Swaffham Prior is a small village in

East Cambridgeshire East Cambridgeshire (locally known as East Cambs) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. Its council is based in Ely. The population of the District Council at the 2011 Census was 83,818. The district was formed on 1 April 19 ...

, England. Lying 5 miles west of Newmarket, and two miles south west of Burwell, the village is often paired with its neighbour Swaffham Bulbeck, and are collectively referred to as 'The Swaffhams'. Swaffham Prior was often known as Great Swaffham in past centuries. It should not be confused with the town of

Swaffham Swaffham () is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District and English county of Norfolk. It is situated east of King's Lynn and west of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 6,9 ...

in Norfolk. UK SwaffhamPrior (SideB)

Churches

The village is dominated by its twin churches that have served the parish since at least the 12th century – the Church of St Mary, and the Church of St Cyriac and St Julitta (dedicated to

Saint Quiricus and Saint Julietta Cyricus ( el, Κήρυκος, am, ቂርቆስ, arc, ܡܪܝ ܩܘܪܝܩܘܣ ܣܗܕܐ ''Mar Quriaqos Sahada''; also Cyriacus, Quiriac, Quiricus, Cyr), and his mother, Julitta ( el, Ἰουλίττα, am, እየሉጣ arc, ܝܘܠܝܛܐ, ''Yul ...

). In 1667 an act of parliament combined the churches under a single parish. The church of St Mary was first built in Norman times, and over its history has at times been allowed to fall into ruin, only being fully restored at the start of the 20th century and serving as the sole parish church since 1903. It contains a rood screen, and has a series of stained glass windows showing scenes from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The original church of St Cyriac and St Julitta (Cyriac's mother) was built prior to 1200, and may possibly have existed before 1066. The present chapel is a plain Gothic-style church, consisting of a small chancel and nave with three small transeptal chapels. The tower was built in the 15th century and contains 6 bells. Having fallen into disuse, in 1878 an order was received that the church be demolished, but the order was never carried out. It now serves as a hall for exhibitions and other functions. Scottish poet

Edwin Muir Edwin Muir CBE (15 May 1887 – 3 January 1959) was a Scottish poet, novelist and translator. Born on a farm in Deerness, a parish of Orkney, Scotland, he is remembered for his deeply felt and vivid poetry written in plain language and w ...

(1887–1959) is buried here. John George Witt, the barrister and Q.C./K.C., was born in 1836 at

Denny Abbey Denny Abbey is a former abbey near Waterbeach, about north of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England. It is now the Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey. The monastery was inhabited by a succession of three different religious orders. The site is a ...

, Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, and was a son of James Maling Witt (1799–1870), a prosperous farmer at Waterbeach and at Queens' College Farm, Swaffham Prior. J.G. Witt lived at Swaffham Prior during much of his youth and early manhood. He died in London in 1906. J.G. Witt's uncle, Dr. George Witt (1804 - 1869), was born at Swaffham Prior and died at 22 Princes' Terrace, Hyde Park, London. He was buried at Swaffham Prior.

History and background

Just a mile or so north of Swaffham Prior is the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

defensive earthwork known as the Devil's Dyke, blocking a land route through the fens. Swaffham Prior is an old village, and is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 as possibly 'Great Swaffham', with Swaffham Bulbeck being 'Little Swaffham'. There are houses in the village dating back several centuries, with the 17th century being most prominent. Though previously a trading village, today it could be described as a 'dormitory' village especially looking back on its busier past. Local facilities include a local primary school and The Red Lion pub. There's also a village hall, hosting village feasts, village fêtes, etc. Swaffham Prior is also known for its two windmills (one still operating as a mill) which are symbols of the village, seen on the village sign on Cage Hill.

Geography

Swaffham Prior chalk escarpment, observable only in a few places within the village is largely physically hidden from view. This local geological feature of the landscape is the chalk (local term ''

clunch Clunch is a traditional building material of chalky limestone rock used mainly in eastern England and Normandy. Clunch distinguishes itself from archetypal forms of limestone by being softer in character when cut, such as resembling chalk in low ...

'')

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

of Swaffham Prior and it runs the full length of this

village dating back to

Anglo-saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

times. The more modern sections of the village are built along the top of the escarpment with the older houses nestling below the cliff face backing on to the high street. The chalk escarpment straddles two very different local eco-systems- the

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

Fens A fen is a type of wetland. Fen, Fenn, Fens, Fenns, may also refer to: People * Fen (name), a Chinese given name and surname * Fen Cresswell (1915–1966), New Zealand cricketer * Fen McDonald (1891–1915), Australian rules footballer * Kees ...

to the west, where the land slopes down and the chalk heathland to the east, known locally as Swaffham Prior heath, part of the Greater Newmarket chalk heath, where the land height increases and plateaus into a larger area towards the east. In a few places, the ridge of the escarpment is exposed, although usually within private property. A fraction of it can be seen from the high street, opposite the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

play area.

Demography

Census counts for the village have been paired with Burwell and Reach at various times. These pairings due to boundary changes have been excluded from the table below.

Notes and references

External links

Swaffham Prior – 2001 CensusA history of Swaffham Prior's churchesThe Swaffham Crier – Swaffham Prior's Village MagazineSwaffham Prior in A Vision of Britain
{{authority control Villages in Cambridgeshire Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire Escarpments of England Landforms of Cambridgeshire East Cambridgeshire District