Stuntney

The earliest record of the village itself dates back to at least 1067, where the village of 'Stuntenei', is identified an eel fishing port in the Domesday Book,[1] and medieval remains, including a large stone coffin, have been unearthed near Stuntney, showing that an early civilisation existed near here. It was once surrounded by water and a Bronze Age causeway connected Stuntney to the nearby cathedral town of Ely. Before the course of the River Great Ouse was straightened by the Bishops of Ely in the 12th century it came right up the edge of the island on which the village stood, and docks existed on what is now agricultural land.

Ely from the village at the top of the Stuntney causeway

1868 saw a school built in Stuntney as the population rose to around 220 (which is similar to the current population); this school was expanded in 1958 and closed in 1983.

Church of the Holy Cross. The church in Stuntney, which dates back to 1876, was built on the site of a previous Norman Church, which was demolished due to unsafe conditions. All that remains of the Norman church are three archways, one part of the present entrance. The 1876 church was also rebuilt, again for safety reasons, the second restoration taking place in 1903 when most of the nave was rebuilt.[2]

Holy Cross church

Close-up of church

In the village's history there have also been a shop, which closed in 1991, and two public houses, which closed to become private residences in the late 1900s. Perhaps the greatest change in village life was the construction in 1986 of a highway bypass, which took traffic between Ely and Newmarket around the village rather than through it. Into the early 2000s, Shire horses were kept in the village; traditionally, these horses were used to work the land, but when machinery took over in the 1970s, the horses were kept for breeding purposes.[3]