while musicians include Andrew Eldritch, lead singer of The Sisters of Mercy; Andy Bell, lead singer for Erasure; David Gilmour, Roger Waters and Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett of Pink Floyd; Don Airey, keyboardist in the rock band Deep Purple; trombonist Don Lusher; Keith Palmer, of dance music band The Prodigy; Nigel Sixsmith, founding member of The Art Of Sound and well known Keytar player; and Matt Bellamy. Athletes Joe Bugner, Sir Jack Hobbs, and Marty Scurll are also from the county.

Richard Garriott, televangelist Peter Foxhall, and Hereward the Wake are from Cambridgeshire.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hierarchical list of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics and the statistical regions of Europe The European Commission, Statistical Office of the European Communities (retrieved 06 January 2008)
  2. ^ Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
  3. ^ includes hunting and forestry
  4. ^ includes energy and construction
  5. ^ includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire
Unitary authorities
Boroughs or districts
Cities and towns
Topics