Houghton, Cambridgeshire

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For other places named Houghton, see here.

Houghton
Houghton shown within Cambridgeshire
Population	2559 (2001)
OS grid reference	TL281724
District	Huntingdonshire
Shire county	Cambridgeshire
Region	East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HUNTINGDON
Postcode district	PE28
Dialling code	01480
Police	Cambridgeshire
Fire	Cambridgeshire
Ambulance	East of England
European Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	Huntingdon
List of places: UK • England • Cambridgeshire

Coordinates: 52°20′06″N 0°07′08″W / 52.335, -0.119

Houghton – in Huntingdonshire (now part of Cambridgeshire), England – is a village between Huntingdon and St Ives on the A1123, and not far south of RAF Wyton. It lies on the north bank of the River Great Ouse, where Houghton Mill is located.

1 History
2 Places of interest
3 Famous residents
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

Houghton is mentioned in the Domesday Book and described as "Hoctune".

It has had a number of serious floods.

There used to be an old piece of film footage taken by the Houghton Scout group of the village.

[edit] Places of interest

Houghton has a beautiful old watermill owned by the National Trust that is still used for demonstrating flour milling.

There is a picturesque village centre, known affectionately as "the green" (although no grass has been present for very many years). On the village green there is a statue to Potto Brown and a traditional old water pump and a clock tower.

There is a fine Norman (Anglican) church, St Mary's and a former chapel that has been converted into a retreat centre.

It is possible to walk from Houghton to Hemingford Abbotts across the flood meadows and to St Ives along the Thicket Path. There is a nature reserve along the Thicket Path known as Houghton Meadows that shows markings of traditional ridge and furrow farming.

There used to be two veterinary poultry research centres, one on Houghton Hill and the other in "The Elms".

There are a number of old houses of interest, particularly in the village green and near the playing field. The playing field is used for football, tennis and cricket. The field was donated to the village by Mr Anderson, whose family used to farm in the village. On the field there is a bowling club, cricket pavilion, tennis courts, football pitch and a Scout Hut.

The village green is the former home of one of the close relatives of Edward Whymper who was the first to climb the Matterhorn and a model of the mountain is in the garden.

The village is also home to the Three Horseshoes and Three Jolly Butchers pubs.

Punts and rowing boats can be hired at the riverside across the watermill footbridge.