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Cambridgeshire

SWAFFHAM PRIOR

"SWAFFHAM PRIOR, comprises the parishes of St. Mary and St. Cyriac, in the hundred of Staine, county Cambridge, 5 miles north-west of Newmarket, its post town. This parish, which includes part of Newmarket Heath, is bounded on the north by the Cam, and is intersected by several navigable drains or lodes communicating with that river. It contains the hamlet of Reach, and was formerly a market town under a charter granted to the prior of Ely. The living consists of the consolidated vicarages of St. Cyriac and St. Mary, in the diocese of Ely, joint value £301, in the patronage of the bishop and of the dean and chapter alternately. There were formerly two churches, viz:, St. Mary and St. Cyriac, but the former has long been in ruins; the latter has been rebuilt. In the interior is a brass of J. Tochyll in armour, bearing date 1462, also four others of the Waters family. The parochial charities produce about £68 per annum, of which £30 go to Thompson's school, There are National schools for both sexes."

• "REACH, (or Reche, or Ruin Reach), a hamlet in the parishes of Burwell and Swaffham Prior, hundreds of Staploe and Stains, county Cambridge, 1 mile from Swaffham Prior, and 6 miles north-west of Newmarket. It was formerly a market town. The Independents have a place of worship.

  Reach formed into a civil parish in 1954.

  See also Reach main page."

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

Census

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

Church History

• "The Baptist chapel was built in 1862. The churchyard, with a few reservations, was closed by Order in Council on May 19, 1899; a new burial ground adjoining the east side of the churchyard having been opened for use on Nov. 15, 1898; it is under the control of the Parish Council." [Kellys Directory - Cambridgeshire - 1929]

Church Records

• Methodist Church
  • Primitive Methodist Church: Records exist for the Cambridge Primitive Circuit of which Swaffham Prior is part.
  • Wesleyan Methodist Church: Records exist for the Cambridge Wesleyan Circuit and the Cottenham Wesleyan Circuit of which Swaffham Prior is part.

Description and Travel

• "The living consists of the consolidated vicarages of St. Mary and SS, Cyrise and Julitta, net yearly value £418, including 5 acres of glebe, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop and the Dean and Chapter of Ely alternately, and held since 1897 by the Rev. Lawrence Fisher M.A. of St. John's College, Cambridge, who is also rural dean of Fordham. The famous Puritan, Dr. Edward Calamy the elder, held the living from 1625 to 1631; Dr. George Davys, Bishop of Peterborough (1839-64), and Dr. Henry Pepys, Bishop of Worcester (1841-61), were curates here. The Most Rev. H. W. Jermyn D.D. sometime Primus of the Episcopal Church in Scotland, was born here. The Baptist chapel was built in 1862. The churchyard, with a few reservations, was closed by Order in Council on May 19, 1899; a new burial ground adjoining the east side of the churchyard having been opened for use on Nov. 15, 1898; it is under the control of the Parish Council."
• "Swaffham Prior House, built on the site of an old Elizabethan mansion, a portion of which it incorporates, is the property of Charles Israel Loraine Allix esq. D.L., J.P. and the residence of Alexander Gemmell esq."
  [Kellys Directory - Cambridgeshire - 1929]

Directories

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

Gazetteers

• A transcript of the SwaffhamPrior parish entries from Samuel Lewis's 1835 Topographical Dictionary of England,
• A transcript of the SwaffhamPrior parish entries from 1929 Kellys Directory of Cambridgeshire

Manors

• "There are several manors in the parish, the chief of which are Swaffham Prior, belonging to the Dean and Chapter of Ely; Shadforth the property of Queens' College, Cambridge, and Knights and Baldwins, belonging to Charles Israel Lolaine Allix esq. D.L., J.P. who, with Mr. C. C Ambrose, the Cambridge County Council and the Jockey Club are the principal landowners." [Kellys Directory - Cambridgeshire - 1929]

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 1757-63, 1789-1837, 1880-89, 1911-48.