Castor, Cambridgeshire

Castor
Castor

 Castor shown within Cambridgeshire
Population 817 (2001 census)[1]
OS grid reference TL124985
Parish Castor
Unitary authority Peterborough
Ceremonial county Cambridgeshire
Region East
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Peterborough
Postcode district PE5
Dialling code 01733
Police Cambridgeshire
Fire Cambridgeshire
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK Parliament North West Cambridgeshire
Website Castor Home Page
List of places: UK • England • Cambridgeshire

Castor is a village and civil parish in the City of Peterborough unitary authority, about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of the city centre. The parish is part of the former Soke of Peterborough, which was considered part of Northamptonshire but was more recently part of Cambridgeshire.

Contents

History

Castor's toponym is derived from the Old English "ceaster", referring to the Roman fort across the River Nene at Durobrivae.[2][3]

The Church of England parish church of St. Kyneburgha is notable for its Romanesque architecture and includes notable medieval wall paintings. It is a Grade I listed building.[4]

The Robin Hood and Little John Standing Stones were erected here between the 12th and 14th centuries in an agreement with the abbot of Peterborough that tolls would not be levied on the passage of stone from the abbey's quarries at Barnack.[5]

The common lands of Castor and the neighbouring parish of Ailsworth were not enclosed until 1898.[6]

The route of the London and North Western Railway branch line between Northampton and Peterborough passes through the parish. It was opened in 1845, including Castor railway station built to serve the village. British Railways closed the station in 1957 and the line in 1966, and Castor station has been demolished. The Nene Valley Railway reopened the section of line through Castor in 1977, but has not reopened a station at Castor.

The £9 million dual-carriageway Ailsworth and Castor Bypass, which is part of the A47 trunk road, was opened in September 1991.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Area: Castor CP (Parish): Parish Headcounts". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=791668&c=Castor&d=16&e=15&g=404277&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&r=1&s=1292264806533&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779. Retrieved 13 December 2010. 
  2. ^ Ekwall, Eilert (1960) [1947], Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 89, 92, ISBN 0198691033 
  3. ^ Kelly, S.E. (ed.), Charters of Peterborough Abbey, Anglo-Saxon Charters 14, Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 5.
  4. ^ Castor Church. It is uniquely the only Church of that name anywhere in the world Peterborough Hidden Heritage. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  5. ^ Robin Hood and Little John Standing Stones. Peterborough Hidden Heritage. Retrieved 31 August 2010. For the abbey's quarries at Barnack, see e.g. Kelly, S.E., op. cit., p. 292.
  6. ^ Taylor, Christopher (1982) [1975]. Fields in the English Landscape. Archaeology in the Field Series. London: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd. p. 153. ISBN 0 460 02232 6. 

External links

Settlements
Places of interest
Establishments