Chatteris

Chatteris

Market Hill, Chatteris
Chatteris
 Chatteris shown within Cambridgeshire
Population 10,453 (2011 Census)
OS grid referenceTL396862
   – London 65 mi (105 km)  S
Civil parishChatteris
DistrictFenland
Shire countyCambridgeshire
RegionEast
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town CHATTERIS
Postcode district PE16
Dialling code 01354
Police Cambridgeshire
Fire Cambridgeshire
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK ParliamentNorth East Cambridgeshire
List of places
UK
England
Cambridgeshire

Coordinates: 52°27′22″N 0°03′18″E / 52.456°N 0.055°E / 52.456; 0.055

Chatteris /ˈtʃætɛrɪs/ is a civil parish and one of four market towns in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England, situated in The Fens between Huntingdon, March and Ely. The town is in the North East Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency.

Mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, the town has evidence of settlement from the Neolithic period.[1] The parish of Chatteris is large, covering 6,099 hectares, and for much of its history was a raised island in the low-lying wetland of the Fens. Following the draining of the Fens, beginning in the 17th century and completed in the 19th century, the town has become a centre of agriculture and related industry.

According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, the town had a population of 8,820, however this rose to 10,453 by the time of the United Kingdom Census 2011. Due to its proximity to Cambridge, Huntingdon and Peterborough, the town has emerged as a commuter town.

History

Toponymy and early history

Chatteris's name probably derives from the Celtic Cedrid - Ced meaning a wood and Rid, a ford, although it may also derive from "cader", meaning hill fort, suggesting a similar site to the nearby Stonea Camp.[2] The town was mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Cetriz" and "Cateriz".[3]

Archaeological evidence has been found of Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements in the area, and Chatteris possesses what has been interpreted as the only upstanding Neolithic boundaries in Fenland.[4] Saxon evidence is less well preserved, although in 679, Hunna, the chaplain to Æthelthryth of Ely built a hermitage on Honey Hill.[5] More apocryphically, Chatteris is reputed to have been the last refuge of Boudica as she fled from the Romans.[1]

Medieval period

The miraculous story of the first known parishioner of the town, Bricstan, is documented in the Historia Ecclesiastica by the Chronicler Orderic Vitalis (1075 - c.1142).[6] According to the legend, Bricstan was a pious free tenant from the town who had joined the monastery at Ely Cathedral in 1115 to begin training as a monk. However, he was accused of theft and imprisoned in London. The legend recounts that one night he had a vision of Saint Etheldreda coming towards him, and as if by a miracle, his heavy chains fell from him and he was shackled no longer. When he awoke from his dream, he discovered that this was indeed true and he was free of his chains.[7] The wife of Henry I, Matilda of Scotland, heard of the miracle, and she assured herself that he was no rogue or thief, issued a writ of pardon and declared him a free man.[8]

During the Medieval period, the town was dominated by Chatteris Abbey, a small Benedictine nunnery dedicated to St Mary, built in 980 by Alfwen the niece of King Edgar and one of only eight nunneries mentioned in the Domesday Book. Throughout its existence, the abbey was comparatively poor compared to other foundations, due to a lack of royal patronage and a consequent lack of tithe estates. As a result, the abbey survived the first wave of closures during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, but was surrendered to the king's commissioners in 1538, by which time there were eleven nuns in residence.[9]

A privately owned 1847 watercolour of Park House before its demolition. Elements of the dissolved abbey can be seen in the walls, including Norman arches.

At this date fourteen local families still used the abbey church as parochial but this, unusually, did not save it from demolition, the parishioners being transferred to nearby St Peter and St Paul's Church in the area. It has been conjectured that due to the short space between them, the parish church may have been the abbey church,[10] although Claire Breay's Cartulary of Chatteris Abbey discounts this idea, citing that historical documentation clearly defines two separate churches. A range of the cloister buildings survived as part of a mansion known as Park House. This was demolished in 1847 and the site has now completely vanished beneath streets and housing, although the "Park Streets" of Chatteris mark the boundary of its walls and several buildings contain stone originating from the abbey.[11] A large portion of the town was destroyed by a great fire in 1310, which destroyed the nunnery and a large portion of the church, leaving only sections of the base of the tower.[12]

Early modern and contemporary

Later fires in 1706 and 1864 destroyed most medieval and Georgian architecture, and a large proportion of the town's listed buildings date from the Victorian period onwards.[13] However, many of the pasture fields on the outskirts of the town have evidence of ridge and furrow farming practices, although these are under threat by current building proposals.

To the north of the town runs the Forty Foot Drain, a large river also called Vermuyden's Drain, after the Dutch engineer whose name is associated with the fen drainage works of the middle of the 17th century. Several of the older buildings of the town show evidence of the Dutch architectural style.[14]

Chatteris is a market town and has possessed this designation since 1834, although an earlier market existed in the town, which was discontinued due to poor roads in 1808.[15] A small market is still held every Friday. Following the Beeching Axe, Chatteris railway station, formerly on the St. Ives extension of the Great Eastern Railway was closed in March 1967.[16][17]

Governance

Signpost in Chatteris

The town is in the North East Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency, with the incumbent MP being the Conservative Stephen Barclay. The constituency is now considered a safe Conservative seat, although the Liberal MP Clement Freud held the seat from 1973 to 1987.[18] The town is locally governed by Cambridgeshire County Council, Fenland District Council and Chatteris Town Council, each performing separate functions.

The town is historically part of the Isle of Ely, once under the secular jurisdiction of the Bishop of Ely, a power ended by the Liberty of Ely Act, 1837.[19] After various changes throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, following the recommendations of the Local Government Commission for England, on 1 April 1965 the bulk of the area was merged to form Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely, and since the Local Government Act 1972, Chatteris has been part of the wider Cambridgeshire County Council.

Under the Police Act 1964 and local government reform in 1974, the Isle of Ely Constabulary became part of the present Cambridgeshire Constabulary.[20] A small police station is situated in East Park Street, open on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.[21]

Geography

Chatteris is situated between Huntingdon, St Ives, Peterborough, March and Ely, in the middle of The Fens—the lowest-lying area in the United Kingdom—with most of the land surrounding the town being below sea level, although the highest point in the Fens (36 feet above sea level) is within Chatteris's parish boundaries.[22] The peaty land surrounding the town is largely used for agriculture, drained by numerous ditches and dykes, and there are two large drainage rivers near the town - the Forty Foot Drain, also known as Vermuyden's Drain, and the Sixteen Foot Drain.[23]

Chatteris is a key turning point on the A141 road (known as the Isle of Ely way)[24] and the starting point of the A142 road to Ely and Suffolk (known as Ireton's Way[25]). The town also has important links to Cambridge and the A14 via the B1050 to Bar Hill. The town centre traffic was bypassed in 1986, with the disused route of the former St Ives extension of the Great Eastern Railway being used to build the A141 to March and Guyhirn.[26]

There are no Met Office recording stations in the Fens, but an indication of rainfall and temperature of the county town Cambridge on the edge of the Fens shows that rainfall is below the national average, and in a wider study of East Anglia, the region had temperatures comparable with London, the warmest part of the UK.[27]

Climate data for Cambridge 1971–2000 average
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 7.0
(44.6)		 7.4
(45.3)		 10.2
(50.4)		 12.6
(54.7)		 16.5
(61.7)		 19.4
(66.9)		 22.2
(72)		 22.3
(72.1)		 18.9
(66)		 14.6
(58.3)		 9.9
(49.8)		 7.8
(46)		 14.1
(57.4)
Average low °C (°F) 1.3
(34.3)		 1.1
(34)		 2.9
(37.2)		 4.0
(39.2)		 6.7
(44.1)		 9.8
(49.6)		 12.0
(53.6)		 11.9
(53.4)		 10.1
(50.2)		 7.1
(44.8)		 3.7
(38.7)		 2.3
(36.1)		 6.1
(43)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 45.0
(1.772)		 32.7
(1.287)		 41.5
(1.634)		 43.1
(1.697)		 44.5
(1.752)		 53.8
(2.118)		 38.2
(1.504)		 48.8
(1.921)		 51.0
(2.008)		 53.8
(2.118)		 51.1
(2.012)		 50.0
(1.969)		 553.5
(21.791)
Source: Met Office

Demography

The United Kingdom Census 2001 found the population of Chatteris to be 8,820 people living in 3,809 households, with the average number of people per dwelling 2.31.[28] However, since 2001, there have been significant housing developments which have substantially increased this number. The census found that 98.9% of the population of the town were of the white ethnic group.[28] The parish of Chatteris is large, covering 6,099 hectares, equalling an average population density of 1.45, although most of the dwellings are concentrated in a smaller area, the outskirts of the town consisting of farmland.[28]

Economy

Chatteris is sited in particularly fertile agricultural land, and as such, the town's local economy is largely based on this industry.[29] Albert Bartlett Ltd, a major British grower and packer of root vegetables has a large facility in the town with over 2,500 hectares under cultivation, much of it growing the Chantenay carrot. According to their website, one in six of Britain's onions pass through their facilities in Chatteris, as well as a third of Britain's parsnips.[30] Rustler Produce Ltd, also based in Chatteris, is another major player in this industry, and a number of smaller vegetable producers and processors operate in the Chatteris area.

Another major employer in the town is Metalcraft (Stainless Metalcraft (Chatteris) Ltd).[31] The company was established in the town in the late 19th century and over the years has manufactured diamond mining equipment and overhead cranes. The company is now part of the Avingtrans Group and specialises in creating engineered products for the oil, gas, nuclear and medical industries.[32]

The town's main retail outlets are situated in Market Hill and High Street. The town centre has a post office, a branch of Barclays and a small Budgens supermarket. However, the town generally features more specialist non-branch shops in the centre. A Co-op supermarket is situated on Bridge Street. In 2007, the Petrou Brothers fish and chip shop in West Park Street won the National Chip Shop of the Year competition.[33]

Religion

The Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul, Chatteris

The 2001 Census found that 6,596 (74.8%) of people in the town stated Christian to be their religion, with 54 (0.6%) of other religions and 2163 (24.5%) as having no religion.[28]

The parish church of St Peter & St Paul is situated in the centre of the town. A church has been on the site since at least 1162, although the current tower dates from 1352. The building had fallen into disrepair during the 19th century, and the majority of the building is the result of an intensive restoration in 1910. This included restoring a pitched roof and adding new aisles, although the nave arches are original.[34] In 1935, a new two manual Harrison & Harrison organ was installed, a fine example of a pneumatic action instrument.[35] Recent years have seen the construction of several new facilities, such as the Bricstan room extension.[36] The church lists itself as being of the low church branch of the Church of England.[37] The church also hosts the town's Catholic congregation.[38]

The Emmanuel Church in East Park Street was created through the union of the Methodist, United Reformed and Baptist Union churches in Chatteris in 1990. It is based in the former United Reformed building in East Park Street, although several of the former chapel buildings still exist around the town.[39] The town also has a Salvation Army citadel, also in East Park Street.[40]

Education

Chatteris from the church tower, looking South-West towards Market Hill and East Park Street. The Emmanuel Church, Salvation Army citadel and Cromwell School are visible.

The town has two primary schools, Kingsfield Primary School (created in 2003 by the amalgamation of the former Burnsfield School and King Edward School)[41] and Glebelands School, which opened in the early months of 1994.[42] The town's secondary school is Cromwell Community College, founded in 1939.[43] The Isle College used to have a presence in the town, with a base in Grove House.[44] However, this closed following the College's merger with the College of West Anglia.[45] The town has a library run by Cambridgeshire County Council.[46]

Sport and leisure

The town's football club, Chatteris Town, was founded in 1920 and currently play in the Kershaw Premier Division of the Cambridgeshire Football Association County League.[47] The town also has a cricket club, Chatteris Cricket Club, which was founded in 1879. The club has five senior teams and four youth teams that compete in both the Fenland and Cambridgeshire leagues. Chatteris CC won the St Ivo Midweek League in 2008 and 2009 going both seasons unbeaten.[48] The town also has a bowls club and a tennis club (St Peters). Chatteris Airfield is about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north-northeast, which is mainly used for skydiving, and is the base of the North London Skydiving Centre. A flying school is also based at the airfield.[49][50]

The town has one swimming pool, the Empress, which is privately owned and is a registered charity run by three trustees. It is open to members and can be booked for private hires or group sessions.[51] It is home of the Chatteris Kingfishers swimming club, who after successes in 2008 compete in Division One of the 2009 "Cambs Cup" competition.[52] Plans for a public swimming pool and leisure centre have been proposed by the council since 1990, but have yet to be approved. Proposals for the development of Cromwell Community College under the government's BSF programme include significant leisure provisions and these are expected to start in 2010.[53][54] The Town now has a new state of the art gym situated in the grounds of Cromwell Community College.

Culture and community

The town is noted for its annual display of Christmas lights, which are entirely funded by community donations and have been featured on BBC Look East.[55][56] In 2008, a medieval-themed Historical Festival replaced the town's traditional festival week.[57][58]

The town has a museum run by volunteers, with several permanent exhibitions about local history, the Fens, Victoriana and the Railways.[59] Chatteris also has a Scout club, an Army Cadet force and a youth football team.[60][61]

Chatteris has morning and evening Women's Institutes, which both meet at the King Edward Centre,[62] and a Rotary Club which meet at the local fire station, and put on an annual firework display, plus other events in the town.[63] The town's annual entry in the "Anglia in Bloom" competition was awarded a Silver Gilt in 2008, and achieved a Gold in 2009.[64][65][66] The town also has a brass band, founded in 1882, which competes in the East Anglian Brass Band Association.[67][68]

In 2005, British indie band Half Man Half Biscuit – perhaps best known for "The Trumpton Riots" and "Dickie Davies Eyes" – included a song entitled "For What Is Chatteris..." on their award-winning Achtung Bono album. The song extolled the virtues of the town, offset against how unsatisfying the best place in the world can suddenly become when the one you love is no longer there: "a market town that lacks quintessence / that's Chatteris without your presence".[69] News of the song made the headlines of the Cambridgeshire Times and the Peterborough Evening Telegraph during September 2005, a month before the album's official release.[70]

A Chatteris fish and chip shop won the 2006 National Fish and Chip Shop of the Year competition. The Petrou Brothers owners were presented with the award by chef Ainsley Harriott.[71]

Notable residents

Transport

Chatteris is well served by local bus routes, with regular buses to the nearby towns of March, St Ives, Ely and the city of Cambridge. There are also occasional services to Huntingdon and Peterborough.

The nearest railway stations are in March and Manea.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Enjoy England.com, URL accessed 18 May 2008
  2. ↑ The Historic Towns of Cambridgeshire, An Extensive Urban Survey: Chatteris, Cambridgeshire County Council publication (draft, 2001), 9
  3. ↑ Kelly's Directory of Cambridgeshire, (London: Kelly's Directories Limited, 1900), pp.99.
  4. ↑ The Historic Towns of Cambridgeshire, An Extensive Urban Survey: Chatteris, Cambridgeshire County Council publication (draft, 2001), 14
  5. ↑ The Historic Towns of Cambridgeshire, An Extensive Urban Survey: Chatteris, Cambridgeshire County Council publication (draft, 2001), 20
  6. ↑ Full text of The Ecclesiastical history of England and Normandy at the Internet Archive (note: unedited)
  7. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt, Matilda of Scotland: a study in medieval queenship (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) 91.
  8. ↑ Revd John Towers, "Bricstan Hall? Who was “Bricstan”?" Chatteris Parish Magazine. Vol.33 Issue 6. June 2007
  9. ↑ Claire Breay (ed.), The Cartulary of Chatteris Abbey , (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1999). ISBN 0-85115-750-5. p.96
  10. ↑ The Historic Towns of Cambridgeshire, An Extensive Urban Survey: Chatteris, Cambridgeshire County Council publication (draft, 2001), 19
  11. ↑ Claire Breay (ed.), The Cartulary of Chatteris Abbey , (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1999). ISBN 0-85115-750-5, p.92
  12. ↑ Salzman, L.F., ed. (1984). A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely. Victoria County History 2. pp. 220–223.
  13. ↑ The Historic Towns of Cambridgeshire, An Extensive Urban Survey: Chatteris, Cambridgeshire County Council publication (draft, 2001), 13
  14. ↑ Chatteris History, URL accessed 18 May 2008 Archived 6 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ↑ Fenland District Council website, URL accessed 22 May 2008
  16. ↑ Kelly's Directory of Cambridgeshire, (London: Kelly's Directories Limited, 1900), pp.99.
  17. ↑ Chatteris Town History, URL accessed 22 May 2008
  18. ↑ Stephen Barclay constituency profile, URL accessed 23 June 2010
  19. ↑ Liberty of Ely Act, 1837 (7 Will 4 & 1 Vict c.53)
  20. ↑ Cambridgeshire Constabulary History The Badgers Lair (retrieved 11 December 2005)
  21. ↑ Cambridgeshire Constabulary, URL accessed 20 August 2009
  22. ↑ Malcolm Moss MP constituency page, URL accessed 8 September 2009 Archived August 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  23. ↑ "North Witchford Hundred: Chatteris", A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 4: City of Ely; Ely, N. and S. Witchford and Wisbech Hundreds (2002), pp. 103-109. URL accessed 8 September 2009.
  24. ↑ Google Maps (Map). Cartography by Tele Atlas. 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
  25. ↑ Google Maps (Map). Cartography by Tele Atlas. 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
  26. ↑ Fenland District Wide Local Plan: Chatteris (Adopted August 1993), Fenland District Council
  27. ↑ Climate: Eastern England, Met Office.gov, URL accessed 8 September 2009.
  28. 1 2 3 4 Chatteris Parish in the 2001 Census. The Research Group. Cambridgeshire County Council, October 2003
  29. ↑ Fenland District Council report, URL accessed 17 July 2009
  30. ↑ Albert Barlett website, URL accessed 17 July 2009 (Cached)
  31. ↑ Stainless Metalcraft website, URL accessed 17 July 2009
  32. ↑ Avingtrans Group, URL accessed 17 July 2009
  33. ↑ Seafish.org, URL accessed 18 May 2008
  34. ↑ St Peter & St Paul Chatteris at the Cambridgeshire Churches website, URL accessed 27 August 2009
  35. ↑ Harrison & Harrison organ catalogue, URL accessed 27 August 2009
  36. ↑ Chatteris Parish Church history, URL accessed 19 May 2008
  37. ↑ St Peter & St Paul at A Church Near You, URL accessed 20 August 2009
  38. ↑ St Peter & St Paul website, URL accessed 20 August 2009
  39. ↑ Emmanuel Church, URL accessed 19 November 2010
  40. ↑ Salvation Army website, URL accessed 19 May 2008
  41. ↑ Kingsfield Primary School, URL accessed 18 May 2008
  42. ↑ Glebelands Primary School, URL accessed 18 May 2008
  43. ↑ Cromwell Community College website, URL accessed 18 May 2008
  44. ↑ Grove House, URL accessed 7 September 2009
  45. ↑ College of West Anglia minutes 5/3/05 (item 9)
  46. ↑ Chatteris Library at cambridgeshire.gov, URL accessed 20 August 2009
  47. ↑ Chatteris Town F.C., URL accessed 21 November 2010
  48. ↑ Chatteris Cricket Club, URL accessed 21 May 2008
  49. ↑ Chatteris Airfield, URL accessed 21 March 2009
  50. ↑ North London Parachute Centre, URL accessed 21 March 2009
  51. ↑ Chatteris Business Directory, URL accessed 18 May 2008 Archived 16 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  52. ↑ "Kingfishers in the Top Flight" in the Fenland Citizen, March 2008
  53. ↑ Chatteris Council, URL accessed 18 May 2008
  54. ↑ Fenland District Council, URL accessed 18 May 2008
  55. ↑ chatterischristmaslights.co.uk, URL accessed 19 September 2010
  56. ↑ Visit the Fens: Chatteris, URL accessed 21 August 2009
  57. ↑ Medieval Festival information at Fenland District Council, URL accessed 21 October 2008
  58. ↑ Chatteris Historic Festival homepage, URL accessed 16 November 2010
  59. ↑ Chatteris Museum, URL accessed 21 May 2008
  60. ↑ Clubs in Chatteris, URL accessed 21 May 2008 Archived 11 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  61. ↑ Chatteris Town Youth Football Club, URL accessed 21 May 2008
  62. ↑ Chatteris Women's Institute, URL accessed 21 May 2008
  63. ↑ Chatteris Rotary Club, URL accessed 21 May 2008
  64. ↑ Chatteris Town in Bloom, URL accessed 17 August 2009
  65. ↑ Chatteris Phoenix.org, URL accessed 17 August 2009 Archived 1 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  66. ↑ Wisbech crowned the overall winner of Anglia in Bloom 2009, Wisbech Standard, 16 September 2009
  67. ↑ Chatteris Town Band, URL accessed 18 May 2008
  68. ↑ "The sound of success" in the Fenland Citizen, 17 May 2006
  69. ↑ "For What Is Chatteris…". The Half Man Half Biscuit Lyrics Project. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  70. ↑ "Does this inspire you to rock 'n' roll?". Peterborough Evening Telegraph. 23 September 2005. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  71. ↑ "Award: Fish and chip shop scales new heights", Peterborough Evening Telegraph, 15 November 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2014
  72. ↑ Eric Boon statistics, BoxRec.com, URL accessed 19 July 2010
  73. ↑ NHS - George Clare Surgery, URL accessed 18 May 2008
  74. ↑ John Pinfold. "Farrar, Sir George Herbert, baronet (1859–1915)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press, October 2007 accessed 21 August 2009
  75. ↑ Anglo Boer war.com, URL accessed 21 August 2009
  76. ↑ East Side Boxing.com, URL accessed 21 August 2009
  77. ↑ "Former Chatteris man is new Sun Editor" in the Fenland Citizen, 27 August 2009
  78. ↑ Joe Perry World Snooker Profile, URL accessed 21 May 2008 Archived 1 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  79. ↑ Jonathan Brown, "Ruston, Joseph" in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press,accessed 21 August 2009
  80. ↑ Lindsay Shilling profile, URL accessed 21 August 2009

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