Soham ( ) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the district of East Cambridgeshire, in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a 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 Northamptonshire to t ...

, England, just off the A142 between Ely and Newmarket. Its population was 10,860 at the 2011 census. New Soham Town Sign

History

Archaeology

The region between Devil's Dyke and the line between Littleport and Shippea Hill shows a remarkable amount of

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

findings of the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with ...

, the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

and the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

. A couple of hoards of bronze objects are found in the area of Soham, including one with swords and spearheads of the later Bronze Age as well as a gold

torc A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some had hook and ring closures and a few had ...

, retrieved in 1938. A large Anglo-Saxon settlement was discovered on land between Brook Street and Fordham Road, next to Roman remains in the old Fisky's Hill area and former allotment site in 2013 and onwards. During the establishment of the Fordham Road cemetery, in the late 1800's, burial remains were also found with several high-status grave goods, including a girdle hanger, beads and Jewlery. These items are now housed in the British Museum. Further Bronze and Iron Age settlements and related activity has also been noted in the north of the town during recent development on the sites. Many Neolithic items have been found whilst field walking to the East of the town along with fossils towards the bypass. An extensive

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...

system, not visible via

aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing airc ...

, has also been identified, as well as a wooden trackway in length between Fordey Farm ( Barway) and Little Thetford, with associated shards of later Bronze Age

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

(1935).

Name and early geography

According to an article published in ''Fenland Notes & Queries'' in 1899: Soham Mere Cambs 1667

Soham Mere finds mention in Liber Eliensis relating King Cnut's winter visit to the monks of Ely for the Feast of the Purification. This tale was elaborated as an 'Old English Novelet' in 1844, describing how King Cnut's nobles were concerned for his safety in crossing the Soham Mere ice. If the ice broke this would drown the king in the

Fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

waters. Cnut insisted on travelling (in a sledge) should there be a fenner to lead him across. One Brethner - an Ely fenner, named Budde or Pudding on account of his large size - elected to lead the king. Cnut replied if the ice could hold Brethner's weight it would surely hold his. Thus the king and his retinue followed over the "bending and cracking ice" to Ely. Brethner, a serf, was set free by the king with some free lands for his good deed. But by 1813 the lake was no more: an agricultural study describes the area:

St Felix

St Felix of Burgundy Felix of Burgundy, also known as Felix of Dunwich (died 8 March 647 or 648), was a saint and the first bishop of the East Angles. He is widely credited as the man who introduced Christianity to the kingdom of East Anglia. Almost all that is k ...

, 'Apostle of the East Angles', founded Soham Abbey in Soham around 630 AD but it was destroyed by the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

in 870 AD. Luttingus, an Anglo-Saxon nobleman, built a cathedral and palace at Soham around 900 AD, on the site of the present-day Church of St Andrew and adjacent land. St Andrew's Church dates from the 12th century. Traces of the Saxon cathedral are said to still exist within the church. In 1102 Hubert de Burgh, Chief Justice of England, granted 'Ranulph' certain lands in trust for the Church of St Andrew. Ranulph is recorded as the first Vicar of Soham and had a hand in designing the 'new' Norman church. The current church is mainly later, the tower being the latest addition in the 15th century. This tower was built to replace a fallen crossing tower and now contains ten bells. The back six were cast in 1788, with two new trebles and two bells being recast in 1808. There are some pictures and a description of the church at the Cambridgeshire Churches website.

Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa 'The African'

The first black British author and anti-slave activist,

Olaudah Equiano Olaudah Equiano (; c. 1745 – 31 March 1797), known for most of his life as Gustavus Vassa (), was a writer and abolitionist from, according to his memoir, the Eboe (Igbo) region of the Kingdom of Benin (today southern Nigeria). Enslaved a ...

, also known as Gustavus Vassa, married a local girl, Susannah Cullen, at St Andrew's Church, on 7 April 1792 and the couple lived in the town for several years. They had two daughters. Anna Maria was born on 16 October 1793 and baptised in St Andrew's on 30 January 1794. Their second child,

Joanna Vassa Joanna Vassa (; 11 April 1795 – 10 March 1857) was the only surviving child of the former slave and anti-slavery campaigner Olaudah Equiano. Her grave in Abney Park Cemetery, London, was given listed status in 2008 but little is known of her l ...

, was born on 11 April 1795 and was baptised in the parish church on 29 April 1795.

William Case Morris

William Case Morris (1864–1932) was born in Soham on 16 February 1864. He and his father left the town in search of a new life in 1872 after the death of his mother in 1868, finally settling in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

in 1874. Morris was horrified by the poverty of the street children, which led him to found several children's homes in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. Morris returned to Soham shortly before his death on 15 September 1932, and was buried in the Fordham Road cemetery. He is commemorated with a statue in

Palermo, Buenos Aires Palermo is a ''barrios of Buenos Aires, barrio'' or neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located in the north of the city, near the Rio de la Plata. It has a total land area of 17.4 km2 and a population of 256,927. It is the only ' ...

as well as railway stations, football stadia and a town,

William C. Morris, Buenos Aires William C. Morris is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It forms part of the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area and is located in the Hurlingham Partido. Name The town is named to honor Englishman William Case Morris (16 Feb ...

, named after him. His legacy lives on with the Biblioteca Popular William C. Morris and 'Hogar el Alba' children's homes located in Buenos Aires which help impoverished children.

Soham rail disaster

The town narrowly escaped destruction on 2 June 1944, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, when a fire developed on the leading wagon of a heavy

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other we ...

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

travelling slowly through the town. The town was saved by the bravery of four railway staff,

Benjamin Gimbert Benjamin Gimbert (6 February 1903 – 6 May 1976), an engine driver with the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), was awarded the George Cross and the Order of Industrial Heroism, as was his fireman James Nightall, whose award was post ...

(driver),

James Nightall Railwayman James William Nightall (20May 19222June 1944) was posthumously awarded the George Cross and the Order of Industrial Heroism for the gallantry he showed during the Soham rail disaster. Nightall was an LNER Fireman on a fifty-one wa ...

(fireman), Frank Bridges (signalman) and Herbert Clarke (guard), who uncoupled the rest of the train and drove the engine and lead wagon clear of the town, where it exploded, killing Jim Nightall and Frank Bridges but causing no further deaths. Ben Gimbert survived and spent seven weeks in hospital. Although small in comparison to what would have happened if the entire train had blown up, the explosion caused substantial property damage. Gimbert and Nightall were both awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...

(Nightall

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication Posthumous publication refers to material that is published after the author's death. This can be because the auth ...

). A permanent memorial was unveiled on 2 June 2007 by

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, (Richard Alexander Walter George; born 26 August 1944) is a member of the British royal family. He is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, as well ...

followed by a service in St Andrew's Church. The memorial is constructed of

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building ...

with a bronze inlay depicting interpretive artwork of the damaged train and text detailing the incident.

Soham murders

Holly-wells-jessica-chapman-graves-fordam-road-cemetery-soham

In August 2002, Soham became the centre of national media attention following the disappearance and murder of two 10-year-old girls, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, who both lived in Soham. They disappeared from the family home of Holly Wells in Redhouse Gardens on the evening of 4 August. Both were found dead some away, near RAF Lakenheath, on 17 August. In December 2003, Ian Huntley, who had been employed as the caretaker at the local secondary school, Soham Village College, was convicted of their murders and sentenced to life in prison. He had given a number of police and television interviews while the girls were missing, claiming to have seen them on the evening of their disappearance, and was finally arrested several hours before their bodies were found, following the recovery of clothing belonging to the girls on the school site. The caretaker's house in College Close where Huntley lived and, as admitted at his trial, where the girls died, was demolished in 2004.

Schools in Soham

* Soham Village College * St Andrew's Primary School * The Weatheralls Primary School * The Shade Primary School

Transport

The A142 road from Ely to Newmarket runs past Soham, and formerly ran through the town. Soham is served by an hourly bus service Monday to Friday (the number '12', on a route linking

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, Newmarket and Ely) and a reduced service on Saturday.

Soham railway station Soham railway station is a station on the Ipswich–Ely line, serving the town of Soham in Cambridgeshire. The original station operated between 1879 and 1965. It was reopened in 2021. History Soham station originally opened on 1 September 187 ...

closed to passengers in 1965, and reopened in December 2021.Village history
Soham Museum The line through Soham remained open for passenger and goods services between the Midlands and

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring District, Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-w ...

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northeast of London. H ...

. After local campaigns for its reopening, it was announced in June 2020 that a new station would be built on the old site. Initial works on the station started in autumn 2020, followed by the main construction during 2021. The first timetabled passenger train to stop at Soham Station for 56 years was the 6.49am towards Ely and Peterborough on Monday 13 December 2021.

Sport and leisure

The Ross Peers Sports Centre is run by the Soham & District Sports Association Committee and is home to the Soham Indoor Bowls Club and Rink Hockey Team Soham has a

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

club, Soham Town Rangers F.C., who play at Julius Martin Lane.

Gallery

Image:st-andrews-church-soham.jpg, St Andrew's Church, Soham Image:William-Case-Morris-Stained-Glass-Window-St-Andrews-Church.jpg, William Case Morris Stained Glass Window in St. Andrew's Church Image:Gustavus-vassa-susannah-cullen-mariage.jpg, Commemorative Plaque of the 7 April, 1792, marriage of Gustavus Vassa and Susannah Cullen in St Andrew's Church, Soham Image:Soham Village College.jpg, Soham Village College Image:First_day_of_Soham_railway_station_-_platform_from_north.jpg, Soham Train Station (SOJ) Image:Soham-War-Memorial.jpg, Soham War Memorial Image:Northfields-Windmill.jpg, Northfields Windmill Image:Downfields-Windmill.jpg, Downfields Windmill Image:the-red-lion.jpg, The Red Lion Image:The Fountain Inn Soham.jpg, The Fountain with steelyard weighing machine Image:The-Ship-Soham.jpg, The Ship Image:The-carpenters-arms-soham.jpg, The Carpenter's Arms Image:the-cherry-tree.jpg, The Cherry Tree Image:East-Fen-Common-Soham.jpg, East Fen Common Image:Qua-Fen-Common-Soham.jpg, Qua Fen Common Image:Angle-Common-Soham.jpg, Angle Common Image:South-Horse-Fen-Soham2.jpg, South Horse Fen Image:Soham_Carnival_&_Heavy_Horse_Show.jpg, Soham Carnival & Heavy Horse Show Image:soham_pumpkin_fair.jpg, Soham Pumpkin Fair