Histon
| Histon and Impington | |
|---|---|
 Histon and Impington
|
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| Histon and Impington shown within Cambridgeshire | |
| Population | 10,600 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | TL437637 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CAMBRIDGE |
| Postcode district | CB24 |
| Dialling code | 01223 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
Histon and Impington are villages in Cambridgeshire, England. They are situated just north of Cambridge with the main bulk of the settlements being separated from the city by the A14 road (England).
Over the years the two villages have grown and entwined together, to such an extent that many villagers today do not know where one ends and the other begins. They contain a combined total of six pubs. They have a nursery, infants', junior and secondary school. The International Whaling Commission is based in Impington, while the now abolished East of England Development Agency was based in Histon. Histon is also the location of the radio station Heart 103 (formerly Q103), which covers Cambridge, Ely, Newmarket, Huntingdon and Royston and is part of Global Radio.
The names Histon and Impington are probably of Saxon origin as both end in ton.
Suggestions for meanings of this name include: "farmstead of the young warriors" or "landing place". However, the latter of these is unlikely as Histon is situated above the floodline. The likely origin of the name is from the two Saxon/Old English words hyse and tun – hyse meaning "a young man or warrior", and tun meaning "house or farm". The village name has survived relatively unchanged since the writing of the Domesday Book when it was recorded as Histone.
The name of the village has been recorded in various guises. In the Domesday Book it was recorded as Epintone, but it has also been recorded as Empinton, Ympiton, Impinton, Hinpinton and Impynton.
The name is likely Anglo-Saxon and made of three parts each corresponding to a syllable. The meaning of the second and third is 'belonging to' ('-ing') and 'farmstead or place' ('-ton'). The first part may refer to a person, 'Impa' or Empa', so the village name means 'Impa's place or farm'. But given the Domesday Book spelling 'Epin', the first part might have the same meaning as in 'Epping' - 'a platform or raised place'. Impington might even mean 'place belonging to the imps', since 'imp' had its modern meaning in Anglo-Saxon.
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