Report by Ro Gadian
On Saturday 14th October Professor Carenza Lewis talked to an enthralled audience about the history and archaeology of Great Chishill. Carenza Lewis has appeared on many popular TV programmes on history and archaeology, and she ably showed her talent for bringing the past to life.
Taking a panorama from the top of St Swithun’s tower as her starting point, she led us through a fascinating journey of discovery covering the Icknield Way, the prehistoric landscape with aerial photos showing evidence of Neolithic enclosures all around the village.
She told us about the discovery of a nearby Anglo-Saxon cemetery, where it seemed the victims had been decapitated! And a massive defensive system across Cambridgeshire, of which Bran Ditch (running from Heydon to Fowlmere) forms a part together with Devil’s Dyke and Fleam Dyke.
She painted a vivid picture of Great Chishill as a village on the borders, between the wooded hills in the south and the marshy lowlands, and of the nuclear villages to the north and the dispersed villages to the south. She told us about the development of the village, The Stonk, a medieval moated manor, holloways, strip lynchets, lost fields and much more.
It was a wonderful evening, and following the talk there was a lively question and answer session, with everyone enjoying drinks and nibbles. This event celebrated the start of our Heritage Lottery Fund project, to repair the church tower and provide new facilities.