Melbourn

Coordinates: 52°04′55″N 0°01′14″E / 52.081975°N 0.020516°E / 52.081975; 0.020516

Melbourn is a large village in the far south west of Cambridgeshire, England. It is located next to the A10 just north of Royston. Melbourn has over 4,400 inhabitants. Melbourn is located in the South Cambridgeshire District, but is served by the Royston, Hertfordshire post town.

The Prime Meridian passes to the west of Melbourn.

History

The parish has a long history of occupation, stemming from the presence of springs at Melbourn Bury and the several ancient trackways that cross the parish; the Icknield Way runs to the south of the parish and Ashwell Street and the Roman Cambridge-Royston road are also believed to follow prehistoric trackways. Pottery and burial finds show evidence of Bronze Age residents, and a Roman settlement has been found at the north-east edge of the village. Excavations in the 1950s discovered 28 graves from a 7th-century Christian burial site close to Ashwell Street.

The Domesday Book compiled in 1086 has this listing for the village: