Prickwillow
| Prickwillow | |
|---|---|
 Prickwillow
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| Prickwillow shown within Cambridgeshire | |
| OS grid reference | TL597824 |
| • London | 65 miles (105 km) |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ELY |
| Postcode district | CB7 |
| Dialling code | 01353 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Originally a small hamlet on the banks of the River Great Ouse, but now on the banks of the River Lark since re-organisation of the river system, the village of Prickwillow has an estimated mid-2005 population of 440. It lies in the south of the Fens, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England, and is home to Prickwillow Museum, which tells the story of the changing face of Fenland. Prickwillow Museum is housed in the old pumping station and contains a major collection of working pumping engines. The village is also home to the Ely Group of Internal Drainage Boards.
Evidence for very early settlements near Prickwillow was unearthed in the 1930s, when an archaeological dig took place at Plantation Farm and Peacocks Farm, by the A1101. This provided evidence for Roman and three levels of prehistoric settlements just to the east of the village.
The modern parish of Prickwillow was formed in 1878. The name is said to be a reference to the 'prickets' of willow—long thin skewers used to make thatch—that grew in the surrounding marshy land.
Prior to the nineteenth century, the River Great Ouse flowed east of Ely as far as Prickwillow, before rejoining the modern course of the Ouse at Littleport. In 1829-30, however, the river was diverted north from Ely, and the original channel ploughed and filled in. Today's village lies on the site of the old riverbank, with evidence of the original course remaining in the name of the roads (e.g. Old Bank) and the meandering edges of the neighbouring fields (visible on this satellite image). Astbury terms such old watercourses rodhams and another East Anglian village, Benwick is similarly built on a rodham.
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Wikipedia