WILLINGHAM
[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2013
"WILLINGHAM, a parish in the hundred of Papworth, county Cambridge, 10 miles
north-west of Cambridge, 6 south-east of St. Ives, and 1 mile north of Longstanton
railway station, near the river Ouse. A large proportion of the land is in
dairy farms, and much of the cheese which takes its name from the
neighbouring village of Cottenham is made here. The living is a rectory in
the diocese of Ely, value £677, in the patronage of the crown. The church
is dedicated to St. Mary and All Saints. There are chapels for Baptists and
Wesleyans. The charities produce about £90 per annum, including the
endowment of a charity school, founded in 1593, and of an almshouse for
four widows, founded in 1616 by W. Smith."
[Transcribed and edited information from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868]
- The Monumental Inscriptions for the churchyard of St. Mary and All Saints are recorded
for the years 1704-1925 and reside in the Cambridgeshire Archives. These inscriptions
are also available on microfiche from the
Cambridgeshire Family History Society Publications list (search).
- " A cemetery of 2 acres was formed in 1865, at a cost of £500, and is under the control
of the Parish Council."
[Kelly's Directory - 1900]
- The following Churches have their own websites:
- "The church of St. Mary and All Saints is an edifice of stone and rubble, chiefly
in the Decorated style, with some remains of Saxon and Norman work, and consists
of chancel, clerestoried nave of six bays, aisles, south porch and a lofty western
tower with pinnacles and spire and containing a clock, provided in 1887 at a cost
of £125, and 5 bells: in the north wall of the chancel is an arched recess and on
the south side is a remarkably fine piscina and sedilia; some ancient though mutilated
stalls remain, and there is an excellent Perpendicular roof with carved foliage:
on the north side of the chancel, and now used as a vestry, is a small but very remarkable
chapel, in the Decorated style, with a high pitched stone roof, carried on stone
arches springing from corbels and pierced above by tracery with foliated cusping;
it has also a piscina mounted on a shaft: the piers and arches of the nave are Decorated
and the clerestory Perpendicular; the very fine hammer-beam roof, also of this date,
is said to have been brought from Barnwell priory: the spandrils are filled with
carved foliage and shields: in the north aisle are two fine canopied tombs, and an
altar step remains at the east end, which formed a chantry chapel belonging to the
manor of Willingham, and is still inclosed by a beautiful though much mutilated Decorated
screen: the roof is Perpendicular, with carved bosses, and retains much of the ancient
colouring; the south aisle has a roof of different pattern, and is partly inclosed
by a Perpendicular screen, forming a chapel attached to the manor of Brunes; it retains
a piscina and a canopied tomb: the font is Perpendicular and has an octagonal basin:
the pulpit of the same period, is pentagonal, on a single octagonal shaft, and has
panelled sides, beautifully carved: within the lower stage of the tower are three
large arched recesses: the chancel was restored by the rector in 1890-91, at a cost
of £1,200, under the direction of Messrs. Carpenter and Ingelow, architects: there
are 320 sittings.The register dates from the year 1559."
- "The Baptist chapel in High Street seats 800 persons, and there is another called
the "Tabernacle"; the Wesleyan chapel affords 200 sittings."
[Kelly's Directory - 1900]
- Church of England
- Willingham, St. Mary and All Saints:
Records of baptisms 1559-1985, marriages 1559-1967, burials 1559-1891 and banns
for 1654-57, 1754-1813, 1823-87 reside in the Cambridgeshire Archives, indexed transcripts
exist for baptisms, marriages, and burials for the years 1559-1891 and reside in
both the Cambridge and Huntingdon Record Offices. Photocopies exist in the Huntingdon
Record Office for baptisms and burials 1559-1812 and marriages 1559-1754. The Bishop's
Transcripts for the years 1599-1850 can be found in the Cambridge University Library.
The parish register transcripts are available, on microfiche, from the
Cambridgeshire Family History Society Publications list (search)
- Baptist
- Baptist Tabernacle:
Records exist in the Cambridgeshire Archives marriages 1916-87.
- Baptist Church:
Records exist in the Cambridgeshire Archives for births and baptisms 1754-1827 (these
are indexed) and membership lists 1726-1840.
- Methodist Church
- 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, 1880-1948.
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