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Cambridgeshire

WEST WRATTING

"WEST WRATTING, a parish in the hundred of Radfield, county Cambridge, 5 miles north-east of Linton, 9 from Newmarket, and 4 south-east of Six Mile Bottom station on the Cambridge and Newmarket railway. At a short distance from the village is Wratting Park, the seat of Sir Charles Watson. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely, value £220, in the patronage of the dean and chapter. The church is dedicated to St. Andrew. There are parochial schools.

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

Cemeteries

• The Monumental Inscriptions for St. Andrew churchyard, 1616-1990, are recorded in the Cambridge Records Office. These are available on microfiche from the Cambridgeshire Family History Society Publications list (search)

Census

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

Churches

• St. Andrew's Church, West Wratting.

Church History

• "The Church dedicated to St. Andrew, like most of those in this neighbourhood is an ancient structure, and consists of a nave, chancel, south porch, and western tower containing five bells. The interior has a light and elegant appearance. The living is a vicarage in the deanery of Camps, rated in the K.B., at £ 7.17s.3½;d. but now worth £215 nett, per annum. The dean and chapter of Ely are the patrons, and impropriators of the great tithes, and the Rev. John Hewlett Watson, M.A., is the present incumbent. This church was appropriated by bishop Long-champ to the monks of Ely. Land was allotted at the enclosure in lieu of tithes." [History, Gazeteer & Directory of Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Robert Gardner, 1851, pp.242,243]

Church Records

• Church of England
  • West Wratting, St. Andrew: Records of baptisms 1579-2003, marriages 1579-1980, burials 1579-1992 and banns 1754-2003 reside in the Cambridgeshire Archives. The Bishop's Transcripts for the years 1599-1712, 1723-1865 can be found in the Cambridge University Library. Indexed transcripts exist in the Cambridgeshire Archives for baptisms 1579-1889, marriages 1579-1837 and burials 1579-1869.
• Methodist Church
  • Wesleyan Methodist Church: Records exist for the Cambridge Wesleyan Circuit of which West Wratting is part.

Gazetteers

• A transcript of the WestWratting parish entries from Samuel Lewis's 1835 Topographical Dictionary of England,
• A transcript of the WestWratting parish entries from 1851 Robert Gardner's History, Gazeteer & Directory of Cambridgeshire

Manors

• "Manors.--A manor in this parish, which was given to the monks of Ely by Elfhelm, a Saxon knight, about the year 990, now belongs to the dean and chapter. At the time of the doomsday survey, a manor here, now called the Hall manor, was in the possession of Hardwinus de Scalariis, and it passed afterwards to the Frevilles, who possessed it for several generations. At a later period it was successively in the families of Dalton, Jacob, Smyth, and Shaftoe. About the year 1790 it was purchased by Richard Taylor, Esq., who sold it to General Hall, and it is now in the possession of Edward Frost, Esq., who holds it under the dean and chapter of Ely subject to a fine every seven years. Another manor here belonged to the family of Brigham, who in the reign of Edward III, conveyed it to Thomas de Lisle, bishop of Ely. The bishop gave it to the master and fellows of Peterhouse college. The manor of Charls was formerly held by the Shaftoes, and was purchased by the duke of Bedford, who erected a range of stables for his horses, and occasionally resided here during the Newmarket race meetings. He afterwards sold it to Sir Hedworth Williamson, and it is now the property of Jesus college. The family of Haylock, now extinct, was formerly an ancient and wealthy family in this parish : the greater part of their property, was purchased some years since by Edward Frost, Esq., of West Wratting-hall. The manor of Parys, so called from the family of that name which possessed it in the reign of Henry VI, was for many years in possession of the Daltons, who sold it about the beginning of the last century to the Corporation of the sons of the clergy. The Daltons resided here many years, and possessed the principal landed property in the parish. Michael Dalton, the purchaser of the greater part of it, and author of the Complete Justice and other works, settled here in the reign of queen Elizabeth, and died in 1644, and was buried in the parish church. The manor of Scarletts, which belonged to the family of Perne, is now the property of Sir Charles W. Watson, bart.; and the manor of Oxcroft, in this parish, and that of Balsham, now belong to Wm. Purkis, Esq." [History, Gazeteer & Directory of Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Robert Gardner, 1851, pp.242, 243]

Military History

• The War Memorial Plaque in the Church 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 1759-63, and 1789-1846, 1798 (on microfilm).