Welcome to Somersham

Somersham High Street

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Sumeresham (11th century), Sumresham, Summersham (12th century), Summersum (17th century) and Somersham (Modern)

That Somersham is an ancient village there is no doubt, it has also kept the same name for many hundreds of years although the spelling of it has varied over time. In the 11th Century it was Sumeresham and by the 12th Century Sumresham or Summersham and even as late as the 17th Century the village was known as Summersum. But the changes to the spelling of its name is not the only major change experienced by Somersham; by 991AD the Manor had been given to the Abbey at Ely by Brithnoth, a patriotic leader who fell in battle with Danish invaders, and over the next hundred years the Bishops of Ely maintained a residence in the village one which was to grow into a palace by 1109, one which would remain until 1762 when it was partially demolished.

The only wing of the bishop’s palace which remained was pulled down in 1778. The site is now occupied by a farmhouse, known as “The Place”; in this a family named Moseley lived, and at the beginning of the 20th century it was occupied by Frederick Street. Park Hall was occupied for many years by members of the Thomson family.

The principal manor included Free Chace, and the Soke of Somersham, that is Fenton, Pidley, Colne, Bluntisham and Earith. Somersham was alienated by Martin Heton, Bishop of Ely, to Queen Elizabeth I in the 42nd year of her reign (1600). It was settled by Charles I on his Queen Henrietta Maria as part of her dower, but was sequestered by Parliament. In 1649, it was sold to Captain Valentine Wauton, of Great Staughton, one of the Regicides. Theophilus, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, then became the steward.

The Manor of Somersham became the property of the Hammonds shortly after the Restoration. Thomas Hammond, who died in 1758, sold it to the Duke of Manchester, from whom it passed Sir Thomas Burton, Knight, who was still owner in 1808; and by 1910 was the property of William Alsagar Elgood.

Somersham was also granted a market charter in 1190 and in 1319 the right to hold a three-day fair on the birthday of St John the Baptist to whom the local Anglican church is dedicated. In 1838 the Eastern Counties Railway opened a station at Somersham on its line between March and Cambridge. The station at Somersham and the line closed in 1967. So Somersham got off to a good start and even though the palace and the railway are long since gone, the village has continued to grow and develop.Somersham is one of the parishes of the District of Huntingdonshire, whose administrative centre is Huntingdon, the other principle towns being St Ives home of the Chapel on the Bridge, St Neots the largest town in the County of Cambridgeshire and Ramsey site of the former Abbey.

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What's HOT in the District?

The box below displays a random selection from the great deals, special offers and/or SALE items that are available from the site members but you may follow this link to view all the current what's HOT in the district.

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Are you organising an event in Somersham?

If you are, then you may use the link just below and add the details directly into the Huntingdonshire Event Diary.