Chippenham is a 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...
, England, part of
East Cambridgeshire
East Cambridgeshire (locally known as East Cambs) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. Its council is based in the cathedral city of Ely. The district also contains the towns of Littleport and Soham and surrounding rural a ...
district around north-east of
Newmarket and north-east of
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
.
History

The parish of Chippenham covers at the eastern end of Cambridgeshire. It is bordered by
Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
to both the north (where the border follows the River Kennett) and the south (where the border follows the
Icknield Way
The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills.
Background
It is generally said to be, withi ...
). To the east it is separated from
Kennett, and to the west there are borders with
Fordham and
Snailwell
Snailwell is a small village and civil parish in East Cambridgeshire, England around north of Newmarket.
History
The parish of Snailwell covers an area of in the extension of eastern Cambridgeshire that surrounds the town of Newmarket in Suffo ...
, and a short border with
Isleham
Isleham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Cambridgeshire. It is part of the Fens. It has three pubs.
Geography
Isleham is located in the Fens of south-east Cambridgeshire. The western parish boundary is formed by the Cro ...
. The present parish incorporates both the smaller medieval parish and the hamlet of Badlingham.
Listed as ''Chipeham'' 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086, the name "Chippenham" probably means "river meadow of a man called Cippa".
Chippenham Park is a large country estate created by
Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford
Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford, (1653 – 26 November 1727) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. After serving as a junior officer at the Battle of Solebay during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, he served as a captai ...
.
[
]
Church
There has been a church in Chippenham since at least the 12th century which served both Chippenham and Badlingham. The present parish church has been dedicated to Saint Margaret of Antioch
Margaret, known as Margaret of Antioch in the West, and as Saint Marina the Great Martyr () in the East, is celebrated as a saint on 20 July in Western Christianity, on 30th of July (Julian calendar) by the Eastern Orthodox Church, and on Epip ...
since 1279, and consists of a chancel with south chapel and north vestry, an aisled nave of seven bays, and a rectangular west tower. The oldest parts of the building date from the 12th century. The tower was rebuilt in the 15th century.[
The church has four 15th-century wall paintings that were plastered over with psalms in the 17th century, and rediscovered in the late 19th century.
John Gauden, later ]Bishop of Exeter
The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024.
From the first bishop until the sixteent ...
and Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engl ...
, was vicar
A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...
of Chippenham in the 1630s.
Village life
The village has one pub, The Tharp Arms, which was opened in 1704 on the High Street. In the 18th century it was known as the New Goat Inn after which it was renamed The Angel and then The Hope Inn before receiving its present name in 1910. There was also an outdoor beer tent listed in the village in the 1850s.[
]
The village's water pump which stands at the junction of the High Street and Snailwell Road was last used in 1948 and has an unusual cap.
Lord Orford founded the village's first school in 1708 and by 1712 a school building had been completed opposite the church (which survives today as a house). In 1821 additional space was added for junior children and children also attended from neighbouring Snailwell
Snailwell is a small village and civil parish in East Cambridgeshire, England around north of Newmarket.
History
The parish of Snailwell covers an area of in the extension of eastern Cambridgeshire that surrounds the town of Newmarket in Suffo ...
. In the mid-19th century the attendance was around 36, and after 1875 it rose steadily until there were 100 pupils in 1910. This then fell to 77 in 1919 and under 40 by the 1930s. In 1954 senior children were moved to Burwell and when numbers had fallen to only 25 juniors in 1978 the school closed, with the remaining children transferred to Isleham
Isleham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Cambridgeshire. It is part of the Fens. It has three pubs.
Geography
Isleham is located in the Fens of south-east Cambridgeshire. The western parish boundary is formed by the Cro ...
.Chippenham School
A playground was built behind Tharp Way in 1980.
Chippenham Fen
Chippenham Fen is a National Nature Reserve and part of the Fenland Special Area of Conservation.
References
{{authority control
Villages in Cambridgeshire
Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire
East Cambridgeshire District