Parson Drove
Parson Drove | |
---|---|
![]() The Cage, Parson Drove. | |
![]() ![]() Parson Drove Location within Cambridgeshire | |
Population | 1,030 (2001) |
OS grid reference | TF370085 |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Wisbech |
Postcode district | PE13 |
Parson Drove is a fen village in Cambridgeshire, England. A linear settlement, it is 6 miles (10 km) west of Wisbech, the nearest town.[1] The village is named after the central thoroughfare along which the village developed, a green drove, much wider than the current metalled road (B1166). The population at the 2001 Census was 1,030.[2] The population is included in the civil parish of Wisbech St Mary.[citation needed]
Other nearby towns include Peterborough, 19 miles (31 km) to the west, and King's Lynn, 21 miles (34 km) to the east.
History[]
The area was farmed by the Romans, who left evidence of their presence in several places throughout Parson Drove and the surrounding parish.[3]
Samuel Pepys wrote about Parson Drove in his diary for 17 September 1663, describing it as a "heathen place" where he found his uncle and aunt in a "sad poor thatched cottage", after which he took them to a "miserable inn" (the Swan Inn), where he was staying, and where his uncle's horse was subsequently stolen. A lawyer's clerk from London was, by his uncle and aunt, suspected as the thief, who was then detained at the inn. At about midnight Pepys, after he had retired to a "cold, stony chamber", was informed that the horse was found.[4]
Landmarks[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Woad_mill%2C_Parson_Drove.jpg/220px-Woad_mill%2C_Parson_Drove.jpg)
Parson Drove has buildings dating from the 16th century, ten of which are Grade II listed.[5] The village has three public houses, including The Swan Inn, in which Pepys stayed in the 17th century.
The village churches are The Emmanuel Church (also called the "New Church"[by whom?]) which dates from 1873 and contains chandeliers originally from St Paul's Cathedral,[citation needed] and St John the Baptist (also called the "Old Church"[by whom?]) which dates from the 12th century, and includes additions and renovations from the 14th, 15th, and 17th centuries; it is Grade II* listed,[6] and under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[7]
The Cage was built in 1829 as a village lock-up for local criminals and stray livestock, and housed the village fire pump for nearly 100 years.[citation needed]
The last working temporary woad mill in Britain was in Parson Drove.[8] It stood opposite St John the Baptist church, and closed in 1910.[9] It was pulled down in 1914 and the last permanent woad mills at Algarkirk(1927) and Skirbeck(1932). A model of the woad mill is in Wisbech & Fenland museum.[10]
Education[]
The village is served by the Alderman Payne Primary School - formerly known as the Payne County Primary School, the Payne Council School and the Parson Drove Council School.[11] It is a designated Community School operating under the control of Cambridgeshire County Council. The school is named for Alderman John William Payne.[12]
Sport[]
The local football club, Parson Drove F.C., play in the Peterborough & District League.[13]
References[]
- ^ AA Book of British Villages. Drive Publications Limited. 1980. p. 309. ISBN 9780340254875.
- ^ "Parson Drove Parish" (PDF). 2001 Census Profile. Cambridgeshire County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- ^ "Roman and mediaeval finds". www.wisbechstandard.co.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
- ^ Gardiner FRHS, Frederic, John (1898). History of Wisbech and Neighbourhood during the last fifty years, 1848-1898. Gardiner & Co. p. 384.
- ^ "parson drove". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ Historic England. "Church of St John the Baptist, Parson Drove (1331998)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
- ^ "Church of St John the Baptist, Parson Drove, Cambridgeshire", Churches Conservation Trust. Retrieved 8 January 2019
- ^ "Woad Mills, Woad.org.uk. Retrieved 8 January 2019
- ^ "Woad mills". Retrieved 9 January 2019.
- ^ Norman T.Wills (1979). Woad in the Fens, p11. N.T.Wills.
- ^ Archives, The National. "The Discovery Service". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
- ^ "Alderman Payne". www.aldermanpayne.co.uk. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
- ^ "Fcparson drove". www.fcparsondrove. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
External links[]
Media related to Parson Drove at Wikimedia Commons
- Parson Drove village website
- "Chapelry of Parson Drove", Wisbech Hundred: Chapelry of Parson Drove, British History Online
- Villages in Cambridgeshire
- Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire
- Fenland District