Bassingbourne
| Bassingbourn cum Kneesworth | |
|---|---|
 Bassingbourn cum Kneesworth
Bassingbourn cum Kneesworth shown within Cambridgeshire
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| Population | 3,583 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | TL331439 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ROYSTON |
| Postcode district | SG8 |
| Dialling code | 01763 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
Bassingbourn cum Kneesworth is a civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles south-west of Cambridge. Since the 1960s the parish contains the villages of Bassingbourn and Kneesworth and is situated just north of Royston in Hertfordshire. The parish is astride the Roman Ermine Street (now the A1198 and formerly the A14), and the two ancient tracks, Icknield Way and Ashwell Street.
The Prime Meridian passes just to the east of the parish.
The ancient parish of Bassingbourn was an approximately rectangular area of 3,381 acres. Its long nearly-straight western boundary mostly follows an ancient field path that separates it from Litlington, and its straight eastern boundary is formed by the Roman Ermine Street, dividing it from Whaddon and Kneesworth. Its southern boundary with Hertfordshire originally followed the ancient Icknield Way, but as Royston grew, part of the parish was transferred to Hertfordshire. The border now follows the A505 as it by-passes Royston. In 1966, the neighbouring parish of Kneesworth was added to the parish to form Bassingbourn cum Kneesworth, a total area of 4,302 acres (1,741 ha).
The village of Bassingbourn built up just to the north of the ancient track Ashwell Street, two kilometres to the north of the Icknield Way. The Romans had previously built Ermine Street (the imperial highway linking London with York), which runs past the east side of the present barracks a kilometre to the east of the village.
Listed as Basingborne in the Domesday Book, Bassingbourn takes its name from 'Bassa', an Anglo-Saxon who, some 1,200 years ago, with his band of followers settled by the 'bourn' or stream in this area.
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Wikipedia