Ickleton | |
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St Mary Magdalene parish church |
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Ickleton shown within Cambridgeshire | |
Population | 709 (2011 Census) |
OS grid reference | TL4943 |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Saffron Walden |
Postcode district | CB10 |
Dialling code | 01799 |
Police | Cambridgeshire |
Fire | Cambridgeshire |
Ambulance | East of England |
EU Parliament | East of England |
Website | Ickleton Cambridgeshire |
Ickleton is a village and civil parish about 9 miles (14 km) south of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England. The village is beside the River Cam, close to where a southern branch of the Icknield Way crossed the river. The eastern and southern boundaries of the parish form part of the county boundary with Essex, and the Essex town of Saffron Walden is only about 4.5 miles (7 km) southeast of the village.
The village is mainly grouped around three streets: Abbey Street, Frogge Street, and Church Street, which leads into Brookhampton Street. The village is at the eastern end of its parish, which extends 2 miles (3 km) to the west.
A Neolithic axe-head has been found in the parish, suggesting a human presence before 2500 BC.
About 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of the village near Valance Farm is a late Bronze Age bowl barrow, close to the supposed route of the pre-Roman Icknield Way. The barrow and its surrounding ditch are well-preserved, about 80 feet (24 m) in diameter and 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 m) high. Other Bronze Age remains found in the parish include a spear-head, a gold bracelet and a torq. South of the village on the side of Coploe Hill is a series of earth banks that may also be Bronze Age. They start about 1,200 yards (1,100 m) south of the village and extend 0.5 miles (800 m) south, as far as the Essex county boundary.
About 700 yards (640 m) south of the parish church, just west of Frogge Street, is the site of a Roman villa. The site is just across the River Cam from the site of a Roman fort at Great Chesterford. The villa was of modest size, and it had an outhouse or barn. The site was excavated in 1842.
About 0.5 miles (800 m) north of the village, just over the boundary in Duxford parish, is the site of a Romano-British settlement.