Wicken, Cambridgeshire
| Wicken | |
|---|---|
 Village Green |
|
 Wicken
|
|
| Wicken shown within Cambridgeshire | |
| Population | 839 (Including Upware. 2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | TL568706 |
| 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 |
Wicken is a small village on the edge of The Fens near Soham in East Cambridgeshire, ten miles north east of Cambridge and five miles south of Ely. It is the site of Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve.
Wicken parish consists principally of fenland covering 1,604 hectares (3,964 acres) in eastern Cambridgeshire. Its western border largely follows the course of the River Cam, and its southern border separating it from Burwell follows the winding Wicken Lode, which flows into Reach Lode just before the latter meets the Cam. A fenland waterway forms its eastern border with Soham parish. Since at least the 10th century the parish has also contained the hamlet of Upware in its isolated south-west corner on the Cam.
East Cambridgeshire is known for its great quantity of archaeological findings from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Of Wicken some Bronze Age activity is known as there are a few subsided barrows.Stone Age flint tools, Bronze Age weapons and Roman coinage have also been found in the parish as well as a few spears and other weapons from the Anglo-Saxon era.
Wicken's relative isolation and poverty has meant that several of the late medieval and early modern timber-framed houses survive. The medieval limestone cross which formerly stood on Cross Green was unburied and reinstated there in 1973.
Wicken was listed as Wicha in the Domesday Book and Wiken in around 1200. The name comes from an Old-English dative plural wícum meaning "the dwellings" or "the trading settlement".
...
Wikipedia