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England Cambridge (city)

Guide to CAMBRIDGE (city) history, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



HISTORY
Settlements have existed around the Cambridge area since prehistoric times. The earliest clear evidence of occupation is the remains of a 3,500-year-old farmstead discovered at the site of Fitzwilliam College.

The principal Roman site at Cambridge is a small fort (castrum) named Duroliponte located on Castle Hill, just northwest of the city center and around the location of the earlier British village.

After the Romans left Britain,there is some evidence that the invading Saxons began occupying the area by the end of the fifth century.

By the 7th century, the town was less significant and was described by Bede as a "little ruined city" containing the burial site of Etheldreda. However another hundred years later, the arrival of the Vikings in Cambridge was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 875. Viking rule, the Danelaw, had been imposed by 878.

In 1068, two years after his conquest of England, William of Normandy built a castle on Castle Hill.[17] Like the rest of the newly conquered kingdom, Cambridge fell under the control of the King and his deputies.

In 1209, Cambridge University was founded by students escaping from hostile townspeople in Oxford. The oldest college that still exists, Peterhouse, was founded in 1284. Thus the Cambridge University complex is not as old as Oxford.

One of the most well-known buildings in Cambridge, King's College Chapel (image above), was begun in 1446 by King Henry VI. The project was completed in 1515 during the reign of King Henry VIII.

Cambridge played a significant role in the early part of the English Civil War as it was the headquarters of the Eastern Counties Association, an organization administering a regional East Anglian army, which became the mainstay of the Parliamentarian military effort prior to the formation of the New Model Army. In 1643 control of the town was given by Parliament to Oliver Cromwell, who had been educated at the University's Sidney Sussex College.

During the late middle ages, and until the Industrial Revolution, Cambridge remained as a University town and market town.

In the 19th century, in common with many other English towns, Cambridge expanded rapidly. This was due in part to increased life expectancy and also improved agricultural production leading to increased trade in town markets.

The railway came to Cambridge in 1845 after initially being resisted, with the opening of the Great Eastern London to Norwich line. This was actually quite late in the development of the British rail system. The station was placed outside the town center following pressure from the University, who restricted travel by undergraduates.

During the Second World War, Cambridge was an important center for defense of the east coast. The town became a military center, with an R.A.F. training center and the regional headquarters for Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire established during the conflict. Many of the German air raids were flown from Scandinavia, arriving in England over the coast next to Cambridge.

After the war, Cambridge was granted its city charter in 1951 in recognition of its history, administrative importance and economic success.

The importance of Cambridge in the early 21st. century, can be attributed to its concentration of Educational facilities, and to its publishing background, all springing from the colleges of the University.

LOCATION
Cambridge is located about 50 miles north east of London, very similar to the distance to Oxford to the north west.

The city is located in an area of level and relatively low-lying terrain just south of the Fens, which varies between 6 and 24 meters (20 and 79 ft) above sea level. The town was thus historically surrounded by low lying wetlands. The fens are an area of marsh interspersed with channels that drain into the Wash.

Thus the area around Cambridge is rich in deposited alluvial soil and is an ideal location for market gardens to support the needs of the capital, just to the south.

RELIGION
Religion was the basis of the foundation of the Cambridge University Colleges. Due to problems associated with their desire for religious freedom, a group of Oxford students moved to Cambridge and founded the first college there, Peterhouse, in 1284 AD. All subsequent colleges were founded on religious principles and remained that way until Henry VIII removed control from the religious houses.

Later students such as William Harvey (the circulation of blood), Charles Newton (the role of gravity), and Charles Darwin (the origin of species) moved the University and the town away from its religious base to a culture more based on science and atheism. Today, while close to 60% of the British population claim some religious faith, less than 40% of the population of Cambridge do. This is in line with the other major University city of Oxford.

INDUSTRY
The town's river link to the surrounding agricultural land, and good road connections to London in the south meant Cambridge has historically served as an important regional trading post.

However there was never a link to major emerging industrial centers like the Midlands or the Northeast, as Oxford had, and consequently no major industrial activities were centered there.

In the 21st. century, Cambridge is largely known for seed companies started as spin offs of research at the University, plus a number of companies involved in research & development, software consultancy, high value engineering, creative industries, pharmaceuticals and tourism.

CIVIL REGISTRATION
Birth, marriages and deaths records have been kept by government since July 1837 to the present day. Prior to that, local parishes of the Church of England, and local branches of other faiths were the only repositories of this information. The following link provides access for Canterbury records:


 * Oxford city records


 * UK Oxford BMD


 * Oxfordshire records

CENSUS RECORDS
Census records for Canterbury can be found using the following links:


 * UK census on line


 * Oxfordshire census records

PROBATE RECORDS
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by several locations for Plymouth. Please follow the links below:


 * Oxford wills on line


 * Oxford wills


 * Family search Oxfordshire probate information

CEMETERIES AND GRAVES
There are presently four cemeteries, including oulying cemeteries within the Oxford city district. The link follows:


 * Oxford cemeteries

Other useful sites follow:


 * Oxford cemeteries


 * Oxfordshire

GENEALOGY SOCIETIES AND GENEALOGY

 * Oxfordshire genealogy society


 * Genuki Oxfordshire


 * Find my past


 * Oxfordshire county information