Cambridgeshire has been inhabited for over 12,000 years, at first by Stone Age and then by Bronze Age man. Brythonic Celts (Iceni) from northern Europe migrated into Cambridgeshire around 600 B. C. Despite building wood and earthen forts to protect their major settlements the were overthrown by the Belgae tribe. The Iceni withdrew into East Anglia (Suffolk and Lincolnshire). Tribal warfare continued until the invasion of the Romans. During the rule of the Romans the city of Cambridge became the provincial center.
By 500 A. D. The Romans were gone and the residents of Cambridgeshire were facing invasions from the Angles who crossed the English Channel from Jutland, Germany. The Angles managed to free the area from the kingdom of Mercia early in the 9th century and continued developing the country. An agricultural revolution took place and the area saw enormous growth.
The Vikings began an invasion of the area around 850. They used the Fenland Rivers for fast transport.
In 866 the first major incursion into the areas was made by Halfdan, Ingvar and Uppa who were the sons of Ragnar Logbrok. They plundered the area and reinforced their armies each spring with new men from Denmark.
William the Conqueror brought his Norman army into the area in 1066. They were uncontested at first but soon their heavy handed tactics caused discontent and the last resistance to the Norman Conquest was at Ely, Cambridgeshire. Hereward from Bourne, Lincolnshire led the last resistance with an army of Angles and Danes. King Sweyn of Denmark provided his army in hopes of gaining lands in England. He made peace with the Conqueror in 1070 and withdrew his forces. The last resistance to the Normans was crushed when the Bishop of Ely allowed the Normans into the city while the Angles were foraging for supplies.
Cambridgeshire is primarily a farming area with some small areas of manufacturing such things as paper. It has remained prosperous and peaceful.
Cambridge 'Grontebrugae' Castle is a Norman motte and bailey castle built by Guillaume Peuerel The Conqueror.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre is known in Cambridge as the Round Church. There are only four round churches in England.
The University of Cambridge is one of the oldest colleges in England. St. Mary's Church serves as the chapel for the college and is located at the center of the town.
Kings Chapel was built over a period of 100 years. It is a part of Kings College which was founded by King Henry VII.
Kimbolton Castle is in Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire, England. In Norman times, a wooden motte and bailey castle was built on a different site. Nothing is left of this castle. A new castle was built and it had serveral owners until it finally belonged to the Wingfield family in the 1520's. At that time it was rebuilt as a Tudor manor house. Parts of it have survived and still stand.
Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity is the principal church of the diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and the seat of the Bishop of Ely. The first Christian building on the site was founded by Etheldreda, daughter of the Anglo-Saxon king of East Anglia, who was born in 630 at Exning near Newmarket.
Originally called Grantebridge (the bridge over the river Granta, on of the sources of the Cam). The Norman name was Cantebruge (the Cam was first called the Cante). Cam is also a Celtic word ascribed to rivers and meaning crooked or winding. In the first recorded instance of Cambridgeshire it was listed in 1010 as Grantabrycgscir.
SOME CASTLES AND CHURCHES
MAPS
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Cambridgeshire Districts
1. Cambridge |
PHOTOS
The market in the centre of Cambridge, with Great St. Mary's Church in the background
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The Old Bridge of Huntingdon across the Great Ouse, to Godmanchester.
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Devil's Dyke near Gallow's Hill, near Burwell. Devil's Ditch (also called Devil's Dyke) is an Anglo-Saxon earthwork in eastern Cambridgeshire, England, one of the largest and best surviving examples in Britain.
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