Abbotsley is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

within the

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 p ...

district of

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, 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 North ...

, England.Huntingdonshire District Council: Abbotsley

It is three miles from

St Neots St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...

and 14 miles from the county town of

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 beca ...

. At the time of the 2001 census, the resident population was 425 people living in 164 households.Cambridgeshire County Council: 2001 census profile: Abbotsley
increasing to a population of 446 at the 2011 Census.

History

The village's name is derived from 'woodland clearing of a man called Ealdbeald' (Old English personal name ''Eadbald'' + ''lēah'') The name is recorded as ''Adboldesl’'' in the 12th century, as ''Adboldeslee'' and ''Albedesleg'' in the 13th century, ''Albo(t)deste(g)'', ''Albo(t)desley'' and ''Abbodesle'' in the 13th-14th century, and ''Abbot(t)esle(y)'' from late 13th to late 15th century.

Government

As a civil parish, Abbotsley has a parish council. Abbotsley parish council comprises seven councillors, a chairman and clerk. 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 ...

which is a

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

of Cambridgeshire and has its headquarters in Huntingdon. Abbotsley is a part of the district ward of ''Gransden and The Offords'' and is represented on the district council by two councillors. The highest tier of local government for Abbotsley 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 ...

which has administration buildings in Cambridge. Abbotsley is a part of the

electoral division An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

of ''Buckden, Gransden and The Offords'' and is represented on the county council by one councillor. Abbotsley 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 most ...

until 1965. From 1965, the village was part of the new administrative county of

Huntingdon and Peterborough Huntingdon and Peterborough was a short-lived administrative and geographical county in East Anglia in the United Kingdom. It existed from 1965 to 1974, when it became part of Cambridgeshire. Formation The Local Government Act 1888 created f ...

. Then in 1974, following the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, Abbotsley became a part of the county of Cambridgeshire. At Westminster, Abbotsley is in the parliamentary constituency 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 ...

. Since 2001 the village 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. ...

Jonathan Djanogly Jonathan Simon Djanogly (born 3 June 1965) is an English politician, solicitor and Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon since 2001. Djanogly has been Trade and Industry Spokesman shadowing the Department for Business, E ...

(Conservative).

Geography

Abbotsley village is 14 miles from the county town of

and 47 miles from London. It is on the B1046 road between

Great Gransden Great Gransden is a civil parish and village in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. In 2001, the parish population was 969, which rose to 1,023 at the 2011 Census. It lies 16 miles (25 km) west of Cambridge and 13 mile ...

and

. The elevation of the parish is between 22 and 60 metres (72–197 feet) above sea level. The subsoil is Oxford and Ampthill clay.

Demography

Population

In the period 1801 to 1901 the population of Abbotsley was recorded every ten years by the UK census. During this time the population was in the range of 287 (the lowest in 1801) and 498 (the highest in 1871). From 1901, a census was taken every ten years with the exception of 1941 (due to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

). All population census figures from report ''Historic Census figures Cambridgeshire to 2011'' by ''Cambridgeshire Insight''. In 2011, the parish covered an area of The ethnic group of all residents was white; 78% described themselves as Christian.

Landmarks

A war memorial which stands in the churchyard commemorates Abbotsley men who died in the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

and

s. 19 buildings in Abbotsley are listed (including the church). Among them are four houses along Blacksmiths Lane, nine houses along the High Street, a

red telephone box The red telephone box, a telephone kiosk for a public telephone designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, is a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom, Malta, Bermuda and Gibraltar. Despite a reduction in their numbers in recent years ...

and a table tomb in the churchyard.

Religious sites

St Margaret's Church has stood in Abbotsley since around 1300, though there was a church in the village as early as 1138. The current building was restored in 1854 and 1861 and the tower in 1884; it is a 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 I ...

. Abbotsley is part of the deanery of

and

diocese of Ely The Diocese of Ely is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in Ely. There is one suffragan (subordinate) bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon. The diocese now c ...

.Diocese of Ely

Culture and community

A village hall is used for meetings, events and private functions. An annual Feast Week and

Scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesle ...

Festival is held to raise money for maintenance of the village hall. Residents construct themed scarecrows and place them outside their houses for a week while there are various fundraising events held. Michael Palin writer, comedian and TV personality was married at Abbotsley Church.

Neighbouring parishes

References

External links

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