Little Abington -
Past and Present

Little Abington lies on the north side of the river Granta about 8 miles south east of Cambridge. It is on the historic easterly route from Cambridge to Colchester and is bounded on its western side by the Roman route that ran from London to Norwich, now a major trunk road, the A11.

The parish extends roughly two miles north to south from the Roman Road, an ancient trackway, in the north to the river Granta in the south; and roughly two miles west to east from the new A11 to Hildersham.

Historically, by the very early nineteenth century when parliamentary inclosure took place in the parish, a large part of the land was owned by the lord of the manor who owned Abington Hall. There were no great changes through the nineteenth century with most of the cottages being owned by the estate. However finally the Abington Hall Estate was sold in 1929 and this brought many changes.

The population at that time was relatively small. Following the sale and deterioration of many of the cottages, more housing was started and just before and after the Second World War several Council houses were built. New housing estates have been built in the last 30 years as the village has become a more desirable place to live for those who work in Cambridge.

Nearby in Great Abington, the Welding Institute (now called TWI) started in Abington Hall in 1946 and is now an internationally renowned research institute; it employs a number of people who live in the village. In the 1990s a new Science Park, specialising in biomedical research, was developed on land adjacent to TWI. Further developments continue here.

The population of the parish is about 550 living in about 240 households. The 2001 census shows that the population divides by age group roughly into: 25% aged 18 and under, 50% aged between 18 and 60, 25% aged 60 or over.

There are many rented houses in the village, both local authority and housing association owned, and of varying sizes. The privately owned houses range from family sized to smaller bungalows.

The village has an Anglican church and a United Reformed Church, but no longer a public house. The nearest primary school is in Great Abington and secondary school in Linton about three miles away. The neighbouring village of Great Abington has a public house, The Three Tuns, a village shop/post office and a number of other businesses. The main road to Haverhill, and Colchester beyond, the A1307, which previously ran through the centre of the village, had a new section constructed in the 1960s which now bypasses most of the houses. Being on a radial route out of Cambridge, the village has a regular bus service and is four miles from Whittlesford railway station with services to London and Cambridge.

Parish Councils were first formed over 100 years ago in 1894. From that date Little Abington had a Parish Meeting which normally met only once a year. However in 1946 when the population of the parish was well over 200 it was decided that a Parish Council should be formed. Then there were only five parish councillors; this was increased to seven in 1963. The first Chairman was Kenneth Joshua Taylor who moved into the village in 1932 and remained there until his death in 1999. He was Chairman for three years and a Parish Councillor until 1963. Ivan Clark was the first clerk to the Parish Council; his name is remembered in Ivan Clark's Corner which was the site of his farmyard.

The parish is fairly small with a total area of about 1200 acres; the land in the parish is still mainly arable agricultural land that rises up onto chalk land on the north side of the parish. It now comprises only three farms which employ very few people. In the nineteenth century there were many sheep on the chalk grassland; now there is one small flock of sheep and one shepherd living in the parish.

The village has a conservation area with several old thatched cottages owned by the Cambridgeshire Cottage Preservation Society (now a Housing Society) and many listed buildings. The Parish Council has an ongoing tree planting programme started more than twenty years ago. The parish shares a village hall (a charitable trust) and a recreation ground with the parish of Great Abington.

The Parish Council contributes to the well-being of old and young by provision of bus trips for the elderly and a youth club. It installed an attractive new footbridge across the river made by TWI to celebrate the Millennium and carried out the restoration of the old river ford which was opened in 1996 on the 50th anniversary of the first meeting of the Parish Council. The Marquis and Marchioness of Cambridge, members of the Royal family, lived for many years in the village and the Parish Council installed a memorial seat and garden to commemorate them.

The Parish Council continues to be very active and achieved Quality Parish Council status in 2006.