GenUKI Contents

Cambridgeshire

Nearby places

DODDINGTON

"DODDINGTON, a parish in the hundred of North Witchford, Isle of Ely, in the county of Cambridge, 2 miles south-west of the Wimblington station on the Great Eastern railway, and 4 north of Chatteris. It is situated on the main road from the latter town to March, its post town, and contains Benwick, Wimblington, and the North Witchford Union workhouse. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Ely, value with the curacies of March and Benwick annexed, £7,306, in the patronage of Sir H. Peyton, Bart., who is also lord of the manor. The benefice is the richest in the kingdom. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. The Baptists and Methodists have each a chapel. There is an endowed free school, and a National charity school for both sexes. The charities amount to £903 per annum, which includes Walden's school."

"BENWICK, a chapelry in the parish of Doddington, and hundred of North Witchford, in the Isle of Ely, in the county of Cambridge, 6 miles to the south-west of March, its post town. The living is a perpetual curacy annexed to the rectory of Doddington, in the diocese of Ely. The church is dedicated to St. James.

(See also Benwick Parish pages)"

"CHAINBRIDGE, a hamlet in the parish of Doddington in the hundred of North Witchford, Isle of Ely, in the county of Cambridge, 2½ miles north of March."

"MARCH, a chapelry, post and small market town, in the parish of Doddington, hundred of North Witchford, Isle of Ely, county Cambridge, 9 miles south-west of Wisbech, and 29 north by west of Cambridge. It has a station on the Great Eastern line of railway. It is a prosperous and improving town, situated on the banks of the navigable river Nen, which is crossed by a bridge at the north end of the town. March has derived considerable advantage from the draining of the fen lands, in connection with which excellent roads passable at all seasons of the year have been formed. The surrounding country is flat but very fertile, producing excellent crops. The town is well paved and lighted with gas. It contains several good houses and commodious inns, with a good market place, three banks, savings-bank, and a guildhall situated in High-street. This last is a modern building, in which are held the manorial courts, also the county courts. A brisk trade is done in corn, coal, and timber. Urns and coins of Antoninus, and other of the Roman emperors, were found herein 1730. The living is a curacy annexed to the rectory* of Doddington, in the diocese of Ely. The church, dedicated to St. Wendreda, is a very ancient structure, with a spired tower at the west end. It is said to have been erected in 1343 by an indulgence granted by the Pope to all who should contribute to it. In the interior of the church are some tombs of great antiquity. The register dates from 1655. The charities produce upwards of £600 per annum, appropriated in various ways by an order of the Court of Chancery decreed in 1851. There are National and infant schools. Neale's grammar school, founded in 1696, is endowed with 33 acres of land in White's Fen. The almshouses situated near the church are of recent erection. The Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyan Methodists have each a place of worship. Market day is Wednesday. Fairs are held on the Monday prior to Whit-Sunday and the third Tuesday in October, each continuing for three days.

See also the March Parish page."

"WIMBLINGTON, a hamlet in the parish of Doddington, hundred of North Witchford, county Cambridge, 3½ miles south of March. It is a station on the Cambridge, March, and Wisbech branch of the Great Eastern railway.

See also the Wimblington Parish page."

Census

• The Census Records from 1841-1891 can be found in the Cambridgeshire Archives and in Wisbech Library. In addition the 1851 Census for Doddington is available in full transcript form, on microfiche, from the Cambridgeshire Family History Society Publications list (search)

Churches

• St. Mary's Church, Doddington.

Church History

• The church of St. Mary is an ediface of stone, in the early English style, consisting of a fine chancel, nave, aisles, north and south porches, vestry and a western tower with spire containing a clock and 5 bells: the chancel, separated from the nave by carved oak screen, was restored in 1891 at a cost of £978, and a vestry screen, the gift of J.H. Marshall esq. of Grimsby, erected at a cost of £103; the nave was restored in 1892 at a cost of £800; the stained west window, a memorial to John Thomas Waddington esq. was presented by his widow about 1867; the stained east window was presented in 1891 by T.R. Harding esq. as a memorial to his wife and other members of the Harding family; the stained south window in the sanctuary was presented by Mrs. Peyton in 1907, in memory of her husband, General Francis Peyton, and there are other windows to the Richards and Peyton families, besides several tablets to the Peyton family, whose family vault is under the chancel; the church affords 600 sittings. The living is a rectory, net yearly value £1,026 with residence, and including 61 acres of glebe, in the gift of Lt.-Col. Sir Algernon Francis Peyton bart. J.P. and held since 1887 by the Rev. Frederick Charles Marshall M.A. of St. John's College, Cambridge. This living was formerly the richest in England, but under the Act of 1856 and a previous Act in 1847 (10 & 11 Vict. C. 3) it is divided into seven rectories, viz. Benwick, Doddington, Wimblington, March Old Town, March St. Peter, March St. John and March St. Mary. Here is also a Wesleyan chapel.
  [Kelly's Directory - 1912]

Church Records

• Church of England
  • Doddington, St. Mary: Records of baptisms 1681-1960, marriages 1681-1983, burials 1681-1992 and banns for 1786-1812, 1843-1910, 1967 reside in the Cambridgeshire Archives, indexed transcripts exist for baptisms 1681-1900, marriages 1600-1900, burials 1681-1900 and banns 1786-1912, 1843-1900. The parish register transcripts, 1600-1900, are available on microfiche from the Cambridgeshire Family History Society Publications list (search) The Bishop's Transcripts for the years 1600-1648, 1661-93, and 1704-1878 can be found in the Cambridge University Library.
• Methodist
  • Primitive Methodist Church: Records exist at the Cambridgeshire Archives for the Ely Primitive Circuit of which Doddington is part.
  • Wesleyan Methodist Church: Records exist at the Cambridgeshire Archives for baptisms 1868-84 and for the Chatteris Wesleyan Circuit of which Doddington is part.

Description and Travel

• The St. Mary's Church Reading and Recreation Rooms form a picturesque structure of brick, erected on a site given by the rector, and presented to the parish by Col. and Miss Harding; there are 98 members. A clock tower with four dials was erected in 1897, at a cost of £90, in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Her late Majesty Queen Victoria; there is also a fire engine house.
  [Kelly's Directory - 1912]

Directories

• The "1839 Pigot's Directory of Cambridgeshire" for Doddington index of Inns & Hotels, Taverns and Public Houses, Brewers & Maltsters + Wine & Spirit Merchants.

Gazetteers

• A transcript of the Doddington parish entries from Samuel Lewis's 1835 Topographical Dictionary of England,
• A transcript of the Doddington parish entries from 1908 Kellys Directory of Cambridgeshire

Military History

• Both the Doddington War Memorial and the Doddington School War Memorial have been transcribed and researched.
• A Roll of Honour to the Doddington Yeomanry inside St Wendreda's Church, March, lists the officers of the Troop when founded in 1798 and officers and men when the unit was disbanded in 1827. These men mostly came from the March, Wimblington and Benwick area.
• The Chainbridge War Memorial has also been transcribed and and the men researched.

Names, Geographical

• "Primrose Hill and New World are in the neighbourhood of Doddington." [Kelly's Directory - 1912]

Poor Houses, Poor Law, etc.

• The Workhouse for the North Witchford Union, erected here about 1838, is a large building of light-coloured brick, and will hold 283 inmates, the average number being about 108. [Kelly's Directory - 1912]

Schools

• Extracts from an article about the Lionel Walden School, Doddington taken from the Advertiser & Pictorial of Thursday 2nd November 1967, including extracts from the school log books, encompass the period 1783 through 1912. Also available is a list of the first pupils, 1789, at Lionel Walden School, kindly transcribed by Dave Edwards.

Taxation

• Land Tax: records were compiled afresh each year and contain the names of owners and occupiers in each parish, but usually there is no address or place name. These records reside in the Cambridgeshire Archives for the years 1798-1801 (1798-99 on microfilm) and 1946-48.