Newton, Fenland

Newton
Newton
Newton shown within Cambridgeshire
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Wisbech
Postcode district PE13
Dialling code 01945
Police Cambridgeshire
Fire Cambridgeshire
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England

Newton (or Newton-in-the-Isle) is a village and civil parish in the Fenland district of north Cambridgeshire, England, four miles to the north of Wisbech. It was formerly also known as Newton in the Isle or Newton on the Isle, where "isle" refers to the Isle of Ely.[1]

History

The village is situated on the Silt Fen, a sea bank formed thousands of years ago. Unlike the salt marshes to the north or the formerly water-logged fens to the south, this narrow strip (also known as the Townland) has been inhabited for many centuries. Its location as a corridor for trade brought wealth to the villages during medieval times in an otherwise relatively poor area.[2]

Newton, however, was not listed in the Domesday Book and was thus probably settled later, with its first mention appearing in 1210.[3]

The College of St Mary by the Sea was founded here during the reign of Henry IV by Sir John Colville, and its endowments were specifically exempted from dissolution in the 1547 legislation of Edward VI; the lands instead being transferred to support the rectory of Newton.[3]

Church

The parish church of St. James is a medieval structure with a tower. Formerly dedicated to St Katherine, the church was built in the 12th century and widened in the 14th century.

Village life

The village is home to The Woadman Arms public house, deriving its name from the fact that woad was grown in the village until the 19th century. The second public house is called The White Lion and is reputedly haunted.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887)
  2. ↑ "Newton-in-the-Isle". Cambridgeshire Churches.
  3. 1 2 "A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 4: City of Ely; Ely, N. and S. Witchford and Wisbech Hundreds (2002), pp. 201-206". Victoria County History.

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