Notes on the history of Little Thetford

Compiled by Pat and Mike Petty : February 1981, revised May 2009

Contents

Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: Early settlement and Place names
Page 3: Buildings and infrastructure
Page 4: Newspaper clippings: 1778 – 1799
Page 5: Newspaper clippings: 1801 -1899
Page 6: Newspaper clippings: 1900 -1940
Page 7: Ely Deanery Magazine Extracts: 1895 -1896
Page 8: Village people: 19th & early 20th century

Newspaper clippings: 1900 -1940

1924
2nd October – When workmen arrived at a pair of council houses in the course of erection on Cambridge Road, Little Thetford, they found there had been intruders during the night who had helped themselves pretty freely to what they could find. Tools belonging to Robert Rayner of Stretham and Mr Cornwell of Ely were missing. A considerable amount of timber, asbestos sheeting and other materials had been removed and a new door displaced from its hinges and taken also.
1930
6th November – Little Thetford was the scene of a big blaze, a large six-roomed thatched house built in 1300 being totally destroyed. After the old roof dropped the four main walls were a roaring furnace and the blazing ember carried long distances. Soon nothing was left but burning beams and scorched walls which had evidently been built of the old Fen mud. But for the efforts of villager’s similar large thatched houses nearby would have been involved. The “Three Horse Shoes” public house opposite was plied with ladders and a chain of buckets formed and water thrown on the thatched roof to stop a possible outbreak here. The cause is a mystery; fireworks were being let off, but not at this end of the village.
1932
24th February – Mr. R. Hinkin of Little Thetford has passed away, days after celebrating his 101st birthday. His health was remarkably good; he was only once attended by a doctor; that was five years ago when he fell from a ladder as a result of it breaking. He started work on the land at the age of ten, finally giving up when he was 97. He had six children, 25 grandchildren and about 40 great-grandchildren.
1938
29th August – Ely Council’s decision to allow the swimming baths to be used on Sunday afternoons prompted strong protests. The Railway Mission deplored it, as did Downham Baptist chapel. Haddenham Baptist say it will necessitate some amount of Sunday labour, Little Thetford think it a retrograde step and Ely Sunday School Union though that for the sake of the children Sunday should be preserved from worldly and secular labour.

—
Pat and Mike Petty, February, 1981.

Postscript

These notes were compiled 28 years ago and since then much more information has become accessible. None of this has been included in this reissue of the original pamphlet.

See my website www.cambridgeshirehistory.com/MikePetty for advice and guidance

Mike Petty, June 2009.