Visit Burwell, Cambridgeshire Places

Welcome to Visit Burwell, Cambridgeshire Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Burwell, Cambridgeshire

  

Burwell, Cambridgeshire Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Burwell, Cambridgeshire

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Burwell, Cambridgeshire history

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Etymology

The name “Burwell” refers to a fort (burh-) close to a spring (-well) The first record of the name dates from 1060. It appears in the 1086 Domesday Book as Burewelle, Burwella and Burwelle.

Early settlement

There is evidence of prehistoric human activity in the vicinity of Burwell. Flint tools such as axes dating from the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic have been found. During the Neolithic, peat began to form on the fenland round the village, which partly buried the prehistoric sites. Activity continued into the Bronze Age, as did activity near the spring. Settlement continued after Roman colonisation of Britain.

Waterway

Burwell Lode is a man-made waterway that connects it with the River Cam. The village and lode gained importance with the opening in the 1850s of the Burwell Chemical Works. Commercial use of the lode ceased in 1963 when the traffic in sugar beet stopped in 1963.

Burwell Castle

Spring Close is the site of an unfinished castle in Spring Close, whose final wall was knocked down by the Fire Brigade testing a fire hose in the 1930s. It was built during “The Anarchy”, the mid-12th-century conflict in the reign of King Stephen.

Barn Fire

On 8 September 1727, a travelling puppet show was filled with onlookers in a Burwell barn in what is now Cuckolds Row, near the centre of the village. The doors were nailed shut to stop further people getting in, an act that led to tragedy. Richard Whittaker, an ostler employed by the owner of the barn came back to feed the horses. He made his way to the stable, clambered over a partition with a candle lantern and peered in to watch. It was reported that with no way to escape, 80 of the 140 people inside perished in the ensuing blaze.

Burwell, Cambridgeshire geography / climate

Climate

Clunch quarry

Until the mid-20th century, a building material known as clunch – a soft rock which is one type of chalk limestone – was dug in Burwell. This was worked from 1252 to 1952 and used on many of Burwell’s houses. It remains the name of a local community magazine.

Priory Wood

Burwell has a small area of woodland planted in 1998 as a community project to mark the coming millennium. The official name comes from an ancient priory, which also gave its name to local roads such as Priory Close and Abbey Close.

You can visit Burwell, Cambridgeshire places with Walkfo Burwell, Cambridgeshire to hear history at Burwell, Cambridgeshire’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Burwell, Cambridgeshire has 9 places to visit in our interactive Burwell, Cambridgeshire map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Burwell, Cambridgeshire, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Burwell, Cambridgeshire places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Burwell, Cambridgeshire & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 9 audio facts unique to Burwell, Cambridgeshire places in an interactive Burwell, Cambridgeshire map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Burwell, Cambridgeshire Places Map
9 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Burwell, Cambridgeshire historic spots	Burwell, Cambridgeshire tourist destinations	Burwell, Cambridgeshire plaques	Burwell, Cambridgeshire geographic features
Walkfo Burwell, Cambridgeshire tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Burwell, Cambridgeshire

  

Best Burwell, Cambridgeshire places to visit

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Burwell, Cambridgeshire has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Burwell, Cambridgeshire’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Burwell, Cambridgeshire’s information audio spots:

Burwell Castle Burwell Castle was an unfinished medieval enclosure castle in Burwell, Cambridgeshire, England. The castle was a medieval enclosure in the area of Burwell.

Church of St Cyriac and St Julitta, Swaffham Prior The Church of St Cyriac and St Julitta is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Swaffham Prior, Cambridgeshire. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

The Rosery, Exning, Suffolk The Rosery is an early Victorian country house in the town of Exning, Suffolk, England. The building was converted to a hotel in the 1970s.

Visit Burwell, Cambridgeshire plaques