Papworth Everard

Coordinates: 52°15′17″N 0°07′08″W / 52.25467°N 0.11889°W / 52.25467; -0.11889

Papworth Everard is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. It lies ten miles west of Cambridge and six miles south of Huntingdon, having along its centre Ermine Street, the old North Road, the Roman highway that for centuries served as a major artery from London to York, which is now the A1198. A bypass now means that most traffic can avoid Ermine Street, and it is comprehensively traffic-calmed.

Today, Papworth Everard is a large village with a thriving community, home to substantial light industry and local business. It is also the centre for the Papworth Trust, a charity which offers housing and training to the disabled, and Papworth Hospital, renowned in the field of cardiology.

History

Before the Romans it is probable that there was some Bronze Age settlement in the area but when the Great North Road was built in 1 CE it is unlikely that there was anything we would now recognise as a village there. Roman rule collapsed in Britain in 410 CE. It was at least another two or three centuries before a Saxon immigrant leader, probably called 'Papa', established a small settlement about a quarter of a mile to the west of Ermine Street around the site of the present parish church Papworth means "the enclosure of Papa's people": they were also involved in establishing Papworth St Agnes and Papley Grove.