Houghton, Cambridgeshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Houghton | |
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| Population | 2559 (2001) |
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| OS grid reference | |
| District | Huntingdonshire |
| Shire county | Cambridgeshire |
| Region | East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HUNTINGDON |
| Postcode district | PE28 |
| Dial code | 01480 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | Huntingdon |
| European Parliament | East of England |
| List of places: UK • England • Cambridgeshire | |
Houghton – in Huntingdonshire (now part of Cambridgeshire), England – is a village between Huntingdon and St Ives on the A1123, and not far south of RAF Wyton. It lies on the north bank of the River Great Ouse, where Houghton Mill is located.
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[edit] History
Houghton is mentioned in the Domesday Book and described as "Hoctune".
It has had a number of serious floods.
There used to be an old piece of film footage taken by the Houghton Scout group of the village.
[edit] Places of interest
Houghton has a beautiful old watermill owned by the National Trust that is still used for demonstrating flour milling.
There is a picturesque village centre, known affectionately as "the green" (although no grass has been present for very many years). In the village green there is a statue to Potto Brown and a traditional old water pump.
There is a fine Norman church (Anglican) church, St Mary's and a former Chapel that has been converted into a retreat centre.
It is possible to walk from Houghton to Hemmingford Abbotts across the flood meadows and to St Ives along the "thicket". There is a nature research along the thicket known as "Far Close" that shows markings of traditional ridge and furrow farming.
There used to be two veterinary poultry research centres, one on Houghton Hill and the other in "the Elms".
There are a number of old houses of interest, particularly in the village green and near the playing field. The playing field is used for football, tennis and cricket. The field was donated to the village by Mr Anderson, whose family used to farm in the village. On the field there is a bowling club, cricket pavillon and a Scout Hut.
The village green is the former home of one of the close relatives of Edward Whymper who was the first to climb the Matterhorn and a model of the mountain is in the garden.
The village is also home to the Three Horseshoes pub.
Punts and rowing boats can be hired at the river side across the water mill footbridge.
[edit] Famous Residents
Potto Brown
