Offord Cluny

Offord Cluny
Church at Offord Cluny
Offord Cluny  Offord Cluny shown within Cambridgeshire
Population	502 (2001 Census)[1]
OS grid reference	TL220673
– London	53 miles (85 km)
Civil parish	Offord Cluny and Offord D'Arcy
District	Huntingdonshire
Shire county	Cambridgeshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	St Neots
Postcode district	PE19
Dialling code	01480
EU Parliament	East of England
List of places UK England Cambridgeshire

Coordinates: 52°17′N 0°13′W / 52.29°N 0.21°W / 52.29; -0.21

Offord Cluny is a small village 4.9 miles (7.9 km) north of St Neots and 3 miles (4.8 km) south-west of Huntingdon. Offord Cluny is in Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as a historic county of England. Offord Cluny is the twin village of Offord D'Arcy and together they are known as The Offords. At the time of the 2001 census, the population of Offord Cluny was 502 people.^[1] Historically both had their own parish councils but these were merged in 2009. Council tax rates are higher in Offord Cluny than in Offord D'Arcy.

History

The name 'Offord' originates from the name 'Upeforde', which in turn is believed to derived from the Old English pre 7th Century "uppe", up (stream), and "ford", ford.^[2] The name 'Cluny' comes from Cluny Abbey in the Bourgogne region of France, which were granted a manor in Offord by Arnulf de Hesding some time before 1086.^[3]

Offord was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Upeforde^[4] in the Toseland hundred of Huntingdonshire. At that time it had 29 households (considered a quite large settlement for that time) and had a taxable value of 10 geld units, which was very large for the time. As well as the land under the plough, there was 24 acres of meadow, two mills and a church. In 1086 the manor in Offord was held by the Abbey of Cluny.^[4]

Government

Offord Cluny is part of the civil parish of Offord Cluny and Offord D'Arcy, which has a parish council. The parish council is elected by the residents of the parish who have registered on the electoral roll; the parish council is the lowest tier of government in England. A parish council is responsible for providing and maintaining a variety of local services including allotments and a cemetery; grass cutting and tree planting within public open spaces such as a village green or playing fields. The parish council reviews all planning applications that might affect the parish and makes recommendations to Huntingdonshire District Council, which is the local planning authority for the parish. The parish council also represents the views of the parish on issues such as local transport, policing and the environment. The parish council raises its own tax to pay for these services, known as the parish precept, which is collected as part of the Council Tax. The parish council consists of nine councillors and there is a parish clerk; the parish council normally meets on the first Thursday of the month.^[5][6]

Offord Cluny was in the historic and administrative county of Huntingdonshire until 1965. From 1965, the village was part of the new administrative county of Huntingdon and Peterborough. Then in 1974, following the Local Government Act 1972, Offord Cluny became a part of the county of Cambridgeshire. Offord Cluny is a part of the district ward of Gransden and The Offords for Huntingdonshire District Council^[7] and is represented on the district council by two councillors.^[8] For Cambridgeshire County Council Offord Cluny is part of the electoral division of Buckden, Gransden and The Offords ^[7] and is represented on the county council by one councillor.^[9]

At Westminster, Offord Cluny is in the parliamentary constituency of Huntingdon,^[7] and is represented in the House of Commons by Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative). Jonathan Djanogly has represented the constituency since 2001. The previous member of parliament was John Major (Conservative) who represented the constituency between 1983 and 2001. For the European Parliament Offord Cluny is in the East of England (European Parliament constituency).

Geography

The village and historic civil parish of Offord Cluny lies on the eastern side of the Great Ouse river valley between 50 feet (15 m) and 150 feet (46 m) above ordnance datum; the parish covered an area of 1,046 acres (423 hectares) of land and 16 acres (6.5 hectares) of water.^[10] The boundary of the historic parish to the west was the Great Ouse.

Population

The population of the old parish of Offord Cluny from 1801 to 1901 varied between a minimum of 170 (in 1801) to a maximum of 369 (in 1851) people.

Census: Offord Cluny 1801–1931, 1961^[11] Census: Offord Cluny 1951, 1971, 1991^[12] Census: Offord Cluny 2001,^[1]

Transport

It is 3 miles (4.8 km) from Offord Cluny to the railway station at Huntingdon, which is on the East Coast Main Line, where regular services run south to St Neots and London, and north to Peterborough.

Religious sites

The Church of All Saints is a Grade II* Listed building;^[13] it consists of a chancel, nave, north aisle, south aisle, west tower and south porch. The church is mentioned in the Domesday Book but nothing from that period remains. The nave and the aisles either side were originally built in the late 13th century; the nave was rebuilt in the 16th century. The tower was built in the 15th century and has four bells. the current chancel was built in 1726.^[10] The benefice of St Peters, Offord D'Arcy and of All Saints, Offord Cluny, were united in 1923.^[14] The church has a stained glass window dedicated to the Pathfinders. There is a "broken" war memorial.

Historical documents relating to Offord Cluny, including Church of England parish registers, maps and photographs, are held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at the County Record Office Huntingdon.

See also

• The Offords

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Offord Cluny.