Sawtry

Sawtry
Sawtry Sawtry shown within Cambridgeshire
OS grid reference	TL168836
District	Huntingdonshire
Shire county	Cambridgeshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
EU Parliament	East of England
Website	http://www.sawtry.net
List of places UK England Cambridgeshire

Coordinates: 52°26′N 0°17′W / 52.44°N 0.28°W / 52.44; -0.28

Sawtry is a village in the district of Huntingdonshire in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. The village is home to over 6000^[1] people.

Signpost in Sawtry

Location

Sawtry is just west of the Fens, halfway between the city of Peterborough and the town of Huntingdon. Other nearby villages include Folksworth, Alconbury, Holme, Yaxley, and Stilton. Being situated in close proximity to the A1(M), it is a sought-after location for commuters. It is approximately six miles north of the A14, and a fifty-minute car drive from both Stansted Airport and Luton Airport.

Facilities and amenities

Sawtry has two public houses: The Bell and The Greystones. It also has an Ex-Services and Working Men's Club. It has an Infant school and a Junior school; and a Community college which educates many young people from nearby villages as well as Sawtry itself.

History

During the Dark Ages, Sawtry was divided into three parishes - All Saints, St. Andrew and Judith^[2] and originally got its name from the fact that it was a trading centre for salt, an essential commodity in the Middle Ages. The Cistercian Abbey of St Mary was founded in 1147 by Simon de Senlis grandson of Judith De Lens, niece of William the Conqueror who owned land in many parts of Britain but built her Manor in Sawtry and whom the Parish of Sawtry Judith is named after. The Abbey took 91 years to complete and ministered to the local area both spiritually and physically. This was demolished in 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries as part of the English Reformation, although traces of the Abbey still remain.^[3]

Sawtry is twinned with the Gemeinde Weimar region in Germany.^[4]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sawtry.