Thriplow
Encyclopedia
Thriplow is a village in 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...

, 8 miles (13 km) south 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...

. The village also gives its name to a former Cambridgeshire 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...

.

History

The parish of Thriplow covers 1012 hectares (2,501 acre) roughly spanning the land between the former London to Cambridge coaching road (now the B1368) and the 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...

 to Newmarket road (now the A505
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:...

). The presence of tumuli
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...

 in the south of the parish suggest an Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

 settlement and a barrow to the east of the village contains a Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...

 burial. The village itself probably existed in Romano-British times (circa A.D.150). The presence of 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:...

 to the south of the village was probably an important factor in its growth.

Listed as Tripelan in around 1050 and Trepeslau 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...

, the name "Thriplow" means "Hill or tumulus of a man called Tryppa". Tryppa is believed to be a Bronze Age chieftain who may be buried in the tumulus just south east of the church.

In 1647 the Commonwealth army
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

 camped on Thriplow Heath after its refusal to disband during its dispute with parliament. Thirteen Thriplow residents are recorded to have perished in the First World War and three in the Second World War.

In recent times the hamlet of Heathfield has built up in the south east of the parish alongside the Imperial War Museum Duxford
Imperial War Museum Duxford
Imperial War Museum Duxford is a branch of the Imperial War Museum near the village of Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England. Britain's largest aviation museum, Duxford houses the museum's large exhibits, including nearly 200 aircraft, military vehicles, artillery and minor naval vessels in seven...

, with most of the housing dating from the 2000s. Its population (c600) is now larger than that of Thriplow village (c440).

Church

There has been a church in Thriplow since at least the 12th century. In 1284 the church was given to Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the oldest college of the University, having been founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely...

 and the first recorded vicar, John de Hyndrayngham, was installed in 1299.

The parish church of St George (previously dedicated to All Saints until the 19th century) dates from the late 13th century and consists of a chancel with north vestry, north and south transepts, a central tower with short spire, and a nave with south porch. The tower and spire date from the 14th century. The south porch was rebuilt by Gilbert Scott
Gilbert Scott
Gilbert Scott may refer to several of a family of British architects:* Sir George Gilbert Scott , who was principally known for his architectural designs for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and St Pancras Station...

 in 1877.

Dowsing
William Dowsing
William Dowsing was an English iconoclast who operated at the time of the English Civil War. Dowsing was a puritan soldier who was born in Laxfield, Suffolk...

 mutilated the church screen in 1644.

The parish is now held with that of Fowlmere
Fowlmere
Fowlmere is one of the southernmost villages in Cambridgeshire, England. It is very close to the Imperial War Museum Duxford, and 9 miles southwest of the city of Cambridge.- History :...

 and no vicar has lived in Thriplow since 1936.

Village life

Thriplow has one public house, The Green Man which has been open since the first half of the 19th century. Former pubs include The Fox, on the east side of Church Street, open in the early 19th century and which burned down in 1919. The Red Lion at the north end of Middle Street burned down around 1941 with the site taken by the village hall in 1958.

The village shop last operated as an independent commercial concern between 1997 and 2000. After that there were several attempts to continue the shop as a business which failed, and the management was finally taken over by the Thriplow Village Shop Association in June-July 2007. The village is also home to a park, a primary school, a village hall and a cricket ground.

The smithy on the village green was still open in the early 1960s but was given to the village in 1964 as a museum. It opens twice a year when the blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

 gives a demonstration of traditional skills.

Thriplow also contains two sites of special scientific interest, Thriplow Meadows and Thriplow Peat Holes.

Daffodil weekend

The tradition started in 1969 in an attempt to raise money for repairing the church and has run each year since (except for 2001 when the weekend was cancelled due to Foot-and-Mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease or hoof-and-mouth disease is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids...

.) The event is organised by the Daffodil Weekend Trust and raises funds for a different charity each year. In 2006 the charity supported was East Anglian Air Ambulance. There are numerous attractions during the weekend including heavy horses giving dray rides, children’s entertainment, sheep dogs working, open gardens and stalls. Music is provided by The Perse School
The Perse School
The Perse Upper School is an independent secondary co-educational day school in Cambridge, England. The school was founded in 1615 by Dr Stephen Perse, a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and has existed on several different sites in the city before its present home on Hills...

swing band, organ recitals and church bell ringing.

External links

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