Thornhaugh

Thornhaugh is a civil parish and village in the city of Peterborough unitary authority, Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom. For electoral purposes the parish forms part of the Glinton and Wittering ward and is in the North West Cambridgeshire constituency. It was formerly in the Soke of Peterborough (and later Huntingdon and Peterborough). Thornhaugh (or Thornhaw) is derived from Old English and means a thorn enclosed low-lying meadow beside a stream. There is evidence of a settlement here as far back as the 12th century, but probably has earlier origins. Although the village of Thornhaugh itself is quite small, the parish is one of the largest in the county of Cambridgeshire at 1,096.33 acres (443.67 ha). The parish is crossed by the A1 and A47 roads. The village was declared a conservation area in 1979. The road that runs through the village is Russell Hill, named after William Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Thornhaugh who lived here. The Russell family are also associated with the Bedford Estate in Central London where you will find Thornhaugh Street and Russell Square in Bloomsbury. St Andrew's Church dates from the 12th century, although much restored in the 19th century. The village sign commemorates the first Baron Russell of Thornhaugh. Although the main village is close to the A1 road, there is a significant hamlet (Home Farm, Leicester Road, Thornhaugh) with a dozen houses about one mile west of the main village just off the A47 road, consisting of an old hunting lodge (now two houses) and associated farm buildings (all now residential). Thornhaugh Hall was built in 1911 by Stanley Brotherhood; the architect was George A. Crawley. It was gutted by a fire in 1937 and restored. A later owner of the hall was Phillip Carter.