CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 



100,000 acres, and appears to have been formerly linn 

 incl cultivated land. Great quantities, both 

 " /~-~ of the trunks and the roots of fir and oak trees, and 

 , : t :!/< and nut bushes, standing in the solid faith, 

 have been found at varion .\ depths in the fens ; and it 

 appears from the description of the Fenny country, 

 given by Henry of Huntingdon, who lived in t he- 

 time of King Stephen, and of William of Malms- 

 bury, who lived in the first year of Henry II., that 

 it was covered with fine wood, and was in every re- 

 spect a flourishing and agreeable district. A fevr 

 centuries afterwards, however, the fens were covered 

 with water, and reduced to the state of a morass : 

 the health of the inhabitants was destroyed by the 

 noxious exhalations from the stagnant waters : the 

 county was rendered impassable even to boats from the 

 sedge, reeds, and slime with which it was covered; 

 and the inhabitants were in danger of perishing for 

 want of food. 



As early as the reign of Edward the First, attempts 

 were made to drain the fens ; and in the subsequent 

 reigns of Edward III., Elizabeth, Charles I., Charles 

 II., &c. these attempts were continued with various 

 success. In the year 179.5, a bill was carried in parlia- 

 ment for improving the outfall of the river Ouse, and 

 the drainage of the South and Middle Levels, by 

 making a cut across the marshes from Eaubrink to 

 Lynn ; a plan from which very considerable advan- 

 tages are expected. Great numbers of windmills 

 have been erected for the purpose of conveying the 

 water from the wet grounds ; but in spite of all the 

 pleasures which have been taken for this purpose, 

 the crops are often carried away by inundations, and 

 the best land overwhelmed and rendered useless. 

 Nearly 1.50,000 acres of fenny ground are still in an 

 unimproved state, and their average value scarcely 

 exceeds four shillings per acre. The Cambridge- 

 shire canal comirences in the river Ouse, at Ham- 

 mere, and terminates in the town of Cambridge. A 

 cut of three miles extends to Reche, and another of 

 three miles and a half to BurwelK The river Cam 

 is embanked in all its lower parts above the adjoining 

 fens. It has no locks in some parts, but it has sluices 

 for making flushes of water to enable boats to pass 

 the shallow?. 



This county is not distinguished by numerous re- 

 mains of antiquity. At a short distance from the 

 village of Chesterton are seen some vestiges of a Ro- 

 man camp, called Harborough, or Arbury, of a form 

 nearly square. Three parts of the vallum which yet 

 remain, enclose nearly six acres of ground, in which 

 several Roman coins have been found, one of which 

 had the head of Rome on one side, and Castor and 

 Pollux on horseback on the reverse. On the Gog- 

 magog hills, about four miles to the east of Cam- 

 bridge, and the highest hills in the county, are the 

 remains of a fort or camp, which has three ramparts 

 and two grafts. It is nearly circular, and id about 

 246 paces in diameter, enclosing about thirteen acres 

 and a half of ground. It cannot be ascertained whe- 

 ther this camp was the work of the Romans, Britons, 

 or Danes ; but some are of opinion that it was erect- 

 ed by the British as a check to that of the Romans 

 at Harborough, which is situated directly opposite 

 to it. A Roman highway runs southward from the 



brow of the luli, and points directly to Cambridge, C 



according to Gale, or to Grautchetrr, according to 

 Horsley. Several Roman coin* were found herein 

 digging a cellar in 1685. At a place beside the river, 

 1 Darnhill near Trumpington, many urns con- 

 taining human bones, have been found at different 

 times; and also several vanes and paterae. Hence it 

 has been regarded as a Roman burying place. In 

 the year 16*94, when some husbandmen were plough- 

 ing a. field, they turned up several ancient coins, some 

 large gold rings, and a thin plate of lead. One of 

 the labourers then thrust his hand into the earth, 

 and brought out three silver plates of a circular bhape, 

 and about six inches in diameter. The two largest 

 were kept together by a small silver rivet passing 

 through their centres, and on one of them were some 

 knobs and figures, and a Oano-Saxon inscription. 

 Excepting the three first words, which are unintelli- 

 gible, the inscription, which proves it to have been 

 a charm or am.ilet, may be thus translated : " O 

 Lord, Lord, him always defend who carryeth me 

 about with him ; grant him whatever he desires." 

 In the year 1730, when the road was making from, 

 March to Wisbech, three urns were discovered full 

 of burnt bones and ashes, and also a pot containing 

 300 pieces of silver coin of all the emperors from 

 Vespasian to Antoninus Pius. 'An altar, 21 inches 

 high, was found at Ely and at Welney, various coins 

 have been discovered in urns. At the village of Ar- 

 rington, the skeleton of 16 human bodies was found 

 in 1721, in digging for a watercourse, and within two 

 feet of the surface. The bones were lying irregu- 

 larly, some in heaps, and others of the parts of only- 

 one skeleton. In a burrow between Haslingfield and 

 Comberton, was found a freestone coffin, covered with 

 a stone inlaid of divers colours. 



Cambridgeshire is about 50 miles, long, about 25 

 miles broad at its southern and western extremity, and 

 130 miles in circumference. It contains 686 square 

 miles, 437,040 square acres, about one third of 

 which is arable, one third in pasturage, and the other 

 third in an uncultivated state. The number of houses 

 in 1801, is 16,139, and the population 89,346; the 

 number of males is 44,081, aud the number of females 

 45,265, of whom 11,988 were returned as employ- 

 ed in trade and manufactures. The population, ac- 

 cording to the new returns in 1811, is 100,109. 

 There are 160 parishes in Cambridgeshire, one city, 

 Ely, and nine market towns, viz. Cambridge, the 

 county town, Caxton, Linton, March, Newmarket, 

 Sohans, Thorney, Wisbech, and part of Royston. 

 It is divided into fifteen hundreds; sends six members 

 to parliament, two for the county, two for the town, 

 and two for the university. This county is the dio- 

 cese of Ely, and in the Norfolk circuit. It pays 

 nine parts of the land tax, and furnishes the militia 

 with 480 men. In 1806, the total return of income 

 under the property tax was jl,224-,197. The amount 

 of the poors rates in 1803, was j 105,376 at 4s. 846. 

 in the pound. See the Description of England and 

 Wales, vol. i. p. 220 ; the Beauties of England ,ind 

 Wales, by Brayley and Britton, vol. :i. p. 1 ; and. 

 Vancouver's General View of the Agriculture of the 

 County of Cambridge, (o) 



CAMBYSES. See PERSIA. 



