| Abbots Ripton | |
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Abbots Ripton
Abbots Ripton shown within Cambridgeshire |
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| Population | 309 (2001 Census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | TL231780 |
| District | Huntingdonshire |
| Shire county | Cambridgeshire |
| Region | East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | PE28 |
| Dialling code | 01487 |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| List of places: UK • England • Cambridgeshire | |
Abbots Ripton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. It is situated five miles (8 km) north of Huntingdon, on the B1090. The civil parish includes the nearby hamlet of Wennington.
The village itself occupies some 4,191 acres (1,696 ha) of land and is home to 309 residents (2001 census). The village is also notable as the location of the Abbots Ripton railway disaster in 1876 in which a Flying Scotsman train was wrecked during a blizzard. The disaster led to important safety improvements in railway signalling.
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Abbots Ripton ends in ton which usually indicates a Saxon origin.[1] According to the Institute for Name Studies a possible translation from Old English could be rip - Strip/Slope and ton - Farm/Settlement.[2] Its name has appeared in various guises throughout its history; in the Domesday book it was recorded as Riptone, but by the 11th century it was recorded as Riptune. It was during the 12th and 13th century that the Abbot part came into the name; it was then owned by the Abbot of Ramsey, and it was most probably just to distinguish it from Kings Ripton which was under royal ownership. During this period it was also known by the names of Magna Riptona, Ryptone and finally Riptone Abbatis.[3] After the Reformation the crown sold it to the St John family and for a time it was called St John's Ripton[4] before it became known by the name we know it today.
The village's parish church is dedicated to St Andrew and has a west tower. There has been a church on the site since Norman times, but the present building was built in the second half of the 13th century. It was dedicated by the Bishop of Lincoln in 1242.[3]
The chancel was rebuilt at the start of the 16th century, a north chapel was added and the present tower was constructed. Restoration took place in the 19th century.[3]
The tower houses three bells, the oldest from around 1400.[3]
The village is home to the 18th century Abbots Ripton Hall which now has an estate totalling 5,700 acres (2,307 ha), larger than Abbots Ripton itself; its grounds contain some quite rare trees including — quite unusual in England — a good collection of elm trees which are injected every year to prevent Dutch elm disease.[5] Also based in the area is The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, a research centre in the land and freshwater environmental sciences.
Abbots Ripton has a church dedicated to St Andrew, a shop, garage, and a post office. The village pub, The Three Horseshoes, dates from the 17th century; it was severely damaged by a fire in 2010.[6] It also has a school[7] the Abbots Ripton CofE Primary School which teaches 109 children.
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Abbots_Ripton Abbots Ripton] at Wikimedia Commons