Lolworth is a small village and civil parish in the district of South Cambridgeshire, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England, located approximately northwest of Cambridge city centre. It lies off the A14 between Cambridge towards Huntingdon, via a lane that provides the only traffic access to and from the village. The Prime Meridian passes through the village, around just to the west of the crossroads in the centre.

History

Lolworth is a small village and parish, covering only . It owes its position to the Via Devana, the Roman road running from Cambridge to Huntingdon that became a turnpike between 1772 and 1876. In the early Middle Ages the village was well populated for its size, with 154 adults registered for the

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...

of 1377. However, the population declined sharply after that, perhaps due to a devastating fire caused by a thunderstorm of September 1393. By 1524 there were only 17 taxpayers, and the 17 families comprising 90 people listed in 1728 occupied only six buildings. The population reached a peak of 170 in 1871, and has been relatively steady at around 130 since 1961. The celebrated 19th-century missionary Henry Martyn served in Lolworth, which was his first parish from 1803 to 1805 while he was a curate under Charles Simeon at Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge, before setting out for India and present-day Iran and Turkey. Listed as ''Lollesworthe'' in 1034 and ''Lolesuuorde'' in the Domesday Book of 1086, the village's name means "Enclosure of a man called Loll".

Church

There has been a church on the site since at least the 13th century, but the present church probably dates from just prior to its rededication in 1406, with the tower added later. This leads to the theory that the great fire of 1393 destroyed the existing church, as little that pre-dates the fire survives. Dedicated to All Saints, the building comprises a chancel, a nave with south porch, and a three-storey west tower.

Village life

The village is too small to warrant amenities other than its church. In 1960, a local resident, T. B. Robinson, bought the former school from the county council and gave it for use as a village hall, which was then named after him. Lolworth has no public house, but did have one alehouse, The Three Horseshoes, between the 1760s and 1798. It also had a small post office run from the front of a resident's house, but this closed in the early 21st century. Lolworth borders Bar Hill to the south, which is accessible by a path through the field. To the north lies

Swavesey Swavesey is a village lying on the Prime Meridian in Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 2,463. The village is situated 9 miles to the north west of Cambridge and 3 miles south east of St Ives. Listed as ''Suauesye'' in the Domesday ...

, where most of the children go to their secondary school.

Boxworth Boxworth is a village in South Cambridgeshire, situated about eight miles to the north-west of Cambridge. It falls under the Papworth Everard and Caxton ward and lies within the diocese of Ely. The village covers an area of 1,053 ha. (2,602 a.) ...

is to the west of the village and Childerley to the south.

References

{{authority control Villages in Cambridgeshire Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire District