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A local history and genealogy site for Wimpole, a village and parish in South Cambridgeshire
Curated by Steve Odell


Key to Photographs
Latest:
I am currently working on the following page(s):
 Wimpole Park Training College. [Ongoing Project] [2020/2021]
 'Wympole & Wratsworth'. Index page to archived site. [2020/2021]
Some Recently Completed Pages:
 Arrington Bridge Tollgate Token c1668. [February 2021]
 Orwell: Marriage Register 1653-1837. [Reset January 2021]
 Orwell: 1891 Census, Part One (High Street). [Completed January 2021]
 Orwell: 1891 Census, Part Two (Lotfield Street). [Completed January 2021]
 Orwell: 1901 Census, Part Three (Town Green Road). [Completed January 2021]
 Orwell: 1881 Census, Part One (High Street). [Rebuilt January 2021]
 Orwell: 1881 Census, Part Two (Town Green Road). [Rebuilt January 2021]
 Orwell: 1881 Census, Part Three (Lotfield Street). [Rebuilt January 2021]
 Orwell: 1881 Census, Part Four (New Orwell). [Rebuilt January 2021]
 Wimpole: 'CAFG Display Boards' for 'Silent Voices and Deserted Homes', a CAFG project investigating the archaeology and lost landscapes on the Wimpole Estate. [Nov 2020]
 Wimpole: Farm and Tenancy Maps 1828. [October 2020]
Simon Damant's Wympole & Wratsworth site (mostly archived) is now financed and maintained by Wimpole Past as a companion site.
"A delightful evocation in words, videos and stunning photography of living landscape, estate management, natural history, country crafts and times past."
Use our new Archive Index page for access to over 465 pages and over 3000 high-definition photographs, mostly related to Wimpole.
General Parish History:
 "Wimpole As I Knew It"
    by Alexander Campbell Yorke [plus a Biographical Note by David Ellison].
    A reminiscence of a boyhood spent at Wimpole Rectory from 1852 to 1871.
 'Wimpole: CAFG Display Boards' for 'Silent Voices and Deserted Homes', a CAFG project
     investigating the archaeology and lost landscapes on the Wimpole Estate.
 Wimpole Farm and Tenancy Maps 1828.
 Wimpole Village Hall, 'the old and new' - a brief history
 The Wimpole Chronicles 1777-1894
    'Press Cuttings' relating to Wimpole collected by Jeffrey Barham
 Index to Wimpole Wills 1494-1852.
 Wimpole Amuses Victoria. Booklet. Ellisons' Editions. Published 1981.
    Queen Victoria's Journal, writing on her visit to Wimpole.
    Queen Victoria's Visit, as reported in the 'Cambridge Chronicle'.
    Her Majesty at Wimpole, as reported in the London 'Times'.
    Queen Victoria's Visit to Wimpole Hall in October 1843: (two pages in development)
 Wimpole Postcards*
    Early postcards courtesy of Brenda and Michael Skinner (2014)
    * Some images available but the page is incomplete
 Steve's Postcards*
    A selection of Wimpole and Arrington postcards and images from my collection.
    * Some images available but the page is incomplete
 Wimpole Archaeology, by Simon Damant. LiDar Maps of the Parish etc.
 Ermine Street - a short history
 The Old Brewery Building 1908-1918
    Cundall (Orwell) Folding Machine Co Ltd.
    Cundall's Munitions Works (War Work)
 The 323rd Bomb Squadron Memorial
    Between 1942 and 1945, American B-17 'Flying Fortress' bombers from the
    Bassingbourn air base were parked and concealed within the 'South Avenue' leading
    up to Wimpole Hall.
External Links
 Listed Buildings in Wimpole (34 Buildings)
The Wimpole and Arrington War Memorial:
 The Wimpole and Arrington War Memorial, General Information:
 The Roll of Honour (21 Names) and index of individual commemorations:
- Captain "Tommy" Thomas Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes. [Wimpole]
- LACW Florence Elizabeth Allison. [Arrington]
- Private William Randell Bullen. [Wimpole]
- Private Edward George Clarke. [Arrington]
- Private Harry Collin. [Arrington]
- Private Harry Albert Ingrey. [Arrington]
- Sergeant William Ingrey [Wimpole] [added July 2020]
- Lance-Corporal Charles Hales Pratt. [Wimpole]
- Private John William Law. [Arrington]
- Private David Matthews [Wimpole] [added June 2020]
- Lance-Corporal Charles Hales Pratt. [Wimpole]
- Private Alfred Frederick Reynolds [Wimpole] [added July 2020]
- Private Edward Charles Skinner. [Wimpole]
- Private Frank Skinner. [Wimpole]
- Private Harry Skinner. [Wimpole]
- Private Frederick Smith . [Arrington]
- Lance-Corporal William Wayman. [Wimpole]
- Corporal Henry George Whetstone. [Wimpole]
- Private Harry Wilkins. [Wimpole]
- Private Frederick George Wisbey. [Arrington]
The servicemen and women are listed under the Parishes of Arrington or Wimpole as shown on the Cambridgeshire County War Memorial in Ely Cathedral.
 Those who also Served (WW1):
- Private (Arthur) John Skinner. [Wimpole]
- Private Edward Cartwright [Canada] Wimpole Churchyard. [added July 2020]
 WW1 Local Recruitment Meeting, 28 September 1914. [added June 2020]
- 14 men from Wimpole and Arrington pledged to enlist during this meeting, at least
   three of whom lost their lives during WW1 and are commemorated on the War
   Memorial.
Parish Registers:
The Parish Registers for St Andrew's Parish Church, Wimpole, Cambridgeshire
 (Register Hub) Index to Parish Records for the Parish of Wimpole.
Wimpole Parish Registers:
Baptisms:   1560-1599†   1600-1649   1650-1699*   1700-1749*   1750-1799*   
1800-1824†   1825-1849†   1850-1874†   1875-1899†   1900-1924†**
Banns:   1755-1849†   1850-1900
Marriages:   1560-1599   1600-1699   1700-1799   1800-1863
Burials:   1560-1599   1600-1699   1700-1799   1800-1849†   1850-1899
* indicates page is unavailable. ** indicates some year transcriptions are available.
† indicates complete page has been set to facilitate name searches.
 Wimpole Names: An alphabetical index [originating before the era of internet search engines...] of over 1000 Wimpole surnames found in the Parish Registers. I've retained and extended the page as the information is still a useful index in family name searches, particularly helping to find local and phonetic variations of the spelling of surnames.
Wimpole Schools:
 Wimpole (C of E) Village School (1853-1946). General introduction.
   - Rules for Lord Hardwicke's School at New Wimpole (1853).
   - Wimpole (C of E) Village School Photographs (c1900-1940).
   - Retirement of Mr Samuel Horsfield (1907).
   - Retirement of Mrs Katherine E Newell (1942).
 Wimpole Park School (1948-1955). General Introduction.
   - 'Memories' by Headmaster Alan Jordan.
   - 'An Old Wimpole Childhood' by Irene Bruce.
   - Wimpole Park School Photographs.
 Wimpole Park Training College. [New Project] [May 2020]
St Andrew's Parish Church
 Index to Church Pages (Church Hub)
A somewhat more informative and illustrated version of this index box.
 Churchyard Register: (Page 1: Arber to Johnson), (Page Two: Knowles to Young)
Alphabetical Index to Known Graves and Monumental Inscriptions.
Burials and Interments are updated to September 2018.
 Churchyard Plans
(1) Churchyard Plan with Key showing locations of Known Graves.
(2) Memorial Garden Plan with Key showing locations of Interment Plots.
Burials and Interments are updated to September 2018.
 The Yorke Family Vault
The Vault under the Chicheley Chapel. Resting place of the 4th Earl of Hardwicke. Includes a rare 1985 photograph of the interior and transcriptions of all nine coffin plates.
 The 'Hound Sejant' Communion Plate
The Church owns a valuable set of Communion Plate by distinguished goldsmith Richard Blackwell the younger, bearing 'Hound Sejant' marks and dating from the mid-1650s.
 The Wimpole Rectors
Known Rectors, Churchmen and Benefactors, from 1291 to 1955.
 The Thomas Worsley Brass
A Wall-Mounted Brass in the Chicheley Chapel dated 1501. The page includes a brass-rubbing made in 1891 by Oswin J. Charlton.
 The Wimpole Chapel
A small private Chapel in the village of Wimpole.
 "Wimpole As I Knew It"
by the Rev Alexander Campbell Yorke [plus A Biographical Note by David Ellison]. A reminiscence of a boyhood spent at Wimpole Rectory from 1852 to 1871.
External Link
 Orwell Group Benefice (online)
The Orwell Group Benefice has five Churches covering the parishes of Wimpole, Orwell, Arrington, Croydon, and Barrington. The site includes contact details, church information and times of Church services.
Census Hub:
Census Records (Parish of Wimpole):
Census 1881:  Part One [1]  Part Two [1]  Part Three [1]  New Orwell [1][2]
Census 1891:  Part One [3]  Part Two [3]  Part Three [3]  New Orwell [1][2]
Census 1901:  Part One [3]  Part Two [3]  Part Three [3]  New Orwell [1][2]
[1] The 1881 Wimpole Census is fully rebuilt as are the three 'New Orwell' pages.
[2] Following a parish boundary change in April 1999, much of the area of Orwell on the Cambridge Road, previously known as 'New Orwell', is now part of the modern-day Parish of Wimpole.
[3] These pages are being rebuilt after their transfer to the new website. The basic listings remain available for reference during the rebuilding.
Census Records (Parish of Orwell):
Census 1881:  Part One [1]  Part Two [1]  Part Three [1]  New Orwell [1][2]
Census 1891:  Part One [1]  Part Two [1]  Part Three [3]  New Orwell [1][2]
Census 1901:  Part One [3]  Part Two [3]  Part Three [1]  New Orwell [1][2]
[1] Completed pages.
[2] Following a parish boundary change in April 1999, much of the area of Orwell on the Cambridge Road, previously known as 'New Orwell', is now part of the modern-day Parish of Wimpole.
[3] These pages are being rebuilt after their transfer to the new website. The basic listings remain available for reference during the rebuilding.
Census Records (Parish of Arrington):
1881 Census:  Part One [1]  Part Two [1]
1891 Census:  Part One [2]  Part Two [2]
[1] The 1881 Arrington Census is fully rebuilt.
[2] The two 1891 pages are being rebuilt after their transfer to the new website. The basic listings will remain available for reference during the rebuilding.
Registers of Electors and other Wimpole Lists
 Jurors, 1828-1883
 Trade Directories 1851-1933
 Register of Electors, October 1935
 England and Wales Register, September 1939 (Wartime Census)
 Civilian Residence Register, May 1945 (Wartime Electors)
Wimpole Hall and Estate:
 The Owners of Wimpole Hall
A quick guide through 550 years of 'Big House' history.
Owners, families and people of interest.
 The Chicheley Family
Entries from the Wimpole Church Registers 1576-1698,
Baptisms, Marriage, Burials, plus a speculative Chicheley Family Tree.
 2nd Earl of Hardwicke
Reference page on Philip Yorke (1720-1790), 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, and his immediate family members.
 The Yorke Family Vault
The Vault under the Chicheley Chapel. Resting place of the 4th Earl of Hardwicke and eight other members of the Yorke family. 1985 Photograph.
 Wimpole Farm and Tenancy Maps, 1828, drawn for the 3rd Earl Hardwicke.
 Index to Wimpole Wills 1494-1852.
 Wimpole Estate Auction 1891
Cover, introduction and five photographs from the 1891 Auction Prospectus.
Simon Damant's Wympole & Wratsworth site (mostly archived) is now financed and maintained by Wimpole Past as a companion site. Use our new Archive Index for access to over 465 pages and over 3000 high-definition photographs, mostly related to the Wimpole Estate.
Orwell Pages:
 The Orwell Chronicles 1770-1899
Collected by Jeffrey Barham
Around 200 extracts from the 'Cambridge Chronicle' and the 'University Journal'.
 The Marriage Register of the Parish of Orwell 1653-1837
Transcribed by the Rev R W Whiston, Rector of Orwell.
From a Booklet printed for private circulation by Walter Lewis MS at the Cambridge University Press in 1927.
 David Ellison - Local historian and Orwell resident.
Census Records (Parish of Orwell):
Census 1881:  Part One [1]  Part Two [1]  Part Three [1]  New Orwell [1][2]
Census 1891:  Part One [1]  Part Two [1]  Part Three [3]  New Orwell [1][2]
Census 1901:  Part One [3]  Part Two [3]  Part Three [1]  New Orwell [1][2]
[1] Completed pages.
[2] Following a parish boundary change in April 1999, much of the area of Orwell on the Cambridge Road, previously known as 'New Orwell', is now part of the modern-day Parish of Wimpole.
[3] These pages are being rebuilt after their transfer to the new website. The basic listings remain available for reference during the rebuilding.
External Link
 Orwell Past (and Present) [online]
The local history website for Orwell which includes some items of Wimpole related history.
External Link
 Listed Buildings in Orwell (53 Buildings)
Arrington Pages:
 The Wimpole and Arrington War Memorial.
 Mill Farm and the Arrington Windmill.
 Arrington School Photograph. Pupil Group c1949.
 Wimpole Park Training College. [2020 Project] [May 2020 onwards]
Census Records (Parish of Arrington):
1881 Census:  Part One [1]  Part Two [1]
1891 Census:  Part One [2]  Part Two [2]
[1] The 1881 Arrington Census is fully rebuilt.
[2] The two 1891 pages are being rebuilt after their transfer to the new website. The basic listings will remain available for reference during the rebuilding.
External Link
 Listed Buildings in Arrington (24 Listings)
   Parish church, cottages, inn, barns, almshouses, gates, phone box, milestones etc.
External Links:
Steve Odell is not responsible for the content or accuracy of external sites linked from the WimpolePast website. The links below are checked on a regular basis.
External Link
 Wimpole Estate
The official National Trust website for visitors to Wimpole Hall. Opening times, prices of admission, events, facilities and access, etc.
External Link
 Wimpole Hall (Accredited Museum)
Another official National Trust website listing items in their museum collection related to Wimpole Hall and Estate. Portraits, photographs, prints, furniture, books, farming implements, etc. Most items have an accompanying photograph and description. Last time I looked, the Wimpole collection had 16,671 items online and is fully searchable.
External Link
 Heritage Impact Assessment, Proposed Wimpole Visitor Welcome Project 2017
A 64-Page Booklet (.pdf) prepared for the National Trust, summarising the proposed changes to visitor facilities. The project presentation includes estate history, photographs and old Wimpole maps.
June 2017 © Beacon Planning Ltd, Colliers Lane, Stow-cum-Quy Cambridge CB25 9AU.
External Link
 Wimpole in the Domesday Book (online)
'Open Domesday' Resource
External Link
 Wimpole Park Hospital (.pdf document)
The United States Military Hospital at Wimpole Hall during WW2. A research project written by Perse School student George Duncan which explores the development of the US Military Hospital at Wimpole Hall and how it linked to the evacuation of injured personnel from the European Theatre of Operations from 1944-1945.
[WimpolePast's internal search facility covers the complete text of this document.]
(33 pages) ©2014 George Duncan
External Link
 Wimpole: Silent Voices and Deserted Homes (v5 Final)(.pdf document)
The final report on the Heritage Lottery-funded project investigating the archaeology and lost landscapes on the Wimpole Estate. Includes old Wimpole maps, photographs, the locations (and inhabitants) of the cottages cleared from the estate, Whatworth (a lost Wimpole village), the excavation of 'Mr Ratford's House' and a 1540-1680 Rutter/Rutterforth family tree. (Project Display Boards [this site])
[WimpolePast's internal search facility covers the complete text of this external document.]
(52 pages)
© Cambridge Archaeology Field Group (2013-2020)
External Link
 The Walled Kitchen Garden at Wimpole (Part One) (.pdf document )
by Jeremy Milln with James Edgar.
A Conservation Management Plan for the National Trust (Survey).
A well researched and highly detailed technical history of the Walled Kitchen Garden on the Wimpole Estate from the 1790s to the present day. Many illustrations and photographs. Some genealogy interest with some 200 named garden staff, estate workers, village tradesmen and local residents.
[WimpolePast's internal search facility covers the complete text of this external document.]
© National Trust. (103 pages) (Published 2016).
External Link
 The Walled Kitchen Garden at Wimpole (Part Two) (.pdf document)
by Jeremy Milln with James Edgar.
A Conservation Management Plan for the National Trust (Conservation).
Part Two is a detailed schedule of the proposed conservation plans for the elements in Wimpole's Walled and Kitchen Gardens. Many illustrations and photographs.
© National Trust. (87 pages) (Published 2016).
External Link
 The Walled Kitchen Garden at Wimpole (Part Three) (.pdf document)
by Jeremy Milln (with contributions from David Adshead, Sarah Dawson, James Edgar, Wendy Monkhouse and Helen Vigors).
A Conservation Management Plan for the National Trust (Appendices).
Part Three is a summary of sources for the main report. Detailed contents include Bibliography, Inventory, The Gardeners at Wimpole (1725-2015), Earl of Hardwicke's Account Book (selected items), Earl of Hardwicke's Minute Book (1835-1873) (selected items), Tradesman's Accounts, and List of Produce from the gardens (1900). Many illustrations and photographs.
[WimpolePast's internal search facility covers the complete text of this external document.]

© National Trust. (80 pages) (Published 2016).
External Link
 Moated Site in Cobbs Wood (online)
A report on the history, archaeology and lost landscape at Cobbs Wood.
Designated as a Scheduled Monument.

© Historic England.
Rebuilding the WimpolePast Website (2019-2020)
Pages on my various old websites are being individually rebuilt and transferred across to this new secure domain at https://www.wimpolepast.org. Links are being updated between the various domains as pages transfer across. You should now access Wimpole Past from this Home Page and update any old bookmarks. I apologise for any inconvenience.
Apart from the external third-party managed 'Contact', 'Guestbook' and 'Search' facilities, this website does not set or use cookies.
Steve Odell is not responsible for the content or accuracy of external sites linked from the WimpolePast website.
Website © Copyright 2000-2020 Steve Odell

This page was last updated: 11 February 2021


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