Eye is a village in the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

area of

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, in the ceremonial county of

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 the ...

, England. The village is south from

Crowland Crowland (modern usage) or Croyland (medieval era name and the one still in ecclesiastical use; cf. la, Croilandia) is a town in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated between Peterborough and Spalding. Crowland ...

. The hamlet of

Eye Green Eye Green is a hamlet in the unitary authority of Peterborough, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies north of Eye and south of Crowland. Eye Green Nature Reserve abounds the A47 Trunk Road, which separates Eye Green fro ...

is 1⁄2 mile (800 m) to the north, separated by the A47 trunk road.

History

According to ''A Dictionary of British Place Names'', Eye derives from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

''ēg'', meaning a place at "the island or well-watered land, or dry ground in marsh". In the 10th century, this particular 'Eye' was spelt "Ege". There has been a church at Eye since at least 1543. The present church, St Matthew's, was built in 1846. Originally built with a spire, this was removed for safety reasons and now has a roofed tower. Adjoined to the southeast corner of the churchyard, and on Back Lane, stands the former village fire station dating from 1826 when it housed a Merryweather

fire engine A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an ...

. Closed after 1945, it was repaired by the parish council in 2011. Eye Cornmill was a

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...

with eight sails. Eye was previously one of the brickmaking villages of the Peterborough area, along with

Fletton Fletton is an area of the city of Peterborough, in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England, south of the River Nene. Notable for its large brickworks, the area has given its name to "Fletton bricks", Admin ...

, Yaxley and Stanground. There was a brickpit (a quarry for clay for making bricks). Northolme in Crowland Road was the site of the Brick works Social club. When this closed the buildings and pit were taken over by the British Sub Aqua Club and run as a National Dive Site, managed by the Peterborough Branch. When this closed the buildings were demolished; the brickpit is now a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

. There was an Eye Green railway station (originally named Eye) on the

Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) was a railway network in England, in the area connecting southern Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely and north Norfolk. It developed from several local independent concerns and was incorporated ...

line between Peterborough and

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and only 5 miles ...

, which closed on 2 December 1957. Eye war memorial, of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

, was erected in Crowland Road Cemetery in 1920. It is dedicated to forty-one killed in the First World War, with fourteen Second World War deaths added later. The memorial was Grade II

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

on 23 March 2016. Eye was in Cambridgeshire until Peterborough became a unitary authority. It was formerly in the

Soke of Peterborough The Soke of Peterborough is a historic area of England associated with the City and Diocese of Peterborough, but considered part of Northamptonshire. The Soke was also described as the Liberty of Peterborough, or Nassaburgh hundred, and comp ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. The three-mile £7m A47 Eye bypass opened in October 1991. In recent decades Eye has seen expansion due to the growing demand for property seen throughout the UK. However, this generated a lot of resistance from residents as a result of the rapid rate of expansion. Between the years of 2001-2011 the population grew from under 3,900 to over 4,400.

Community facilities

Local facilities include a GP surgery, a dentist's surgery, a library, a community centre, a care home, a household recycling centre, a cemetery and a skate park. There are shops and restaurants in the village. There is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

primary school on Eyebury Road.

References

External links

*
Eye village websiteEye Parish Council"Manor Farm Community Centre"
Eye Community Association {{authority control Villages in Cambridgeshire Geography of Peterborough Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire