Abbots Ripton

Infobox UK place
official_name= Abbots Ripton
country= England
region= East of England
os_grid_reference= TL231780
latitude= 52.39
longitude= -0.19
post_town=
postcode_area= PE
postcode_district= PE28
dial_code= 01487
shire_county= Cambridgeshire
shire_district= Huntingdonshire
population= 309 (2001 Census)
hide_services= Yes

Abbots Ripton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. It is situated five miles (8 km) north of Huntingdon, on the B1090. The civil parish includes the nearby hamlet of Wennington.

The village itself occupies some convert|4191|acre|0 of land and is home to 309 residents (2001 census). It has a church dedicated to St Andrew, a shop, garage, post office and a pub "The Three Horseshoes". It also has a school [Huntingdonshire District Council - Abbots Ripton info page http://www.huntsdc.gov.uk/Community+and+People/Neighbourhood-village/Towns+and+Villages/Abbots+Ripton.htm ] the "Abbots Ripton CofE Primary School" which teaches 109 children (2006 census). [ Edubase http://www.edubase.gov.uk/EstablishmentView.aspx?EstablishmentID=10835 ] and it is home to the 18th century Abbots Ripton Hall which now has an estate totalling convert|5700|acre|0, larger than Abbots Ripton itself; its grounds contain some quite rare trees including — quite unusual in England — a good collection of elm trees which are injected every year to prevent Dutch elm disease. [Gardens Guide - Abbots Ripton Hall http://www.gardens-guide.com/gardenpages/_0055.htm] Also based in the area is The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, a research centre in the land and freshwater environmental sciences.

The village is also notable as the location of the Abbots Ripton railway disaster in 1876 in which a Flying Scotsman train was wrecked during a blizzard. The disaster led to important safety improvements in railway signalling.

The origins and history of the name

Abbots Ripton ends in "ton" which usually indicates a Saxon origin. [The Domesday Book online webpage http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/places.html#saxon] According to The Institute for Name Studies [http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/ins/] a possible translation from Old English could be rip - Strip/Slope and ton - Farm/Settlement. [Institute for Name Studies - Abbots Ripton - http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/ins/epncurrent/php/detailpop.php?placeno=4162] Its name has appeared in various guises throughout its history; in the Domesday book it was recorded as Riptone, but by the 11th century it was recorded as Riptune. It was during the 12th and 13th century that the Abbot part came into the name; it was then owned by the Abbot of Ramsey, and it was most probably just to distinguish it from Kings Ripton which was under royal ownership. During this period it was also known by the names of Magna Riptona, Ryptone and finally Riptone Abbatis. After the Reformation the crown sold it to the St John family and for a time it was called St John's Ripton [Uk and Ireland Genealogy http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/HUN/AbbotsRipton/index.html ] before it became known by the name we know it today.

References

External links

* [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/HUN/AbbotsRipton/index.html Historical notes]