Everything about Cambridgeshire totally explained
Cambridgeshire (or, archaically, the
County of Cambridge; abbreviated
Cambs.) is a county in the
United Kingdom, bordering
Lincolnshire to the north,
Norfolk to the northeast,
Suffolk to the east,
Essex and
Hertfordshire to the south, and
Bedfordshire and
Northamptonshire to the west. Modern Cambridgeshire was formed from the historic county of Cambridgeshire, together with the former county of
Huntingdonshire, the
Isle of Ely and the
Soke of Peterborough; it contains most of the region known as
Silicon Fen. The
county town is
Cambridge.
Cambridgeshire is twinned with
Kreis Viersen in
Germany.
History
Cambridgeshire is noted as the site of some of the earliest known
Neolithic permanent settlement in the
United Kingdom, along with sites at
Fengate and
Balbridie.
Cambridgeshire was recorded in the
Domesday Book as "Grantbridgeshire" (or rather
Grentebrigescire).
Covering a large part of East Anglia, Cambridgeshire today is the product of several local government unifications. In
1888 when
county councils were introduced, two were set up, following the traditional division of Cambridgeshire into the area in the south around Cambridge, and the liberty of the
Isle of Ely. In
1965, these two
administrative counties were merged to form
Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely. In
1974,
this then merged with the county to the west,
Huntingdon and Peterborough (which had been created in 1965 by the merger of
Huntingdonshire with the
Soke of Peterborough - a part of
Northamptonshire which had its own county council). The resulting county was called simply 'Cambridgeshire'.
Since
1998 the
City of Peterborough has been a separately administered area, as a
unitary authority, but is associated with Cambridgeshire for ceremonial purposes such as
Lieutenancy, and functions such as policing and the fire service.
In 2002, the conservation charity
Plantlife unofficially designated Cambridgeshire's
county flower as the
Pasqueflower.
A great quantity of
archaeological finds from the
Stone Age, the
Bronze Age and the
Iron Age were made in
East Cambridgeshire. Most items were found in
Isleham.
The
Cambridgeshire Regiment (or Fen Tigers) county based army unit fought in South Africa, WWI and WWII.
Most English counties have nicknames for people from that county, such as a
Tyke from
Yorkshire and a
Yellowbelly from
Lincolnshire; the traditional
nickname for people from Cambridgeshire is 'Cambridgeshire Camel' or 'Cambridgeshire Crane', referring to the wildfowl which were once abundant in the fens.
Original historical documents relating to Cambridgeshire are held by
Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies.
Geography
Large areas of the county are extremely low-lying and
Holme Fen is notable for being the UK's lowest physical point at 2.75 m (9 ft) below sea level. The highest point is in the village of
Great Chishill at 146 m/480 ft above sea level. Other
prominent hills are
Little Trees Hill and
Wandlebury Hill in the
Gog Magog Downs,
Rivey Hill above
Linton,
Rowley's Hill and the
Madingley Hills.
Economy
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Cambridgeshire at current basic prices
published
(pp.240-253) by
Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of English Pounds Sterling.
| Year |
Regional Gross Value Added |
Agriculture |
Industry |
Services |
| 1995 |
5,896 |
228 |
1,646 |
4,022 |
| 2000 |
7,996 |
166 |
2,029 |
5,801 |
| 2003 |
10,154 |
207 |
2,195 |
7,752 |
AWG plc is based in Huntingdon. The
RAF has a few bases in the Huntingdon and
St Ives area. Most of Cambridgeshire is agricultural. Close to Cambridge is the so-called
Silicon Fen area of high-technology (electronics, computing and biotechnology) companies.
ARM Limited is based in
Cherry Hinton.
Education
Primary and Secondary
Cambridgeshire has a completely comprehensive education system with 12 independent schools and 29 state schools, not including
sixth form colleges.
Tertiary
The
University of Cambridge is the
second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. One of the
campuses of
Anglia Ruskin University is located in Cambridge as is one of the regional centres of the
Open University.
Settlements
These are the settlements in Cambridgeshire with a town charter, city status or a population over 5,000; for a complete list of settlements see
list of places in Cambridgeshire.
Burwell
Cambridge
Chatteris
Ely
Godmanchester
Huntingdon
Linton
Littleport
March
Peterborough (no longer part of the administrative county)
Sawston
Sawtry
Soham
St Ives
St Neots
Wisbech
Whittlesey
Yaxley
The town of Newmarket is surrounded on three sides by Cambridgeshire, being connected by a narrow strip of land to the rest of Suffolk.
Places of interest
Famous people from Cambridgeshire
As well as those born in the county there are many notable people from, or associated with, Cambridgeshire who moved there, particularly due to the presence of Cambridge University.
Cambridgeshire lays claim to Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell, Prime Minister John Major, businessmen Henry Royce and Peter Boizot, social reformers Octavia Hill and Thomas Clarkson, and economist John Maynard Keynes. Scientists include Brian J. Ford and Stephen Hawking, and Nobel laureate Harold Kroto. John Clare, Samuel Pepys and Douglas Adams are all famous literary figures who hail from Cambridgeshire, as does Jeffrey Archer.
In entertainment, cartoonist Ronald Searle, comedian Rory McGrath, television presenter Sarah Cawood, and radio sports presenter Adrian Durham are all from Cambridgeshire. Paul Nicholas, Richard Attenborough and Warwick Davis are all associated with film, while musicians include Andrew Eldritch, lead singer of The Sisters of Mercy; Andy Bell, lead singer for Erasure; David Gilmour, Roger Waters and Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett of Pink Floyd; Don Airey, keyboardist in the rock band Deep Purple; trombonist Don Lusher; Keith Palmer, of dance music band The Prodigy; Nigel Sixsmith, founding member of The Art Of Sound and well known Keytar player; and Matt Bellamy. Athletes Joe Bugner, Sir Jack Hobbs, and Marty Scurll are also from the county.
Richard Garriott, televangelist Peter Foxhall, and Hereward the Wake are from Cambridgeshire.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Cambridgeshire'.
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