Stow cum Quy explained

Static Image Name:Stow cum Quy village centre.JPG
Static Image Caption:Main street and Post Office in the village centre
Country:England
Coordinates:52.2231°N 0.2253°W
Official Name:Stow cum Quy
Population:426
Population Ref:(2001)[1]
544 (2011)[2]
Shire District:South Cambridgeshire
Region:East of England
Shire County:Cambridgeshire
Post Town:CAMBRIDGE
Postcode Area:CB
Postcode District:CB25
Dial Code:01223
Os Grid Reference:TL520606

Stow cum Quy, commonly referred to as Quy, is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Situated around 4miles north east of Cambridge lying between the Burwell Road (B1102) and the medieval Cambridge to Newmarket road (B1303, formerly A14), it covers an area of 764ha.

Origin of the name

The village's name derives from the joining of two settlements, one called Stow, meaning "high or holy place", that was around the present location of Quy church and Quy coming from Cowey or "Cow Island", the area around the Swan pub. Cum is Latin for "with".[3] It was referred to as "Stowe Quye" in medieval times.[4]

History

The area has been occupied for millennia and Bronze Age remains have been found in the parish. A Roman villa has been found just to the west of Quy Hall.[5] The Saxon Fleam Dyke runs close by the village. The two Saxon settlements of Stow and Quy built up on a raised area at the southern edge of The Fens that ran north all the way to Lincolnshire. The settlements were already joined by 1066, though had separate manors, and became a single ecclesiastical parish by the early 13th century. Stow was the area around the present parish church, and Quy around The Swan public house.[6]

Jeremy Collier (1650–1727), the bishop and theatre critic, was born in the village and has a street named after him.[6] The oldest parts of the parish church of St Mary at Stow End date from the 12th century. The nave and chancel were built around 1340.[6] A Wesleyan chapel was built in 1840 but closed just after the Second World War and was demolished when the Wheatsheaf pub was extended.[5]

Village life

Quy currently supports three public houses. The White Swan, or Swan, a timber-framed house, was open by 1750. The Prince Albert opened in the 1840s on the Newmarket Road and was renamed The Missing Sock after refurbishment in 2010. The Wheatsheaf at Stow End opened in the late 19th century. Former pubs in the village were The Plough which opened in the late 18th century and was perhaps replaced by The Bush which was open from 1821 to 1904.[6]

The village sign was erected to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II.[7]

Children initially attend Bottisham Primary School in the nearby village and usually then go on to Bottisham Village College.

Nearby are a number of places of interest including the National Trust property of Anglesey Abbey and Quy Fen, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Another nearby conservation area is Wilbraham Fen and there are several picturesque walks around the village.

Transport

The village is just off the A14 via the Quy interchange and is about two miles from the Newmarket Road Park and Ride. There is a bus service running between Cambridge and Newmarket passing through the neighbouring villages of Bottisham, Lode and Burwell. Cycle access is good thanks to a number of cycle paths.

Nearby villages

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2001 Census. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110609180551/http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/BDBED31F-3CE3-497D-BECB-F9D86BCFD551/0/StowcumQuy.pdf. 2011-06-09.
  2. Web site: Civil Parish population 2011. 24 July 2016. Office for National Statistics. Neighbourhood Statistics.
  3. Village information board
  4. Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; National Archives; CP 40/717; http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no717/bCP40no717dorses/IMG_1562.htm; last entry, mentioning John Ansty, gentleman
  5. Web site: Stow cum Quy: History. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100711090141/http://www.stowcumquy.co.uk/History.htm. 2010-07-11.
  6. Book: A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely. 10. 2002. 230–233.
  7. Plaque on village sign