Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire

Kimbolton
Kimbolton High Street
Kimbolton  Kimbolton shown within Cambridgeshire
Population	1,477 (Including Stonely2011 Census)
OS grid reference	TL102681
Civil parish	Kimbolton and Stonely
District	Huntingdonshire
Shire county	Cambridgeshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Huntingdon
Postcode district	PE28
Police	Cambridgeshire
Fire	Cambridgeshire
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
List of places UK England Cambridgeshire

Coordinates: 52°18′N 0°23′W / 52.3°N 0.38°W / 52.3; -0.38

Kimbolton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England.^[1] Kimbolton lies approximately 9 miles (14 km) west of Huntingdon and 14 miles (23 km) north of Bedford. Kimbolton is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England. The parish includes the hamlet of Stonely.

Katherine of Aragon, after her divorce from Henry VIII, died at Kimbolton Castle in 1536.

History

Kimbolton, and the lands of its soke, comprised the only estate of King Harold in Huntingdonshire. It is believed that Harold had a hunting lodge nearby.

In 1085 William the Conqueror ordered that a survey should be carried out across his kingdom to discover who owned which parts and what it was worth. The survey took place in 1086 and the results were recorded in what, since the 12th century, has become known as the Domesday Book. Starting with the king himself, for each landholder within a county there is a list of their estates or manors; and, for each manor, there is a summary of the resources of the manor, the amount of annual rent that was collected by the lord of the manor both in 1066 and in 1086, together with the taxable value.^[2]

Kimbolton was listed in the Domesday Book in the Hundred of Leightonstone in Huntingdonshire; the name of the settlement was written as Chenebaltone and Kenebaltone in the Domesday Book.^[3] In 1086 there was just one manor at Kimbolton; the annual rent paid to the lord of the manor in 1066 had been £7 and the rent had increased to £17.2 in 1086.^[4]

The Domesday Book does not explicitly detail the population of a place but it records that there were 121 households at Kimbolton.^[4] There is no consensus about the average size of a household at that time; estimates range from 3.5 to 5.0 people per household.^[5] Using these figures then an estimate of the population of Kimbolton in 1086 is that it was within the range of 423 and 605 people.

The Domesday Book uses a number of units of measure for areas of land that are now unfamiliar terms, such as hides and ploughlands. In different parts of the country, these were terms for the area of land that a team of eight oxen could plough in a single season and are equivalent to 120 acres (49 hectares); this was the amount of land that was considered to be sufficient to support a single family. By 1086, the hide had become a unit of tax assessment rather than an actual land area; a hide was the amount of land that could be assessed as £1 for tax purposes. The survey records that there were 31.62 ploughlands at Kimbolton in 1086.^[4] In addition to the arable land, there was 70 acres (28 hectares) of meadows, 3,784 acres (1,531 hectares) of woodland and a water mill at Kimbolton.^[4]

The tax assessment in the Domesday Book was known as geld or danegeld and was a type of land-tax based on the hide or ploughland. It was originally a way of collecting a tribute to pay off the Danes when they attacked England, and was only levied when necessary. Following the Norman Conquest, the geld was used to raise money for the King and to pay for continental wars; by 1130, the geld was being collected annually. Having determined the value of a manor's land and other assets, a tax of so many shillings and pence per pound of value would be levied on the land holder. While this was typically two shillings in the pound the amount did vary; for example, in 1084 it was as high as six shillings in the pound. For the manor at Kimbolton the total tax assessed was ten geld.^[4]

By 1086 there was already a church and a priest at Kimbolton.

Many members of the Montagu family (Earls and Dukes of Manchester of Kimbolton Castle) are buried at St Andrew's Church. Several Montagu monuments still exist in the South Chapel, while the Montagu vault (extended in 1853) is located beneath the North Chapel.^[6]

The main road through Kimbolton bends through four tight right angles in quick succession. Originally, the road travelled directly through the outskirts of the village, nearer to the River Kym to the north.

The parish also includes the hamlet of Stonely, the site of a former Augustinian priory.^[7]

Castle

Kimbolton Castle

The centre of the village is Kimbolton Castle which now forms the main building of Kimbolton School (an independent day and boarding school), but its predecessor on the same site was once home and prison to Katherine of Aragon after her divorce from Henry VIII. Katherine died at Kimbolton Castle in 1536 and was transported from there to Peterborough Cathedral to be buried.^[8]

Government

As a civil parish, Kimbolton has a parish council. The parish council is elected by the residents of the parish who have registered on the electoral roll; the parish council is the lowest tier of government in England. A parish council is responsible for providing and maintaining a variety of local services including allotments and a cemetery; grass cutting and tree planting within public open spaces such as a village green or playing fields. The parish council reviews all planning applications that might affect the parish and makes recommendations to Huntingdonshire District Council, which is the local planning authority for the parish. The parish council also represents the views of the parish on issues such as local transport, policing and the environment. The parish council raises its own tax to pay for these services, known as the parish precept, which is collected as part of the Council Tax.

Kimbolton was in the historic and administrative county of Huntingdonshire until 1965. From 1965, the village was part of the new administrative county of Huntingdon and Peterborough. Then in 1974, following the Local Government Act 1972, Kimbolton became a part of the county of Cambridgeshire.

The second tier of local government is Huntingdonshire District Council which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and has its headquarters in Huntingdon. Huntingdonshire District Council has 52 councillors representing 29 district wards.^[9] Huntingdonshire District Council collects the council tax, and provides services such as building regulations, local planning, environmental health, leisure and tourism.^[10] Kimbolton is a part of the district ward of Kimbolton and Staughton and is represented on the district council by one councillor.^[11][9] District councillors serve for four-year terms following elections to Huntingdonshire District Council.

For Kimbolton the highest tier of local government is Cambridgeshire County Council which has administration buildings in Cambridge. The county council provides county-wide services such as major road infrastructure, fire and rescue, education, social services, libraries and heritage services.^[12] Cambridgeshire County Council consists of 69 councillors representing 60 electoral divisions.^[13] Kimbolton is part of the electoral division of Brampton and Kimbolton^[11] and is represented on the county council by one councillor.^[13]

At Westminster Kimbolton is in the parliamentary constituency of Huntingdon,^[11] and elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Kimbolton is represented in the House of Commons by Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative). Jonathan Djanogly has represented the constituency since 2001. The previous member of parliament was John Major (Conservative) who represented the constituency between 1983 and 2001. For the European Parliament Kimbolton is part of the East of England constituency which elects seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.

Demography

Population

In the period 1801 to 1901 the population of Kimbolton was recorded every ten years by the UK census. During this time the population was in the range of 915 (the lowest was in 1901) and 1661 (the highest was in 1861).^[14]

From 1901, a census was taken every ten years with the exception of 1941 (due to the Second World War).

All population census figures from report Historic Census figures Cambridgeshire to 2011 by Cambridgeshire Insight.^[14]

In 2011, the parish covered an area of 4,964 acres (2,009 hectares)^[14] and so the population density for Kimbolton in 2011 was 190.4 persons per square mile (73.5 per square kilometre).

Statute Fair

In 1200, a prominent local landowner, Geoffrey Fitz Peter, Earl of Essex and Chief Justice to King John, who constructed the first castle on the present site, received a Royal charter to hold a market and fair in Kimbolton. There is still a fair every September, known as the "Statute Fair" – referred to affectionately by locals as the "Statty". Continuation of this fair (despite the chaos which formerly ensued when this meant partial closure of a trunk road) and a plaque marking the site of the market cross are claimed by some as evidence that Kimbolton is a town and still has a right to hold a weekly market. The main road was diverted to its present course to take it through the market place and increase toll revenue. 800 years later, as a result of numerous vehicles striking walls and houses near the sharp bends, car transporters are not allowed in the village.

Kimbolton fire station

Facilities

Kimbolton is known locally for its facilities, including High Street shopping, two public houses, a Budgens outlet (formerly Robinsons fuel station), fire station and the Mandeville Hall.

Kimbolton railway station was closed in 1959.

Kimbolton Airfield

In World War II, the USAF 379th Bombardment Group was stationed at the nearby Kimbolton Airfield from May 1943 to June 1945. Part of the airfield is now used by Kimbolton Karting Club.

Kimbolton Fireworks

Kimbolton Fireworks, a well-known manufacturer of fireworks and organiser of public fireworks displays, is based in Kimbolton.^[15] It grew from the extracurricular activities of Kimbolton School chaplain and chemistry master, Rev Ron Lancaster, sometimes dubbed the "master blaster pastor."

References

External links

• The annual Country Fayre at Kimbolton (at the castle)
• Kimbolton Web site
• Kimbolton School (the castle)
• The parish church