Cottenham

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Cottenham
Cottenham (Cambridgeshire)
Cottenham

Cottenham shown within Cambridgeshire
Population 5,652 (2001)
OS grid reference TL450675
District South Cambridgeshire
Shire county Cambridgeshire
Region East
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town CAMBRIDGE
Postcode district CB24
Dialling code 01954
Police Cambridgeshire
Fire Cambridgeshire
Ambulance East of England
European Parliament East of England
UK Parliament South East Cambridgeshire
List of places: UK • England • Cambridgeshire

Coordinates: 52°17′11″N 0°07′28″E / 52.2865, 0.1244

Cottenham is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. It is close to The Fens. Before the fens were drained in the 19th century Cottenham was on the last contour before the water logged marshes, with Ely being the nearest dry land to the north (some 20 miles away).

Contents

[edit] History

 Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (February 2008)

Great Fire of Cottenham - 4 April 1850

The village of Cottenham fell victim to a great many fires over the centuries, but none so devastating as that which occurred on 4 April 1850. Starting in the High Street around 8.30 in the evening, the flames spread rapidly and though there was no loss of human life "a vast quantity of poultry and pigeons and a good many pigs were destroyed." Forty to fifty cottages burnt down as well as the Black Horse and White Horse inns and the Wesleyan Chapel which was housed in a barn on what is now Telegraph Street.

Damage caused by the fire of 1850, seen from Lambs Lane Corner
Damage caused by the fire of 1850, seen from Lambs Lane Corner

The arsonist was believed to be one William Hayward, who was lodging at the Lamb Inn whilst doing casual labour for Thomas Graves on the boundary of whose property the fire had started. The landlord of the Lamb was quick to report that Hayward had said to him "I have been a match for old Graves ... damn and blast the fire: I wish it would burn half Cottenham down." Suspicions were fuelled the morning after the fire when the landlord woke to discover Hayward had left town. A rather trumped up case was brought against Hayward for referral to the coming assizes but, presumably for want of hard evidence, the bill was ignored by the Grand Jury.

[edit] Village Amenities

Cottenham has a fairly wide range of amenities in the village, including two GP Surgeries, a Dental Surgery, a Library, a Co-operative Store and Pharmacy, a Junior School & Secondary School and numerous small businesses.

[edit] Churches

All Saints' Church, Cottenham
All Saints' Church, Cottenham

Cottenham has 4 different churches in the village, All Saints Anglican Church, Baptist, Methodist and Salvation Army.

[edit] Sport and Recreation

Cottenham has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V, home to Cottenham United Football Club, the village cricket club, and a bowls green. The village has a racecourse which is used for several point-to-point horse race meetings each year, usually in the winter months. The Village college does provide facilities of a gym, sports hall, outdoor swimming pool, Tennis courts and field facilities for the community. Cottenham is also home to the Cottenham Renegades, North Cambridge's only Rugby for pleasure club.

[edit] Legends

The church sits at the end of this long village, and according to local legend and tradition has a strange tale attached to it. The villagers of times gone by wanted to build the church in a more centralised part of the community. The townsmen started the task, but it was said that the stones mysteriously started being transported back to their original site, so afraid, the locals decided to leave the church where originally intended.[citation needed]

[edit] Notable Residents

The grandmother of the poet Samuel Pepys lived in Cottenham; the house in the northern area of the village bears a plaque. Thomas Tenison, Archbishop of Canterbury between 1695 and 1715 was born in Cottenham in 1636. The Norwich City footballer Adam Drury was born in Cottenham.

[edit] Cottenham Village Design Statement

Cottenham Village Design Statement Supplementary Planning Document.Produced by the Cottenham Village Design Group.Adopted 14th November 2007 by South Cambridgeshire District Council.
Cottenham Village Design Statement Supplementary Planning Document.
Produced by the Cottenham Village Design Group.
Adopted 14th November 2007 by South Cambridgeshire District Council.

Cottenham was one of the first villages in the United Kingdom to produce a Village design statement. It was one of four pilot projects, the others being Stratford-on-Avon, Cartmel in Cumbria and Down Ampney in Gloucestershire. These were promoted as "exemplars", together with written guidance training and advice for other communities wishing to take up the initiative. The document was updated in 2007.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links