SNAILWELL
The small parish of Snailwell, (fn. 59) possibly named
after an Old English word meaning either sluggish stream, or snails' spring, lies north-east of
Newmarket (Suff.), and its area has remained
2,034 a. (823 ha.) from 1804 until 2001. (fn. 60) In
1992 there was a minor realignment of the
boundary between Snailwell parish and Newmarket along the Snailwell Short Road and
Snailwell Belt. (fn. 61) It lies in a peninsula of the
county projecting eastwards into Suffolk, and is
approximately rectangular in shape, being
aligned towards the north-west, with its western
and southern boundaries marking the county
borders. In 1801 the principal landowner transferred 2 a. from Snailwell parish to Chippenham
to straighten the former's eastern parish boundary. (fn. 62) A spring, perhaps the eponymous Snail
well, in the north-west of the parish is the source
of the river Snail which flows on a north-easterly
course for 1.5 km.; its tributaries form the
curving northern parish boundary. Around the
spring and river there are alluvium and river
gravel deposits overlying Middle Chalk. (fn. 63) A
60-m. ridge forms the southern parish boundary; to the north-west its escarpment falls within
1/3 km. to 40 m., after which the land slopes
gently downwards for a further 1 1/5 km. before
briefly rising to a 30-m. ridge. The terrain in
the north-west of the parish is almost level.
Brown sandy gravel to a depth of 0.80–0.90 m.
overlies a chalky silt up to 9 m. deep, which lies
on Middle Chalk. (fn. 64) From the Middle Ages until
the late 20th century the parish has comprised
two-thirds arable in the centre, heathland to the
south, and fenland and pasture to the north and
north-west. (fn. 65) The areas between the river Snail
and its tributaries were subject to flooding in the
late 19th and early 20th centuries. (fn. 66)
During the Bronze Age the escarpment was
cleared of woodland, juniper, and thorn bushes
with grazing creating the heathland, where the
earliest evidence of settlement has been found. (fn. 67)
Ten barrows close to the ancient Icknield way,
discovered in 1879, were levelled in 1941 to
make way for the airfield. (fn. 68) The earliest barrow
dates from the Beaker period, and the latest with
13 cremations from the late Bronze Age, or early
Iron Age. (fn. 69) In 1879 a cremation urn and 19 skeletons were uncovered during work on Exning
road. (fn. 70) Objects of a possibly 'Catuvellaunian'
type, discovered in 1952 at the angle of the
Chippenham Road and the village Street, were
presented to the Cambridge Museum of
Archaeology. (fn. 71) In the late 20th century a Roman
cremation burial was discovered 500 m. to the
west of the church, (fn. 72) while in 1995–6 pieces of
Roman pottery were found in the gardens of
houses along the road called Roman Way. (fn. 73)
Snailwell c.1800
In 1086 18 peasants were reported in the
parish, and in 1279 c. 52 landholders. (fn. 74) In 1327
there were only 27 taxpayers. (fn. 75) By 1377 the
population had fallen to 105 adults. (fn. 76) There were
26 households in the parish in 1525 and 1664,
and 29 in 1674. (fn. 77) Between 1801 and 1851 the
population rose from 200 to 323 persons, but
between 1861 and 1871 it declined from 257 to
226, before stabilizing at around 186 from 1881
to 1901. (fn. 78) In 1911 and 1921 there were around
207 people, and between 1931 and 1961 the
population stood at c. 190. (fn. 79) There were 176
inhabitants in 1971 and 1981, (fn. 80) and 165 in
1991. (fn. 81)
The principal communications have always
been by road: the road from Newmarket to Bury
St. Edmunds (Suff.) which ran along Snailwell's
southern boundary may have been made a regular Roman road, following the line of the
Icknield way. (fn. 82) A major road in 1604, it was
a turnpike between 1814 and 1871, and was
presumably straightened by the turnpike commissioners, with a turnpike lodge being occupied at least in 1841 and 1910. (fn. 83) The Norwich
road, important in 1604 and a turnpike between
the 1760s and 1865, branched off the Bury road
at the south-west corner of the parish and then
ran north-eastwards through its southern section. (fn. 84) A road, perhaps of Roman origin, running across the parish from Exning northeastwards to Chippenham, and another running
from Newmarket north and north-west to
Fordham, straightened in 1806, crossed at a
junction south-west of the village, and that section of the road from Exning to the junction was
given the name Snailwell Short Road in 1994. (fn. 85)
In 1604, at the north-western parish boundary
where the Fordham road crossed the Snail, there
was a bridge, named Snailwell bridge in 1659. (fn. 86)
Its masonry was in good repair in 1821, but in
1996 a weight restriction of 7.5 tonnes was
imposed upon traffic using it. (fn. 87) In the 19th
century and probably before, Fordham and
Newmarket roads were frequently used by farmers from Fordham, Isleham, and Soham to
transport produce to Newmarket, (fn. 88) and the Ely
to Newmarket omnibus which passed through
the parish in 1845 probably used the same
route. (fn. 89) The Green road (formerly Ashley road
until 1805) ran from the Chippenham road
south-eastwards through the centre of the parish
to the former Bury turnpike, and footpaths indicate that it once led to Ashley and Cheveley villages, to the south-east. (fn. 90) It may have been used
for driving sheep to the heathland. The development of gallops on the heathland c. 1882–1910,
however, cut Green road short at its junction
with Chippenham Park drive, and in the late
20th century it was a bridleway. (fn. 91) Between 1712
and 1801, an owner of Chippenham manor made
Chippenham Park drive, or Coach road, which
ran in a southwards direction through the southern section of Snailwell parish. (fn. 92) It was closed
during the Second World War, and was not
reopened thereafter. (fn. 93) The High Lodge built c.
1890–1910 at the entrance of the drive in the
south-west corner of Snailwell parish served as
the guardroom of Snailwell airfield in 1941–6,
and in the 1990s housed Jockey Club
employees. (fn. 94)
The modern development of Snailwell's communications has been determined by its proximity to Newmarket: in 1854 the Newmarket to
Ely railway line running north-eastwards along
the western parish boundary was completed. (fn. 95)
In 1879 the Cambridge to Newmarket line was
extended eastwards to Bury St. Edmunds
running through the southern section of the
parish. (fn. 96) Snailwell triangular junction constructed in 1889 in the south-west corner of the
parish provided a more direct route from the
East Anglian ports to the north, cutting out
Newmarket and Cambridge, and was still much
used in 1938. (fn. 97) By 1955, however, the section of
railway which ran directly out of Newmarket
northwards had been dismantled, and in 1965
diesel services between Ely and Newmarket
were withdrawn. (fn. 98) Between 1972 and 1975 a section of the Newmarket bypass was built on a
flyover running parallel to the Newmarket-Bury
St. Edmunds railway line, (fn. 99) replacing the old
turnpike as the principal road to Bury St.
Edmunds. Access by public transport from
Snailwell to Newmarket became increasingly
difficult in the late 20th century, with a thriceweekly bus service of 1961 being reduced by
1996 to one on Saturdays. (fn. 1) The parish's inhabitants may not have been that affected, however,
as in 1991 of the 75 households, 69 had cars,
with two thirds having two or more. (fn. 2)
There was no significant ancient woodland by
the late 11th century, and the only natural woodland in 1834 was Snailwell belt standing on the
southern 60-m. ridge, covering 36 a., but much
reduced in the 20th century. (fn. 3) In 1791 the parish
church was surrounded by horse-chestnuts,
which in the 1980s also lined the banks of the
Snail along with willows. (fn. 4) Trees were planted
along Chippenham Park drive by 1842, and
between 1889 and 1902 others were planted
along the eastern parish boundary from
Jerusalem wood to Foxburrow plantation. (fn. 5) In
1961 diseased elms which lined the roads into
the village were destroyed, but in 1989 conservation measures were taken to protect trees and
hedges along Green lane, while pines and firs
edged the fields during the 1980s and 1990s. (fn. 6)
In the Middle Ages there were five open
fields, but between 1560 and 1684 around one
fifth of that acreage was inclosed, and after the
inclosure award of 1806 arable was concentrated
in three fields to the south and north of the village. (fn. 7) The main burden of medieval rents and
labour services fell upon the villeins, and few
freeholds were larger than a yardland. (fn. 8) During
the 16th and 17th century inclosure small peasant holdings were combined to create much
larger holdings, (fn. 9) and from the late 18th century
until the late 19th virtually the entire acreage of
the parish, apart from the glebe, was divided
between two farms owned by the principal
landowner. (fn. 10)
Snailwell fen, bordering upon the northern
tributary of the Snail, comprised 300 a. in 1560 (fn. 11)
but both the larger part of it, and also West fen,
bordering upon the western tributary of the
Snail, were drained in the 19th and early 20th
centuries, (fn. 12) and only 33 a. in the northern tip of
the parish retained its vegetation in 1996. (fn. 13)
Between 1560 and 1684 93 a. of arable bordering upon the heathland reverted to heath, (fn. 14)
being used as sheepwalk during the late 18th
century and the 19th. (fn. 15) After c. 1882, when the
Jockey Club of Newmarket leased and then purchased 421 a. on the Limekilns from the principal landowner, (fn. 16) it was used for equestrian
training. (fn. 17) Snailwell Stud was established on the
glebe, south-west of the village, between 1895
and 1910, (fn. 18) and from 1946 it has been a public
stud of national importance. (fn. 19) Its most famous
stallion Chamossaire (1943–65), whose offspring
won prizes totalling around £336,000, was commemorated in 1965 by a life-size bronze statue
made by John Skeating, (fn. 20) which stands where
the Newmarket Road enters the village. Around
a third of Snailwell's acreage was used for activities related to horse racing during the 1980s and
1990s. (fn. 21)
In 1684 Charles II's Lifeguards were billeted
at Snailwell when the regiment was based at
Newmarket. (fn. 22) From March 1941 to October
1946 a grass airfield was established north of the
Bury St. Edmunds railway line. (fn. 23) It was used
mainly by the American Air Force, but the
R.A.F., including 302 Polish squadron, and the
Royal Belgian Air Force also operated from it.
Hangars and buildings were constructed along
Chippenham Park drive. (fn. 24) Parts of the concrete
perimeter track, with air-raid shelters and other
underground facilities, were well preserved in
1996, (fn. 25) and veteran airmen from the United
States returned to the parish in 1995. (fn. 26)
The village itself has probably stood at least
since the 11th century in its present position
nestling below the 30-m. ridge in the north-west
corner of the parish. Church Lane (formerly
street) runs eastwards from the Snailwell spring
to a junction with the Street running northwards
to the Fordham Road. (fn. 27) The lower green at the
junction of those roads marked the centre of the
village until at least the early 19th century. The
church dates from the 11th century, (fn. 28) and there
is 12th-century masonry at the former Old
Rectory. Otherwise the village's oldest surviving
dwellings, dating from the late 16th and 17th
centuries, are Church Farm, its tithe barn, and
two of its tied cottages. (fn. 29) Between 1805 and 1842
cottages for farm workers were built along the
Chippenham Road at the southern end of the
Street. (fn. 30) Three cottages, outbuildings, and the
stable of Church Farm date from the 19th century, while much of Manor Farm was rebuilt in
1850. (fn. 31) In 1883 eight new brick cottages between
Manor Farm and the school replaced earlier
buildings. (fn. 32) During the late 19th century, apart
from the old manor house, the Old Rectory, and
two farmhouses, the rest of the 42 dwellings
were farm workers' cottages. (fn. 33) By 1910 the
number of dwellings had fallen to 31, with 29
being owned by the principal landowner and two
by the rector. (fn. 34) The Chippenham Park Estate
Company, formed c. 1932 by Lt.-Col. G. P.
Tharp (d. 1933), was still the principal houseowner in the village in 1995, when there was a
long waiting list for its tenancies. (fn. 35)
The estate's control of the village housing was
reduced and the village layout altered in 1951–2,
when Newmarket Rural District Council built
16 council houses, 12 of them bungalows, at the
angle between the Street and Chippenham
Road. That angular section of road was renamed
Roman Way after a chieftain's burial was discovered. (fn. 36) The development changed the physical
balance of the village, with the top green,
renamed in 1994 the Green, in front of Roman
Way replacing the lower green as its focus. (fn. 37) The
council houses which were not sold in the 1980s
were thereafter managed by Hereward Housing
Association. (fn. 38)
Outside the village, two further houses, at
Philadelphia, and Small (or Lower) farms, were
built after 1805, and were divided into tenements between 1842 and 1910. (fn. 39) Philadelphia
farm was demolished in 1941, and Lower farm
has not been inhabited in the late 20th century. (fn. 40)
In 1991 there were 22 detached houses, 44 semidetached ones, 11 terraces, one purpose-built
flat attached to the old rectory, and two other
residences. (fn. 41) The Chippenham Park Estate has
not allowed infilling. In the 20th century the
light yellow brick characteristic of the area was
used for most buildings.
The village had a public house in 1670 and
1704. (fn. 42) The George and Dragon was first
recorded in 1834, and has stood on its present
site since 1842. (fn. 43) In the early 1850s it accommodated an annual dinner attended by gentlemen
from Snailwell, Newmarket, and neighbouring
parishes. (fn. 44) Inquests were held there between
1861 and 1894, (fn. 45) and it has been an important
social centre of the village throughout the 20th
century. (fn. 46)
In 1670 the rector disapproved of intemperance, and in the late 1870s the rector and his
family gave musical evenings at the rectory for
the villagers. (fn. 47) Lt.-Col. G. P. Tharp founded a
branch of the British Legion for Snailwell and
Chippenham parishes. (fn. 48) From 1933, with the
closure of the school, the building served as the
village hall, where the Women's Institute met in
1961 at least, but after 1976 it became a private
house. (fn. 49) In 1979 a village sign, a snail and a well,
was built with money left from the Queen
Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee fund, and it was put
up on the Green. (fn. 50) In 1991 the Best Kept Village
in Cambridgeshire award was presented to the
village. (fn. 51)