Steeple Morden
Encyclopedia
Steeple Morden is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire
, England
, about 15 miles (24 km) south west of Cambridge
and 5 miles (8 km) west of Royston
. It is part of the South Cambridgeshire
local government district
.
The parish is combined with the parishes of Abington Pigotts
, Guilden Morden
and Tadlow
to form "The Mordens" ward
, which is represented on South Cambridgeshire District Council by one councillor.
at its northern border with Tadlow
and Croydon-cum-Clapton to the ancient Icknield Way
(now the A505 road
) at its southern border with Hertfordshire
. Its long western border with Guilden Morden and eastern border with Abington Pigotts
and Litlington
largely follow streams.
An airfield opened at RAF Steeple Morden
in 1938, covering 175 acres to the east of Cheyney Water. It began as a satellite of the base at RAF Bassingbourn
and was later used by the 355th Fighter Group of the United States Air Force
. The site of the airfield has now been returned to agricultural use.
Listed as Mordune in the Domesday Book
and Stepelmordun in 1242, the name "Morden" means "hill in moor or marshland", with the "Steeple" added signifying "church steeple" to distinguish it from neighbouring Guilden Morden
. It was also known as South Morden in the early 13th century.
The railways reached the parish in the mid-19th century, crossing the southernmost end of the parish. Ashwell and Morden railway station
, on the Hitchin
-Royston railway, opened near the hamlet of Odsey late in 1850 and has remained open since.
The original steeple fell in 1625, damaging the nave and destroying the chancel. The nave was repaired, and after disputes over the funding it was decided not to rebuild the chancel, instead leaving a gap where the tower had been until the reconstruction of the 1860s.
workers where North Brook End meets Flecks Lane). There were 8 pubs in the village in the 1950s, but four closed before 1960, including The Bell. The Railway Inn, later renamed The Jester, opened near the station in the 19th century, and The Horse and Groom opened alongside the turnpike (now A505). The Horse and Groom closed in the late 20th century, and The Jester is now a hotel.
The village benefits from its railway station
on the main line from Cambridge
to London King's Cross.
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 15 miles (24 km) south west 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...
and 5 miles (8 km) west of Royston
Royston, Hertfordshire
Royston is a town and civil parish in the District of North Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England.It is situated on the Greenwich Meridian, which brushes the towns western boundary, and at the northernmost apex of the county on the same latitude of towns such as Milton Keynes and...
. It is part of the South Cambridgeshire
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...
local government district
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
.
The parish is combined with the parishes of Abington Pigotts
Abington Pigotts
Abington Pigotts is a small village in Cambridgeshire, England about 4 miles northwest of Royston, Hertfordshire.-History:The parish of Abington Pigotts covers an area of...
, Guilden Morden
Guilden Morden
Guilden Morden , England, is a village and parish located in Cambridgeshire about south west of Cambridge and west of Royston in Hertfordshire...
and Tadlow
Tadlow
Tadlow is south-west of Cambridge, north-east of Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, and north of London. The B1042 road bisects the parish, with Wrestlingworth to the west and Croydon to the east....
to form "The Mordens" ward
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
, which is represented on South Cambridgeshire District Council by one councillor.
History
Steeple Morden parish covers and area of 1549 hectares (3,827.7 acre) in a long thin shape stretching from the River CamRiver Cam
The River Cam is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the east of England. The two rivers join to the south of Ely at Pope's Corner. The Great Ouse connects the Cam to England's canal system and to the North Sea at King's Lynn...
at its northern border with Tadlow
Tadlow
Tadlow is south-west of Cambridge, north-east of Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, and north of London. The B1042 road bisects the parish, with Wrestlingworth to the west and Croydon to the east....
and Croydon-cum-Clapton to the ancient 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 A505 road
A505 road
The A505 is an A-class road in the United Kingdom. It follows part of the route of the Icknield Way and the corresponding Icknield Way Path.-Bedfordshire:...
) at its southern border with Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. Its long western border with Guilden Morden and eastern border with Abington Pigotts
Abington Pigotts
Abington Pigotts is a small village in Cambridgeshire, England about 4 miles northwest of Royston, Hertfordshire.-History:The parish of Abington Pigotts covers an area of...
and Litlington
Litlington, Cambridgeshire
Litlington is a village and civil parish in the East of England region and the county Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom. The village lies around south west of Cambridge and north west of Royston.-History:...
largely follow streams.
An airfield opened at RAF Steeple Morden
RAF Steeple Morden
RAF Steeple Morden is a former World War II airfield in England. The field was located 3½ miles W of Royston in Cambridgeshire, near the village of Steeple Morden.-RAF Bomber Command use:...
in 1938, covering 175 acres to the east of Cheyney Water. It began as a satellite of the base at RAF Bassingbourn
RAF Bassingbourn
RAF Bassingbourn is a former military airbase located in Cambridgeshire approximately north of Royston, Hertfordshire and south west of Cambridge. During World War II it served first as an RAF station and then as a bomber base of the U.S. Eighth Air Force...
and was later used by the 355th Fighter Group of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. The site of the airfield has now been returned to agricultural use.
Listed as Mordune 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...
and Stepelmordun in 1242, the name "Morden" means "hill in moor or marshland", with the "Steeple" added signifying "church steeple" to distinguish it from neighbouring Guilden Morden
Guilden Morden
Guilden Morden , England, is a village and parish located in Cambridgeshire about south west of Cambridge and west of Royston in Hertfordshire...
. It was also known as South Morden in the early 13th century.
The railways reached the parish in the mid-19th century, crossing the southernmost end of the parish. Ashwell and Morden railway station
Ashwell and Morden railway station
Ashwell and Morden railway station is a wayside railway station in Cambridgeshire, England.Close to the border with Hertfordshire, it is located in the hamlet of Odsey, slightly north of the Icknield Way, a Roman Road that is now the A505. The station is served by trains between Cambridge and...
, on the Hitchin
Hitchin
Hitchin is a town in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 30,360.-History:Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce people mentioned in a 7th century document, the Tribal Hidage. The tribal name is Brittonic rather than Old English and derives from *siccā, meaning...
-Royston railway, opened near the hamlet of Odsey late in 1850 and has remained open since.
Church
The parish church at Steeple Morden has been dedicated to St Peter and St Paul since at least the 14th century. The church was rebuilt in the early 13th century, giving the village its present name. At that time it probably consisted of an aisled nave, a central tower 20 feet square, and a chancel, 28 feet wide and 42 feet long. In the 1860s the church was rebuilt and now comprises an aisled nave with steepled south porch, and a short chancel. Some of the nave arcades remain from the 13th century building.The original steeple fell in 1625, damaging the nave and destroying the chancel. The nave was repaired, and after disputes over the funding it was decided not to rebuild the chancel, instead leaving a gap where the tower had been until the reconstruction of the 1860s.
Village life
The village has one remaining public house, The Waggon and Horses, which is housed in a 17th century building opposite the church. Among the many former pubs are The Bell (open by 1737), The Green Man (north end of Hay Street, open by 1810), and The Diggings (open in the 1860s for the coproliteCoprolite
A coprolite is fossilized animal dung. Coprolites are classified as trace fossils as opposed to body fossils, as they give evidence for the animal's behaviour rather than morphology. The name is derived from the Greek words κοπρος / kopros meaning 'dung' and λιθος / lithos meaning 'stone'. They...
workers where North Brook End meets Flecks Lane). There were 8 pubs in the village in the 1950s, but four closed before 1960, including The Bell. The Railway Inn, later renamed The Jester, opened near the station in the 19th century, and The Horse and Groom opened alongside the turnpike (now A505). The Horse and Groom closed in the late 20th century, and The Jester is now a hotel.
The village benefits from its railway station
Ashwell and Morden railway station
Ashwell and Morden railway station is a wayside railway station in Cambridgeshire, England.Close to the border with Hertfordshire, it is located in the hamlet of Odsey, slightly north of the Icknield Way, a Roman Road that is now the A505. The station is served by trains between Cambridge and...
on the main line from 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...
to London King's Cross.
External links
- Steeple Morden village website