Covington, Cambridgeshire
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Covington 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, England. Covington lies approximately west of
Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...
near to Catworth and close to the county borders with both
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...
and
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
. Covington is situated within
Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...
which is a
non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''s ...
of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England. Covington (OE:''Copp-ing-tun'' – The High Pasture Enclosures). The civil parish covers an area of . At the 2011 Census the population of the village was found to be less than 100 and was included in the civil parish of Tilbrook.


History

In 1085
William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
ordered that a survey should be carried out across his kingdom to discover who owned which parts and what it was worth. The survey took place in 1086 and the results were recorded in what, since the 12th century, has become known as 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 ...
. Starting with the king himself, for each landholder within a county there is a list of their estates or manors; and, for each manor, there is a summary of the resources of the manor, the amount of annual rent that was collected by the lord of the manor both in 1066 and in 1086, together with the taxable value. Covington was listed in the Domesday Book in the
Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...
of Leightonstone in Huntingdonshire; the name of the settlement was written as ''Covintune'' in the Domesday Book. In 1086 there was just one manor at Covington; the annual rent paid to the lord of the manor in 1066 had been £8 and the rent had increased to £10 in 1086. The Domesday Book does not explicitly detail the population of a place but it records that there were 18 households at Covington. There is no consensus about the average size of a household at that time; estimates range from 3.5 to 5.0 people per household. Using these figures then an estimate of the population of Covington in 1086 is that it was within the range of 63 and 90 people. The Domesday Book uses a number of units of measure for areas of land that are now unfamiliar terms, such as hides and ploughlands. In different parts of the country, these were terms for the area of land that a team of eight oxen could plough in a single season and are equivalent to ; this was the amount of land that was considered to be sufficient to support a single family. By 1086, the hide had become a unit of tax assessment rather than an actual land area; a hide was the amount of land that could be assessed as £1 for tax purposes. The survey records that there were 13 ploughlands at Covington in 1086. In addition to the arable land, there was of meadows at Covington. The tax assessment in the Domesday Book was known as geld or danegeld and was a type of land-tax based on the hide or ploughland. It was originally a way of collecting a tribute to pay off the Danes when they attacked England, and was only levied when necessary. Following the Norman Conquest, the geld was used to raise money for the King and to pay for continental wars; by 1130, the geld was being collected annually. Having determined the value of a manor's land and other assets, a tax of so many shillings and pence per pound of value would be levied on the land holder. While this was typically two shillings in the pound the amount did vary; for example, in 1084 it was as high as six shillings in the pound. For the manor at Covington the total tax assessed was 8.5 geld. In 1086 there was no church at Covington. The inclosure of open fields took place in 1801.


Governance

Covington does not have a parish council but holds an annual
parish meeting A parish meeting is a meeting all the electors in a civil parish in England are entitled to attend. In some cases, where a parish or group of parishes has fewer than 200 electors, the parish meeting can take on the role of a parish council, with ...
. Covington 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 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...
of Huntingdonshire 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 county, administrative and Geographical counties of England, geographical county in East Anglia in the United Kingdom. It existed from 1965 to 1974, when it became part of Cambridgesh ...
. 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 ...
, Covington became a part of the county of Cambridgeshire. 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. The council is based in the town of Huntingdon. The district also includes the towns of Godmanchester, Ramsey, St Ives and ...
which is a
non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''s ...
of Cambridgeshire and has its headquarters in Huntingdon. Huntingdonshire District Council has 52 councillors representing 29 district wards. Huntingdonshire District Council collects the council tax, and provides services such as building regulations, local planning, environmental health, leisure and tourism. Covington is a part of the district ward of ''Kimbolton and Staughton'' and is represented on the district council by one councillor. District councillors serve for four-year terms following elections to Huntingdonshire District Council. For Covington the highest tier of local government is
Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council for non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire, England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county, which additionally includes the City o ...
which has administration buildings in Cambridge. The county council provides county-wide services such as major road infrastructure, fire and rescue, education, social services, libraries and heritage services. Cambridgeshire County Council consists of 69 councillors representing 60 electoral divisions. Covington is part of the electoral division of ''Brampton and Kimbolton'' and is represented on the county council by one councillor. At Westminster Covington is in the parliamentary constituency of
Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...
, and elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the
first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
system of election. Covington is represented in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...
by
Jonathan Djanogly Jonathan Simon Djanogly (born 3 June 1965) is a British politician and solicitor who served as Shadow Solicitor General for England and Wales from 2004 to 2010 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts and Legal Aid from 2010 to 2 ...
(
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
). Jonathan Djanogly has represented the constituency since 2001. The previous member of parliament was
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...
(Conservative) who represented the constituency between 1983 and 2001.


Geography

The village and parish lies on a bedrock of Oxford clay from the
Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...
period The land in the north of the parish is characterised as Oadby Member
Diamicton Diamicton (also diamict) (from Greek ''δια'' (dia-): through and ''μεικτός'' (meiktós): mixed) is a terrigenous sediment (a sediment resulting from dry-land erosion) that is unsorted to poorly sorted and contains particles ranging in siz ...
, from the Quaternary period, with rocks formed during Ice Age conditions by glaciers scouring the land. The village lies between and above sea level. Most of the village is on the south side of a ridge, overlooking the valley of the river Kym. Covington is about to the south of Junction 16 of the A14 road that runs from the
Port of Felixstowe The Port of Felixstowe, in Felixstowe, Suffolk, is the United Kingdom's largest container port, dealing with 48% of Britain's containerised trade. In 2017, it was ranked as 43rd busiest container port in the world and 8th in Europe, with a ha ...
to the Catthorpe Interchange, Leicestershire.


Demography

The population of Covington between 1801 and 1901 ranged from 104 to 162. Census: Covington 1801–1961 Census: Covington 1951, 1971, 1991 Population Estimates: Covington 2001–2011


Culture and Community

The former Victorian school house which was built in 1876 closed in 1920; it is now used as the Village Hall. The thatched 17th Century Red Cow ale house closed as a public house in 1989; it is now a private residence.


Landmarks


Boring Field

The highest point of the historic county of Huntingdonshire, known as Boring Field, is within the Parish, although the ground continues to rise as it goes into
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
. The high point some above sea level is located at , and is the lowest county top of the
historic counties of England The historic counties of England are areas that were established for administration by the Normans, in many cases based on earlier Heptarchy, kingdoms and shires created by the Angles (tribe), Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Celts and the Danes (tribe) ...
. Visiting this lowest historic county top, near Three Shires farm, is of interest to participants in the sport of Hill bagging and
Highpointing Highpointing is the activity of ascending to the point with the highest natural elevation within a given area, known as the highpoint. Those who pursue the activity are known as highpointers. Highpointing has been considered a subset of peak bagg ...
.


Transport

Just to the north of the village, a railway line from Kettering to Huntingdon was built in 1866 and rail services were run between Kettering and Cambridge from 1882 until 1959, after which the railway was dismantled. The Three Shires Way, a long-distance path from Grafham Water to Salcey Forest, passes through Covington.


Religious Sites

The Anglican church at Covington is dedicated to All Saints and is a Grade II
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. The church is in the deanery of Huntingdon in the diocese of Ely. There was no mention of a church in Covington in the Domesday Book, but by the end of the 12th Century a stone church had been built on the present site. The chancel was built c.1300 and the tower was added in the 14th century and altered c.1500. The church was restored in 1882–3. It is possible that the church was originally dedicated to St Margaret and subsequently dedicated to All Saints. In 2014 the original three bells in the church tower were restored and re-hung; a fourth bell was added.


References


External links


Covington Village Homepage
{{authority control Villages in Cambridgeshire Huntingdonshire Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire