The Abingtons are a community in South Cambridgeshire consisting of two small villages: Little Abington and Great Abington, about south 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

Though often listed as a single entity, Great and Little Abington have since early medieval times been two parishes divided by the

River Granta The River Granta is the name of two of the four tributaries of the River Cam, although both names are often used synonymously. The Granta starts near the village of Widdington in Essex, flowing north past Audley End House to merge with the ot ...

and remain so. The southernmost of the two, Great Abington, covers and is bounded to the south by the county border with

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, to the west by a branch of 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 ...

(now the A11), and to the east by the parish of Hildersham. Little Abington covers , again bordered by the Icknield Way and Hildersham to the west and east, and by the ancient thoroughfare of Wool Street to the north. The village history dates back to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, some 4000 years ago. The

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

gave the village its name, originally called "estate named after Abba", and the village was listed as ''Abintone'' 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 ...

. The 'Great' and 'Little' prefixes came later: the Latin ''magna'' is observed from 1218 and the Modern English ''great'' from 1523 while the Latin ''parva'' is observed from 1218 and the Middle English ''littel'' from 1336. In the decades before the Second World War the Land Settlement Association created a site to the south of Great Abington consisting of over sixty houses and plots of land for unemployed miners mainly from the former shipyards of Tyneside and coalfields of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and Durham. The Cambridge to Haverhill railway line that opened in 1865 crossed Great Abington just south of the village, but closed in 1967. The medieval

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

road that was the main route through the village was by-passed in the 1960s.

Churches

Great Abington's parish church has been dedicated to St Mary since at least the 16th century and comprises a chancel, nave with south aisle and porch, and west tower. The majority of the present building dates from the 13th century, possibly earlier, including the two-storey tower with short leaded spire. Little Abington's parish church is also dedicated to St Mary, and has been since at least the 16th century. The present building consists of a chancel, nave with north chapel and south porch, and west tower. The nave is believed to date from around 1100, and the chancel was rebuilt in the 13th century. The three-storey tower is probably 14th century. A

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

chapel was built in Little Abington towards the end of the 19th century. It closed in late 2019 and the land has now been sold. Demolition of the chapel has been confirmed.

Village life

The village has a primary school, village shop, pub, football and cricket team and a large number of local businesses, most of them at

Granta Park Granta Park is a science, technology and biopharmaceutical park based on the bank of the Granta (river), River Granta in The Abingtons, Cambridgeshire, Great Abington near Cambridge, England. The idea for the park came from the chief executiv ...

including The Welding Institute which started in Abington Hall in 1946. In 2009 Abington cricket club played a friendly against Babraham cricket club to commemorate 150 years of the cricket team. The village also has a village hall, called The Abington Institute, which has a café, a large main hall with video projection and an audio system allowing the showing of films and presentations. It also has a meeting room, another large room overlooking the cricket pitch and two changing rooms with showers. The Institute is used by many local clubs and organisations and also hosts regular lunches for older Abington residents. The remaining public house, The Three Tuns in Great Abington, is a 17th-century building that was possibly open in 1687 and certainly by 1756. Former pubs in Little Abington include The Crown which closed in the late 20th century, and The Bricklayers' Arms, which opened in the mid-19th century and was sold in 1912. The Princess (later Prince) of Wales in Great Abington opened at the end of the 19th century and closed in about 1963. The King's Arms opened on the Stump Cross to Newmarket road (now the A11) just north of Bourn Bridge in the late 17th century, closing in 1850 with the advent of the railway. The antiquary William Cole was born there while his father was publican. The White Hart opened on the same road just south of the bridge in around 1750, but closed by the end of the century.

References

External links

The Abingtons

Great Abington Circa 1900

Little Abington Circa 1900
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abingtons Villages in Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire District