Shepreth is a small 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 authority ...

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. I ...

, lying halfway between

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.

History

The parish of Shepreth is roughly-rectangular and covers 1318 acres. It is bounded by the

River Rhee 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 t ...

to the north, which separates it from Barrington, Foxton brook to the east, across which lies Foxton, and Guilden Brook brook to the west, separating it from

Meldreth Meldreth is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, located around south-west of Cambridge. At the 2011 Census, the population of the parish was 1,783. History A large Bronze Age hoard was found near Meldreth railway s ...

and

Melbourn Melbourn () is a large, clustered village in the far south-west of Cambridgeshire, England. Its traditional high street is bypassed by the A10, intersecting the settlement's other main axis exactly northwest of the traditional focal point of R ...

. The field boundaries to the south border the parish of

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 Th ...

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 t ...

weapons and tools have been found in the parish, and the land, formerly marshy, could thus have housed a lakeside settlement. Evidence of Roman habitation has been found on the drier ground in the northeast corner of the parish. Two medieval moated sites in the village are scheduled as ancient monuments. Listed as ''Esceprid'' 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 manusc ...

the name "Shepreth" means "sheep stream", and was used as a resting place where sheep could be washed on their route to Cambridge. The Sheep Bridge was still in use in 1626. Prior to the dissolution of the monasteries, Shepreth was held by the Abbey of

Chatteris Chatteris is a market town and civil parish in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England, situated in The Fens between Huntingdon, March and Ely. The town is in the North East Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency. The parish of C ...

. The manor of Shepreth then passed to Sir William Laxton and his heirs. The manors of Docwras and Wimbish were held by Geoffrey de Mandeville, then by the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem and, after the dissolution, by William de la Haye and his heirs.

Church

The parish church of All Saints is an ancient edifice of brick and flint in the

Early English style English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

, consisting of nave and a low western tower containing two bells. The chancel arch dates from the early 12th century. There are some monuments to the Layer family (who formerly possessed property here) dated 1730, 1743 and 1760. There is also a 13th-century octagonal font of

Barnack Barnack is a village and civil parish, now in the Peterborough unitary authority of the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England and the historic county of Northamptonshire. Barnack is in the north-west of the unitary authority, south-east ...

stone, and an old oak treasure chest which was unearthed about 1895. The grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

was restored in 1870, and seats 120. The register dates from 1569. There is a Congregational chapel, erected in 1901 and seating 120. A stone cross was erected on Pretty Corner in 1920, in memory of the men from the parish killed in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Village life

The village has had its own railway station since 1851. In 1849, the Royston and Hitchin Railway Company paid £125 into village funds for constructing the railway over Shepreth L-Moor.

Shepreth railway station Shepreth railway station serves the village of Shepreth in Cambridgeshire, England. The station is on the Cambridge Line, from . History It was opened in 1851 by the Royston and Hitchin Railway as the northern terminus of an extension of th ...

is on the Great Northern Line, the main line between

and

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The parish contains a

wildlife park A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial drive-in tourist attraction where visitors can drive their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals. A safari park ...

, a nature reserve, the Shepreth L-Moor common, and the UK's only insect research laboratories. Shepreth has two public houses, The Green Man at Frog End on the Cambridge to Royston road, and The Plough on the High Street. In the 18th century The Green Man was known as the Bottle and Anchor. The pub that is now known as The Plough burnt down and was rebuilt in 1896. The Railway Tavern by the station opened in 1873 and closed around 1960.

Gallery

File:All Saints, Shepreth, Cambridgeshire - geograph.org.uk - 334083.jpg, Church of All Saints File:Shepreth5.JPG, Keeper with

barn owl The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalaya ...

(Shepreth Wildlife Park) File:Capybara at Shepreth.JPG,

Capybara The capybaraAlso called capivara (in Brazil), capiguara (in Bolivia), chigüire, chigüiro, or fercho (in Colombia and Venezuela), carpincho (in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and ronsoco (in Peru). or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydro ...

in Shepreth Wildlife Park File:Mandarin Duck.JPG,

Mandarin duck The mandarin duck (''Aix galericulata'') is a perching duck species native to the East Palearctic. It is medium-sized, at long with a wingspan. It is closely related to the North American wood duck, the only other member of the genus ''Aix''. ...

in Shepreth Wildlife Park File:Shepreth3.JPG, Bengal eagle owl in Shepreth Wildlife Park File:Dartmoor pony at Shepreth.JPG, Dartmoor pony in Shepreth Wildlife Park File:alpacas at shepreth.JPG,

alpacas The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can successfu ...

in Shepreth Wildlife Park File:Shepreth, Docwra's Manor House - geograph.org.uk - 878730.jpg, Docwra's Manor House

References

External links

Village websiteShepreth Wildlife Park website
{{authority control Villages in Cambridgeshire Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire District