Welcome and Introduction An introduction by John Jenkin, Convenor of the Hemingford Grey Parish Plan Steering Committee Welcome to the Hemingford Grey Parish Plan. The Plan provides an opportunity for local residents to tell politicians, planners and service providers what we want for the village now and over the next decade. So what will Hemingford Grey look like ten years hence, if you have your way? Essentially, not much different from the Hemingford Grey of today. You like the village atmosphere and the style of life; you treasure the tranquillity, the river scene, our lovely ancient buildings and the open spaces. You enjoy the Regatta and the Village Sports Day and you value our sense of community: you would like to preserve these qualities for future generations. The Parish Plan seeks to identify and put into place action plans to address your concerns for the future of our Village. Some of these actions will be for the Parish Council, others for agencies such as Cambridgeshire County Council, Huntingdonshire District Council or the Police Authority. Whilst the Parish Council is committed to taking the lead on the issues they can influence, other actions will only happen if volunteers come forward from our community to lead, organise and work to make them happen. Hemingford Grey Parish Council welcomes the Parish Plan and will use its best endeavours to facilitate implementation of the proposed action plans. I would like to thank all those people who took part in the development of the plan and I look forward to working with you to implement its findings. John Jenkin Convenor, Hemingford Grey Parish Plan Steering Committee Hemingford Grey Parish Plan 2 Contents An introduction by John Jenkin, Convenor of the Page Hemingford Grey 2 Welcome and Introduction 3 Contents 4 Foreword 5 The Parish of Hemingford Grey 6 The Ford of the people of Hemma 10 Lost Treasures 12 Local Wildlife 14 Listed Buildings 16 ‘One of the best villages in the country’ 18 Famous Past Residents 20 Leisure & Recreation 22 Parish Map The Parish Plan 24 Developing a Parish Plan 26 Household & Resident Profile 28 Roads and Footpaths 29 Public Transport/Cycling 30 Conservation and the Environment 31 Planning and Development 32 Retail and Business 33 Sports and Recreation 35 Communication/Leisure Activities 36 Voluntary Organisations/Community Safety 37 Education/St James’ Church 38 Village Services 39 Action Plan Funding/Young People 8-16 yrs 40 Young People under 12 yrs 41 Hemingford Grey Primary School 42 Action Plans 50 Acknowledgements DiDidd you know Hemingford Grey was mentioned in the Domesday Book in (Photo: Photographic Heritage) 1086AD? Hemingford Grey Parish Plan 3 Foreword I welcome this opportunity to support the Hemingford Grey Parish Plan. I hope it provides a strong foundation for the future of the village. It was good to see such a high response from villagers for the Plan, showing what a vibrant, social and happy place it is in which to live. I am confident that the Parish Council will be able to make use of the Plan as a basis for action over the months and years to come. Congratulations to all those involved in the designing, collecting, collating, distributing and writing of the Plan. Councillor Ian Bates I hope when you read this Plan you are inspired by it. I hope it makes you feel enthusiastic enough to do something to help, and that as a result Hemingford Grey continues to be a most enjoyable, attractive and vibrant place to live. County and District Councillor The Hem ingford Gre y Parish P and p lan is an i ractical doc maginative, ument that informative encapsulate residents on s the views a wide rang of local e of issues for the and clearly future deve conveys the lopment of t ir wishes he village. The s uccessful im plementatio spe n of this pla cial charact n will help t er of the o protect C village and the ouncillor comm provide C unity and f lasting be hris Stephe uture gen nefits to ns erations. Co the I suspect ngratulation that other s to all conc local parish erned. their o es will now wn planning use it as a . model for Dist rict Coun cillor Hemingford Grey Parish Plan 4 The Parish of Hemingford Grey St James’ Church from the air (Photo: Geoff Soden-www.paramotorsuk.co.uk) ‘Parish’ is the term traditionally used for the boundaries were sometimes changed to fit in area served by a local church. The original with the developing district and county areas. Hemingford Grey parish was created by the Norman landowner, Payn de Hemingford, Today the Hemingford Grey Parish Council who built the village church before 1166. raises the parish precept (part of the Council Tax) and has responsibility for local matters The church parish administration used to be such as cemeteries, village maintenance, concerned for the physical as well as the park amenities, allotments, footpaths, and spiritual welfare of parishioners. They cycling routes. It also has the right to consider collected taxes and took responsibility for planning issues, new road proposals and issues such as roads, burial grounds, traffic signs. St James’ Church, meanwhile, common lands, pumps, weights and scales, remains committed to the spiritual welfare of clocks and the poor. the parish as well as being active in some temporal matters such as running the village As ecclesiastical parishes began to be Post Office and organising a wide range of relieved of their duties, civil parishes run by children, youth, parenting, family and elderly Parish Councils took over, although the parish people’s activities. Hemingford Grey Parish Plan 5 The Ford of the people of Hemma Mary Carter looks at the history of the village through the centuries St James’ on a frosty day (Photo: Liz Butterfield) In Roman and Saxon times the two west side of the house. It was extended in Hemingfords were part of one estate. The later years, and is still surrounded by a moat name means "the ford of the people of on three sides. Payn also started the parish Hemma or Hemmi", presumably a Saxon church. This has been enlarged and altered chief. In the ninth century the estate was split over the centuries but parts of the medieval into two and the Danes built a new settlement building have survived in the nave and south at the Thorpe in the eastern part of the old aisle. The highly unusual tower is not the estate. By 1066 Little Hemingford, or original which collapsed in the middle ages. A Hemingford by St Ives, was acquired by Ram- new tower was built topped with a spire. In sey Abbey, the major landowner in the area. the 18th century it was destroyed by a hurricane. This time the base of the spire was Payn of Hemingford, a tenant of the abbey, levelled off and eight ball finials placed on the started building the Manor House before he angles. died in 1166. It is one of the oldest inhabited buildings in the country. It was originally a The manor house, with its outbuildings and stone hall with external staircase to the first land, was close to the river. To the south was floor and cellars underneath. The Norman the original Danish settlement in the Thorpe, windows can still be seen on the south and each house having its own area of private Hemingford Grey Parish Plan 6 land called a croft. To the north-east lay the church. In between the manor house and the church was the green. All that is left of the green today is a widening of the road in front of Apex House, where the stocks, a pillory and whipping post were once set up. The peasants who farmed the open fields had their crofts south of the High Street. There were also two water mills. In 1276 the village acquired its modern name The High Street from the de Grey family, the new owners of the manor. But in the 15th century, George his descendants. The much enlarged manor Grey, 3rd Earl of Kent, got into financial house was rented by a relative John Gunning troubles. As he was unable to pay his debts whose two daughters were baptised in the Henry VII seized the manor and leased it to parish church. The Gunning girls became various nobles, amongst whom was the great- famous society beauties who made grandfather of Oliver Cromwell. By the prestigious marriages. Mary married the Earl seventeenth century the manor was owned by of Coventry and Elizabeth the Duke of the Newmans, part owners of Hemingford Hamilton. Although Elizabeth was widowed at Abbots. In 1704 it was sold to Cornelius 24, she later married the Duke of Argyll and Denne, a merchant in St Ives and had quite an adventurous life. Bedfordshire. But when he also got into debt it passed to James Mitchell of Fowlmere and At the beginning of the 17th century, the Ouse was blocked by weirs and overgrown by weeds. There had been frequent complaints over the centuries, particularly from citizens of Huntingdon, that the millers at Hemingford had diverted the water preventing the passage of their boats upriver. At one stage travel was almost impossible between Ely and Huntingdon. By 1625 the river was cleared as far as St Neots and later to Bedford. The village became a convenient The Manor House stopping place for horse- Hemingford Grey Parish Plan 7 important asset to the village when wages were low but interest in new ideas and science high. Close by is a private house converted from the old Congregational Chapel which was forced to shut when the small congregation could no longer afford to repair the building.