Huntingdon, the second-largest settlement in the district, its administrative centre and the historic county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire
The area corresponding to modern Huntingdonshire was first delimited in Anglo-Saxon times. Its boundaries have remained largely unchanged since the 10th century, although it lost its historic county status in 1974. On his accession in 1154 Henry II declared all Huntingdonshire a forest.[2]
Ramsey is the fourth-largest settlement in the district
Godmanchester is the fifth-largest settlement in the district
In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, Huntingdon and Peterborough merged with Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely to form the new non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire. A Huntingdon district was created based closely on the former administrative county borders, with the exclusion of the Old Fletton urban district, which became part of the Peterborough district, as did the part of Norman Cross Rural District in Peterborough New Town. The district was renamed Huntingdonshire on 1 October 1984 by a resolution of the district council.[3]
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (1992) considered in the 1990s the case for making a Huntingdonshire unitary authority as part of a general structural review of English local government that led to unitary authorities in two other English counties that had been abolished: Rutland and Herefordshire.
The Draft Recommendations envisaged three possible scenarios for structural change in Cambridgeshire: the preferred option and the third option had a unitary Huntingdonshire, whilst the second option would have seen Huntingdonshire combine with Peterborough and Fenland to form a "Peterborough and Huntingdonshire" unitary authority. The Final Recommendations of the Commission for Cambridgeshire recommended no change in the status quo in Cambridgeshire.[4] The districts of Peterborough and Huntingdonshire were referred back to the commission for reconsideration in 1995. The commission recommended the creation of a Peterborough unitary authority, but proposed that Huntingdonshire remain part of the shire county of Cambridgeshire, noting that "there was no exceptional county allegiance to Huntingdonshire, as had been perceived in Rutland and Herefordshire."[5]
David McKie writing in The Guardian in October 1994 noted that "Writers-in demanded an independent Huntingdon; but MORI's more broadly based poll showed that most Huntingdonians – that is, most of [Prime Minister] John Major's electors – were content to stay part of Cambridgeshire."[6]
Awareness promotion
After the failure to revive the unitary authority, a Huntingdonshire Society was set up to promote awareness of Huntingdonshire as a historic county and campaign for its reinstatement as an administrative and ceremonial entity. In 2002 it established an annual "Huntingdonshire Day" on 25 April, the birthday of Oliver Cromwell.[7][8] After a campaign by the Huntingdonshire Society, the county flag of Huntingdonshire, a gold and beribboned hunting horn on a green field, was registered by the Flag Institute in June 2009.[9]
Huntingdonshire District Council's headquarters are located in Pathfinder House in Huntingdon. The council consists of 52 councillors. Until 2018, district council elections were held in three out of every four years, with a third of the 52 council seats coming up each time. Elections since have been held for all seats every four years.[10] The Conservative party had a majority on the council from 1976 until 2022, after which a joint administration took control of the council.
Sports
Huntingdonshire is the birthplace of bandy, now an IOC accepted sport.[11] According to documents from 1813, Bury Fen Bandy Club was undefeated for 100 years. A club member, Charles Tebbutt, wrote the first official rules in 1882 and helped to spread the sport to other countries.[12]
Michael Lawrence (born 1943), children's writer, is best known for the Jiggy McCue series.
John Major (born 1943), politician and Prime Minister (1990–1997), was MP for Huntingdonshire from 1979 to 2001, and still resides in the county at Great Stukeley.
Originally granted to Huntingdonshire County Council on 9 April 1937.
Crest
On a wreath of the Argent and Azure a lion rampant Gules gorged with a collar flory counter-flory Or and supporting a staff proper flying therefrom a banner Vert charged with a hunting horn stringed Or.
Escutcheon
Barry wavy Argent and Azure on a lozenge throughout Vert between in chief three garbs one and two and in base a cornucopia a fess embattled all Or.
Motto
Labore Omnia Florent (By Labour Everything Prospers)[15]
^Roskams, Michael. "Population and household estimates, England and Wales: Census 2021 - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
^H. R. Loyn, Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 2nd ed. 1991, pp. 378–382.
^Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Final Recommendations for the Future Local Government of Cambridgeshire. October 1994.
^Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Final Recommendations on the Future Local Government of: Basildon & Thurrock, Blackburn & Blackpool, Broxtowe, Gedling & Rushcliffe, Dartford & Gravesham, Gillingham & Rochester upon Medway, Exeter, Gloucester, Halton & Warrington, Huntingdonshire & Peterborough, Northampton, Norwich, Spelthorne and the Wrekin. December 1995.
^"Commentary: Hatred of Harlow and bad thoughts about Basildon", David McKie, The Guardian, 31 October 1994.
huntingdonshire, former, parliamentary, constituency, parliament, constituency, ɪər, abbreviated, hunts, local, government, district, cambridgeshire, historic, county, england, district, council, based, huntingdon, other, towns, include, godmanchester, ramsey,. For the former Parliamentary constituency see Huntingdonshire UK Parliament constituency Huntingdonshire ˈ h ʌ n t ɪ ŋ d en ʃ er ʃ ɪer abbreviated Hunts is a local government district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England The district council is based in Huntingdon Other towns include Godmanchester Ramsey St Ives and St Neots The population was 180 800 at the 2021 Census 1 HuntingdonshireNon metropolitan district and historic countyHuntingdon the second largest settlement in the district its administrative centre and the historic county town of the historic county of HuntingdonshireFlagHuntingdonshire shown within CambridgeshireSovereign stateUnited KingdomCountryEnglandRegionEast of EnglandNon metropolitan countyCambridgeshireStatusNon metropolitan districtAdmin HQHuntingdonIncorporated1 April 1974Government TypeNon metropolitan district council BodyHuntingdonshire District Council LeadershipLeader amp Cabinet MPsJonathan DjanoglyShailesh VaraArea Total352 3 sq mi 912 5 km2 Rank38th of 309 Population 2021 Total180 832 Rank109th of 309 Density510 sq mi 200 km2 Ethnicity94 6 White1 8 S Asian1 3 Black1 4 Mixed RaceTime zoneUTC0 GMT Summer DST UTC 1 BST ONS code12UE ONS E07000011 GSS OS grid referenceTL1900381334St Neots is the largest settlement in the district St Ives is the third largest settlement in the district Contents 1 History 1 1 Status 1 2 Proposed revival of administrative county 1 3 Awareness promotion 2 Governance 3 Sports 4 Towns and villages 4 1 Towns 4 2 Hamlets and villages 5 Notable people 6 Arms 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksHistory EditMain article History of Huntingdonshire The area corresponding to modern Huntingdonshire was first delimited in Anglo Saxon times Its boundaries have remained largely unchanged since the 10th century although it lost its historic county status in 1974 On his accession in 1154 Henry II declared all Huntingdonshire a forest 2 Ramsey is the fourth largest settlement in the district Status Edit Map of Huntingdonshire 1824 In 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 Huntingdonshire became an administrative county with the newly formed Huntingdonshire County Council taking over administrative functions from the Quarter Sessions The area in the north of the county forming part of the municipal borough of Peterborough became instead part of the Soke of Peterborough an administrative county in Northamptonshire In 1965 under a recommendation of the Local Government Commission for England Huntingdonshire was merged with the Soke of Peterborough to form Huntingdon and Peterborough The Lieutenancy county was also merged At the same time St Neots was expanded westwards over the river into Eaton Ford and Eaton Socon in Bedfordshire Godmanchester is the fifth largest settlement in the district In 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 Huntingdon and Peterborough merged with Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely to form the new non metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire A Huntingdon district was created based closely on the former administrative county borders with the exclusion of the Old Fletton urban district which became part of the Peterborough district as did the part of Norman Cross Rural District in Peterborough New Town The district was renamed Huntingdonshire on 1 October 1984 by a resolution of the district council 3 Original historical documents relating to Huntingdonshire are held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at the County Record Office in Huntingdon Proposed revival of administrative county Edit The Local Government Boundary Commission for England 1992 considered in the 1990s the case for making a Huntingdonshire unitary authority as part of a general structural review of English local government that led to unitary authorities in two other English counties that had been abolished Rutland and Herefordshire The Draft Recommendations envisaged three possible scenarios for structural change in Cambridgeshire the preferred option and the third option had a unitary Huntingdonshire whilst the second option would have seen Huntingdonshire combine with Peterborough and Fenland to form a Peterborough and Huntingdonshire unitary authority The Final Recommendations of the Commission for Cambridgeshire recommended no change in the status quo in Cambridgeshire 4 The districts of Peterborough and Huntingdonshire were referred back to the commission for reconsideration in 1995 The commission recommended the creation of a Peterborough unitary authority but proposed that Huntingdonshire remain part of the shire county of Cambridgeshire noting that there was no exceptional county allegiance to Huntingdonshire as had been perceived in Rutland and Herefordshire 5 David McKie writing in The Guardian in October 1994 noted that Writers in demanded an independent Huntingdon but MORI s more broadly based poll showed that most Huntingdonians that is most of Prime Minister John Major s electors were content to stay part of Cambridgeshire 6 Awareness promotion Edit After the failure to revive the unitary authority a Huntingdonshire Society was set up to promote awareness of Huntingdonshire as a historic county and campaign for its reinstatement as an administrative and ceremonial entity In 2002 it established an annual Huntingdonshire Day on 25 April the birthday of Oliver Cromwell 7 8 After a campaign by the Huntingdonshire Society the county flag of Huntingdonshire a gold and beribboned hunting horn on a green field was registered by the Flag Institute in June 2009 9 Governance EditSee also Huntingdonshire District Council and Huntingdonshire District Council elections Huntingdonshire District Council s headquarters are located in Pathfinder House in Huntingdon The council consists of 52 councillors Until 2018 district council elections were held in three out of every four years with a third of the 52 council seats coming up each time Elections since have been held for all seats every four years 10 The Conservative party had a majority on the council from 1976 until 2022 after which a joint administration took control of the council Sports EditHuntingdonshire is the birthplace of bandy now an IOC accepted sport 11 According to documents from 1813 Bury Fen Bandy Club was undefeated for 100 years A club member Charles Tebbutt wrote the first official rules in 1882 and helped to spread the sport to other countries 12 Huntingdonshire County Cricket Club is taken to be one of the 20 minor counties of English and Welsh cricket but it has never played in the Minor Counties Championship It has its own Cricket Board and played in the English domestic one day competition from 1999 to 2003 county entered teams into the English domestic one day competition matches which had List A status The county played seven List A matches during this period with the final List A match it played coming against Cheshire 13 Towns and villages EditTowns Edit Godmanchester Huntingdon Ramsey St Ives St NeotsHamlets and villages Edit Abbots Ripton Abbotsley Alconbury Alconbury Weston Alwalton Barham Bury Bluntisham Brampton Brington Broughton Buckden Buckworth Bythorn Catworth Chesterton Colne Connington Coppingford Covington Denton and Caldecote Diddington Earith Easton Eaton Ford Eaton Socon Ellington Elton Eynesbury Farcet Fenstanton Folksworth and Washingley Glatton Grafham Great Gransden Great Little and Steeple Gidding Great Paxton Great Staughton Haddon Hail Weston Hamerton Hartford Hemingford Abbots Hemingford Grey Hilton Holme Holywell Houghton Keyston Kimbolton Kings Ripton Leighton Bromswold Little Paxton Molesworth Morborne Needingworth Oldhurst Old Weston Orton Longueville Orton Waterville Perry Pidley Ramsey St Mary s Ramsey Forty Foot Ramsey Mereside Ramsey Heights Sawtry Spaldwick Somersham Southhoe and Midloe Stibbington Stilton Stow Longa Tetworth Tilbrook Toseland The Offords The Raveleys The Stukeleys Upton Upwood Wansford Warboys Waresley Water Newton Winwick Wistow Woodhurst Woodwalton Woolley Wyton Yaxley YellingNotable people EditIn order of birth Henry of Saltrey a Huntingdonshire Cistercian monk wrote Tractatus de Purgatorio Sancti Patricii Treatise on the Purgatory of St Patrick in about 1180 1184 Sir William Papworth 1331 1414 of Grafham and Papworth St Agnes was a member of five 14th century parliaments Catherine of Aragon 1485 1536 previously Queen of England died in confinement at Kimbolton Castle Henry Brandon 2nd Duke of Suffolk and his brother Charles Brandon 3rd Duke of Suffolk nephews of Henry VIII died of sweating sickness at Buckden Towers within an hour of each other on 14 July 1551 Nicholas Ferrar 1592 1637 scholar courtier and cleric spent the last eleven years of his life at the Little Gidding community inspiration of the fourth poem in T S Eliot s Four Quartets Philip Nye 1595 1672 Independent theologian became the incumbent of Kimbolton and an adviser to Cromwell Oliver Cromwell 1599 1658 Lord Protector of England Scotland and Ireland 1653 1658 was educated at Huntingdon Grammar School Richard Astry c 1632 1714 was an English antiquary Samuel Pepys 1633 1703 Member of Parliament MP and diarist attended Huntingdon Grammar School William Sparrow 1641 1729 cut the famous turf maze at Hilton in 1660 Alice and Thomas Curwen were active in the county as Quaker preachers in 1677 1678 14 Ann Jebb 1735 1812 political reformer and radical writer was born at Kings Ripton William Henry Fellowes 1769 1837 of Ramsey Abbey was a longstanding MP for Huntingdon and then Huntingdonshire Olinthus Gregory 1774 1841 mathematician and editor was born at Yaxley Robert Fox 1798 1843 antiquary and local historian was born and died at Godmanchester Charles Bowen Cooke 1859 1920 locomotive engineer was born at Orton Longueville Henry Royce 1863 1933 pioneering car manufacturer and founder of Rolls Royce Limited apparently had some connection with the county Lucy M Boston 1892 1990 children s writer lived in Huntingdonshire from 1937 until her death and set the Green Knowe series there Josef Jakobs 1898 1941 German spy captured in Ramsey Hollow Huntingdonshire in 1941 Michael Lawrence born 1943 children s writer is best known for the Jiggy McCue series John Major born 1943 politician and Prime Minister 1990 1997 was MP for Huntingdonshire from 1979 to 2001 and still resides in the county at Great Stukeley John Butcher 1946 2006 Conservative MP and junior minister was raised in Huntingdonshire and attended Huntingdon Grammar School Terry Reid born 1949 rock musician grew up in Holywell Chris Morris born 1962 satirist known for the television series Brass Eye and The Day Today Jason Ablewhite born 1972 former leader of Huntingdonshire District Council former Cambridgeshire Police and Crime CommissionerArms EditCoat of arms of Huntingdonshire Notes Originally granted to Huntingdonshire County Council on 9 April 1937 Crest On a wreath of the Argent and Azure a lion rampant Gules gorged with a collar flory counter flory Or and supporting a staff proper flying therefrom a banner Vert charged with a hunting horn stringed Or Escutcheon Barry wavy Argent and Azure on a lozenge throughout Vert between in chief three garbs one and two and in base a cornucopia a fess embattled all Or Motto Labore Omnia Florent By Labour Everything Prospers 15 See also EditFlag of Huntingdonshire List of Lord Lieutenants of Huntingdonshire List of High Sheriffs of Huntingdonshire Custos Rotulorum of Huntingdonshire Keepers of the Rolls Huntingdonshire UK Parliament constituency Historical list of MPs for Huntingdonshire constituencyReferences Edit Roskams Michael Population and household estimates England and Wales Census 2021 Office for National Statistics www ons gov uk Office for National Statistics Retrieved 2 July 2022 H R Loyn Anglo Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 2nd ed 1991 pp 378 382 Name change The Times 27 April 1984 Local Government Boundary Commission for England Final Recommendations for the Future Local Government of Cambridgeshire October 1994 Local Government Boundary Commission for England Final Recommendations on the Future Local Government of Basildon amp Thurrock Blackburn amp Blackpool Broxtowe Gedling amp Rushcliffe Dartford amp Gravesham Gillingham amp Rochester upon Medway Exeter Gloucester Halton amp Warrington Huntingdonshire amp Peterborough Northampton Norwich Spelthorne and the Wrekin December 1995 Commentary Hatred of Harlow and bad thoughts about Basildon David McKie The Guardian 31 October 1994 And you re from where The Times 20 April 2002 Gavin Bell 19 June 2004 Cambridgeshire Cromwell s own county The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on 1 March 2016 Retrieved 12 January 2021 UK Flag Registry Huntingdonshire The Flag Institute 25 June 2009 Retrieved 28 October 2017 Changing to Whole Council Elections Explanatory Document PDF Huntingdonshire District Council Archived from the original PDF on 7 June 2017 Retrieved 2 August 2019 Olympic Federation of International Bandy Archived from the original on 3 October 2009 Helen Burchell 24 September 2014 Cambridgeshire gt History gt local history gt A handy Bandy guide BBC News List A matches played by Huntingdonshire County Cricket Club Cricket Archive Retrieved 24 September 2022 Michael Mullett Curwen Thomas c 1610 1680 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford UK OUP 2004 Retrieved 17 November 2015 East of England Region Civic Heraldry of England Retrieved 9 March 2021 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire District Council local government information Map of Huntingdonshire on Wikishire Huntingdonshire general informative The Huntingdonshire Society dedicated to the traditional county and campaigning for its reinstatement as an administrative entity The Huntingdonshire Flag The Lost Pubs Project Lost and closed pubs of Huntingdonshire Cambridge Military History Blog A dialogue focused on the history of Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire from a military perspective Coordinates 52 25 N 0 15 W 52 417 N 0 250 W 52 417 0 250 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Huntingdonshire amp oldid 1143631313, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
