Sawtry
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2011) |
Coordinates: 52°26′N 0°17′W / 52.44°N 0.28°W
| Sawtry | |
 Sawtry
Sawtry shown within Cambridgeshire |
|
| OS grid reference | TL168836 |
|---|---|
| District | Huntingdonshire |
| Shire county | Cambridgeshire |
| Region | East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| Website | http://www.sawtry.net |
| List of places: UK • England • Cambridgeshire | |
Sawtry is a village in the district of Huntingdonshire in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. The village is home to over 5,000[citation needed] people.
Contents |
[edit] Location
Sawtry is just west of the Fens, halfway between the city of Peterborough and the town of Huntingdon. Other nearby villages include Folksworth, Alconbury, Holme, Yaxley, and Stilton. Being situated in close proximity to the A1(M), it is a sought-after location for commuters. It is approximately six miles north of the A14, and a fifty-minute car drive from both Stansted Airport and Luton Airport.
[edit] Facilities and amenities
Sawtry has two public houses: The Bell (recently re-opened 18 December 2009) and The Greystones . It also has an Ex-Services and Working Men's Club. It has an Infant school and a Junior school; and a Community college which educates many young people from nearby villages as well as Sawtry itself.
[edit] History
During the Dark Ages, Sawtry was divided into three parishes - All Saints, St. Andrew and Judith[citation needed] and originally got its name from the fact that it was a trading centre for salt, an essential commodity in the Middle Ages. The Cistercian Abbey of St Mary was founded in 1147 by Simon de Senlis grandson of Judith De Lens, niece of William the Conqueror who owned land in many parts of Britain but built her Manor in Sawtry and whom the Parish of Sawtry Judith is named after. The Abbey took 91 years to complete and ministered to the local area both spiritually and physically. This was demolished in 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries as part of the English Reformation, although traces of the Abbey still remain.[1]
In the early 1800s, evidence suggests that a cure for baldness was invented by a local herbalist and engineer known as Pandy Mainman. Pandy, along with his two brothers Hutch and Colin also take claim for inventing the game Top Trumps with the early version being based on the value of fruits and vegetables.
Sawtry is twinned with the Gemeinde Weimar region in Germany.[citation needed]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sawtry |
