Cambridgeshire, England Genealogy

Cambridgeshire is an inland county located in the central part of England.

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CAMBRIDGESHIRE, an inland county; bounded, on the NW, by Northampton; on the N by Lincoln; on the E, by Norfolk and Suffolk: on the S, by Essex and Herts; and on the W, by Beds and Huntingdon...

The county contains 152 parishes, part of another parish, and 3 extra-parochial tracts, besides the parishes and extra-parochial colleges of Cambridge. It is divided into the hundreds of Armingford, Chesterton, Cheveley, Chilford, Flendish, Longstow, Northstow, Papworth, Radfield, Staine, Staploe, Triplow, Wetherley, Whitlesford, Ely, Wisbeach, North Witchford, and South Witchford, the liberty of Whittlesey and Thorney, and the boroughs of Cambridge and Wisbeach. The northern section of it forms the Isle of Ely: and contains the hundreds of Ely, Wisbeach, and Witchford, the liberty of Whittlesey and Thorney, and the borough of Wisbeach. The registration county is more extensive than the electoral county; includes 114,735 acres from adjoining counties; excludes 17,590 acres; contains 571,758 acres; and is divided into the districts of Caxton, Chesterton, Cambridge, Linton, Newmarket, Ely, North Witchford, Whittlesey, and Wisbeach. The market towns are Cambridge, Ely, Linton, March, Thorney, Wisbeach, and parts of Newmarket and Royston; and the towns next in note are Caxton, Chesterton, Whittlesey, and Soham...

The county is governed by a lord-lieutenant, a deputy, a high sheriff, and about 48 magistrates. It is in the Home military district, and in the Norfolk judicial circuit. The assizes are held at Cambridge; and quarter sessions at Cambridge, Ely, and Wisbeach... The county is in the diocese of Ely, and constitutes the archdeaconry of Ely, and the deanery of Fordham in the archdeaconry of Sudbury... The places of worship, in 1851, in the county proper, were 176 of the Church of England, with 52,917 sittings; 38 of Independents, with 12,195 s.; 72 of Baptists, with 17,897 s.; 3 of Quakers, with 440 s.; 2 of Unitarians, with 330 s.; 57 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 11,764 s.; 39 of Primitive Methodists, with 5,105 s.; 5 of Wesleyan Reformers, with 1,430 s.; 1 of Lady Huntingdon's Connexion, with 550 s.; 5 of isolated congregations, with 1,298 s.; 2 of Latter Day Saints, with 2 70 s.; 3 of Roman Catholics, with 350 s.; and 1 of Jews. The schools were 188 public day schools, with 16,559 scholars; 398 private day schools, with 7,770 s.; 280 Sunday schools, with 24,006 s.; and 11 evening schools for adults, with 156 s. Pop. in 1801, 89,346; in 1821, 122,387; in 1841, 164,459; in 1861, 176,016...

The above extract comes from: John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72). Read the full account online at Vision of Britain.

The modern county of Cambridgeshire covers a much larger area than the historic one. In the Middle Ages Cambridgeshire covered only what is now the south-eastern part of the county, while the Isle of Ely to the north and Huntingdonshire to the west were separate counties in their own right. In the late 19th century the Isle of Ely was incorporated into Cambridgeshire, and in 1974 Huntingdonshire joined too. From 1974 to 1998 Cambridgeshire also included the Soke of Peterborough, which is now a separate city-level authority.

Historical records of all these places, with the exception of Peterborough, are now held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies. Records of ancient Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely are held at Cambridgeshire Archives, at Shire Hall in Cambridge. Records of the former county of Huntingdonshire are held at Huntingdonshire Archives, in Grammar School Walk, Huntingdon.

Civil Districts
When civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in 1827, Cambridgeshire was divided into ten districts. More were added over time. Go to the GENUKI website to see a list of districts and the parishes they contain.

Parishes
Here is a list of the historic parishes of Cambridgeshire. Click on a parish name for more information.

Probate Jurisdictions
To see lists of Cambridgeshire places and the probate courts that had jurisdiction over them, go to the Cambridgeshire Probate Records page.

Websites
The GENUKI (Genealogy for the United Kingdom and Ireland) website has links for Cambridgeshire research.