Whaddon 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 ...

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

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, north of Royston.

History

The parish of Whaddon covers an area of . Its entire western boundary follows the Roman

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London (''Londinium'') to Lincoln ('' Lindum Colonia'') and York ('' Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earninga ...

(now the A1198), separating it from Bassingbourn and

Wendy Wendy is a given name generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain during the English Civil War in the mid-1600s, a male Captain Wendy Oxford was identified by the Leveller John Lilburne as a spy reporting on his activit ...

, and its northern border follows the

River Cam 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, Cambridgeshire, Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distanc ...

(or Rhee), dividing it from

Wimpole Wimpole is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, about southwest of Cambridge. Until 1999, the main settlement on the A603 was officially known and signed as ''New Wimpole and Orwell, Camb ...

and

Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

. A stream separates it from Kneesworth to the south, and field boundaries from

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

to the east. Much of Whaddon was formerly part of the estate of

Wimpole Hall Wimpole Estate is a large estate containing Wimpole Hall, a country house located within the civil parish of Wimpole, Cambridgeshire, England, about southwest of Cambridge. The house, begun in 1640, and its of parkland and farmland are owned ...

, and the hall's South Avenue, originally two double rows of elms planted in 1720 (now oak and lime), stretches 2 kilometres across the parish to Ermine Street. The Basin, an octagonal pool of around 150 metres in diameter, was added in 1721 just south of the river but was cleared a few decades later and filled with soil in 1968. In 1812, an Act authorised the creation of a canal running from Whaddon to

Sawston Sawston is a large village in Cambridgeshire in England, situated on the River Cam about south of Cambridge with a population of 7,271. The village has historical roots dating back to medieval times and has landmarks such as Sawston Hall, a ...

as part of the

Stort Navigation The Stort Navigation is the canalised section of the River Stort running from the town of Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, downstream to its confluence with the Lee Navigation at Feildes Weir near Rye House, Hertfordshire, Rye House, Hoddesd ...

, but the canal was never dug. Listed as ''Wadone'' 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 "Waddon" means "hill where wheat is grown".

Church

The parish church of St Mary consists of a chancel, five-bay aisled and clerestoried nave, south porch, and west tower. The chancel is the oldest part of the present building, dating from the end of the 13th century. The nave and tower were added in the late 14th century. It is a grade I

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 ...

. In June 2019 the

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

from the roof was stolen, but by 2021 it had been replaced using

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

, with funding from

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

, the Amey Community Fund, Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust and local

crowdsourcing Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digit ...

Village life

In 1875, the

Earl of Hardwicke Earl of Hardwicke is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1754 for Philip Yorke, 1st Baron Hardwicke, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain from 1737 to 1756. He had already been created Baron Hardwicke, of Hardwicke in t ...

built a school in the village. Numbers fell until in 1924 secondary pupils were sent to Meldreth and Bassingbourn. Finally in 1962 primary pupils were transferred to Orwell Petersfield school and the Whaddon school was closed. The building now serves as the village hall. Whaddon has its own unique

Whitsun Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian holy day of Pentecost. It falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter and commemorates the descent of the H ...

tradition. This involves singing a rather unusual song around the village before and on Whit Sunday itself. The tradition seems to have died out at the beginning of the 20th century, but was revived once for the coronation of King George VI in 1937, and was revived as a regular event in 2005. There are no longer any pubs in Whaddon. Between 1841 and around 1900 The Pickering Arms was open in the village, becoming a farmhouse after it closed and burning down in around 1970. The Home served

coprolite A coprolite (also known as a coprolith) is fossilized feces. Coprolites are classified as trace fossils as opposed to body fossils, as they give evidence for the animal's behaviour (in this case, diet) rather than morphology. The name ...

workers at Whaddon Green for several decades in the late 19th century. Though originally part of Melbourn, The Queen Adelaide opened south of Whaddon Green in around 1900, closing in 1956. A travellers' site is located on the western side of the village. South Cambridgeshire has recently announced that the site is to be expanded and improved in a £1.4 million development project.

References

External links

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