Easton is a village 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 Cambridgeshire, England. Easton lies approximately west of

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

, between the villages of Ellington and Spaldwick. Easton is situated within

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popu ...

which is a

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shi ...

of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England. Easton is a hamlet which the

Anglo Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a 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-Saxons happened wit ...

settled in.

History

Easton is recorded 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 manus ...

of 1086 as a settlement consisting of ten manors, with 19.5

ploughland The carucate or carrucate ( lat-med, carrūcāta or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms ...

s (approximately ) of arable land and of meadows. The village was a berewick of Spaldwick at the time, and was passed in 1109 to the

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...

as part of the

appurtenance An appurtenance is something subordinate to or belonging to another larger, principal entity, that is, an adjunct, satellite or accessory that generally accompanies something else.soke of Spaldwick and into the ownership of the

Duke of Manchester Duke of Manchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the current senior title of the House of Montagu. It was created in 1719 for the politician Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester. Manchester Parish in Jamaica was named afte ...

The village's church, St Peter's, was built in the 11th Century, partially reconstructed in the 13th and 14th century and majorly rebuilt in 1781. A 14th century bell pit in the floor of the church's tower was uncovered in the 21st century. The church became a grade 1 listed building in 1958, but was made redundant and became part of The Churches Conservation Trust in 1971.

Socio-economic statistics

Population

In 1801, the population of Easton was 120 people: 57 males and 63 females, drastically increasing to 172 people: 82 males and 90 females by 1821. The population then fluctuated for the next fifty years, peaking at 186 people: 95 males and 91 females in 1841 and lulling at 133 people: 70 males and 63 females in 1891. Only ten years later, by 1901, the population had dropped to only 79 people: 42 males and 37 females before increasing again to 93 people: 45 males and 48 females in 1911 and remaining between a population of 93 to 98 people until 1961. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population had greatly increased to 162: 80 males and 82 females across 60 households. However, by 2011, the population had increased only slightly to 169 people: 83 males and 86 females across 65 households.

Population Density

In 1880, the population density of Easton was 0.125 people per hectare, dropping to 0.0625 people per hectare in 1900 where it remained fairly constant until 1960. However, by 2001, the population density had increased to 0.3 people per hectare and remained the same until 2011.

Age structure

In 2001, almost half, 49%, of Easton's residents were in the 30–59 years age bracket, with 39 people aged 30–44 and 39 people aged 45–59. Additionally, there were 7 people aged 55, 7 people aged 51 and 7 people aged 53, making these individual ages dominant within the Parish. However, by 2011, residents ages became more diverse as the majority were aged 45–59, 25.4% of the total population. Furthermore, Easton had a mean age of 44.2 years, above both Huntingdonshire's average age of 39.9 years and the national average age of 39.3 years showing Easton as having a slightly older population in comparison. Eastons Occupation Structure 1881

Occupation

In 1881, male and female occupations drastically differentiated as 16 males worked in Agriculture and 16 females worked in Unknown Occupations. Therefore, Agriculture was the most popular occupation for males and Textile Fabrics / Dress was the most popular known occupation for females as it provided them with 6 jobs. This contrasts to leading occupations in 2001 as 23 males were Managers and Senior Officials, and 13 females worked in Administrative and Secretarial occupations making them the most popular sectors. By 2011, the number of male Managers and senior officials had dropped to 16, but it remained their most popular occupation. Similarly, the number of females occupied by Administrative and Secretarial jobs had also decreased, to 6, but it was no longer the most popular occupation as the number of female Professionals increased to 9, making being a Professional the most popular occupation in 2011.

Housing

In 1831, 36 houses in Easton were occupied with no vacant houses in the area. However, by 1851, 36 houses remained occupied, with 7 vacant and 2 under construction. This reflects the population increase of 35 people between 1831 and 1841, and so the data indicates the Parish may have been constructing new homes to cater for the influx of people. By 1901, the figures had dropped to the lowest point with only 21 occupied houses and 5 vacant which once again reflects the decrease in population as it drops from 133 residents to just 79. However, twenty years later in 1921, the number of occupied houses had increase again reaching 25 households. This figure fluctuated between 25 and 32 houses occupied up until 1961. By 2001, the number of households in Easton had almost doubled with 60 occupied houses. There were 3 additional unoccupied houses which were only unoccupied as they were holiday homes or second residency homes.

Government

Easton was in the historic and

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...

of Huntingdonshire until 1965. From 1965, the village was part of the new administrative county of Huntingdon and Peterborough. Then in 1974, following the Local Government Act 1972, Easton became a part of the county of Cambridgeshire. For Easton the highest tier of local government is

Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council of Cambridgeshire, England. The council consists of 61 councillors, representing 59 electoral divisions. The council is based at New Shire Hall at Alconbury Weald, near Huntingdon. It is a me ...

. Easton is part of the electoral division of ''Sawtry and Ellington'' and is represented on the county council by one councillor. The second tier of local government is

Huntingdonshire District Council Huntingdonshire District Council is the local authority for the district of Huntingdonshire in Cambridgeshire, England. Based in Huntingdon, it forms the lower part of the two tier system of local government in the district, below Cambridgeshire ...

, a

of Cambridgeshire. Easton is a part of the district ward of ''Ellington'' and is represented on the district council by one councillor. At Westminster Easton is in the parliamentary constituency of North West Cambridgeshire, and has been represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

Shailesh Vara Shailesh Lakhman Vara (born 4 September 1960) is a Ugandan-British politician, who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from July to September 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) ...

(

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

) since 2005.

References

External links

{{authority control Huntingdonshire Villages in Cambridgeshire Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire