View source for Shepreth

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name=         Shepreth
| country=               England
| region=                East of England
| os_grid_reference=     TL3947
|coordinates = {{coord|52.1122|0.0325|display=inline,title}}
| post_town=             ROYSTON
| postcode_area=         SG
| postcode_district=     SG8
| dial_code=             01763
| shire_county=          [[Cambridgeshire]]
|shire_district=          [[South Cambridgeshire]]
|population=              819
|population_ref=        (2001)  <ref>[http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/DF3A569D-19EF-4A65-9BB2-A950A39CE860/0/Shepreth.pdf 2001 census] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318171025/http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/DF3A569D-19EF-4A65-9BB2-A950A39CE860/0/Shepreth.pdf |date=2012-03-18 }}</ref><br> 768  (2011<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11128399&c=Shepreth&d=16&e=62&g=6406727&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1469266231186&enc=1|title=Civil Parish population 2011|accessdate=23 July 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics}}</ref>
|hide_services=
|static_image=Shepreth Village Hall and Shepreth Book Exchange.jpg
|static_image_width=240px
|static_image_caption= Shepreth Village Hall and Shepreth Book Exchange, converted from a [[red telephone box]]
}}
'''Shepreth''' is a small village and [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in [[South Cambridgeshire]], lying halfway between [[Cambridge]] and [[Royston, Hertfordshire|Royston]].
==History==
The parish of Shepreth is roughly-rectangular and covers 1318 acres. It is bounded by the [[River Rhee]] to the north, which separates it from [[Barrington, Cambridgeshire|Barrington]], Foxton brook to the east, across which lies [[Foxton, Cambridgeshire|Foxton]], and Guilden Brook brook to the west, separating it from [[Meldreth]] and [[Melbourn]]. The field boundaries to the south border the parish of [[Fowlmere]].<ref name=victoria>{{cite book|title=A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely|volume=5|year=1973|pages=251–263|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66692}}</ref>
[[Stone Age]] weapons and tools have been found in the parish, and the land, formerly marshy, could thus have housed a lakeside settlement. Evidence of Roman habitation has been found on the drier ground in the northeast corner of the parish.<ref name=victoria/>
<ref>{{NHLE|num=1006873|desc=Roman site N of Brown Spinney|accessdate=17 November 2013}}</ref> Two medieval moated sites in the village are [[Scheduled Ancient Monument|scheduled]] as ancient monuments.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1019549 |desc=The National Heritage List for England|accessdate=17 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{NHLE| num=1019182 |desc=The National Heritage List for England|accessdate=17 November 2013}}</ref>
Listed as ''Esceprid'' in the [[Domesday Book]] the name "Shepreth" means "sheep stream", and was used as a resting place where sheep could be washed on their route to Cambridge. The Sheep Bridge was still in use in 1626.<ref name=victoria/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O40-Shepreth.html|title=A Dictionary of British Place-Names|year=2003|author=A. D. Mills}}</ref>
Prior to the [[dissolution of the monasteries]], Shepreth was held by the Abbey of [[Chatteris]]. The manor of Shepreth then passed to [[William Laxton (Lord Mayor of London)|Sir William Laxton]] and his heirs. The manors of Docwras and Wimbish were held by [[Geoffrey de Mandeville (11th century)|Geoffrey de Mandeville]], then by the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem and, after the dissolution, by William de la Haye and his heirs.<ref name=victoria/>
==Church==
The parish church of All Saints is an ancient edifice of brick and flint in the [[Early English Period|Early English style]], consisting of nave and a low western tower containing two bells. The chancel arch dates from the early 12th century.<ref name=EHlisting>{{NHLE| num=1330821|desc= The National Heritage List for England|accessdate=17 November 2013}}</ref> There are some monuments to the Layer family ,who formerly possessed property here, dated 1730, 1743 and 1760. There is also a 13th-century octagonal font<ref name=EHlisting/> of [[Barnack, Cambridgeshire|Barnack]] stone, and an old oak treasure chest which was unearthed about 1895. The grade II* [[listed building]] was restored in 1870, and seats 120. The register dates from 1569!<ref name=victoria/>
There is a Congregational chapel, erected in 1901 and seating 120. A stone cross was erected on Pretty Corner in 1920, in memory of the men from the parish killed in [[World War I]].
==Village life==
The village has had its own railway station since 1851. In 1849, the [[Royston and Hitchin Railway|Royston and Hitchin Railway Company]] paid £125 into village funds for constructing the railway over [[L-moor, Shepreth|Shepreth L-Moor]].<ref name=victoria/> [[Shepreth railway station]] is on the [[East Coast Main Line|Great Northern Line]], the main line between [[Cambridge]] and [[London]].
The parish contains a [[wildlife park]], a nature reserve, the Shepreth L-Moor common, and the UK's only insect research laboratories.
Shepreth has two public houses, The Green Man at Frog End on the Cambridge to Royston road, and The Plough on the High Street. In the 18th century The Green Man was known as the Bottle and Anchor. The pub that is now known as The Plough burnt down and was rebuilt in 1896. The Railway Tavern by the station opened in 1873 and closed around 1960.<ref name=victoria/>
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:All Saints, Shepreth, Cambridgeshire - geograph.org.uk - 334083.jpg|Church of All Saints
File:Shepreth5.JPG|Keeper with [[Western barn owl|barn owl]] (Shepreth Wildlife Park)
File:Capybara at Shepreth.JPG|[[Capybara]] in Shepreth Wildlife Park
File:Mandarin Duck.JPG|[[Mandarin duck]] in Shepreth Wildlife Park
File:Shepreth3.JPG|Bengal eagle owl in Shepreth Wildlife Park
File:Dartmoor pony at Shepreth.JPG|[[Dartmoor pony]] in Shepreth Wildlife Park
File:alpacas at shepreth.JPG|[[alpacas]] in Shepreth Wildlife Park
File:Shepreth, Docwra's Manor House - geograph.org.uk - 878730.jpg|Docwra's Manor House
<!-- Deleted image removed: File:Siberian tiger at Shepreth wildlife park..JPG|[[Siberian tiger]] at Shepreth Wildlife Park -->
<!-- Deleted image removed: File:White nosed coati at shepreth.JPG|[[white nosed coati]] at Shepreth Wildlife Park -->
<!-- Deleted image removed: File:Asian small clawed otters at shepreth.JPG|[[Asian small clawed otters]] at Shepreth Wildlife Park -->
<!-- Deleted image removed: File:Muscovy duck at shepreth.JPG|[[Muscovy duck]] at Shepreth Wildlife Park -->
</gallery>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Shepreth}}
*[https://sheprethparishcouncil.gov.uk/ Village website]
*[https://sheprethwildlifepark.co.uk/ Shepreth Wildlife Park website]
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Shepreth| ]]
[[Category:Villages in Cambridgeshire]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire]]
[[Category:South Cambridgeshire District]]