Situated in the east 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 ...

, the village of Little Downham is located just north of the city of Ely. The Parish of Downham comprises Little Downham and Pymoor. It has an approximate population of 2660 with approximately 35 miles for footpaths around the parish. The population was measured at the 2011 Census as 2,589. Village sign in Little Downham - geograph

Village sign in Little Downham - geograph

It was one of only two sites in Cambridgeshire to be covered by the

Survey of English Dialects The Survey of English Dialects was undertaken between 1950 and 1961 under the direction of Professor Harold Orton of the English department of the University of Leeds. It aimed to collect the full range of speech in England and Wales before loc ...

. 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 the village is called ''Duneham''. At the time the

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 ...

were mostly flooded, and the village is on a small rise of solid ground (visible today), so there may have been 'dunes' there. In a map from 1648 (above), 'Downham' is shown at the north-west edge of the

Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to mean "island of eels", a reference to the creatures th ...

, hence its historic name of 'Downham-in-the-Isle'.

Local Nature Reserve

Little Downham Local Nature Reserve is situated adjacent to the Bishop's walk. It consists of four sections of land, measuring a total of 17 acres.

Local Events

Each year a village fete is staged in June and in the same month a Medieval Fair is held just outside the village. In September the local primary school organises a Scarecrow Fair, that sees the village lined with Scarecrows for the week building up to the fair. The annual Ely New Year's Eve 10k Race, organised by Ely Runners, both begins and ends in Little Downham. The 2011 race featured 700 runners and involved one circuit of the fen around Little Downham.

Bishop's Palace

The village contains the grade II listed remains of the old Bishop's Palace formerly used by the Bishops of Ely.

References

External links

Little Downham Scarecrow Week 2011

Little Downham Parish Community Website

CCAN web page
Villages in Cambridgeshire East Cambridgeshire District {{Cambridgeshire-geo-stub