Kennett, Cambridgeshire
| Kennett | |
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 View of St Nicholas' Church, Kennett |
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 Kennett
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| Kennett shown within Cambridgeshire | |
| Population | 353 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | TL6968 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Newmarket |
| Postcode district | CB8 |
| Dialling code | 01638 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
Kennett is a small village and civil parish at the very eastern tip of Cambridgeshire, England. Situated around 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north-east of Newmarket and 4 miles (6.4 km) north-west of Bury St Edmunds, it falls into the district of East Cambridgeshire.
The small parish of Kennett covers 1,431 acres (579 ha) at the easternmost point of the spur of Cambridgeshire that stretches into Suffolk. Listed as Chenet in the Domesday Book of 1086, the village is named after the river Kennett, a tributary of the River Lark. The origin of the river's name is unclear, but it is of Celtic origin perhaps partially derived from cwm meaning "summit".
The parish is roughly square in shape, and borders Suffolk to its east and south. The eastern border is largely made up of the meandering medieval course of the River Kennett, though the river has been straightened in sections since the border was defined. The border deviates to the east of the river for a kilometre or so, such that the land around Kennett Hall falls into the parish. The straight southern border with Suffolk follows the ancient Icknield Way. The relatively straight west and north borders are former field boundaries that separate it from Chippenham.
The earliest parts of the parish church of St Nicholas date to the 12th century. The river was forded at the south-east of the parish in around 1161 (from which the village of Kentford takes its name) and was navigable until at least the early 14th century, leading eventually to King's Lynn. A 13th century ferry across the Kennett was known as Kentfayre, and the Newmarket to Bury St Edmunds road had a bridge over the river added in around 1600 on what became a busy turnpike. Occasional flooding of the Kennett would damage the east of the parish, and a flood in 1968 destroyed the railway bridge at Kennett End. A pumping station was built just to the east of the church in 1977 to control flow.
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Wikipedia