Madingley
| Madingley | |
| Cambridgeshire | |
|---|---|
 Madingley village sign | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TL395605 |
| Location: | 52°13’30"N, -0°2’27"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 206 (2001) |
| Post town: | Cambridge |
| Postcode: | CB23 |
| Dialling code: | 01954 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | South Cambridgeshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
South Cambridgeshire |
Madingley is a village in Cambridgeshire, on the western outskirts of Cambridge, nearest Coton and Dry Drayton.
The village is recoreded as Madingelei in the Domesday Book, a name which means "Mada's folk's meadow".
Madingley Hall
The village is home to Madingley Hall, which was built by Sir John Hynde in 1543 and occupied as a residence by his descendants until the 1860s. It is surrounded by parkland. Queen Victoria rented the Hall in 1860 for her son Edward (the future King Edward VII) to live in while he was an undergraduate at the University of Cambridge. The family sold the Hall in 1871.[1]
The Hall and its surrounding park and farmland have been owned by the University of Cambridge since 1948 and is currently the home of the Institute of Continuing Education.
The lake in the grounds is home to a variety of wildlife. The rare black squirrel has been spotted in the area and even red kites have been mentioned as being spotted by local people.
Village life
The village's former public house, The Three Horseshoes, is now a restaurant though it still has a bar that serves beer.
The village has an independent pre-preparatory school which caters for reception to year-two students.
The village community has a yearly quiz to bring the village life together. There is also a village church, which takes services weekly.
Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial
The Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial is a cemetery and chapel dedicated to American servicemen opened in 1956, on the southern edge of the village beside the road from Cambridge to St Neots. The 30½ acres were donated by the University of Cambridge.
3,812 American military dead are buried in the cemetery. In addition, the names of 5,127 are inscribed on the Wall of the Missing, Americans who lost their lives but whose remains were never recovered or identified, most of whom died in the Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945) or in the strategic air bombardment of Northwest Europe during Second World War.
Madingley in literature
Many a literary remembrance of Madingley may arise from the university connection and the Institute of Continuing Education at Madingley Hall.
Rupert Brooke's famous poem The old Vicarage, Grantchester, after averring that "Coton's full of nameless crimes", adds:
And things are done you'd not believe
At Madingley on Christmas Eve.
Sport
- Cricket: Two teams
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Madingley) |