Wilburton
| Willburton | |
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  Willburton |
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| Population | 1,348 [1] |
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| OS grid reference | TL484750 |
| – London | 60 mi (97 km) S |
| District | East Cambridgeshire |
| Shire county | Cambridgeshire |
| Region | East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ELY |
| Postcode district | CB6 |
| Dialling code | 01353 |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | South East Cambridgeshire |
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Coordinates: 52°21′N 0°11′E / 52.35°N 0.18°E
Wilburton is a small village of just over 1,000 inhabitants, situated in Cambridgeshire, England.[1] It is 6 miles south west of Ely.
While nominally an agricultural village, many of the inhabitants work in Cambridge, Ely or London.
History
Wilburton is a parish of around 800 acres lying on the important medieval route from Earith to Stretham, and extending south to the River Great Ouse. As much of the land in the region is fenland, the village's position on the ridge between Stretham and Haddenham at the southern end of the Isle of Ely was important in its growth and success.[2]
Unusually for the area, the village contains a number of attractive old buildings, and was described in the 19th century as "very neat and contains some excellent houses".[3] These include the Burystead (the former manor house, built c.1600), one of the few surviving half-timbered houses in the region, and the Victoria Place row of cottages.[2]
For the last few hundred years, the Pell family were the prominent local landowners, sponsoring the somewhat optimistic Ely and St Ives Railway in the late 19th century. Wilburton railway station, built in 1866, has been open for goods trains only since 1931.[2]
Listed as Wilburhtun in 970 and Wilbertone in the Domesday Book, the name "Wilburton" means "Farmstead or village of a woman called Wilburh".[4]
Church
The parish church, dedicated to St Peter consists of a chancel, north vestry and organ chamber, a nave, north chapel, south porch, and west tower. The chancel arch and tower date from the 13th century and the extensive rebuilding in the second half of the 15th century produced the chancel, vestry, nave, and porch. The organ chamber and north chapel were added in the late 19th century. The three-storey tower contains five bells, all dating from the 17th century.[2]
Village life
Their village is home to a fine Elizabethan manor house, a shop, and a garden centre. There is one public house, The King's Head. There is also a hall called St Peter's Hall that is used for events by the local community, such as school plays, wedding receptions, and after-school clubs. Adjoining St Peter's Hall is a social club.
The village holds a fireworks display around Guy Fawkes night and a beer festival in the summer. In 2005 it also held its first spring beer festival.
Sport
Wilburton is also well known for its notable football teams, in 1996 Wilburton Blades F.C were formed under the careful leadership of local businessman Barry Star, the Blades were most well known for their U/14 side that reached 3rd place in the Cambridgeshire colts league 97/98 season.
Several other teams have formed since 1996, Wilburton Albion were set up by the local social club in 2002 and enjoyed several years of success in the Sunday Football league and Haddenham Harlequins (now renamed Wilburton F.C) were formed in 2006 by local man Gordon Walker whom played for both Wilburton Blades and Wilburton Albion.
A notable game was when Wilburton Albion Played Haddenham Harlequins in a local cup match with the game ending in a 9-1 win for Albion.
Wilburton F.C (Harlequins) ended operations at the end of the 2012/2013 season.
Notable players for Wilburton teams is William Ludbrooke who has won the golden boot award on three separate occasions and continues to play for Wilburton F.C to the present day.
See also
- Doghouse Grove nature reserve, south of the village
- Grunty Fen, a former parish, now amalgamated with the village
References
- 1 2 "Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics. Area: Wilburton (Parish)". ONS. 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely 4. 2002. pp. 168–172.
- ↑ R. Gardner, Dir. Cambs. (1851), 510
- ↑ A. D. Mills (2003). "A Dictionary of British Place-Names".
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wilburton. |
