Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/414

398 398 HUNTINGDON used for rearing calves. Large numbers of cattle are fattened in the field or the fold-yard, and are sold when rising three years old. They are mostly of the short horn breed, large numbers of Irish shorthorns being wintered in the fens. Where there are no upland pas tures the fanner usually purchases cattle in the autumn and sells them in the spring. The number of horses iu 1879 was 11,057, or an average of 4 2 to every 100 acres under cultivation, as compared with 4*5 for Eng land and 4 1 for the United Kingdom. Of these the number used solely for agricultural purposes was 7583. Most of the farmers breed cart horses, and the large farmers often rear weight-carrying hunters. The number of sheep in 1879 was 157,790, or an average of 75 3 to every 100 acres under cultivation, as compared with the same average for England and 68 for the United Kingdom. Great improvement in the breed has lately taken place, Leicesters and Lincolns being most common ; they usually attain great weights at an early age. Lambs are occasionally sold at weaning time, but more frequently they are kept through the winter on the grass lands, being fed also on mangolds and other roots, with an addition of cake and corn. The number of pigs in 1879 was 19,990, or an average of 9 5 to every 100 acres under cultivation, as compared with 7 2 for England and 67 for the United Kingdom. They include Berkshire, Suffolk, and Neapolitan breeds, and a number of crosses. Many after having gleaned the stubbles are fattened on whey and various prepara tions of inferior barley ; but breeding is also extensively practised. According to the owners of lands return for 1873 the land was divided among 3903 proprietors, holding land the gross annual value of which was 444,890. Of the owners 45| per cent, possessed less than 1 acre, and the average value all over was &amp;lt;!, 19s. 4|d. per acre. There were 13 proprietors holding upwards of 3000 acres, viz., Edward Fellowes, 15,629; Duke of Manchester, 13,835; William Wells, 5792; Marquis of Huntly, 5711; Hon. G. W. Fitzwilliam, 5202; Lord Chesham, 3787; Earl of Carysfort, 3654 ; Ecclesiastical Commissioners, 3559 ; Colonel Buncombe, 3407 ; W. Duberley, 3224 ; Earl of Sandwich, 3219; G. D. Newton, 3209; Richard H. Hussey, 3135. Manufactures and Trade. Agriculture is the principal industry, and none of the manufactures are extensive, the chief being paper and parchment. Madder is obtained in considerable quantities, and in nearly every part of the shire lime burning is carried on. Lace-making is practised by the female peasantry ; and the other industries, which are not prosecuted beyond what is necessary to meet local wants, are printing, iron-founding, tanning, currying, brick and tile making, malting, and brewing. Railways. The middle of the county is traversed from south to north by the Great Northern, which enters it at St Neots and passes by Huntingdon to Peterborough. A branch from the Midland enters the middle of the county from Northampton, and passes by Graffham to Huntingdon, where it is joined by a branch which passes by St Ives to the Great Eastern in Cambridgeshire. From St Ives there is a branch to Wisbeach in Cambridgeshire, and another has been constructed to Stilton. On the Great Northern there is a branch from Holme to Ramsey. Administration. Huntingdonshire comprises four &quot;hun dreds.&quot; For parliamentary purposes it is an undivided constituency returning two members ; and it contains one parliamentary borough, that of Huntingdon, formed of Huntingdon (4243) and Godmanchester (2363), and return ing one member. Part of the represented city of Peter borough is also in the county. The principal other towns are Ramsey (2378), St Ives (3291), St Neots (3200), and Kimbolton (1509). The county has one court of quarter sessions. It is included in the south-eastern circuit, and circuit courts are held at Huntingdon. It forms part of the shrievalty of Cambridge, and ecclesiastically is in the diocese of Ely. Foundation. The population in 1841 amounted to 58,549, in 1851 to 64,183, in 1861 to 64,250, and in 1871 to 63,708 (31,381 males and 32,327 females). The increase in thirty years from 1841 has been 8 8 per cent., and since 1801 it has been 69 5 per cent. History and Antiquities. Previous to the Roman invasion Huntingdonshire, like the other Fen counties, was inhabited by the British tribe the Iceni, originally of Celtic origin, but considerably intermixed from Teutonic sources, although the Belga: in all pro bability did not subdue the country as far north as Huntingdon. During the Roman occupation it was included in the Roman pro vince of Flavin Ccesariensis. Two Roman stations are supposed to have been situated in the county, Duroli}}ons (Godmanchester) and Durobrivoc at Water Newton on the Nen. The Roman road Via Dcvana from Cambridge joined Ermine Street at Godmanchester, Ermine Street passing north-west by Water Newton into Northamp ton. Under the name of Huntandunscyre, Huntingdon formed part of the kingdom of East Anglia, afterwards joined to Mercia. Shortly before the Conquest the earldom of Huntingdon was held by Swend, who, on receiving the earldom of Northampton, granted it to his son Waltheof, who married a niece of William the Conqueror ; and, on Waltheof s execution for high treason, it passed to a Norman soldier, Simon de St Liz, who married a daughter of Waltheof. On the death of St Liz, David, afterwards king of Scotland, married his widow, and inherited the earldom in her right, but on account of the subsequent feuds between the English and Scottish monarchs the earldom frequently exchanged hands between the heirs of St Liz and the heirs of David. It is at present borne by a branch of the Hastings family. A great part of the county was held by the monks, who erected two great abbeys at Ramsey and at Sawtry St Judith,and priories at Huntingdon,St Ives, St Neots, and Hinching- brook. Of these buildings all that now remains is the richly deco rated ruined gateway of the abbey of Ramsey, and a dovehouse, a barn, and a few unimportant fragments at St Ives. There were two ancient castles at Huntingdon and Kimbolton ; the one at the latter place, now the seat of the Montagues, dukes of Manchester, was the residence of Catherine of Aragon after her divorce from Henry VIII. Another mansion of interest is Hinchingbrook House, the ancient seat of the Cromwell family. Among the old churches may be men tioned Alwalton, Conington, Hartford, Leighton Bromswold, and Ramsey, which contain remains of Roman architecture ; Buckden, Elton, Godmanchester, and St Neots, which contain good specimens of the Perpendicular ; Chesterton, Holywell, Sawtry, Upton, and Wooton, which are partly Early English. The only events of his torical importance connected with the shire are the capture of the castle of Huntingdon by the Royalists under Charles I. in 1645, and the rout at St Neots of one hundred horse under the command of the duke of Buckingham and the earl of Holland by the Par liamentary soldiers, who took the earl of Holland prisoner. HUNTINGDON, a municipal and parliamentary borough of England, capital of the above county, is situated on the left bank of the Ouse, and on three railway lines, 58 miles north of London, 15 miles north-west of Cambridge, and 19 miles south of Peterborough. It consists principally of one street about a mile in length, from which small streets branch off at various points. By a fine bridge erected in the 13th century it is connected with the muni cipal borough of Godmanchester, which, consisting princi pally of cottages, forms practically one of its suburbs, and is included in the parliamentary borough of Huntingdon. In Huntingdon there are two old churches All Saints, probably dating originally from the time of the Normans, but re-erected in the time of Henry VIII., and St Mary s, probably occupying the site of the old priory, but rebuilt in the Gothic style after the fall of the old building in 1 608, and restored in 1876. The church of Godmanchester, of the date 1625, is also a fine structure in the late Perpen dicular, with a tower and spire. At the grammar school of Huntingdon, founded in 1200 by David, king of Scotland, but pulled down in 1877 for the erection of a new building, Oliver Cromwell received his education. Among the other schools are Walden s school for 64 boys, and a national school. There are also in Godmanchester a grammar school