Babraham
Encyclopedia
Babraham is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire
district of Cambridgeshire
, England
, about six miles south-east of Cambridge
on the A1307 road.
Babraham is home to the Babraham Institute
which undertakes research into cell
and molecular biology
.
, and its eastern border follows the Icknield Way
(now the A11), separating it from Little Abington. The remaining boundaries with Stapleford
, Sawston
and Pampisford
are formed by field boundaries and a small section of the River Granta, on which the village lies.
The course of the River Granta through the parish has been changed on numerous occasions; a watermill was listed as valueless in the 14th century when the river had changed course, and additional water channels have been dug for irrigation as well as to form an ornamental canal alongside Babraham Hall. Severe floods hit Babraham in both 1655 and 1749.
Traces of a Roman villa have been found on its parish boundary with Stapleford. It has also been suggested that the village has moved site, the principal evidence being that the church is 400 metres from the present village. Babraham was comparatively wealthy during medieval times due to its wool trade, with the highest tax returns in its hundred
. Between 1632 and the 19th century, the manor was owned by the Bennet, and later the Adeane, families, who lived in Babraham Hall. The Hall was built in 1833 by Henry John Adeane.
Listed as Badburgham in the Domesday Book
of 1086, the village's name means "homestead or village of a woman called Beaduburh".
In the 19th century Babraham was home to Jonas Webb
, a noted stock breeder who played a pivotal role in developing the Southdown
breed of sheep. The antiquary William Cole
lived in Babraham as a child when his father was the steward of the owners of Babraham Hall. On April 16 1556 John Hullier was burned at the stake on Jesus Green
, Cambridge for refusing to renounce the Protestant faith. He had served the parish of Babraham for about six years, becoming vicar in 1549.
Babraham village cricket
team won the Cambridgeshire Cricket Association Senior League in 2008.
novel Doctor Dido (Cassell, London, 1938) is set in Babraham and its environs in the period 1793-1812. With much local and antiquarian detail, it tells the story of Samuel Plampin, Doctor of Divinity at Cambridge and vicar of St Peter's Babraham, who brings to the vicarage as his housekeeper a young Frenchwoman he finds in Cambridge, a destitute refugee from the Terror.
Evelyn Barnard's children’s book, The Brothers Are Walking, is set in Babraham.
car show Top Gear
has been to Babraham, for their Alfa-Romeo challenge in 2008. The Top Gear Presenters Jeremy Clarkson
, Richard Hammond
and James May
parked the cars in a small parking lot, next to The George Inn.
South Cambridgeshire
South Cambridgeshire is a mostly rural local government district of Cambridgeshire, England. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Chesterton Rural District and South Cambridgeshire Rural District. It surrounds the city of Cambridge, which is administered separately from the district by...
district of Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, about six miles south-east of Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
on the A1307 road.
Babraham is home to the Babraham Institute
Babraham Institute
The Babraham Institute, set in an extensive parkland estate just south of Cambridge, is an independent charitable life sciences institute involved in biomedical research. The aim of this research is to discover the molecular mechanisms that underlie normal cellular processes and functions, and how...
which undertakes research into cell
Cell biology
Cell biology is a scientific discipline that studies cells – their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level...
and molecular biology
Molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
.
History
The parish of Babraham covers an area of 2,387 acres and is roughly rectangular in shape. Its straight northern boundary is formed by the ancient Wool Street, separating it from FulbournFulbourn
Fulbourn is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. The term for a resident of the village is "Fulbourner".- Geography :Fulbourn lies about five miles south-east of the centre of Cambridge, separated from the outer city boundary by farmland and the grounds of Fulbourn Hospital. The village itself is...
, and its eastern border follows the Icknield Way
Icknield Way
The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern England. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills.-Background:...
(now the A11), separating it from Little Abington. The remaining boundaries with Stapleford
Stapleford
Stapleford can refer to a number of locations in England:*Stapleford Abbotts*Stapleford Tawney**Stapleford Aerodrome*Stapleford, Cambridgeshire*Stapleford, Devon*Stapleford, Hampshire*Stapleford, Hertfordshire*Stapleford, Leicestershire...
, Sawston
Sawston
Sawston is a large village in Cambridgeshire in England, situated on the River Cam seven miles south of Cambridge. It has a population of 7,150...
and Pampisford
Pampisford
Pampisford is a village, south of Cambridge, on the A505 road near Sawston, Cambridgeshire, England.Pampisford Hall, the principal house of the village, was rebuilt to the designs of George Goldie for James Binney, whose descendants still live there...
are formed by field boundaries and a small section of the River Granta, on which the village lies.
The course of the River Granta through the parish has been changed on numerous occasions; a watermill was listed as valueless in the 14th century when the river had changed course, and additional water channels have been dug for irrigation as well as to form an ornamental canal alongside Babraham Hall. Severe floods hit Babraham in both 1655 and 1749.
Traces of a Roman villa have been found on its parish boundary with Stapleford. It has also been suggested that the village has moved site, the principal evidence being that the church is 400 metres from the present village. Babraham was comparatively wealthy during medieval times due to its wool trade, with the highest tax returns in its hundred
Hundreds of Cambridgeshire
Between Anglo-Saxon times and the 19th century Cambridgeshire was divided for administrative purposes into 17 hundreds, plus the borough of Cambridge...
. Between 1632 and the 19th century, the manor was owned by the Bennet, and later the Adeane, families, who lived in Babraham Hall. The Hall was built in 1833 by Henry John Adeane.
Listed as Badburgham in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086, the village's name means "homestead or village of a woman called Beaduburh".
In the 19th century Babraham was home to Jonas Webb
Jonas Webb
Jonas Webb was an English farmer and stock breeder who was responsible for developing the Southdown breed of sheep into its modern form....
, a noted stock breeder who played a pivotal role in developing the Southdown
Southdown (sheep)
The Southdown is a small, dual purpose British sheep but is raised primarily for meat. The Southdown breed was originally bred by John Ellman of Glynde, near Lewes, East Sussex about 200 years ago. His work was continued by Jonas Webb of Babraham in Cambridgeshire who developed the larger animal...
breed of sheep. The antiquary William Cole
William Cole (antiquary)
William Cole , was a Cambridgeshire clergyman and antiquary.Cole was born in Little Abington, Cambridgeshire, the son of a well-to-do farmer...
lived in Babraham as a child when his father was the steward of the owners of Babraham Hall. On April 16 1556 John Hullier was burned at the stake on Jesus Green
Jesus Green
Jesus Green is a park in the north of central Cambridge, England. It is located north of Jesus College, hence the name. Jesus Ditch runs through Jesus Green. On the northern edge of Jesus Green is the River Cam, with Chesterton Road on the opposite side. To the east is Victoria Avenue and beyond...
, Cambridge for refusing to renounce the Protestant faith. He had served the parish of Babraham for about six years, becoming vicar in 1549.
Church
There was probably a church in the village at the time of the Norman Conquest, though the first official record was in the late 12th century. The present parish church, dedicated to St Peter since the 12th century, consists of a chancel, an aisled and clerestoried nave with north and south porches, and a west tower. The chancel and lower part of the tower date from the 13th century though there is evidence of an earlier building. The nave was completely rebuilt in the 15th century.Village life
The village contains a primary school called Babraham Primary School, which opened in 1959. It also retains one public house, The George, which was already open as an inn in 1488 but rebuilt in around 1600. There have been inns listed in the village from the 13th century, presumably on the Icknield Way at Bourn Bridge. Other former inns include The Angel, listed in 1490, The Swan, open in the 16th century, and The Chequer and The Griffin, all four of which were still open in 1600. Three ale-house licenses were awarded to the village in 1682.Babraham village cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
team won the Cambridgeshire Cricket Association Senior League in 2008.
Babraham in literature
F. L. Lucas'sF. L. Lucas
Frank Laurence Lucas was an English classical scholar, literary critic, poet, novelist, playwright, political polemicist, and Fellow of King's College, Cambridge....
novel Doctor Dido (Cassell, London, 1938) is set in Babraham and its environs in the period 1793-1812. With much local and antiquarian detail, it tells the story of Samuel Plampin, Doctor of Divinity at Cambridge and vicar of St Peter's Babraham, who brings to the vicarage as his housekeeper a young Frenchwoman he finds in Cambridge, a destitute refugee from the Terror.
Evelyn Barnard's children’s book, The Brothers Are Walking, is set in Babraham.
Top Gear
The BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
car show Top Gear
Top Gear (current format)
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...
has been to Babraham, for their Alfa-Romeo challenge in 2008. The Top Gear Presenters Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
, Richard Hammond
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...
and James May
James May
James Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....
parked the cars in a small parking lot, next to The George Inn.