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| Earith | |
|---|---|
  Earith Location withinCambridgeshire | |
| Population | 1,606 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | TL373743 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Huntingdon |
| Postcode district | PE28 |
| Dialling code | 01487 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Earith is a village andcivil parish inCambridgeshire, England.[1] Lying approximately 10 miles (16 km) east ofHuntingdon, Earith is situated withinHuntingdonshire which is anon-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being ahistoric county of England. At Earith, two artificial diversion channels of theRiver Great Ouse, theOld Bedford River and theNew Bedford River, leave the river on a course toDenver Sluice nearDownham Market, where they rejoin the Great Ouse in its tidal part. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,677,[2] reducing to 1,606 at the 2011 Census.[3]
ARoman bronze statue was found to the west of the village at Bury Fen in 1826. It is now in theBritish Museum.
To the north east of the village, between theOld Bedford River and theNew Bedford River lies the remains of anEnglish Civil War fort known as Earith Bulwark. It is believed to have been constructed as early as 1643, to fortify the crossing point of theRiver Great Ouse. Many fenland inhabitants resented theRoyalists because they believed that the King's drainage projects undertaken by Dutch engineerCornelius Vermuyden, had damaged their livelihoods (hisForty Foot Drain had been completed in 1637). Today, the fort is visible as a series of earthworks only, showing abastion fort design with ditches and cornerbastions. It is similar in design to Fort Nassau atAardenburg in the Netherlands. During theSecond World War, a machine gun turret was built on the south bastion.[4]
On 17 January 1942 a number of RAF serviceman were killed in a crash involving aHawker Hurricane from 61 Operational Training Unit and aShort Stirling bomber. The Stirling was flying fromRAF Oakington with 7 Squadron and the accident occurred just north of Earith Bridge.[5]
In theWinter of 1946–47, there was the "Battle of Earith Gap". Melting snow had built up in theFenland waterways, unable to be released into the sea because of high tides. On 17 March a 50 yards (46 m) gap was torn in the river bank, and water poured out to flood the Fen farms for five days. Eventually the breach was blocked with amphibious vehicles while more orthodox repair work was carried out.
A USAFFairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II crashed on Thursday 22 December 1988 between the village andOver. First Lt Frank Cavuoti fromRAF Alconbury of511th Tactical Fighter Squadron ejected. He attended the USAF medical clinic atRAF Upwood.[6][7][8]
As a civil parish, Earith has aparish council. The parish council is elected by the residents of the parish who have registered on theelectoral roll; the parish council is the lowest tier of government in England. A parish council is responsible for providing and maintaining a variety of local services including allotments and a cemetery; grass cutting and tree planting within public open spaces such as a village green or playing fields . The parish council reviews all planning applications that might affect the parish and makes recommendations to Huntingdonshire District Council, which is thelocal planning authority for the parish. The parish council also represents the views of the parish on issues such as local transport, policing and the environment. The parish council raises its own tax to pay for these services, known as the parish precept, which is collected as part of theCouncil Tax. The parish council consists of eleven councillors and normally meets on the first Thursday of the month at the village hall.[9]
Earith was in the historic andadministrative county of Huntingdonshire until 1965. From 1965, the village was part of the new administrative county ofHuntingdon and Peterborough. Then in 1974, following theLocal Government Act 1972, Earith became a part of the county of Cambridgeshire.
The second tier of local government isHuntingdonshire District Council which is anon-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and has its headquarters in Huntingdon. Huntingdonshire District Council has 52 councillors representing 29district wards.[10] Huntingdonshire District Council collects thecouncil tax, and provides services such as building regulations, local planning, environmental health, leisure and tourism.[11] Earith is a district ward and is represented on the district council by two councillors.[12][10] District councillors serve for four year terms followingelections to Huntingdonshire District Council.
For Earith the highest tier of local government isCambridgeshire County Council which has administration buildings in Cambridge. The county council provides county-wide services such as major road infrastructure, fire and rescue, education, social services, libraries and heritage services.[13] Cambridgeshire County Council consists of 69 councillors representing 60electoral divisions.[14] Earith is part of the electoral division ofSomersham and Earith[12] and is represented on the county council by one councillor.[14]
At Westminster Earith is in the parliamentary constituency ofNorth West Cambridgeshire,[12] and elects oneMember of Parliament (MP) by thefirst past the post system of election. Earith is represented in theHouse of Commons byShailesh Vara (Conservative). Shailesh Vara has represented the constituency since 2005. The previous member of parliament wasBrian Mawhinney (Conservative) who represented the constituency between 1997 and 2005.
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The village has a post office, a Tandoori takeaway, a barber’s shop, one public house (The Crown) and a school. The village does not have a parish church.
What was once the National School has been converted into flats, and theWesleyan Methodist chapel, erected in 1828, is now a private house. The village is home to amarina, and during winter monthsice skating is popular at nearby Bury Fen. Both activities are depicted in the village sign. Abandy statue has been erected at a pond in the village,[15] as Bluntisham-cum-Earith is at the core of bandy history.[16]
Two large lakes were formed to the north of the village during gravel quarrying in the 1960s. Today the site is home to afishery.
The long-distance footpath theOuse Valley Way links the village withStretham (11 miles (18 km)) andSt Ives (6 miles (10 km)). The footpath covers (150 miles (241 km)) in total between the source of theRiver Great Ouse atSyresham and its mouth inThe Wash nearKing's Lynn.
A cycle path running along the route of the A1123 (and throughNeedingworth village) links Earith with St Ives (5.2 miles (8 km)) along a wide path suitable for cycles.
The village was connected to the railway network in 1865, with arailway station located to the east of the village, in an area namedEarith Bridge, on theEly and St Ives Railway. Passenger services were discontinued in 1931, and the Earith section of railway was closed in 1958. Nothing remains of the railway station at Earith Bridge however stone plynths that used to carry the railway over theRiver Great Ouse and a flood plain that runs alongside it can still be seen from theOuse Valley Way footpath.
Earith is served by one bus route, the 301, that connects it toSt Ives andSomersham with some journeys servingWarboys andRamsey. It is operated by Dews Coaches of Somersham.
Stagecoach in Huntingdonshire, Vectare andWhippet Coaches have all previously operated bus routes that serve Earith. Whippet Coaches routes 21 and 22A (later operated by Dews Coaches and Vectare), and the Busway A service of Stagecoach in Huntingdonshire, connected Earith to St Ives and Somersham with the Stagecoach route continuing via theCambridgeshire Guided Busway toCambridge at peak times. Throughout the 2010s and early 2020s, the St Ives and Somersham service underwent constant changes with several changes of operater before all routes were combined into the Dews Coaches 301 on 14th October 2024.[17]
Media related toEarith at Wikimedia Commons