Melbourn

Melbourn
Village
Melbourn Location within Cambridgeshire
Population	4,689 2011[1]
OS grid reference	TL385445
District	South Cambridgeshire
Shire county	Cambridgeshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ROYSTON
Postcode district	SG8
Dialling code	01763
Police	Cambridgeshire
Fire	Cambridgeshire
Ambulance	East of England
List of places UK England Cambridgeshire 52°04′55″N 0°01′14″E / 52.081975°N 0.020516°E / 52.081975; 0.020516

Melbourn (/ˈmɛlbɔːrn/) is a large, clustered village in the far south-west of Cambridgeshire, England. Its traditional high street is bypassed by the A10, intersecting the settlement's other main axis exactly 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of the traditional focal point of Royston, Hertfordshire, the nearest larger settlement. It has over 4,600 inhabitants and is in the South Cambridgeshire district.

The Prime Meridian passes to the west of Melbourn.

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.^[2]

Melbourn appears in five entries in Domesday Book.^[3]

The name "Melbourn" comes from Meldeburn, the "stream of a man named Melde".^[4]

The finding of a Saxon cemetery shows that Christianity has been present in Melbourn since the 7th century. The village also probably had an 11th-century chapel but the first record of a church is from 1152. The present church, dedicated to All Saints, is Grade II* listed.^[5] R.R. Rowe conducted a major restoration in 1882 but the church includes sections of the 13th-century building, including the chancel arch and sections of the tower.^[5] The font is 11th century.^[2]

It has a primary school and a secondary school, Melbourn Village College. There is also a well-known science park. There is a butcher's, a co-op food shop, five hairdressers, a barber shop, two estate agents, two pubs, a newsagent, a sub-post office, two garages and three churches (Anglican, Baptist and URC). Sheene Mill, on the River Mel northwest of the village, is now a hotel and restaurant, formerly owned by the television chef Steven Saunders.^[6]

The nearest railway station is Meldreth, in the neighbouring village, which opened in 1851 on the Cambridge line.^[2]

Melbourn was much visited by travellers by the 17th century and is listed as having an inn in 1622. By the late 18th century the village supported three: the Dog, of unknown history, the Red Lion, that closed towards the end of the 19th century, and the Hoops, that closed in the early 20th century. In 1865 the village had 11 inns and pubs, including the Black Horse, the Star, the White Lion, the Anchor, the Carriers Arms and the Red Cow. The Rose Inn and the Coach and Horses opened in around 1850.^[2]

The oldest of the two present public houses is the Dolphin, which dates from 1818.^[2] The other is the Black Horse.^[7]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Melbourn.

• Melbourn Village website
• Melbourn website
• Melbourn Village College
• Melbourn Baptist Church
• Melbourn Science Park