A Brief History of Milton
Origins
There is evidence of the Romans in the area, with pottery being found in the fields between Milton and Car Dyke, a Roman canal and the Mere Way, the Roman Road north from Cambridge which runs along the western boundary of the parish.
Milton in 13th Century
The modern village of Milton began some distance from the Mere Way on a route from Cambridge which forked in the centre of the village to Waterbeach[1] and Landbeach, where there was a village green.
Most sources suggest that the name Milton is a contraction of "Middle Town" although in the middle of what isn't that clear, perhaps in the middle of the road from the two ancient towns from Cambridge to Ely?
There was certainly a settlement in Milton in the 13th century when the population in that period was around 75. The earliest parts of the church, the Norman chancel arch and east nave wall with nave arcades date from that period. There was a manor house where Milton Hall now stands. The road now called Fen Road also existing then, leading to the manor house and church.
The church is the only building surviving from this century. Most of the other historic buildings date from the 17th century or later.
Milton in 17th Century
Some houses still exist from the 17th century, in particular the timber framed and rendered thatched cottages at 1 and 2 Church Lane (although only the half of 1 Church Lane nearest Fen Road is original, the other half being a 20th century addition).
Queen Anne Lodge pictured in 1956 when still thatched
Queen Anne Lodge (6 Fen Road) is of a similar age, and was still thatched within living memory, although it is now tiled. Strangeways (48 Fen Road) is another thatched cottage, believed to have been built in two phases in the 17th century. The Jolly Brewers pub is a late 17th century or early 18th century building originally timber framed and plastered but now encased in early 19th century gault brick.
Milton Hall and the 18th Century
By the 18th century most of the houses in Milton were in the High Street or Fen Road. The Waterbeach road became a turnpike (a toll road) to Ely in 1763. In about 1772 Rev Dr Knight, Canon of Ely re-built the manor house as Milton Hall, enclosing in it a formal park which cut across the course of the High Street (the first section of the modern Ely Road) which had to be diverted around the park (via the current High Street past the Waggon and Horses).
Evidence of the old hall park boundary can be seen in the surviving walls on High Street and the lodge which is now 17 Knight's Way. A second lodge can be found on the Ely Road. (Although both lodges were added later, being mid 19th century).
Another house built at around the same time was the house now called Milton House (28 Fen Road) being extended in around 1768 by William Cole (1714-82), who lived in Milton from 1770-82. Again it is timber frame and plastered, with 18th century brick and re-used medieval limestone. Number 32 Fen Road was also built at around this time.
19th Century Milton
View of Church Lane at around 1900
The village population continued to grow slowly and by 1871 Milton's population had risen to 576. Building existing from this period include Essex House (50 High Street), the lodges for Milton Hall, and Ambassador Lodge.
Milton Parish Church
As we've previously mentioned All Saints' church dates from the early 12th century. Later additions include the widening of the aisles in the early 15th century, the north aisle, which was demolished in 1779 and rebuilt in 1864, while the south aisle was restored in 1855. The chancel is 13th century with a 15th century priest's door and south window, all re-built except the south wall in 1847. The chancel roof was designed by Pugin. The nave was possibly extended in the late 14th century, and has windows dated from the 16th century. The tower is 14th century with 15th century additions.
All Saints' Church
The above is the history of the church according to the Milton conservation zone survey.
Milton in Modern Times
High Street in about 1935, the pond, long since gone, can be seen on the left, with the Waggon and Horses next to it. The war memorial is shown in its original position.
Milton's population grew steadily but unspectacularly until the 1950s when it was selected for rapid growth. Things moved fast, with a series of new developments: Goding Way in around 1960, the Coles Road/Old School lane estate in the early 60s along with the new houses in Church Lane, Willow Cresent in the mid sixties, Shirley Close and (later) Pearson Close and Court. In the early sixties too the Ely Road was built across the western edge of the Hall grounds, on the course of the pre-1772 High Street, to take the increasing volume of traffic down the A10 trunk road as it passed through the village. The war memorial, which was sited in its path, had to be moved to where it sits now, on the corner of Fen Road and Coles Road.
The biggest changes in Milton happened in the late seventies, when the northern relief road, the A45 (since renumbered as the A14) was constructed. By then the A10 trunk road was becoming a real problem for the village, with many accidents. At that time the A10 was three lanes wide south of the village (on what is now Cowley Road) and there was a 40mph limit through the village proper. The village therefore lobbied for, and won, a bypass to take the A10 around the village.
The bypass brought more changes. In the next area plan the land between old Milton and the bypass, then fields and glass houses, was zoned for housing. Development then began on the Rowans and Humphries Way estates, which together more than doubled the population of the village in the late eighties. The impact of this is clearly illustrated by the census returns for this period.
| 1981 | 1986 | 1991 | 2001[2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,720 | 2,000 | 4,100 | 4,275 |
The nineties has seen something of a respite as there is now little or no land left for development with only a few small developments in back gardens and the grounds of various large houses. The Country Park[3] came into being in 1993, using gravel pits which had been worked out by 1960.
The most recent development in Milton is the sheltered housing built in the corner of the Coles Road recreation ground which was named Barnabas Court.
If you've enjoyed reading this page you may like to read our page[4] explaining why many of the roads in Milton have the names they have.
Thise page is based on information gleaned from the last Milton conservation zone survey, past parish minutes, and the memories of residents. Old photos are courtesy of the Cambridgeshire Collection, modern photographs are copyright © Paul Oldham 1998.
| [1] | http://www.waterbeach.org.uk |
| [2] | http://www.miltonvillage.org.uk/opus610.html?printable=Y |
| [3] | http://www.miltonvillage.org.uk/fmcp/ |
| [4] | http://www.miltonvillage.org.uk/opus125.html?printable=Y |