In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Chatteris like this:
CHATTERIS, a small town, a parish, and a sub-district, in the district of North Witchford, Cambridge. The town stands on the west border of the isle of Ely, near the Cambridge and Wisbeach railway, 10½ miles NNE of St. Ives; and has a station on the railway, a post office‡ under March, a banking office, two chief inns, and a weekly market on Friday. ...
It was known at Domesday as Ceterig or Caterig; and has ever since possessed some local importance; but was not made a market-town till 1834. A Benedictine nunnery was founded at it, in 980, by Alfwen, niece of King Edgar; annexed, in the time of Henry I., to the church of Ely; and given, at the dissolution, to the Clintons. An ancient manor-house now stands on the nunnery's site. The parish comprises 15, 090 acres. Real property, £37, 460. Pop., 4, 731. Houses, 1, 070. Much of the land is fenny; much has been highly improved; part is common; and 284 acres are devoted to the poor. A hermitage, the burial-place of St. Hunna, was at Hunny farm. British relics were found, in 1757, in a barrow, and many Roman coins have been ploughed up. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely. Value, £1, 500.* Patron, W. Hawkins, Esq. The church is a handsome structure with a square tower. There are seven chapels for Independents, Baptists, Methodists. and Quakers.—The sub-district contains two parishes and parts of two others. Acres, 33, 093. Pop., 8, 222. Houses, 1, 790.
Chatteris through time
Chatteris is now part of Fenland district. Click here for graphs and data of how Fenland has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Chatteris itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Chatteris, in Fenland and Cambridgeshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/897
Date accessed: 24th April 2024
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