Castor, Cambridgeshire
Coordinates: 52°34′23″N 0°20′35″W / 52.573°N 0.343°W
| Castor | |
 Castor
Castor shown within Cambridgeshire |
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| Population | 817 (2001 census)[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | TL124985 |
| Civil parish | Castor |
| Unitary authority | Peterborough |
| Ceremonial county | Cambridgeshire |
| Region | East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Peterborough |
| Postcode district | PE5 |
| Dialling code | 01733 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | North West Cambridgeshire |
| Website | Castor Home Page |
| List of places: UK • England • Cambridgeshire | |
Castor is a village and civil parish in the City of Peterborough unitary authority, about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of the city centre. The parish is part of the former Soke of Peterborough, which was considered part of Northamptonshire but was more recently part of Cambridgeshire.
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[edit] History
Castor's toponym is derived from the Old English "ceaster", referring to the Roman fort across the River Nene at Durobrivae.[2][3]
The Church of England parish church of St. Kyneburgha is notable for its Romanesque architecture and includes notable medieval wall paintings. It is a Grade I listed building.[4]
The Robin Hood and Little John Standing Stones were erected here between the 12th and 14th centuries in an agreement with the abbot of Peterborough that tolls would not be levied on the passage of stone from the abbey's quarries at Barnack.[5]
The common lands of Castor and the neighbouring parish of Ailsworth were not enclosed until 1898.[6]
The route of the London and North Western Railway branch line between Northampton and Peterborough passes through the parish. It was opened in 1845, including Castor railway station built to serve the village. British Railways closed the station in 1957 and the line in 1966, and Castor station has been demolished. The Nene Valley Railway reopened the section of line through Castor in 1977, but has not reopened a station at Castor.
The £9 million dual-carriageway Ailsworth and Castor Bypass, which is part of the A47 trunk road, was opened in September 1991.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Area: Castor CP (Parish): Parish Headcounts". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=791668&c=Castor&d=16&e=15&g=404277&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&r=1&s=1292264806533&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
- ^ Ekwall, Eilert (1960) [1947], Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 89, 92, ISBN 0198691033
- ^ Kelly, S.E. (ed.), Charters of Peterborough Abbey, Anglo-Saxon Charters 14, Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 5.
- ^ Castor Church. It is uniquely the only Church of that name anywhere in the world Peterborough Hidden Heritage. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
- ^ Robin Hood and Little John Standing Stones. Peterborough Hidden Heritage. Retrieved 31 August 2010. For the abbey's quarries at Barnack, see e.g. Kelly, S.E., op. cit., p. 292.
- ^ Taylor, Christopher (1982) [1975]. Fields in the English Landscape. Archaeology in the Field Series. London: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd. p. 153. ISBN 0 460 02232 6.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Castor, Cambridgeshire |
- Church architecture
- Medieval wall paintings (of St Catherine on her wheel)
- Castor Parish Church of St Kyneburgha
- The archives of the parish churches of Castor, Ailsworth, Milton, Upton and Sutton in Cambridgeshire
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