Nine medieval Cambridgeshire villages that have been lost in time

Cambridgeshire is home to a large number of villages that have grown into thriving communities over the years. However, some of these areas have either been abandoned or lost to the ages.

These villages were occupied hundreds of years ago, with some leaving little to no physical trace of their existence today. Others have historical records that tell us where they once were as well as how many people lived there.

We've rounded up a list of the county's deserted villages and some of the fascinating stories they have provided us. These places date back as far as the Anglo Saxon and Ancient Roman periods.

Read more: Seven-mile diversion in place as Cambridgeshire village road to shut this week

Read more: Take a look around the Cambridgeshire town that did not exist 30 years ago

Badlingham

Badlingham was located between Red Lodge and Chippenham and is recorded from 1086 onwards. In 1279, the village was taxed with neighbouring Chippenham.

Records suggest that the two settlements housed around 163 landholders in total. Historians also believe that they split from one another.

Badlingham was the smaller of the two and its population declined gradually. The size of the settlement was also reduced over time, with very few traces remaining to this day.

Clopton

Clopton was located around a mile south-west of Croydon. In medieval times, the two communities had an above average population, with 18 people recorded as living there and it is also referenced in the 1086 Domesday book.

It's believed the village was deserted between 1500 and 1518 after John Fisher, a London lawyer, purchased the land from the Clopton family in 1489. After becoming the landowner, he evicted the villagers so he could create enclosures.

Today, the site is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument and consists mainly of earthworks. It can still be visited by people who follow the bridleway that extends westwards from Croydon High Street.

Cratendune

Historians believe the village of Cratendune was situated around one mile south of Ely. Ethelbert of Kent, who reigned from 560 to 616, is also thought to have founded a church in the area dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Most of what is known about the village is recorded in the Liber Eliensis, written at the end of the 12th century. The document states that the settlement was populated and that the church was abandoned or destroyed in around 650.

The village disappeared from history in the 1500s and has been described as one of the largest and most important Anglo-Saxon settlements in the UK. It's believed that villagers left the settlement after an abbey was founded at nearby Ely in 673, which is where many of them re-settled.

Great Childerley and Little Childerley

The villages were located between Cambourne and Cambridge in the south of the county. They were mentioned in the 1086 Domesday book, with a population of 14 for Great Childerley and 11 for Little Childerley.

Both settlements were distinguished from each other by the early 13th century until being combined by the bishop in 1500. They had their own manor and church, which had been created around clearings in woodland and the area began to grow in size until the early 15th century.

The final depopulation of the site took place in the 16th century by politician Sir John Cutts, who would go demolish the two churches and build Childerley Hall. Queen Elizabeth I is recorded as having sent the Spanish Ambassador to stay with Sir Cutts at the Hall.

Houghton

Houghton was located around one mile to the west of present-day Brampton in Huntingdonshire. It started out as an unenclosed Anglo-Saxon settlement in the sixth century, but by the ninth century, it consisted of around 40 houses, huts and other buildings.

Unlike other villages which were deserted following the black death, the locals were forced to move out by the expansion of the 'royal forest' in the area. This was introduced by the Normans after the end of the Anglo-Saxon period when they designated large areas of England as hunting grounds set aside exclusively for the use of the monarch.

On his accession to the throne in 1154, Henry II claimed the whole of Huntingdonshire in this way. This meant that villagers no longer had access to the woodlands that they relied on for food and fuel, forcing them to leave.

The village was found during works to upgrade the A14. Today, there is a village called Houghton which is half way between Huntingdon and St Ives.

Howes

The hamlet of Howes was located on Huntingdon Road between Girton and Cambridge. It is thought that occupation of the settlement began between 1150 and 1210, with no more than eight or 10 houses at any one time.

Archaeologists believe that the settlement continued to increase in size until the mid to late 14th century. It began its decline from the early to mid 15th century.

By 1600, there was no record of the village and the site was seemingly abandoned shortly after. Nowadays, much of the settlement lies underneath Huntingdon Road, with the name itself living on in nearby areas such as the Howes Close sports ground and Howes Place development.

Malton

Located in South Cambridgeshire, Malton was placed between Shepreth and Orwell right beside the River Cam. Its location is now Malton Road - the name of which is the last remnant of the old village.

The village once had its very own moated manor house of which only a few mature trees survive today. The church was still standing in 1743, but now only a bit of the wall remains and the churchyard is part of the brickyard.

As the village was taxed with Orwell throughout the 14th and 16th centuries, its true size is hard to estimate. It is believed that the village was deserted in the 15th or 16th century.

Wimpole

Wimpole is renowned for its impressive mansion and acres of ancient parkland and farmland. However, the estate was also once home to several families who worked the land and had a thriving community.

The earliest record of the parish on the current estate is in the Domesday Book of 1086. The land was divided between two land-owners: Earl Gyrth and Eddeva the Fair, with much of the area consisting of arable farmland.

However, by the 17th century, the parish had been completely abandoned. In 1640, the Manor House was demolished and the construction of Wimpole Hall began, with the current village of Wimpole founded around 1840 and absorbing the rest of the settlement.

Do you want more of the latest Cambridgeshire news as it comes in? Sign up to our dedicated newsletter to make sure you never miss a big story from Cambridge or anywhere else in the county. You can also sign up to our dedicated Peterborough, Traffic and Crime newsletters for the latest updates on the topics you are most interested in.