Aldreth
| Aldreth | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Aldreth |
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 Aldreth
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| Aldreth shown within Cambridgeshire | |
| OS grid reference | TL446735 |
| • London | 62 mi (100 km) S |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ELY |
| Postcode district | CB6 |
| Dialling code | 01353 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | ECDC |
Aldreth is a hamlet in Cambridgeshire with about 260 residents (2001 census). It is located near the larger village of Haddenham (where the population is listed) and falls under the same Parish council. Aldreth is surrounded by fenland on all sides and the River Great Ouse, or the Old West as the locals call it, runs close by. Aldreth has no church.
Aldreth shares an annual village open day, Blossoms & Bygones, with neighbouring village Haddenham. Features of the day include tractor rides and vintage car and tractor displays, while many residents throw open their gardens to visitors. Blossoms & Bygones celebrated its 40th Anniversary in 2011 with a VE Day theme, that saw the villagers of Aldreth dress up as if it was 1940. They also have geocaching by the river which is good for dog walkers and explorers.
According to one place-name authority, the name "Aldreth" occurs as "Alreheða" in the Pipe rolls, under the year 1170, and means "Landing-place by the alders", from a combination of the Old English words for "alder" and "". The name also occurs a number of times in the text of the 12th century Liber Eliensis, as "Alreheðe", with one variant as "Alhereðe". The origin of the name There are other theories about how Aldreth got its name. Here are the most popular ones: It may be a derivation of the words Alder Hithe (the old shore), which relates to the Old West river flowing near Aldreth. It could also come from the words Alder Reche (the old reach), which also relates to the Old West river.
Aldreth may have been the site of two battles in history between Hereward the Wake (Saxons) and William the Conqueror (Normans). Aldreth was one of three routes, or causeways, into the Isle of Ely at that time; Stuntney Causeway 2.25 miles (3.62 km) to the south-east, the Earith Causeway 10 miles (16 km) to the west-south-west and the Aldreth Causeway 7 miles (11 km) south-west of the Isle of Ely. For comparison of such causeways, consider the Bronze-Age causeway discovered in 1934 between Little Thetford and Fordey Farm, Barway.
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