# Abbotsley
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{{Short description|Village in Cambridgeshire, England}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox UK place
| static_image_name = St Margaret's church in Abbotsley, Cambs.jpg
| static_image_width = 240
| static_image_caption = [St Margaret's Church, Abbotsley](/source/St_Margaret's_Church%2C_Abbotsley)
| static_image_alt =
| static_image_2_name =
| static_image_2_width =
| static_image_2_caption =
| static_image_2_alt =
| official_name = Abbotsley
| country = England
| region = East of England
| population = 446
| population_ref = (2011)
| os_grid_reference = TL227564
| coordinates = {{coord|52.19299|-0.20533|display=inline,title}}
| post_town = St Neots
| postcode_area = PE
| postcode_district = PE19
| dial_code = 01767
| constituency_westminster = [Huntingdon](/source/Huntingdon_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
| shire_county = [Cambridgeshire](/source/Cambridgeshire)
| shire_district = [Huntingdonshire](/source/Huntingdonshire)
| london_distance =
}}
'''Abbotsley''' is a village and [civil parish](/source/civil_parishes_in_England) within the [Huntingdonshire](/source/Huntingdonshire) district of [Cambridgeshire](/source/Cambridgeshire), England.[[http://www.huntsdc.gov.uk/Community+and+People/Neighbourhood-village/Towns+and+Villages/Abbotsley.htm Huntingdonshire District Council: Abbotsley] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060103114555/http://www.huntsdc.gov.uk/Community%2Band%2BPeople/Neighbourhood-village/Towns%2Band%2BVillages/Abbotsley.htm |date=3 January 2006 }}][[http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/democracy/represents/findcouncillor.htm Cambridgeshire County Council: Find my local county councillor] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013041439/http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/democracy/represents/findcouncillor.htm |date=13 October 2008 }}] It is three miles from [St Neots](/source/St_Neots) and 14 miles from the county town of [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge). At the time of the 2001 census, the resident population was 425 people living in 164 households.[[http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/14D4CC39-BD80-4955-8D34-0F910DC84423/0/Abbotsley.pdf Cambridgeshire County Council: 2001 census profile: Abbotsley] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609182749/http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/14D4CC39-BD80-4955-8D34-0F910DC84423/0/Abbotsley.pdf |date=9 June 2011 }}] increasing to a population of 446 at the 2011 Census,[{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=6275135&c=Huntingdonshire&d=13&e=62&g=6406450&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1468413988467&enc=1|title=Civil Parish population 2011|access-date=13 July 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics}}] however its population decreased to 420 in the 2021 census.
==History==
The village's name is derived from 'woodland clearing of a man called Ealdbeald' (Old English personal name ''Eadbald'' + ''lēah'')[Mills, A.D. (1998). A Dictionary of English Place-names. Second Edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford. p1. {{ISBN|0-19-280074-4}}][{{cite book |last1=Watts |first1=Victor |title=The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names |date=2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521168557 |page=1}}] The name is recorded as ''Adboldesl’'' in the 12th century, as ''Adboldeslee'' and ''Albedesleg'' in the 13th century, ''Albo(t)deste(g)'', ''Albo(t)desley'' and ''Abbodesle'' in the 13th-14th century, and ''Abbot(t)esle(y)'' from late 13th to late 15th century.[{{Cite web |title=Towns and Parishes. Huntingdonshire District Council. |url=http://www.huntsdc.gov.uk/Community+and+People/Neighbourhood-village/Towns+and+Villages/Eynesbury+and+Hardwicke.htm}}] in 2010, the parish of [Eynesbury Hardwicke](/source/Eynesbury_Hardwicke) was abolished, and divided between Abbotsley and [St Neots](/source/St_Neots).[{{Cite web |date=2011-07-19 |title=Huntingdonshire District Council - Parish Boundaries |url=http://www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk/Councils%20and%20Democracy/Council/Pages/Parish%20Boundaries.aspx |access-date=2024-10-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719131333/http://www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk/Councils%20and%20Democracy/Council/Pages/Parish%20Boundaries.aspx |archive-date=19 July 2011 }}]
== Government ==
As a civil parish, Abbotsley has a [parish council](/source/Parish_councils_in_England). Abbotsley parish council comprises seven councillors, a chairman and clerk.[{{cite web|url=http://www.abbotsley.org.uk|title=Abbotsley village parish council|access-date=5 February 2016}}] The second tier of local government is [Huntingdonshire District Council](/source/Huntingdonshire_District_Council) which is a [non-metropolitan district](/source/non-metropolitan_district) of Cambridgeshire and has its headquarters in Huntingdon. Abbotsley is a part of the district ward of ''Gransden and The Offords'' and is represented on the district council by two councillors.[{{cite web |title=Ordnance Survey Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/# |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220103943/https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/ |archive-date=20 February 2016 |access-date=4 February 2016 |website=www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk |publisher=Ordnance Survey}}][{{cite web |title=Huntingdonshire District Council: Councillors |url=http://www.huntsdc.gov.uk/council-democracy/meetings-and-decision-making/councillors/ |access-date=4 February 2016 |website=www.huntsdc.gov.uk |publisher=Huntingdonshire District Council}}] The highest tier of local government for Abbotsley is [Cambridgeshire County Council](/source/Cambridgeshire_County_Council) which has administration buildings in Cambridge. Abbotsley is a part of the [electoral division](/source/electoral_division) of ''Buckden, Gransden and The Offords'' and is represented on the county council by one councillor.[{{cite web |title=Cambridgeshire County Council: Councillors |url=http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/downloads/file/1332/councillors_chart |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205000715/http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/downloads/file/1332/councillors_chart |archive-date=5 February 2016 |access-date=4 February 2016 |website=www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk |publisher=Cambridgeshire County Council |format=pdf |df=dmy-all}}]
Abbotsley was in the historic and [administrative county](/source/administrative_county) of [Huntingdonshire](/source/Huntingdonshire) until 1965. From 1965, the village was part of the new administrative county of [Huntingdon and Peterborough](/source/Huntingdon_and_Peterborough). Then in 1974, following the [Local Government Act 1972](/source/Local_Government_Act_1972), Abbotsley became a part of the county of Cambridgeshire.
At Westminster, Abbotsley is in the parliamentary constituency of [Huntingdon](/source/Huntingdon_(UK_Parliament_constituency)).[{{cite web|url=http://www.getamap.co.uk|website=getamap.co.uk|title=Ordnance Survey: getamap.co.uk|access-date=15 January 2022}}] The subsoil is Oxford and Ampthill clay.[{{cite web|url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/HUN/Abbotsley/index.html|website=genuki.org.uk|title=GENUKI: Abbotsley, Huntingdonshire|access-date=15 January 2022}}]
==Demography==
===Population===
In the period 1801 to 1901 the population of Abbotsley was recorded every ten years by the [UK census](/source/Census_in_the_United_Kingdom). During this time the population was in the range of 287 (the lowest in 1801) and 498 (the highest in 1871).[{{cite web |title=Historic Census figures Cambridgeshire to 2011 |publisher=Cambridgeshire Insight |website=www.cambridgeshireinsight.org.uk |access-date=12 February 2016 |url=http://www.cambridgeshireinsight.org.uk/file/2001/download |format=xlsx – download |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102922/http://www.cambridgeshireinsight.org.uk/file/2001/download |archive-date=15 February 2016 |url-status = dead|df=dmy-all }}]
From 1901, a census was taken every ten years with the exception of 1941 (due to the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War)).
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!width="150"|Parish
!width="30"|1911
!width="30"|1921
!width="30"|1931
!width="30"|1951
!width="30"|1961
!width="30"|1971
!width="30"|1981
!width="30"|1991
!width="30"|2001
!width="30"|2011
|-
|align=left|Abbotsley
|align="center"|328
|align="center"|321
|align="center"|263
|align="center"|283
|align="center"|263
|align="center"|307
|align="center"|346
|align="center"|346
|align="center"|425
|align="center"|446
|-
|}
All population census figures from report ''Historic Census figures Cambridgeshire to 2011'' by ''Cambridgeshire Insight''.[
In 2011, the parish covered an area of {{convert|5676|acre|hectare|0}}][
The ethnic group of all residents was white; 78% described themselves as Christian.][{{cite web|url=http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Huntingdonshire/Abbotsley.html|title=Roll of Honour - Huntingdonshire - Abbotsley|website=roll-of-honour.com|access-date=15 January 2022}}]
19 buildings in Abbotsley are [listed](/source/Listed_buildings) (including the church). Among them are four houses along Blacksmiths Lane, nine houses along the High Street, a [red telephone box](/source/red_telephone_box)[{{cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1211832|title=K6 Telephone Kiosk by St Margarets Church, Abbotsley - 1211832 |website=Historic England|access-date=15 January 2022}}] and a table tomb in the churchyard.[{{cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1210869|title=Table Tomb about 10 yards South of Church of St Maragret, Abbotsley - 1210869 |website=Historic England|access-date=15 January 2022}}]
==Religious sites==
[St Margaret's Church](/source/St_Margaret's_Church%2C_Abbotsley) has stood in Abbotsley since around 1300, though there was a church in the village as early as 1138. The current building was restored in 1854 and 1861 and the tower in 1884;[{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42496|title=Parishes: Abbotsley, A History of the County of Huntingdon: Volume 2|pages=257–260|website=British History Online | date=20 July 2008|access-date=15 January 2022}}] it is a Grade II* [listed building](/source/listed_building).[{{cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1210868|title=Church of St Margaret, Abbotsley - 1210868 |website=Historic England|access-date=15 January 2022}}] Abbotsley is part of the deanery of [St Neots](/source/St_Neots) and [diocese of Ely](/source/diocese_of_Ely).[[http://ely.anglican.org/about/structured/deaneries/deanery.html?id=14 Diocese of Ely] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217095601/http://www.ely.anglican.org/about/structured/deaneries/deanery.html?id=14 |date=17 December 2007 }}]
==Culture and community==
A village hall is used for meetings, events and private functions. An annual Feast Week and [Scarecrow](/source/Scarecrow) Festival is held to raise money for maintenance of the village hall. Residents construct themed scarecrows and place them outside their houses for a week while there are various fundraising events held.