Thanks for taking a look at my site. I hope that you enjoy your stay and if you like (or dislike) the site then please let me know. For those who are not aware, Chesterton is a very small hamlet adjacent to the A605, approximately five miles west of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. Please be aware that there are two Chesterton's in Cambridgeshire, the other being part of Cambridge itself.
Small in size but big in history with the whole area rich in Roman history. In this site, I will give a brief history of the village, show you around St Michaels church, and hopefully (eventually!!) have a page on here which lists names and dates of people buried in the church grounds or who have markers in the church itself. I hope that this will be of use to those tracing their family trees, who have ancestors who come from our village.
The old photographs section of the site will show antique photographs from Chesterton, and neighbouring Alwalton. I would be very pleased to hear from anyone who has any old photographs that they think I would be interested in.
If you are visiting from out of the area, please sign the visitors book, sincere best wishes
Robin Peel site owner robinpeel@tiscali.co.uk
Top row of photographs, reading from left to right and the church of St Michael, Chesterton is bathed in early morning sunshine, as snow lies on the ground. To the right of that, Manor Farm just after the snostorm of February 2009, which brought the heaviest fall of snow seen in the village for about 20 years. Top right and St Michael is shot from the West as the sun goes down in the Summer of 2009.
The middle row of photographs, again reading left to right, and the Beville Monument is lit by a Christmas candle on the evening of the 2008 carol service. To the right of that, close up detail from the Beville Monument. This is a famous monument, that can be inside St Michael, and it regularly draws visitors from the United States to see it. Middle right and harvest time 2009. This is what we are, a farming village! Nothing more, nothing less.
The bottom row of photographs starts off with a lovely rainbow captured shortly after a Summer downpour has finished. To the right of that, February 2009 and Jean Hillier's snowman...the head fell off later that day! Summer sunset follows that and bottom right, church bench in front of a hedge, with cross topiary!
All photographs were taken by myself.
Sincere thanks go to a few people for making this site possible. It has not been easy to produce a website for a village with just over 50 houses and a population of probably less than 150! The following have made it much easier...!! Thanks to Judy and Jeff King for hearing out the original idea and not laughing. Jeff's knowledge of local history has been invaluable. Thanks to Church Wardern Jean Hillier for the information on Chesterton Parish Boundary and bits and pieces on St Michaels church. Thanks also go to Terry Glover for letting me scan many of his old photograph collection, several of which now appear in the Older Photographs section of this site.
Sincere thanks as well to you for visiting. If you have arrived at this site by accident whilst looking for one of the other Chesterton's to be found in this country then sorry, you are in the wrong place....but please stay for a while and have a look around whilst you are here.
A HAMLET WITH A
WEALTH OF HISTORY
THANK YOU FOR VISITING
Sincere thanks to Church Wardern Mrs Hillier for supplying the following....
"Chesterton Parish Boundary was established by the tenth Ccentury. This is shown by the Charters of 937 for Water Newton, 951 for Haddon and 955 for Alwalton, all of which respect the Chesterton boundary. Parish boundaries, which were introduced in order to support a Priest for the Church, were formalised by Bishops during the Eleventh Century. Before the advent of accurate maps the memory of the Parish boundaries was enforced each year in Rogation week, between Easter and Ascension day, when the ceremony of "beating the bounds" took place. On these occasions, boys were beaten at specific points along the boundary so that they would remember the boundaries and be able to swear on oath if a boundary dispute arose.
"The boundary follows the River Nnene until it reaches a small stream which it follows until it reaches the A1 or Great North Road. The A1 marks the boundary until it comes to the "old ditch" when it turns Westward until it reaches Billing Brook. The boundary then follows Billing Brook back to the river".
The Chesterton Parish Boundary
I am including old photographs where I can get them, but it has not been easy to get many of these. If you have any old photographs of the village please get in touch and I will be very pleased to hear from you. Above left, dancing on the lawns of the Priory, top right and Teddy Tompkins farm, now long since gone. Bottom left and an earlier picture of Tompkins farm with family posing with their horse and cart. To the right of that, an Alwalton school Nativity. I think this would date from the early 1950's as my mother is playing the part of the Virgin Mary.
