Foxton is a small village in

South Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 162,119 at the 2021 census. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Chesterton Rural District and South Cambridgeshire Rural District. ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It has a number of well-preserved fifteenth- and sixteenth-century houses, and a thirteenth-century church dedicated to St Laurence.

History

The parish has been occupied for at least 2000 years; in the first century A.D. a Belgic settlement appeared, closely followed by a Romano-British farmstead near Hoffer bridge. A pagan English cemetery has also been found just north of the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

. The parish itself was formed over the medieval period and is bounded on the north by the

River Cam The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distance from Cambridge to ...

and on the north-east and southwest by the Hoffer and

Shepreth Shepreth is a small village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, lying halfway between Cambridge and Royston. History The parish of Shepreth is roughly-rectangular and covers 1318 acres. It is bounded by the River Rhee to the north, which se ...

brooks. Its south-east boundary follows an ancient road that runs north-east from

Fowlmere Fowlmere is one of the southernmost villages in Cambridgeshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 1,206. It is very close to the Imperial War Museum Duxford, and southwest of the city of Cambridge. History T ...

, known as the Mareway from the 14th century (now the B1368), and further west by an earthwork known as Grim's ditch or Thriplow bank. Known as ''Foxetune'' at the time of 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 ...

in 1086, the village's name means "farmstead where foxes are seen". The theologian William Selwyn lived in Foxton House in the village in the 19th century.

Church

There has been a church in Foxton since the 12th century, and it has been dedicated to St Laurence since at least 1225. The present building, consisting of a west tower, porch, and chancel with aisled and clerestoried nave was probably begun in the 13th century and extended over the following 400 years.

Demographics

Foxton's population is currently 1,260 (1,161 in 2001 census) split approximately 80:20 adults to children and occupying about 480 houses.

Village life

Foxton has a mainline rail station (opened 1851) to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and is on the main bus route to Trumpington Park & Ride (where passengers can change for buses to

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 ...

) and

Royston Royston may refer to: Places Australia *Royston, Queensland, a rural locality Canada * Royston, British Columbia, a small hamlet England *Royston, Hertfordshire, a town and civil parish, formerly partly in Cambridgeshire * Royston, South Yorks ...

. The village has one remaining

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

, The White Horse, that has been open since at least 1841, though it was rebuilt after a fire in 1880. Former drinking establishments included The Blackamoor's Head (later renamed The Black Boy) and The Railway Inn, which opened in around 1780 and 1860 respectively; however, both had closed by the 1960s. Foxton is also home to a village shop and post office,

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

, learning centre, educational trust ( Villiers Park) and The Burlington Press. The village has a recreation ground with children's playground, tennis courts, bowling green, football pitch and cricket pitches, and there is a modern village hall with meeting rooms and sports pavilion. The village has a conservation area, Foxton Dovecot and Meadow, established in 2006. In 2010, the restoration of Rayner's

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

received an award at the

South Cambridgeshire District Council South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

bi-annual built heritage awards. Foxton also has a teenage football club called Dynamo Foxton Football club, established by Marcus Kohler and others when the club departed from their former club (Whittlesford).

Literature

Foxton is known for being the subject of

Rowland Parker Rowland Parker (1912–1989) was an author and social historian. His 1975 work ''The Common Stream'' has achieved recognition as a classic of social history. Parker was born in 1912 in North Lincolnshire. His father, grandfather and great-grandfa ...

's 1975 classic of local history ''The Common Stream''. In it, Parker charts 2000 years of history of the village, from the Celts through to the Romans to the Saxons and the modern era.''The Common Stream''

References

External links

Foxton Website

Foxton History Website

Foxton Parish Council Website
{{authority control Villages in Cambridgeshire Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire District