| Huntingdon | |
|---|---|
| Market town | |
 Huntingdon Town Hall andThe Thinking Soldier War Memorial | |
  Huntingdon Location withinCambridgeshire | |
| Population | 25,428 (2021 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | TL245725 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Areas of the town | |
| Post town | HUNTINGDON |
| Postcode district | PE28, PE29 |
| Dialling code | 01480 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Huntingdon is amarket town in theHuntingdonshire district ofCambridgeshire, England. The town was given itstown charter byKing John in 1205. It was thecounty town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire.Oliver Cromwell was born there in 1599[2] and became one of itsMembers of Parliament (MP) in 1628. The formerConservativePrime Minister (1990–1997)John Major served as its MP from1979 until his retirement in2001.
During theRoman Empire, in 274, a massivecoin hoard dating to the reign ofTetricus I and Roman EmperorAurelian was hidden in the grounds of the town. Consisting of 9,724Roman coins, and discovered in 2018, theMuddy Hoard is considered to date the largest treasure trove of Cambridgeshire.[3][4]
Huntingdon was founded by theAnglo-Saxons andDanes. It is first mentioned in theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle in 921, where it appears asHuntandun. It appears asHuntedun in theDomesday Book of 1086. The name means "The huntsman's hill" or possibly "Hunta's hill".[5]
Huntingdon seems to have been a staging post for Danish raids outsideEast Anglia until 917, when the Danes moved toTempsford, now inBedfordshire, before they were crushed byEdward the Elder. It prospered successively as a bridging point of theRiver Great Ouse, a market town, and in the 18th and 19th centuries acoaching centre, notably at theGeorge Hotel. The town hasa well-preserved medieval bridge that used to serve as the main route ofErmine Street over the river. The bridge only ceased to be the sole crossing point toGodmanchester in 1975, with the building of what is now theA1307 (formerlyA14)bypass.
The town's valuable trading position was secured byHuntingdon Castle, of which only the earthworks of themotte survive. The site is aScheduled Ancient Monument and home to abeacon used to mark the 400th anniversary of theSpanish Armada.
In 1746, the nurserymen Wood and Ingram of nearbyBrampton developed anelm-tree cultivar,Ulmus × hollandica 'Vegeta', which they named the Huntingdon Elm after the town.[6]
Original documents on Huntingdon's history, including the boroughcharter of 1205, are held byCambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at the County Record Office, Huntingdon.[7]
Parts of Huntingdon, including the centre, were struck byan F1/T3 tornado on 23 November 1981, during a record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day.[8] The centre suffered moderate damage.
Between the railway station and the old hospital building, stands a replica cannon installed in the 1990s to replace one from theCrimean War, scrapped for the war effort in theSecond World War. However, it faces in the opposite direction from the original.St Mary's Street drill hall was built in the late 19th century.[9]
The George Hotel on the corner of High Street and George Street was once a posting house. It was named afterSaint George of England in 1574 and bought some 25 years later by Henry Cromwell, grandfather ofOliver Cromwell.[2] KingCharles I made the George his headquarters during theEnglish Civil War in 1645. Later the highwaymanDick Turpin is said to have been a customer when it was a coaching inn on theGreat North Road. A theatre was built to the rear of the George in about 1799. The Lincoln company of actors managed byThomas Shaftoe Robertson and laterFanny Robertson performed here in race weeks.[10] Two wings of the inn burnt down in the mid-19th century, but two were saved, including one with a balcony overlooking the yard. Since 1959, the courtyard and balcony have been used forShakespeare performances by a company run by the Shakespeare at the George Trust. These performances took place until 2024 when the Green King company who run the George Hotel decided it was not in their best interest to continue Shakespeare at the George, ending its 65-year run.[11]
Huntingdon has a town council with 19 councillors elected every four years.[12] Two of them serve also as mayor and deputy mayor.[13] Meetings are normally held once a month atHuntingdon Town Hall.[14]
Since boundary changes in 2018[15], fourHuntingdonshire District Council wards cover parts of Huntingdon:Huntingdon North,Huntingdon East, The Stukeleys (covering Stukeley Meadows), andBrampton (covering Hinchingbrooke).[16] The three wards each elect two or three councillors.[17] The main offices of Huntingdonshire District Council are in Huntingdon itself.
The third tier of local government isCambridgeshire County Council providing county-wide services such as roads, education, social services, libraries and heritage protection.[18] Following changes to electoral boundaries in 2017[19], Huntingdon is covered by three county divisions,Huntingdon North and Hartford, Huntingdon West, andHuntingdon South and Godmanchester, each electing one county councillor.[20]
The fourth tier of local government isCambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, which is headed by a mayor. The Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough as of May 2025 isPaul Bristow (Conservative).[21]
Huntingdon lies in theparliamentary constituency ofthe same name (formerlyHuntingdonshire).Ben Obese-JectyMP(Conservative) was elected to this seat in theHouse of Commons in 2024, replacingJonathan Djanogly.[16]
The town lies on the north bank of theRiver Great Ouse oppositeGodmanchester and close to the market town ofSt Ives to the east and the village ofBrampton to the west. Huntingdon incorporates the village ofHartford to the east and the developing areas of Oxmoor, Stukeley Meadows and Hinchingbrooke to the north and west.
Between Godmanchester, Huntingdon and Brampton liesPortholme Meadow, England's largest.[22] Its 257 acres (104 hectares) contain many rare species of grass, flowers anddragonfly. It is the only known British habitat of the marsh dandelion. It acts as a natural reservoir for water in times of flood, enabling the river to run off slowly, so helping to preclude flooding in nearby towns. It has also served as a horse racecourse and once was a centre for aviation.
Huntingdon is home to many local businesses, includingHuntingdon Racecourse. Hinchingbrooke Business Park also contains offices and warehouses.
The nearest weather station for long-term data is atRAF Wyton, 3 mi (5 km) north-east of the town centre. More recently Monks Wood, 5 mi (8 km) to the north-west, has also provided data.
Like most of Britain, Huntingdon has a temperate, maritime climate free of temperature extremes, with rainfall spread fairly evenly over the year. The absolute maximum recorded at Wyton was 35.4 °C (95.7 °F)[23] in August 1990; the temperature at Monks Wood rose in July 2022 to 39.8 °C (103.6 °F).[24] The mean annual warmest day is 29.7 °C (85.5 °F),[25] and on 16 days a year will rise to 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above.[26]
Typically 46.5 nights of the year report an air frost.[27] The absolute minimum at Wyton was −16.1 °C (3.0 °F)[28] in January 1982. The mean for the annual coldest night of the year is −7.7 °C (18.1 °F).[29]
With annual rainfall around 600 millimetres (23+1⁄2 inches) a year,[30] the Huntingdon area is among the driest in the UK—111.1 days on average record at least 1 mm of rain.[31] Averages mentioned refer to a mix of the period 1971–2000 and 1991-2020.
| Climate data for Monks Wood (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.6 (45.7) | 8.4 (47.1) | 11.1 (52.0) | 14.1 (57.4) | 17.2 (63.0) | 20.0 (68.0) | 22.6 (72.7) | 22.5 (72.5) | 19.5 (67.1) | 15.2 (59.4) | 10.7 (51.3) | 7.8 (46.0) | 14.8 (58.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.4 (34.5) | 1.4 (34.5) | 2.6 (36.7) | 4.2 (39.6) | 6.8 (44.2) | 9.9 (49.8) | 11.9 (53.4) | 12.0 (53.6) | 10.0 (50.0) | 7.4 (45.3) | 4.2 (39.6) | 1.8 (35.2) | 6.2 (43.2) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 48.7 (1.92) | 37.4 (1.47) | 37.8 (1.49) | 42.7 (1.68) | 45.5 (1.79) | 52.3 (2.06) | 55.9 (2.20) | 56.0 (2.20) | 52.6 (2.07) | 63.2 (2.49) | 57.0 (2.24) | 53.3 (2.10) | 602.3 (23.71) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 1 mm) | 10.5 | 9.2 | 8.7 | 8.6 | 8.1 | 8.7 | 8.2 | 8.8 | 8.5 | 10.0 | 11.1 | 10.5 | 111.1 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 57.4 | 80.6 | 118.8 | 159.3 | 191.8 | 184.5 | 195.0 | 184.0 | 147.3 | 111.9 | 66.9 | 57.7 | 1,555.2 |
| Source:Met Office[32] | |||||||||||||
Between 1801 and 1901, the current area of Huntingdon consisted of four parishes: Huntingdon All Saints, Huntingdon St Benedict, Huntingdon St John and Huntingdon St Mary. The populations of these were counted in the ten-yearUK census and ranged in the period between 2,368 in 1801 and 4,735 in 1891.[33] (The census was omitted in 1941.)
| Parish | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huntingdon | 4,464 | 4,644 | 4,570 | 5,282 | 14,648 | 15,451 | 20,099 | 23,732 | ||
| All population census figures are taken from the reportHistoric Census figures Cambridgeshire to 2011 byCambridgeshire Insight.[33] For the censuses of 1961 and 1971, Huntingdon was combined with Godmanchester. | ||||||||||
In 2011, the parish covered an area of 2,765 acres (1,119 hectares).[33] The population density in that year was 5,493.1 inhabitants per square mile (2,120.9 inhabitants per square kilometre).
The formerLiterary and Scientific Institute is now Commemoration Hall.
Following the 2013 closure ofRAF Brampton, once home to HeadquartersRAF Support Command, there are two operationalRAF stations within 4 mi (6 km) of the town:RAF Wyton, once a major flying station but now a facility of theDefence Equipment and Support arm of the MOD; andRAF Alconbury currently occupied by theUnited States Air Force.
Part of the medieval infirmary hall of St Johns in the market place becameHuntingdon Grammar School. It was attended by Cromwell and by the diaristSamuel Pepys. The building is now theCromwell Museum, run byCambridgeshire County Council.
Hinchingbrooke House, once a convent, is said to be haunted. The bridge over the Alconbury Brook named Nun's Bridge is said also to be haunted, by one of the nuns who once lived at the convent.[34] She is said often to be accompanied by another ghost that resembles a nurse. The myth goes that the nun had a monk lover who caused them to be murdered.
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC East andITV Anglia. Television signals are received from theSandy Heath TV transmitter.[35]
Local radio stations areBBC Radio Cambridgeshire,Heart East,Greatest Hits Radio East,Star Radio andHCR FM, a community based station that broadcast from the town.[36]
The Hunts Post is the town's local weekly newspaper.[37]
The local primary schools are Hartford Junior School, Huntingdon Primary School, Thongsley Fields Primary School, St John's Primary School, Stukeley Meadows Primary School and Cromwell Academy Primary School. Spring Common School is a special-needs school. Secondary schools includeSt Peter's School andHinchingbrooke School. Further education colleges includeHuntingdonshire Regional College, Hinchingbrooke School sixth-form college and St Peter's sixth form.
Huntingdon railway station is sited on theEast Coast Main Line. Services that stop here are operated byGovia Thameslink Railway, on theThameslink andGreat Northern routes.
Great Northern services operate betweenPeterborough andLondon Kings Cross station; trains take just over an hour to reach the capital. Thameslink services run between Peterborough andHorsham, inWest Sussex, viaSt Pancras andBlackfriars.[38]
Bus services are operated primarily byStagecoach East andWhippet. Routes serve the town, includingHinchingbrooke Hospital, and connect Huntingdon with Peterborough, St Neots, Ramsey, St Ives and Cambridge.[39]
Luton andStansted airports are located within 40 miles (64 km) of the town.
There are fourChurch of England churches in Huntingdon; once there were more, which together with those in the adjacent villages Great and Little Stukeley are members of the Huntingdon Team Ministry[40] in theDiocese of Ely. The four areAll Saints' (next to the Market Square),St Mary's (opposite Pathfinder House), St Barnabas (on the Oxmoor estate) and All Saints',Hartford.
HuntingdonMethodist Church is in the High Street.[41] Medway Christian Fellowship is based on Medway Road.[42]
The highest-ranking football club,Huntingdon Town, plays in theUnited Counties League.Huntingdon United RGE plays in theCambridgeshire League.
Names are in birth order. Data are from the subject's Wikipedia article except where referenced.
Huntingdon istwinned with:
Source:[53]
The following people and military units have received theFreedom of the Town of Huntingdon.
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Huntingdon travel guide from Wikivoyage| International | |
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