by Bridget Flanagan

Ride Away – on new and old roads – Part One

by Bridget Flanagan

I have long been fascinated by the history of the roads and routes in both Hemingford parishes. It’s a huge subject, with the information scattered (and sometimes contradictory), and the early history hard to find - so my research is moving slowly. But for this article and the next I thought I would share some examples of observations gathered so far. We will travel along three roads, starting at the western boundary of Hemingford Abbots.

First, a pause for a small historical detour. Some of you may remember the Cambridgeshire Hunt holding its annual point-to-point steeplechase racing on the Godmanchester Common. The event was accessed from the western end of Common Lane and, although not in the Parish, it was given the address of Hemingford Abbots. The meeting was held there from 1957-1971 and the course of about three and a quarter miles was generally regarded as fairly tough. Point-to -point racing is strictly for amateur Hunt riders and the 1968 race card shows five races at the meeting with competitors from all over East Anglia. In 1971 The Cambridge News reported that the meeting, part of Huntingdonshire’s social whirl for almost 20 years would end because part of the course, one of the most attractive in the region, with a quiet riverside setting, is to be quarried for gravel.

Today Common Lane is a cul-de-sac road. At its western end it adjoins a bridleway that runs westwards across Godmanchester Eastside Common to meet Cow Lane. But 18C and early 19C maps show Common Lane and the bridleway as part of a continuous through route from St Ives and the Hemingfords to Godmanchester. This is a natural route in the river valley – and, as such, very probably an ancient route. (Not unlike the Thicket Path from Houghton to St Ives). It is close to the river but for much of its length is on the slightly higher gravel terraces above most floods. The route passes through and connects old settlements, especially the market towns of Huntingdon and St Ives which are also major bridging points on the Great Ouse. But trying to trace the history of this road using, what might be assumed, an obvious source – maps – is not easy, because roads were (almost) never shown on maps until the late 17C. For example, all county maps of Huntingdonshire, to that date, show (possibly) one road – the Old North Road. But then came a great invention for the traveller. In 1675 John Ogilby published ‘Britannia’ - the first English road-atlas. The concept was new and executed with great simplicity of design. After commissioning extensive surveying he depicted the routes of 73 Main and Cross Roads of England and Wales in strip fashion on a hundred folio sheets. He used a standard scale of one inch to one mile and, very importantly, the statute mile of 1760 yards. (It sounds simple now, but in the 17C cartographers used several different miles).

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