Offord D'Arcy | |
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St Peter's church and freight train |
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Offord D'Arcy shown within Cambridgeshire | |
Population | 747 |
OS grid reference | TL220660 |
Civil parish | |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | St Neots |
Postcode district | PE19 |
Dialling code | 01480 |
Police | Cambridgeshire |
Fire | Cambridgeshire |
Ambulance | East of England |
EU Parliament | East of England |
Offord D'Arcy is a village 4.2 miles (6.8 km) north of St Neots and 3 miles (4.8 km) south-west of Huntingdon. Offord D'Arcy is in Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as a historic county of England. It is the twin village of Offord Cluny and together they are known as The Offords. Historically both villages had their own parish councils but the two parishes were merged in 2009. At the time of the 2001 census, the population of Offord D'Arcy was 747 people. It is in the civil parish of The Offords
The name 'Offord' originates from the name found in the Domesday Book 'Upeforde', which in turn is believed to be derived from the Old English pre 7th Century "uppe", up (stream), and "ford", ford.
In 1085 William the Conqueror ordered that a survey should be carried out across his kingdom to discover who owned which parts and what it was worth. The survey took place in 1086 and the results were recorded in what, since the 12th century, has become known as the Domesday Book. Starting with the king himself, for each landholder within a county there is a list of their estates or manors; and, for each manor, there is a summary of the resources of the manor, the amount of annual rent that was collected by the lord of the manor both in 1066 and in 1086, together with the taxable value.
Offord d'Arcy was listed in the Domesday Book in the Hundred of Toseland in Huntingdonshire; the name of the settlement was written as Opeforde and Upeforde in the Domesday Book. In 1086 there were three manors at Offord d'Arcy; the annual rent paid to the lords of the manors in 1066 had been £12 and the rent had fallen to £9.6 in 1086.