GenUKI Contents

Cambridgeshire

HISTON

"HISTON, a parish in the hundred of Chesterton, county Cambridge, 5 miles north of Cambridge by the Cambridge and Wisbech section of the Great Eastern railway, on which it is a station. The village is considerable. The tithes were commuted for land under an Enclosure Act in 1806. The living consists of the vicarages* of St. Andrew and St. Etheldreda united, in the diocese of Ely, value £400. The church of St. Andrew is a cruciform structure, with a square embattled tower. The church of St. Etheldreda has long since been demolished. The Wesleyans have a place of worship and there is a National school. The parochial charities produce £80 per annum, of which £38 is the endowment to March's free school."

[The above was transcribed (and edited) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2023

Business and Commerce Records

• "Messrs. Stephen Chivers and Sons, who own several hundred acres of fruit gardens in the parish, have a large jam factory in the village, in which they employ about 500 people; the works are lighted with electricity and provided with a large artesian well, capable of supplying a tank with 20,000 gallons of water in six hours; the firm is able to produce over 100 tons of jam daily."
  [Kellys Directory of Cambridgeshire 1900]

Cemeteries

• The Monumental Inscriptions for the churchyard 1704-1981 are recorded in the Cambridge Records Office.

Census

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

Churches

• The following Churches have their own websites:
  • St. Andrew's Church, Histon
  • The Methodist Church, Histon

Church History

• "There were anciently two churches in this parish, St. Andrew's and St. Etheldreda's, but the latter, which stood west of St. Andrew's, about a furlong distant, was sacrilegiously pulled down in 1600 by Sir Francis Hinde, then lord of the manor, and the materials used to build his house at Madingley: in 1874, on the removal of the long unfinished gallery at the end of Madingley Hall, portions of moulded and traceried stone work formerly belonging to St. Etheldreda's were discovered, and re-incorporated in the chancel of St. Andrew's on its restoration. The church of St. Andrew is a cruciform building of rubble in the Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, clerestoried nave of three bays, aisles, transepts, a 14th century south porch and a central tower carried on low arches and containing a clock and 6 bells: the chancel and transepts are very fine Early English, and the latter have internal arcades and double piscine and sedilia, all highly finished: the chancel retains two sedilia: the south transept is lighted by two triplets of lancets, and was formerly the mortuary chapel of the Sumpter family, whose memorials still remain under the seats, and was restored in 1871 by the widow of W. R. Sumpter esq: the nave piers and arches are Decorated: the font is Perpendicular and has quatrefoiled panels, and there are several stained windows, those in the chancel being of Munich glass: the chancel was restored internally, re-seated and new roofed in 1874-5, under the direction of the late Sir G. Gilbert Scott R.A. and the nave and aisles by G. F. Bodley esq. A.R.A, F.S.A. at a total cost of £5,000: there are 500 sittings. The register of baptisms and burials dates from the year 1685; marriages, 1655."
• "A Baptist chapel was built in 1900, at a cost of £2,500 to seat 400 persons. There is also a Wesleyan chapel, built in 1897."
  [Kelly's Directory - 1900]

Church Records

• Church of England
  • Histon, Saint Andrew & Saint Etheldred: Records of baptisms 1684-1974, marriages 1653-1997, burials 1653-1936 and banns 1754-1981 reside in the Cambridgeshire Archives. The Bishop's Transcripts for the years 1599-1697, 1709-1859 can be found in the Cambridge University Lbrary. Indexed transcripts to baptisms 1599-1898, marriages 1599-1900 burials 1599-1859 and banns 1754-1900 reside in the Cambridgeshire Archives.
• Methodist Church
  • Wesleyan Methodist Church: Records exist for the Cottenham Wesleyan Circuit which includes records for Histon.
  • Wesleyan Methodist Church: Records exist for the Cambridge Wesleyan Circuit which includes records for Histon.

Community Websites

• Histon and Impington Parish Council

Description and Travel

• The Histon and Impington village website contains a large amount of historical information pertient to both villages.

Gazetteers

• A transcript of the Histon parish entries from Samuel Lewis's 1835 Topographical Dictionary of England,
• A transcript of the Histon parish entries from 1900 Kellys Directory of Cambridgeshire

Military History

• The War Memorial has been transcribed and the men researched, and the
• The War Methodist War Memorial has been transcribed and the men researched.

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 (on microfilm), 1829-32 and 1880-1948.