Horningsea
| Horningsea | |
|---|---|
 Church of St Peter |
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 Horningsea
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| Horningsea shown within Cambridgeshire | |
| Population | 331 2001 378 (2011 census) |
| OS grid reference | TL4962 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CAMBRIDGE |
| Postcode district | CB25 |
| Dialling code | 01223 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Horningsea is a small village north of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire in England. The parish covers an area of 6.63 km. It lies on the east bank of the River Cam, and on the road from Cambridge to Clayhithe. The nearest railway station is Waterbeach.
Listed as Horningesea in the Domesday Book, the village's name derives from either "Island (or dry ground in marsh) of a man called Horning" or "Island by the horn-shaped hill".
Horningsea's location on the River Cam is central to its development as a settlement, whose use for navigation dates back to at least Roman times. Around 4000 years ago, the parish consisted of a chalk promontory between marshland and the sea, and there is evidence of Iron Age habitation. Around 1000 years ago it had become a peninsula extending northwards into the undrained fens.
Between the 2nd and 4th centuries Horningsea was used for pottery by the Romans and was connected with Lincoln by Car Dyke, a Roman canal.
Drainage of the area began with Bottisham Lode in early medieval times, and a bridge is mentioned in the village in the late 13th century. In 1637 the Earl of Bedford were given 400 acres in Fen Ditton, Horningsea, and Stow cum Quy which were drained over the following 20 years. The remainder of the parish was drained in the late 18th and 19th centuries, other than the area around Snout's Corner, which is still fenland.
The Saxon hamlets of Eye and Clayhithe have been part of Horningsea parish since 1279, with Clayhithe situated where the ancient peninsula reached the river.
In 2006 Horningsea's conservation area was re-appraised by South Cambridgeshire District Council. The report contains much detail about the current status of the village and its buildings.
The village has been home to a place of worship for well over a thousand years. The Saxon's chose the site for a minster in the 9th century, though it was sacked by the invading Danes in the 870s and rebuilt soon after. Only a pair of Saxon coffin lids remain from the original church.
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Wikipedia