Impington

History

The earliest part of Impington to be inhabited is near the junction of Cambridge Road and Arbury Road, where there is a large ancient settlement, thought to have been built by the ancient Celtic Britons. The settlement was taken over by the Roman conquest of Britain. There are several roads in Impington that are thought to be based on Roman roads. The Parish probably dates from about the sixth century, when a Saxon tribe called the Empings lived there. Over time, dukes have gone off to help prevent the Danes from invading, while William I sorted out an argument over the town (then 'Epintone') between the Norman Sheriff of Cambridge and the Church. The first area of settlement in the village was to the extreme south of the current village, close to current road junction of the Cambridge and Kings Hedges Road (once called Arbury camp, this land has now been developed as part of the large Orchard Park housing development). There was a large Iron Age fort here that was built by the Iceni to defend against the invading Celts; this cuts through the edge of Impington and heads for The Fens. This route had fallen into disuse by the 11th century. The first mention of Impington by name was in the year 991 when Earl Byrhtnoth, who then owned Impington, left the village in the charge of the abbot of Ely, when he went off to fight the Vikings who had invaded the region, he was killed at the Battle of Maldon in Essex. After Byrhtnoth's death Impington became the property of the abbey at Ely, during the Reformation the Abbey at Ely was more fortunate and was turned into a cathedral church. With a dean and chapter, Impington's lands were protected and they then became its "patrons of living." It was not until 1870 that they handed the patronage to the owner of Impington Hall in…