| Girton | |
|---|---|
 St Andrew's Church in February 2017 | |
  Girton Location withinCambridgeshire | |
| Population | 4,559 (2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | TL422615 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Cambridge |
| Postcode district | CB3 |
| Dialling code | 01223 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | www.girton-cambs.org.uk |
| |
Girton is a village andcivil parish of about 1,600 households, and 4,500 people, inCambridgeshire, England. It lies about 2 miles (3 km) to the northwest ofCambridge, and is the home ofGirton College, aconstituent college of theUniversity of Cambridge.
Listed asGrittune in around 1060 andGrittune in theDomesday Book, the village's name is derived from the Old Englishgrēot + tūn meaning "farmstead or village on gravelly ground", as the settlement was formed on a gravel ridge.[2]
Girton has a long history, and has been home to a poor settlement for more than 2000 years. The parish lies on theVia Devana, the Roman road, and a cemetery with at least 225 burials between the 2nd century AD and the earlyAnglo Saxon period was found near Girton College in 1880. In addition, traces of agriculture from the lateBronze Age andRoman period were found to the north of the village in 1975. A selection of Anglo-Saxon items are stored in the collection of Girton College.[3]
Before the 20th century most of the village was devoted to arable farming, followingEnclosure in 1808.[3]
In 1934 the parish acquired 58 acres (23 hectares) of land from neighbouringHiston and the Cotton manorial estate.[3] Further land was gained from Histon and Impington in 1953, and the village subsumed the small hamlet of Howes into its parish.[3] The parish boundary was further adjusted in 1985 to align with the recently completedM11 motorway, with Girton relinquishing over 100 acres (40 hectares) toMadingley parish. The completion of the motorway created aninterchange with theA428,A14 andA1307.
The parish church has been dedicated toSaint Andrew since at least 1240. Part of the west tower contains stones that were probably part of an earlier 11th-century church on the site, and there are parts of 13th century construction still in evidence, but the present building was largely rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries.[4] The church was owned byRamsey Abbey from the 12th century until theDissolution of the Monasteries.[4]
People buried in the churchyard of St Andrews include botanistAgnes Arber,[5] academicEllen Wordsworth Darwin, and Elisabeth Hertz, wife ofHeinrich Hertz.[citation needed]
A Baptist church was built in the village in 1860.[3][6]
The currentvillage sign, situated on the corner of Redgate Road and Cambridge Road, was erected in 1985 after a fund-raising campaign. Designed by Denis Cheason and made by Barry Sharman, the silhouette design is formed from a number of separate images. The top part of design is based on a Roman belt discovered in a burial ground nearGirton College. The centre is derived from the family coat of arms of Anne-Maria Cotton, who endowed the first Girton village school, together with geese, kept at Washpit, that provided quills for use in theUniversity of Cambridge. The flowers near the village's name arecorn marigolds which were once common in the village, and at the base is the cross ofSaint Andrew to whom the parish church is dedicated.[7]
Girton has three public houses: the Old Crown opened in around 1840,[3] The George (formerly the George and Dragon) which was opened by a blacksmith in the 1850s,[3] and The Traveller's Rest a modern addition on Huntingdon Road on the outskirts of Cambridge. The village's first pub, the White Horse, was opened in around 1760 but closed in the late 20th century.[3] The village hosts theblack squirrel, a rare variant of thegrey squirrel.[8]
Girton College, aconstituent college of theUniversity of Cambridge, is situated within the village. Formed in 1869 under the name of the College for Women at Benslow House, it was originally based inHitchin inHertfordshire, before moving to its current site in 1873, at which time it took its current name. Until 1976 it admitted only women.
The village also contains a primary school, Girton Glebe. Built in 1951, it replaced the village's original school, built in 1845,[9] as well as Gretton School, a special school for pupils withautism spectrum disorders.[10]
GirtonParish Council was established in 1894,[11] and consists of 15 members as of 2022.[12] Girton is part of the Girton ward, along with Dry Drayton and Madingley, and returns two councillors toSouth Cambridgeshire District Council.[13][14] Between 1894 and 1974 it was part ofChesterton rural district.[11] It is part of the Bar Hill ward, along with Bar Hill, Dry Drayton, andLolworth, ofCambridgeshire County Council.[15] ForWestminster representation, Girton is part of theSt Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire constituency.[16] Prior to the2023 review of Westminster constituencies it was part of theSouth Cambridgeshire constituency.[17]
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