Melbourn () is a large,

clustered village A ''Haufendorf'' is an enclosed village with irregular plots of land and farms of greatly differing scale, usually surrounded by a stockade fence (German: ''Ortsetter''). They are typically found in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, whence the nam ...

in the far south-west of Cambridgeshire, England. Its traditional high street is bypassed by the A10, intersecting the settlement's other main axis exactly northwest of the traditional focal point of Royston, Hertfordshire, the nearest larger settlement. It has over 4,600 inhabitants and is in the South Cambridgeshire district. The Prime Meridian passes to the west of Melbourn.

History

The parish has a long history of occupation, stemming from the presence of springs at Melbourn Bury and the several ancient trackways that cross the parish; the Icknield Way runs to the south of the parish and Ashwell Street and the Roman Cambridge-Royston road are also believed to follow prehistoric trackways. Pottery and burial finds show evidence of Bronze Age residents, and a Roman settlement has been found at the north-east edge of the village. Excavations in the 1950s discovered 28 graves from a 7th-century Christian burial site close to Ashwell Street. Melbourn appears in five entries in Domesday Book. The name "Melbourn" comes from ''Meldeburn'', the "stream of a man named Melde".

Church

The finding of a

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

cemetery shows that Christianity has been present in Melbourn since the 7th century. The village also probably had an 11th-century chapel but the first record of a church is from 1152. The present church, dedicated to All Saints, is

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. R.R. Rowe conducted a major restoration in 1882 but the church includes sections of the 13th-century building, including the chancel arch and sections of the tower. The font is 11th century.

Village life

It has a primary school and a state

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

, Melbourn Village College. There is also a well-known science park. There is a butcher's, a co-op food shop, five hairdressers, a barber shop, two estate agents, two pubs, a newsagent, a sub- post office, two garages and three churches (

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

, Baptist and URC). Sheene Mill, on the

River Mel A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

northwest of the village, is now a hotel and restaurant, formerly owned by the television chef Steven Saunders. The nearest railway station is , in the neighbouring village, which opened in 1851 on the Cambridge line.

Pubs

Melbourn was much visited by travellers by the 17th century and is listed as having an inn in 1622. By the late 18th century the village supported three: the ''Dog'', of unknown history, the ''Red Lion'', that closed towards the end of the 19th century, and the ''Hoops'', that closed in the early 20th century. In 1865 the village had 11 inns and pubs, including the ''Black Horse'', the ''Star'', the ''White Lion'', the ''Anchor'', the ''Carriers Arm''s and the ''Red Cow''. The ''Rose Inn'' and the ''Coach and Horses'' opened in around 1850. The oldest of the two present public houses is the ''Dolphin'', which dates from 1818. The other is the ''Black Horse''.

References

External links

Melbourn Village website

Melbourn website

Melbourn Village College

Melbourn Baptist Church

Melbourn Science Park
{{authority control Villages in Cambridgeshire Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire District