Molesworth, Cambridgeshire
| Molesworth | |
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Molesworth is located in Cambridgeshire
 Molesworth
Molesworth shown within Cambridgeshire |
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| OS grid reference | TL089755 |
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| Shire county | Cambridgeshire |
| Region | East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Huntingdon |
| Postcode district | PE28 |
| Dialling code | 01832 |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
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Molesworth is a village in the civil parish of Brington and Molesworth in Cambridgeshire, England; Molesworth is 10 miles (16 km) north-west of Huntingdon. The neighbouring village of Brington is 0.7 miles (1.1 km) from Molesworth. The civil parish covers an area of 2,842 acres (1,150 hectares). Just to the north of Molesworth and within the civil parish is RAF Molesworth. The village of Molesworth was designated a conservation area by Huntingdon District Council largely due to its typically rural English character that includes several listed buildings.
In 1646, two people from Molesworth, John Winnick and Ellen Shepheard (along with others from the nearby village of Catworth) were examined as witches.[1]
The village gives its name to RAF Molesworth, a Royal Air Force station dating back to 1917. RAF Molesworth no longer has an active runway. It is the home to the Joint Analysis Center, the intelligence fusion centre supporting the United States European Command and NATO.
Contents
History
Molesworth (or Molesworde as it was then called) in the Leightonstone hundred was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. At that time the village had 17 households and the lands belonged to a "Eustace the Sheriff"; the tenant in chief was held by Countess Judith who was a niece of William the Conqueror.[2] The Domesday Book does not mention a church at Molesworth.
The inclosure of open fields took place in 1799.
The ecclesiastical parish was known from the middle ages as Molesworth and covered an area of 1,787 acres (723 hectares). In 1936 Molesworth joined with Brington and Old Weston to form a new ecclesiastical parish. In 1935, the civil parish of Brington and Molesworth was created; the new parish covered an area of 2,842 acres (1,150 hectares).
The Royal Flying Corps established an airfield near Old Weston to the north of the parish in the First World War which was abandoned in September 1917. During the Second World War an airfield was built in 1940 and 1941 and named RAF Molesworth; from 1942 it was used by the United States Air Force. The runways were demolished in 1973; in the 1980s the area around the base were the scene of anti-nuclear protests. It was announced in January 2015 that the base would be closed.
Government
Molesworth was in the historic county of Huntingdonshire until 1965. From 1965, the village was part of the county of Huntingdon and Peterborough. In 1974, following the Local Government Act 1972, Molesworth became a part of Cambridgeshire.
Molesworth is represented on Huntingdonshire District Council by one councillor for the Ellington ward and on Cambridgeshire County Council by one councillor for the Sawtry and Ellington electoral division. It is in the parliamentary constituency of North West Cambridgeshire, represented at the House of Commons by Shailesh Vara. For the European Parliament Molesworth is in the East of England (European Parliament constituency).
Geography
The village and parish lies on a bedrock of Oxford clay and in regions there are superficial Glaciofluvial and River Terrace deposits of sand and gravel from the Quaternary period, together with alluvium (clay and silt) from the same period.[3] The land in the north of the parish is characterised as Oadby Member Diamicton, again from the Quaternary period, with rocks formed during Ice Age conditions by glaciers scouring the land.[3]
The village, which is approximately 45 metres (148 ft) above sea level, lies just to the north of Junction 16 of the A14 road that runs from the Port of Felixstowe to the Catthorpe Interchange, Leicestershire.
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Clopton | Clopton | Old Weston | |
| Bythorn and Keyston |  |
Leighton | ||
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| Bythorn and Keyston | Covington | Catworth |
Demography
| Village |
1801 |
1811 |
1821 |
1831 |
1841 |
1851 |
1881 |
1891 |
1901 |
1911 |
1921 |
1931 |
1951 |
1971 |
1991 |
2001 |
2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Molesworth | 160 | 176 | 191 | 222 | 221 | 245 | 211 | 173 | 114 | 120 | 93 | 114 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Brington and Molesworth | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 285 | 376 | 374 | 412 | 342 |
Census: Molesworth 1801–1931[4] Census: Brington and Molesworth 1951, 1971, 1991[5] Census: Brington and Molesworth (Parish) 2001–2011[6] [7]
Culture and Community
There is a public house called the Cross Keys in Molesworth.
Religious Sites
The Anglican church at Molesworth is dedicated to St Peter and is a Grade II listed building standing on the west of the village. The church is in the deanery of Huntingdon in the diocese of Ely. The chancel was built c.1270 and the nave was re-built and the tower added in the 15th century. The church was restored in 1884-5. The presence of several 12th century stones suggests that an earlier stone church may have existed on the same site.[8]
References
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External Links
- Works by Matthew Hopkins at Project Gutenberg
- <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/> The Discovery of Witches at Project Gutenberg
- [1] Page by page photos of the complete pamphlet "The Most strange and admirable discoverie of the three witches of Warboys, arraigned, conducted and executed at the last Assises at Huntingdon, for the bewitching of the five daughters of Robert Throckmorton Esquire, and divers other persons, with sundry Devellish and grievious torments: And also for the betwitching to death of Lady Crumwell, the like hath not been heard of in this age." 1593. Original in the collection of The Norris Museum, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, UK
