159-527: Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire , England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there in 1599 and became one of its Members of Parliament (MP) in 1628. The former Conservative Prime Minister (1990–1997) John Major served as its MP from 1979 until his retirement in 2001 . During
318-524: A coaching centre, notably at the George Hotel . The town has a well-preserved medieval bridge that used to serve as the main route of Ermine Street over the river. The bridge only ceased to be the sole crossing point to Godmanchester in 1975, with the building of what is now the A1307 (formerly A14 ) bypass . The town's valuable trading position was secured by Huntingdon Castle , of which only
477-585: A yeoman farmer. In 1636 Cromwell inherited control of various properties in Ely from his uncle on his mother's side, and his uncle's job as tithe -collector for Ely Cathedral . As a result, his income is likely to have risen to around £300–400 per year; by the end of the 1630s Cromwell had returned to the ranks of acknowledged gentry. He had become a committed Puritan and had established important family links to leading families in London and Essex . Cromwell became
636-666: A Scottish Covenanter attached to Manchester's army, who objected to Cromwell's encouragement of unorthodox Independents and Anabaptists. He was also charged with familism by Scottish Presbyterian Samuel Rutherford in response to his letter to the House of Commons in 1645. At the critical Battle of Naseby in June 1645, the New Model Army smashed the King's major army. Cromwell led his wing with great success at Naseby, again routing
795-795: A balcony overlooking the yard. Since 1959, the courtyard and balcony have been used for Shakespeare performances by a company run by the Shakespeare at the George Trust. Until 2024 when the Green King company who run the George Hotel decided it was not in their best interest to continue Shakespeare at the George, ending its 65-year run. Huntingdon has a town council with 19 councillors elected every four years. Two of them serve also as mayor and deputy mayor. Meetings are normally held once
954-440: A community space on the upper floor. The oldest surviving structures date from the mid-17th century. In Scotland, borough markets were held weekly from an early stage. A King's market was held at Roxburgh on a specific day from about the year 1171; a Thursday market was held at Glasgow , a Saturday market at Arbroath , and a Sunday market at Brechin . In Scotland, market towns were often distinguished by their mercat cross :
1113-505: A convent, is said to be haunted. The bridge over the Alconbury Brook named Nun's Bridge is said also to be haunted, by one of the nuns who once lived at the convent. She is said often to be accompanied by another ghost that resembles a nurse. The myth goes that the nun had a monk lover who caused them to be murdered. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East and ITV Anglia . Television signals are received from
1272-514: A crossing-place on the River Thames up-river from Runnymede , where it formed an oxbow lake in the stream. Early patronage included Thomas Furnyvale, lord of Hallamshire , who established a Fair and Market in 1232. Travelers were able to meet and trade wares in relative safety for a week of "fayres" at a location inside the town walls. The reign of Henry III witnessed a spike in established market fairs. The defeat of de Montfort increased
1431-528: A crossroads or close to a river ford , for example, Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan. When local railway lines were first built, market towns were given priority to ease the transport of goods. For instance, in Calderdale , West Yorkshire , several market towns close together were designated to take advantage of the new trains. The designation of Halifax , Sowerby Bridge , Hebden Bridge , and Todmorden
1590-605: A degree, immediately after his father's death. Early biographers claim that he then attended Lincoln's Inn , but the Inn's archives retain no record of him. Antonia Fraser concludes that it is likely that he did train at one of the London Inns of Court during this time. His grandfather, his father, and two of his uncles had attended Lincoln's Inn, and Cromwell sent his son Richard there in 1647. Cromwell probably returned home to Huntingdon after his father's death. As his mother
1749-580: A famous appeal to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland , urging them to see the error of the royal alliance—"I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken." The Scots' reply was robust: "would you have us to be sceptics in our religion?" This decision to negotiate with Charles II led Cromwell to believe that war was necessary. His appeal rejected, Cromwell's veteran troops went on to invade Scotland. At first,
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#17327656785301908-491: A full list, see this table at Danish Misplaced Pages ). The last town to gain market rights ( Danish : købstadsprivilegier ) was Skjern in 1958. At the municipal reform of 1970 , market towns were merged with neighboring parishes, and the market towns lost their special status and privileges, though many still advertise themselves using the moniker of købstad and hold public markets on their historic market squares . The medieval right to hold markets ( German : Marktrecht )
2067-559: A good deal is known about the economic value of markets in local economies, the cultural role of market-towns has received scant scholarly attention. In Denmark, the concept of the market town ( Danish : købstad ) emerged during the Iron Age. It is not known which was the first Danish market town, but Hedeby (part of modern-day Schleswig-Holstein ) and Ribe were among the first. As of 1801, there were 74 market towns in Denmark (for
2226-591: A group of villages or an earlier urban settlement in decline, or be created as a new urban centre. Frequently, they had limited privileges compared to free royal cities . Their long-lasting feudal subordination to landowners or the church is also a crucial difference. The successors of these settlements usually have a distinguishable townscape. The absence of fortification walls, sparsely populated agglomerations, and their tight bonds with agricultural life allowed these towns to remain more vertical compared to civitates. The street-level urban structure varies depending on
2385-454: A horse racecourse and once was a centre for aviation. Huntingdon is home to many local businesses, including Huntingdon Racecourse . Hinchingbrooke Business Park also contains offices and warehouses. The nearest weather station for long-term data is at RAF Wyton , 3 mi (5 km) north-east of the town centre. More recently Monks Wood, 5 mi (8 km) to the north-west, has also provided data. Like most of Britain, Huntingdon has
2544-455: A local shopfront such as a bakery or alehouse, while others were casual traders who set up a stall or carried their wares around in baskets on market days. Market trade supplied for the needs of local consumers whether they were visitors or local residents. Braudel and Reynold have made a systematic study of European market towns between the 13th and 15th century. Their investigation shows that in regional districts markets were held once or twice
2703-468: A market town at Bergen in the 11th century, and it soon became the residence of many wealthy families. Import and export was to be conducted only through market towns, to allow oversight of commerce and to simplify the imposition of excise taxes and customs duties . This practice served to encourage growth in areas which had strategic significance, providing a local economic base for the construction of fortifications and sufficient population to defend
2862-563: A market town is the provision of goods and services to the surrounding locality. Although market towns were known in antiquity, their number increased rapidly from the 12th century. Market towns across Europe flourished with an improved economy, a more urbanised society and the widespread introduction of a cash-based economy. Domesday Book of 1086 lists 50 markets in England. Some 2,000 new markets were established between 1200 and 1349. The burgeoning of market towns occurred across Europe around
3021-529: A military dictator, while others view him a hero of liberty. He remains a controversial figure due to his use of military force to acquire and retain political power, his role in the execution of Charles I and the brutality of his 1649 campaign in Ireland . The debate over his historical reputation continues. First proposed in 1856, his statue outside the Houses of Parliament was not erected until 1895, most of
3180-522: A month at Huntingdon Town Hall . Huntingdonshire District Council has three wards: Huntingdon North , Huntingdon East and Huntingdon West . The three wards each have two councillors. The main offices of Huntingdonshire District Council are in Huntingdon itself. The third tier of local government is Cambridgeshire County Council providing county-wide services such as roads, education, social services, libraries and heritage protection. Huntingdon
3339-529: A new charter for the town. As a result, he was called before the Privy Council in 1630. In 1631, likely as a result of the dispute, Cromwell sold most of his properties in Huntingdon and moved to a farmstead in nearby St Ives . This move, a significant step down in society for the Cromwells, also had significant emotional and spiritual impact on Cromwell; an extant 1638 letter from him to his cousin,
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#17327656785303498-473: A number of market towns in Saxony throughout the 11th century and did much to develop peaceful markets by granting a special 'peace' to merchants and a special and permanent 'peace' to market-places. With the rise of the territories, the ability to designate market towns was passed to the princes and dukes, as the basis of German town law . The local ordinance status of a market town ( Marktgemeinde or Markt )
3657-497: A personal crisis during the late 1620s and early 1630s. In 1628 he was elected to Parliament from the Huntingdonshire county town of Huntingdon . Later that year, he sought treatment for a variety of physical and emotional ailments, including valde melancholicus (depression), from the Swiss-born London doctor Théodore de Mayerne . In 1629, Cromwell became involved in a dispute among the gentry of Huntingdon involving
3816-604: A place where the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by a ruling authority (either royal, noble, or ecclesiastical). As in the rest of the UK, the area in which the cross was situated was almost always central: either in a square; or in a broad, main street. Towns which still have regular markets include: Inverurie , St Andrews , Selkirk , Wigtown , Kelso , and Cupar . Not all still possess their mercat cross (market cross). Dutch painters of Antwerp took great interest in market places and market towns as subject matter from
3975-582: A pro- Royalist Scottish army (the Engagers ) who had invaded England. At Preston , in sole command for the first time and with an army of 9,000, he won a decisive victory against an army twice as large. During 1648, Cromwell's letters and speeches started to become heavily based on biblical imagery, many of them meditations on the meaning of particular passages. For example, after the battle of Preston, study of Psalms 17 and 105 led him to tell Parliament that "they that are implacable and will not leave troubling
4134-409: A property franchise of £200 per annum in real or personal property value set as the minimum value which a male adult was to possess before he was eligible to vote for the representatives from the counties or shires in the House of Commons. The House of Commons representatives from the boroughs were elected by the burgesses or those borough residents who had the right to vote in municipal elections, and by
4293-412: A relationship with customers and may have offered added value services, such as credit terms to reliable customers. The economy was characterised by local trading in which goods were traded across relatively short distances. Braudel reports that, in 1600, grain moved just 5–10 miles (8.0–16.1 km); cattle 40–70 miles (64–113 km); wool and woollen cloth 20–40 miles (32–64 km). However, following
4452-746: A role in some of this group's political manoeuvres. In May 1641, for example, he put forward the second reading of the Annual Parliaments Bill, and he later took a role in drafting the Root and Branch Bill for the abolition of episcopacy . Failure to resolve the issues before the Long Parliament led to armed conflict between Parliament and Charles I in late 1642, the beginning of the English Civil War . Before he joined Parliament's forces, Cromwell's only military experience
4611-428: A small seaport or a market town prior to export. This encouraged local merchants to ensure trading went through them, which was so effective in limiting unsupervised sales ( smuggling ) that customs revenues increased from less than 30% of the total tax revenues in 1600 to more than 50% of the total taxes by 1700. Norwegian "market towns" died out and were replaced by free markets during the 19th century. After 1952, both
4770-523: A speech to the army Council on 23 March that "I had rather be overthrown by a Cavalierish interest than a Scotch interest; I had rather be overthrown by a Scotch interest than an Irish interest and I think of all this is the most dangerous". Cromwell's hostility to the Irish was religious as well as political. He was passionately opposed to the Catholic Church, which he saw as denying the primacy of
4929-455: A successful market town attracted people, generated revenue and would pay for the town's defences. In around the 12th century, European kings began granting charters to villages allowing them to hold markets on specific days. Framlingham in Suffolk is a notable example of a market situated near a fortified building. Additionally, markets were located where transport was easiest, such as at
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5088-540: A temperate, maritime climate free of temperature extremes, with rainfall spread fairly evenly over the year. The absolute maximum recorded at Wyton was 35.4 °C (95.7 °F) in August 1990; the temperature at Monks Wood rose in July 2006 to 35.1 °C (95.2 °F). The mean annual warmest day is 29.7 °C (85.5 °F), and on 16 days a year will rise to 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above. Typically 43.2 nights of
5247-419: A week while daily markets were common in larger cities. Over time, permanent shops began opening daily and gradually supplanted the periodic markets, while peddlers or itinerant sellers continued to fill in any gaps in distribution. The physical market was characterised by transactional exchange and bartering systems were commonplace. Shops had higher overhead costs, but were able to offer regular trading hours and
5406-442: A year, near the bottom of the range of gentry incomes. In 1654, Cromwell said, "I was by birth a gentleman, living neither in considerable height, nor yet in obscurity." Oliver Cromwell was baptised on 29 April 1599 at St John's Church , and attended Huntingdon Grammar School . He went on to study at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge , then a recently founded college with a strong Puritan ethos. He left in June 1617 without taking
5565-487: Is a relatively recent development. Historically the markets were open-air, held in what is usually called (regardless of its actual shape) the market square or market place , sometimes centred on a market cross ( mercat cross in Scotland). They were and are typically open one or two days a week. In the modern era, the rise of permanent retail establishments reduced the need for periodic markets. The primary purpose of
5724-688: Is a special-needs school. Secondary schools include St Peter's School and Hinchingbrooke School . Further education colleges include Huntingdonshire Regional College , Hinchingbrooke School sixth-form college and St Peter's sixth form. Huntingdon railway station is sited on the East Coast Main Line . Services that stop here are operated by Govia Thameslink Railway , on the Thameslink and Great Northern routes. Great Northern services operate between Peterborough and London Kings Cross station ; trains take just over an hour to reach
5883-478: Is an example of this. A number of studies have pointed to the prevalence of the periodic market in medieval towns and rural areas due to the localised nature of the economy. The marketplace was the commonly accepted location for trade, social interaction, transfer of information and gossip. A broad range of retailers congregated in market towns – peddlers, retailers, hucksters, stallholders, merchants and other types of trader. Some were professional traders who occupied
6042-673: Is in the High Street. Medway Christian Fellowship is based on Medway Road. The highest-ranking football club, Huntingdon Town , plays in the United Counties League . Huntingdon United RGE plays in the Cambridgeshire League . Names are in birth order. Data are from the subject's Misplaced Pages article except where referenced. Source: The following people and military units have received the Freedom of
6201-701: Is no single register of modern entitlements to hold markets and fairs, although historical charters up to 1516 are listed in the Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales . William Stow's 1722 Remarks on London includes "A List of all the Market Towns in England and Wales; with the Days of the Week whereon kept". Market houses were a common feature across the island of Ireland . These often arcaded buildings performed marketplace functions, frequently with
6360-405: Is one of 60 electoral divisions, represented by two county councillors. The fourth tier of local government is Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority , which is headed by a mayor. The Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough is Dr Nik Johnson . Huntingdon lies in the parliamentary constituency of the same name (formerly Huntingdonshire ). Ben Obese-Jecty MP (Conservative)
6519-512: Is perpetuated through the law of Austria , the German state of Bavaria , and the Italian province of South Tyrol . Nevertheless, the title has no further legal significance, as it does not grant any privileges. In Hungarian, the word for market town "mezőváros" means literally "pasture town" and implies that it was unfortified town: they were architecturally distinguishable from other towns by
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6678-620: Is reflected in the prefix Markt of the names of many towns in Austria and Germany , for example, Markt Berolzheim or Marktbergel . Other terms used for market towns were Flecken in northern Germany, or Freiheit and Wigbold in Westphalia . Market rights were designated as long ago as during the Carolingian Empire . Around 800, Charlemagne granted the title of a market town to Esslingen am Neckar . Conrad created
6837-562: The Banbury mutiny occurred with similar results. Cromwell led the charge in quelling these rebellions. After quelling Leveller mutinies within the English army at Andover and Burford in May, he departed for Ireland from Bristol at the end of July. Cromwell led a Parliamentary invasion of Ireland from 1649 to 1650. Parliament's key opposition was the military threat posed by the alliance of
6996-624: The Bishops' Wars , lack of funds forced him to call a Parliament again in 1640. Cromwell was returned to this Parliament as member for Cambridge , but it lasted for only three weeks and became known as the Short Parliament . Cromwell moved his family from Ely to London in 1640. A second Parliament was called later the same year and became known as the Long Parliament . Cromwell was again returned as member for Cambridge. As with
7155-604: The Commonwealth of England . The "Rump Parliament" exercised both executive and legislative powers, with a smaller Council of State also having some executive functions. Cromwell remained a member of the Rump and was appointed a member of the council. In the early months after Charles's execution, Cromwell tried but failed to unite the original "Royal Independents" led by St John and Saye and Sele, which had fractured during 1648. Cromwell had been connected to this group since before
7314-660: The Covenanter regime. Cromwell therefore returned to England from Youghal on 26 May 1650 to counter this threat. The Parliamentarian conquest of Ireland dragged on for almost three years after Cromwell's departure. The campaigns under Cromwell's successors Henry Ireton and Edmund Ludlow consisted mostly of long sieges of fortified cities and guerrilla warfare in the countryside, with English troops suffering from attacks by Irish toráidhe (guerilla fighters). The last Catholic-held town, Galway , surrendered in April 1652 and
7473-661: The Defence Equipment and Support arm of the MOD and RAF Alconbury currently occupied by the United States Air Force . Part of the medieval infirmary hall of St Johns in the market place became Huntingdon Grammar School . It was attended by Cromwell and by the diarist Samuel Pepys . The building is now the Cromwell Museum , run by Cambridgeshire County Council . Hinchingbrooke House , once
7632-713: The Domesday Book of 1086. The name means "The huntsman's hill" or possibly "Hunta's hill". Huntingdon seems to have been a staging post for Danish raids outside East Anglia until 917, when the Danes moved to Tempsford , now in Bedfordshire , before they were crushed by Edward the Elder . It prospered successively as a bridging point of the River Great Ouse , a market town, and in the 18th and 19th centuries
7791-882: The Eastern Association under the Earl of Manchester . Cromwell gained experience in successful actions in East Anglia in 1643, notably at the Battle of Gainsborough on 28 July. He was subsequently appointed governor of the Isle of Ely and a colonel in the Eastern Association. By the time of the Battle of Marston Moor in July 1644, Cromwell had risen to the rank of lieutenant general of horse in Manchester's army. His cavalry's success in breaking
7950-585: The Grandees in the New Model Army and the Independents. Thus weakened, the remaining body of MPs, known as the Rump Parliament , agreed that Charles should be tried for treason. Cromwell was still in the north of England, dealing with Royalist resistance, when these events took place, but then returned to London. On the day after Pride's Purge, he became a determined supporter of those pushing for
8109-638: The Irish Confederate Catholics and English royalists (signed in 1649). The Confederate-Royalist alliance was judged to be the biggest single threat facing the Commonwealth. However, the political situation in Ireland in 1649 was extremely fractured: there were also separate forces of Irish Catholics who were opposed to the Royalist alliance, and Protestant Royalist forces that were gradually moving towards Parliament. Cromwell said in
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#17327656785308268-609: The P being an abbreviation for Protector , and soon others started to address Cromwell as "Your Highness". As Protector, he had to secure a majority vote in the Council of State. As the Lord Protector he was paid £100,000 a year (equivalent to £20,500,000 in 2023). Although Cromwell stated that "Government by one man and a parliament is fundamental," he believed that social issues should be prioritised. The social priorities did not include any meaningful attempt to reform
8427-586: The Province of Maryland , and islands in the West Indies . Cromwell soon secured the submission of these and largely left them to their own affairs, intervening only to curb other Puritans who had seized control of Maryland Colony at Severn battle , by his confirming the former Roman Catholic proprietorship and edict of tolerance there. Of all the English dominions, Virginia was the most resentful of Cromwell's rule, and Cavalier emigration there mushroomed during
8586-679: The Reformation had not gone far enough, that much of England was still living in sin, and that Catholic beliefs and practices must be fully removed from the church. It appears that in 1634 Cromwell attempted to emigrate to what became the Connecticut Colony in the Americas, but was prevented by the government from leaving. Along with his brother Henry, Cromwell had kept a smallholding of chickens and sheep, selling eggs and wool to support himself, his lifestyle resembling that of
8745-732: The Roman Empire , in 274, a massive coin hoard dating to the reign of Tetricus I and Roman Emperor Aurelian was hidden in the grounds of the town. Consisting of 9,724 Roman coins , and discovered in 2018, the Muddy Hoard is considered to date the largest treasure trove of Cambridgeshire. Huntingdon was founded by the Anglo-Saxons and Danes . It is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 921, where it appears as Huntandun . It appears as Huntedun in
8904-500: The Sandy Heath TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Cambridgeshire , Heart East , Greatest Hits Radio East , Star Radio and HCR FM , a community based station that broadcast from the town. The Hunts Post is the town's local weekly newspaper. The local primary schools are Hartford Junior School, Huntingdon Primary School, Thongsley Fields Primary School, St John's Primary School, Stukeley Meadows Primary School and Cromwell Academy Primary School. Spring Common School
9063-448: The Siege of Drogheda in September 1649, his troops killed nearly 3,500 people after the town's capture—around 2,700 Royalist soldiers and all the men in the town carrying arms, including some civilians, prisoners and Roman Catholic priests. Cromwell wrote afterwards: I am persuaded that this is a righteous judgment of God upon these barbarous wretches, who have imbrued their hands in so much innocent blood and that it will tend to prevent
9222-403: The Yiddish term shtetl . Miasteczkos had a special administrative status other than that of town or city. From the time of the Norman conquest, the right to award a charter was generally seen to be a royal prerogative. However, the granting of charters was not systematically recorded until 1199. Once a charter was granted, it gave local lords the right to take tolls and also afforded
9381-439: The koopman, which described a new, emergent class of trader who dealt in goods or credit on a large scale. Paintings of every day market scenes may have been an affectionate attempt to record familiar scenes and document a world that was in danger of being lost. Paintings and drawings of market towns and market scenes Bibliography Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 – 3 September 1658)
9540-450: The "Grandees" disagreed with these sentiments in that they gave too much freedom to the people; they believed that the vote should extend only to the landowners. In the Putney Debates of 1647, the two groups debated these topics in hopes of forming a new constitution for England. Rebellions and mutinies followed the debates, and in 1649, the Bishopsgate mutiny resulted in Leveller Robert Lockyer 's execution by firing squad. The next month,
9699-549: The "small seaport" and the "market town" were relegated to simple town status. Miasteczko ( lit. ' small town ' ) was a historical type of urban settlement similar to a market town in the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . After the partitions of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at the end of the 18th-century, these settlements became widespread in the Austrian , German and Russian Empires. The vast majority of miasteczkos had significant or even predominant Jewish populations ; these are known in English under
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#17327656785309858-426: The 16th century. Pieter Aertsen was known as the "great painter of the market" Painters' interest in markets was due, at least in part, to the changing nature of the market system at that time. With the rise of the merchant guilds, the public began to distinguish between two types of merchant, the meerseniers which referred to local merchants including bakers, grocers, sellers of dairy products and stall-holders, and
10017-478: The 1990s to replace one from the Crimean War , scrapped for the war effort in the Second World War . However, it faces in the opposite direction from the original. St Mary's Street drill hall was built in the late 19th century. The George Hotel on the corner of High Street and George Street was once a posting house. It was named after Saint George of England in 1574 and bought some 25 years later by Henry Cromwell, grandfather of Oliver Cromwell . Charles I made
10176-431: The 20th century, the special rights granted to market towns mostly involved a greater autonomy in fiscal matters and control over town planning, schooling and social care. Unlike rural municipalities, the market towns were not considered part of the counties . The last town to be granted market rights was Ólafsvík in 1983 and from that point there were 24 market towns until a municipal reform in 1986 essentially abolished
10335-561: The Bible in favour of papal and clerical authority, and which he blamed for suspected tyranny and persecution of Protestants in continental Europe . Cromwell's association of Catholicism with persecution was deepened with the Irish Rebellion of 1641 . This rebellion, although intended to be bloodless, was marked by massacres of English and Scottish Protestant settlers by Irish ("Gaels") and Old English in Ireland , and Highland Scot Catholics in Ireland. These settlers had settled on land seized from former, native Catholic owners to make way for
10494-404: The Civil Wars, Cromwell believed that he was one of these people, and he interpreted victories as indications of God's approval and defeats as signs that God was pointing him in another direction. In December 1648, in an episode that became known as Pride's Purge , a troop of soldiers headed by Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed from the Long Parliament all those who were not supporters of
10653-399: The Crown for himself around this time, though the evidence for this is retrospective and problematic. Ultimately, he demanded that the Rump establish a caretaker government in April 1653 of 40 members drawn from the Rump and the army, and then abdicate; but the Rump returned to debating its own bill for a new government. Cromwell was so angered by this that he cleared the chamber and dissolved
10812-403: The European age of discovery, goods were imported from afar – calico cloth from India, porcelain, silk and tea from China, spices from India and South-East Asia and tobacco, sugar, rum and coffee from the New World. The importance of local markets began to decline in the mid-16th century. Permanent shops which provided more stable trading hours began to supplant the periodic market. In addition,
10971-440: The George his headquarters in 1645. Later the highwayman Dick Turpin is said to have been a customer when it was a coaching inn on the Great North Road . A theatre was built to the rear of the George in about 1799. The Lincoln company of actors managed by Thomas Shaftoe Robertson and later Fanny Robertson performed here in race weeks. Two wings of the inn burnt down in the mid-19th century, but two were saved, including one with
11130-403: The King at the Treaty of Newport , that convinced him that God had spoken against both the King and Parliament as lawful authorities. For Cromwell, the army was now God's chosen instrument. The episode shows Cromwell's firm belief in Providentialism —that God was actively directing the affairs of the world, through the actions of "chosen people" (whom God had "provided" for such purposes). During
11289-406: The King would acquiesce to if his authority was restored. The King appeared to be willing to compromise, so Cromwell employed his son-in-law, Henry Ireton, to draw up proposals for a constitutional settlement. Proposals were drafted multiple times with different changes until finally the " Heads of Proposals " pleased Cromwell in principle and allowed for further negotiations. It was designed to check
11448-478: The King's trial and execution, believing that killing Charles was the only way to end the civil wars. Cromwell approved Thomas Brook's address to the House of Commons, which justified the trial and the King's execution on the basis of the Book of Numbers, chapter 35 and particularly verse 33 ("The land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it."). Charles's death warrant
11607-729: The Member of Parliament for Huntingdon in the Parliament of 1628–1629, as a client of the Montagu family of Hinchingbrooke House . He made little impression: parliamentary records show only one speech (against the Arminian Bishop Richard Neile ), which was poorly received. After dissolving this Parliament, Charles I ruled without a Parliament for the next 11 years. When Charles faced the Scottish rebellion in
11766-537: The Parliament by force on 20 April 1653, supported by about 40 musketeers. Several accounts exist of this incident; in one, Cromwell is supposed to have said "you are no Parliament, I say you are no Parliament; I will put an end to your sitting". At least two accounts agree that he snatched up the ceremonial mace , symbol of Parliament's power, and demanded that the " bauble " be taken away. His troops were commanded by Charles Worsley , later one of his Major Generals and one of his most trusted advisors, to whom he entrusted
11925-468: The Parliament of 1628–29, it is likely that he owed his position to the patronage of others, which might explain why in the first week of the Parliament he was in charge of presenting a petition for the release of John Lilburne , who had become a Puritan cause célèbre after his arrest for importing religious tracts from the Netherlands. For the Long Parliament's first two years, Cromwell was linked to
12084-485: The Parliament of Saints, or more commonly and denigratingly called Barebone's Parliament after one of its members, Praise-God Barebone , was tasked with finding a permanent constitutional and religious settlement (Cromwell was invited to be a member but declined). However, the revelation that a considerably larger segment of the membership than had been believed were the radical Fifth Monarchists led to its members voting to dissolve it on 12 December 1653, out of fear of what
12243-470: The Protectorate. Cromwell famously stressed the quest to restore order in his speech to the first Protectorate parliament . However, the Parliament was quickly dominated by those pushing for more radical, properly republican reforms. Later, the Parliament initiated radical reform. Rather than opposing Parliament's bill, Cromwell dissolved them on 22 January 1655. The First Protectorate Parliament had
12402-647: The Royalist cavalry. At the Battle of Langport on 10 July, Cromwell participated in the defeat of the last sizeable Royalist field army. Naseby and Langport effectively ended the King's hopes of victory, and the subsequent Parliamentarian campaigns involved taking the remaining fortified Royalist positions in the west of England. In October 1645, Cromwell besieged and took the wealthy and formidable Catholic fortress Basing House , later to be accused of killing 100 of its 300-man Royalist garrison after its surrender. He also took part in successful sieges at Bridgwater , Sherborne , Bristol, Devizes , and Winchester , then spent
12561-484: The Rump into setting dates for new elections, uniting the three kingdoms under one polity, and to put in place a broad-brush, tolerant national church. However, the Rump vacillated in setting election dates, although it put in place a basic liberty of conscience, but it failed to produce an alternative for tithes or to dismantle other aspects of the existing religious settlement. According to the parliamentarian lawyer Bulstrode Whitelocke , Cromwell began to contemplate taking
12720-584: The Scottish capital of Edinburgh . The victory was of such a magnitude that Cromwell called it "A high act of the Lord's Providence to us [and] one of the most signal mercies God hath done for England and His people". The following year, Charles II and his Scottish allies made an attempt to invade England and capture London while Cromwell was engaged in Scotland. Cromwell followed them south and caught them at Worcester on 3 September 1651, and his forces destroyed
12879-700: The Town of Huntingdon. Market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages , a market right , which allowed it to host a regular market ; this distinguished it from a village or city . In Britain, small rural towns with a hinterland of villages are still commonly called market towns, as sometimes reflected in their names (e.g. Downham Market , Market Rasen , or Market Drayton ). Modern markets are often in special halls , but this
13038-414: The aldermen and councilors of the boroughs. Cromwell's second objective was reforms on the field of morality and religion. As a Protectorate, he established trials for the future parish ministers, and dismissed unqualified ministers and rectors. These triers and the ejectors were intended to be at the vanguard of Cromwell's reform of parish worship. This second objective is also the context in which to see
13197-549: The area. It also served to restrict Hanseatic League merchants from trading in areas other than those designated. Norway included a subordinate category to the market town, the "small seaport" ( Norwegian lossested or ladested ), which was a port or harbor with a monopoly to import and export goods and materials in both the port and a surrounding outlying district. Typically, these were locations for exporting timber, and importing grain and goods. Local farm goods and timber sales were all required to pass through merchants at either
13356-500: The borough charter of 1205, are held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at the County Record Office, Huntingdon. Parts of Huntingdon, including the centre, were struck by an F1/T3 tornado on 23 November 1981, during a record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day. The centre suffered moderate damage. Between the railway station and the old hospital building, stands a replica cannon installed in
13515-448: The campaign went badly, as Cromwell's men were short of supplies and held up at fortifications manned by Scottish troops under David Leslie . Sickness began to spread in the ranks. Cromwell was on the brink of evacuating his army by sea from Dunbar . However, on 3 September 1650, unexpectedly, Cromwell smashed the main Scottish army at the Battle of Dunbar , killing 4,000 Scottish soldiers, taking another 10,000 prisoner, and then capturing
13674-480: The capital. Thameslink services run between Peterborough and Horsham , in West Sussex , via St Pancras and Blackfriars . Bus services are operated primarily by Stagecoach East and Whippet . Routes serve the town, including Hinchingbrooke Hospital , and connect Huntingdon with Peterborough, St Neots, Ramsey, St Ives and Cambridge. Luton and Stansted airports are located within 40 miles (64 km) of
13833-519: The concept. Many of the existing market towns would continue to be named kaupstaður even after the term lost any administrative meaning. In Norway , the medieval market town ( Norwegian : kjøpstad and kaupstad from the Old Norse kaupstaðr ) was a town which had been granted commerce privileges by the king or other authorities. The citizens in the town had a monopoly over the purchase and sale of wares, and operation of other businesses, both in
13992-654: The constitutional experiment of the Major Generals that followed the dissolution of the first Protectorate Parliament. After a Royalist uprising in March 1655 , led by Sir John Penruddock , Cromwell (influenced by Lambert) divided England into military districts ruled by army major generals who answered only to him. The 15 major generals and deputy major generals—called "godly governors"—were central not only to national security , but also viewed as Cromwell's serious effort in exerting his religious conviction. Their position
14151-541: The day when the community congregated in town to attend church. Some of the more ancient markets appear to have been held in churchyards. At the time of the Norman conquest, the majority of the population made their living through agriculture and livestock farming. Most lived on their farms, situated outside towns, and the town itself supported a relatively small population of permanent residents. Farmers and their families brought their surplus produce to informal markets held on
14310-546: The early market towns have continued operations into recent times. For instance, Northampton market received its first charter in 1189 and markets are still held in the square to this day. The National Market Traders Federation , situated in Barnsley , South Yorkshire , has around 32,000 members and close links with market traders' federations throughout Europe. According to the UK National Archives , there
14469-529: The earthworks of the motte survive. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and home to a beacon used to mark the 400th anniversary of the Spanish Armada . In 1746, the nurserymen Wood and Ingram of nearby Brampton developed an elm -tree cultivar, Ulmus × hollandica 'Vegeta' , which they named the Huntingdon Elm after the town. Original documents on Huntingdon's history, including
14628-523: The effusion of blood for the future, which are satisfactory grounds for such actions, which otherwise cannot but work remorse and regret. At the Siege of Wexford in October, another massacre took place under confused circumstances. While Cromwell was apparently trying to negotiate surrender terms, some of his soldiers broke into the town, killed 2,000 Irish troops and up to 1,500 civilians, and burned much of
14787-398: The era from which various parts of the city originate. Market towns were characterized as a transition between a village and a city, without a unified, definite city core. A high level of urban planning only marks an era starting from the 17th-18th centuries. This dating is partially related to the modernization and resettlement waves after the liberation of Ottoman Hungary . While Iceland
14946-688: The famous chief minister to Henry VIII. The Cromwells acquired great wealth as occasional beneficiaries of Thomas's administration of the Dissolution of the Monasteries . Morgan ap William was a son of William ap Yevan of Wales. The family line continued through Richard Williams (alias Cromwell) , ( c. 1500–1544), Henry Williams (alias Cromwell) , ( c. 1524 – 6 January 1604), then to Oliver's father Robert Williams, alias Cromwell ( c. 1560–1617), who married Elizabeth Steward ( c. 1564–1654), probably in 1591. They had ten children, but Oliver,
15105-417: The fifth child, was the only boy to survive infancy. Cromwell's paternal grandfather, Sir Henry Williams, was one of the two wealthiest landowners in Huntingdonshire . Cromwell's father was of modest means but still a member of the landed gentry . As a younger son with many siblings, Robert inherited only a house at Huntingdon and a small amount of land. This land would have generated an income of up to £300
15264-505: The final stages of the Scottish campaign, Cromwell's men under George Monck sacked Dundee, killing up to 1,000 men and 140 women and children. Scotland was ruled from England during the Commonwealth and was kept under military occupation, with a line of fortifications sealing off the Highlands which had provided manpower for Royalist armies in Scotland. The northwest Highlands was the scene of another pro-Royalist uprising in 1653–55, which
15423-724: The first half of 1646 mopping up resistance in Devon and Cornwall . Charles I surrendered to the Scots on 5 May 1646, effectively ending the First English Civil War . Cromwell and Fairfax took the Royalists' formal surrender at Oxford in June. In February 1647, Cromwell suffered from an illness that kept him out of political life for over a month. By the time he recovered, the Parliamentarians were split over
15582-503: The funds being privately supplied by Prime Minister Lord Rosebery . Cromwell was born in Huntingdon on 25 April 1599 to Robert Cromwell and his second wife Elizabeth, daughter of William Steward. The family's estate derived from Oliver's great-great-grandfather Morgan ap William, a brewer from Glamorgan , Wales, who settled at Putney and married Katherine Cromwell (born 1482), the sister of Thomas Cromwell , who would become
15741-553: The godly group of aristocrats in the House of Lords and Members of the House of Commons with whom he had established familial and religious links in the 1630s, such as the Earls of Essex , Warwick and Bedford , Oliver St John and Viscount Saye and Sele . At this stage, the group had an agenda of reformation: the executive checked by regular parliaments, and the moderate extension of liberty of conscience. Cromwell appears to have taken
15900-417: The grounds of their church after worship. By the 13th century, however, a movement against Sunday markets gathered momentum, and the market gradually moved to a site in town's centre and was held on a weekday. By the 15th century, towns were legally prohibited from holding markets in church-yards. Archaeological evidence suggests that Colchester is England's oldest recorded market town, dating to at least
16059-704: The hope that they would convert to Christianity and therefore hasten the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, ultimately based on Matthew 23 :37–39 and Romans 11 . At the Whitehall conference of December 1655, he quoted from St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans 10:12–15 on the need to send Christian preachers to the Jews. The Presbyterian William Prynne , in contrast to the Congregationalist Cromwell,
16218-420: The influence of the Earls of Warwick and Holland . A place in this influential network proved crucial to Cromwell's military and political career. The couple had nine children: Little evidence exists of Cromwell's religion in his early years. His 1626 letter to Henry Downhall, an Arminian minister, suggests that he had yet to be influenced by radical Puritanism. But there is evidence that Cromwell underwent
16377-415: The issue of the King. A majority in both Houses pushed for a settlement that would pay off the Scottish army, disband much of the New Model Army, and restore Charles I in return for a Presbyterian settlement of the church. Cromwell rejected the Scottish model of Presbyterianism, which threatened to replace one authoritarian hierarchy with another. The New Model Army, radicalised by Parliament's failure to pay
16536-413: The lack of town walls. Most market towns were chartered in the 14th and 15th centuries and typically developed around 13th-century villages that had preceded them. A boom in the raising of livestock may have been a trigger for the upsurge in the number of market towns during that period. Archaeological studies suggest that the ground plans of such market towns had multiple streets and could also emerge from
16695-631: The land may be speedily destroyed out of the land". A letter to Oliver St John in September 1648 urged him to read Isaiah 8, in which the kingdom falls and only the godly survive. On four occasions in letters in 1648 he referred to the story of Gideon 's defeat of the Midianites at Ain Harod. These letters suggest that it was Cromwell's faith, rather than a commitment to radical politics, coupled with Parliament's decision to engage in negotiations with
16854-671: The last Irish Catholic troops capitulated in April 1653 in County Cavan . In the wake of the Commonwealth's conquest of the island of Ireland, public practice of Roman Catholicism was banned and Catholic priests were killed when captured. All Catholic-owned land was confiscated under the Act for the Settlement of Ireland of 1652 and given to Scottish and English settlers, Parliament's financial creditors and Parliamentary soldiers. Remaining Catholic landowners were allocated poorer land in
17013-474: The last major Scottish Royalist army at the Battle of Worcester . Charles II barely escaped capture and fled to exile in France and the Netherlands, where he remained until 1660. To fight the battle, Cromwell organised an envelopment followed by a multi-pronged coordinated attack on Worcester, his forces attacking from three directions with two rivers partitioning them. He switched his reserves from one side of
17172-404: The legal basis for defining a "town". For instance, Newport, Shropshire , is in the borough of Telford and Wrekin but is separate from Telford . In England, towns with such rights are usually distinguished with the additional status of borough . It is generally accepted that, in these cases, when a town was granted a market, it gained the additional autonomy conferred to separate towns. Many of
17331-519: The local town council . Failing that, the Crown can grant a licence. As the number of charters granted increased, competition between market towns also increased. In response to competitive pressures, towns invested in a reputation for quality produce, efficient market regulation and good amenities for visitors such as covered accommodation. By the thirteenth century, counties with important textile industries were investing in purpose built market halls for
17490-400: The mace. After the dissolution of the Rump, power passed temporarily to a council that debated what form the constitution should take. They took up the suggestion of Major-General Thomas Harrison for a " sanhedrin " of saints . Although Cromwell did not subscribe to Harrison's apocalyptic , Fifth Monarchist beliefs—which saw a sanhedrin as the starting point for Christ's rule on earth—he
17649-464: The market. If the travel time exceeded this standard, a new market town could be established in that locale. As a result of the limit, official market towns often petitioned the monarch to close down illegal markets in other towns. These distances are still law in England today. Other markets can be held, provided they are licensed by the holder of the Royal Charter, which tends currently to be
17808-497: The non-native Protestants. These factors contributed to the brutality of the Cromwell military campaign in Ireland. Parliament had planned to re-conquer Ireland since 1641 and had already sent an invasion force there in 1647. Cromwell's invasion of 1649 was much larger and, with the civil war in England over, could be regularly reinforced and re-supplied. His nine-month military campaign was brief and effective, though it did not end
17967-432: The north and west. Between Godmanchester, Huntingdon and Brampton lies Portholme Meadow , England's largest. Its 257 acres (104 hectares) contain many rare species of grass, flowers and dragonfly . It is the only known British habitat of the marsh dandelion. It acts as a natural reservoir for water in times of flood, enabling the river to run off slowly, so helping to preclude flooding in nearby towns. It has also served as
18126-505: The north of England for the Parliamentarians but failed to end Royalist resistance. The indecisive outcome of the Second Battle of Newbury in October meant that by the end of 1644 the war still showed no sign of ending. Cromwell's experience at Newbury, where Manchester had let the King's army slip out of an encircling manoeuvre, led to a serious dispute with Manchester, whom he believed to be less than enthusiastic in his conduct of
18285-401: The order for the actual beheading, so they brought their dispute to Cromwell...Oliver seized a pen and scribbled out the order, and handed the pen to the second officer, Colonel Hacker who stooped to sign it. The execution could now proceed." Although Fairfax conspicuously refused to sign, Charles I was executed on 30 January 1649. After the King's execution, a republic was declared, known as
18444-494: The other. The Putney Debates broke up without reaching a resolution. The failure to conclude a political agreement with the King led eventually to the outbreak of the Second English Civil War in 1648, when the King tried to regain power by force of arms. Cromwell first put down a Royalist uprising in south Wales led by Rowland Laugharne , winning back Chepstow Castle on 25 May and six days later forcing
18603-406: The outbreak of civil war in 1642 and had been closely associated with them during the 1640s. Only St John was persuaded to retain his seat in Parliament. The Royalists, meanwhile, had regrouped in Ireland, having signed a treaty with the Irish known as Confederate Catholics . In March, the Rump chose Cromwell to command a campaign against them. Preparations for an invasion of Ireland occupied him in
18762-468: The period 1971–2000. Between 1801 and 1901, the current area of Huntingdon consisted of four parishes: Huntingdon All Saints, Huntingdon St Benedict, Huntingdon St John and Huntingdon St Mary. The populations of these were counted in the ten-year UK census and ranged in the period between 2,368 in 1801 and 4,735 in 1891. (The census was omitted in 1941.) In 2011, the parish covered an area of 2,765 acres (1,119 hectares). The population density in that year
18921-546: The powers of the executive , to set up regularly elected parliaments, and to restore a non-compulsory episcopalian settlement. Many in the army, such as the Levellers led by John Lilburne , thought this was not enough and demanded full political equality for all men, leading to tense debates in Putney during the autumn of 1647 between Fairfax, Cromwell and Ireton on the one hand, and Levellers like Colonel Rainsborough on
19080-497: The province of Connacht . Cromwell left Ireland in May 1650 and several months later invaded Scotland after the Scots had proclaimed Charles I's son Charles II as King. Cromwell was much less hostile to Scottish Presbyterians , some of whom had been his allies in the First English Civil War, than he was to Irish Catholics. He described the Scots as a people "fearing His [God's] name, though deceived". He made
19239-513: The purchasing habits of the monks and other individuals in medieval England, suggests that consumers of the period were relatively discerning. Purchase decisions were based on purchase criteria such as consumers' perceptions of the range, quality, and price of goods. This informed decisions about where to make their purchases. As traditional market towns developed, they featured a wide main street or central market square . These provided room for people to set up stalls and booths on market days. Often
19398-695: The radicals might do if they took control of the Assembly. After Barebone's Parliament was dissolved, John Lambert put forward a new constitution known as the Instrument of Government , closely modelled on the Heads of Proposals . This made Cromwell undertake the "chief magistracy and the administration of government". Later he was sworn as Lord Protector on 16 December, with a ceremony in which he wore plain black clothing, rather than any monarchical regalia. Cromwell also changed his signature to 'Oliver P', with
19557-516: The ranks of the Royalist cavalry and then attacking their infantry from the rear at Marston Moor was a major factor in the Parliamentarian victory. Cromwell fought at the head of his troops in the battle and was slightly wounded in the neck, stepping away briefly to receive treatment but returning to help secure the victory. After Cromwell's nephew was killed at Marston Moor, he wrote a famous letter to his brother-in-law . Marston Moor secured
19716-461: The right to private worship of those who fell outside Puritanism—that led to his encouraging Jews to return to England in 1657, over 350 years after their banishment by Edward I , in the hope that they would help speed up the recovery of the country after the disruption of the Civil Wars. There was a longer-term motive for Cromwell's decision to allow the Jews to return to England, and that was
19875-487: The rise of a merchant class led to the import and exports of a broad range of goods, contributing to a reduced reliance on local produce. At the centre of this new global mercantile trade was Antwerp , which by the mid-16th century, was the largest market town in Europe. A good number of local histories of individual market towns can be found. However, more general histories of the rise of market-towns across Europe are much more difficult to locate. Clark points out that while
20034-557: The river Severn to the other and then back again. The editor of the Great Rebellion article of the Encyclopædia Britannica (eleventh edition) notes that Worcester was a battle of manoeuvre compared to the early Civil War Battle of Turnham Green , which the English parliamentary armies were unable to execute at the start of the war, and he suggests that it was a prototype for the Battle of Sedan (1870) . In
20193-433: The sale of cloth. Specific market towns cultivated a reputation for high quality local goods. For example, London's Blackwell Hall became a centre for cloth, Bristol became associated with a particular type of cloth known as Bristol red , Stroud was known for producing fine woollen cloth, the town of Worsted became synonymous with a type of yarn; Banbury and Essex were strongly associated with cheeses. A study on
20352-574: The same time. Initially, market towns most often grew up close to fortified places, such as castles or monasteries, not only to enjoy their protection, but also because large manorial households and monasteries generated demand for goods and services. Historians term these early market towns "prescriptive market towns" in that they may not have enjoyed any official sanction such as a charter, but were accorded market town status through custom and practice if they had been in existence prior to 1199. From an early stage, kings and administrators understood that
20511-574: The sample testing of markets by Edward I the "lawgiver" , who summoned the Model Parliament in 1295 to perambulate the boundaries of forest and town. Market towns grew up at centres of local activity and were an important feature of rural life and also became important centres of social life, as some place names suggest: Market Drayton , Market Harborough , Market Rasen , Market Deeping , Market Weighton , Chipping Norton , Chipping Ongar , and Chipping Sodbury – chipping
20670-689: The social order. Small-scale reform such as that carried out on the judicial system were outweighed by attempts to restore order to English politics. Tax slightly decreased, and he prioritise peace and ending the First Anglo-Dutch War . England's overseas possessions in this period included Newfoundland , the New England Confederation , the Providence Plantation , the Virginia Colony ,
20829-516: The subsequent months. In the latter part of the 1640s, Cromwell came across political dissidence in the New Model Army . The Leveller or Agitator movement was a political movement that emphasised popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law, and religious tolerance. These sentiments were expressed in the 1647 manifesto: Agreement of the People . Cromwell and the rest of
20988-406: The surrender of Tenby . The castle at Carmarthen was destroyed by burning; the much stronger castle at Pembroke fell only after an eight-week siege. Cromwell dealt leniently with ex-Royalist soldiers, but less so with those who had formerly been members of the parliamentary army, John Poyer eventually being executed in London after the drawing of lots. Cromwell then marched north to deal with
21147-466: The time of the Roman occupation of Britain's southern regions. Another ancient market town is Cirencester , which held a market in late Roman Britain. The term derived from markets and fairs first established in 13th century after the passage of Magna Carta , and the first laws towards a parlement . The Provisions of Oxford of 1258 were only possible because of the foundation of a town and university at
21306-428: The town and in the surrounding district. Norway developed market towns at a much later period than other parts of Europe. The reasons for this late development are complex but include the sparse population, lack of urbanisation, no real manufacturing industries and no cash economy. The first market town was created in 11th century Norway, to encourage businesses to concentrate around specific towns. King Olaf established
21465-747: The town erected a market cross in the centre of the town, to obtain God's blessing on the trade. Notable examples of market crosses in England are the Chichester Cross , Malmesbury Market Cross and Devizes, Wiltshire. Market towns often featured a market hall , as well, with administrative or civic quarters on the upper floor, above a covered trading area. Market towns with smaller status include Minchinhampton , Nailsworth , and Painswick near Stroud, Gloucestershire . A "market town" may or may not have rights concerning self-government that are usually
21624-408: The town some protection from rival markets. When a chartered market was granted for specific market days, a nearby rival market could not open on the same days. Across the boroughs of England, a network of chartered markets sprang up between the 12th and 16th centuries, giving consumers reasonable choice in the markets they preferred to patronise. Until about 1200, markets were often held on Sundays,
21783-529: The town surrendered. One of Cromwell's major victories in Ireland was diplomatic rather than military. With the help of Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery , he persuaded the Protestant Royalist troops in Cork to change sides and fight with the Parliament. At this point, word reached Cromwell that Charles II (son of Charles I ) had landed in Scotland from exile in France and been proclaimed King by
21942-470: The town. After taking Drogheda, Cromwell sent a column north to Ulster to secure the north of the country and went on to besiege Waterford , Kilkenny and Clonmel in Ireland's south-east. Kilkenny put up a fierce defence but was eventually forced to surrender on terms, as did many other towns like New Ross and Carlow , but Cromwell failed to take Waterford , and at the siege of Clonmel in May 1650 he lost up to 2,000 men in abortive assaults before
22101-677: The town. There are four Church of England churches in Huntingdon; once there were more, which together with those in the adjacent villages Great and Little Stukeley are members of the Huntingdon Team Ministry in the Diocese of Ely . The four are All Saints' (next to the Market Square), St Mary's (opposite Pathfinder House), St Barnabas (on the Oxmoor estate) and All Saints', Hartford . Huntingdon Methodist Church
22260-530: The wages it was owed, petitioned against these changes, but the Commons declared the petition unlawful. In May 1647 Cromwell was sent to the army's headquarters in Saffron Walden to negotiate with them, but failed to agree. In June 1647, a troop of cavalry under Cornet George Joyce seized the King from Parliament's imprisonment. With the King now present, Cromwell was eager to find out what conditions
22419-514: The war in Ireland. Before his invasion, Parliamentarian forces held outposts only in Dublin and Derry . When he departed Ireland, they occupied most of the eastern and northern parts of the country. After he landed at Dublin on 15 August 1649 (itself only recently defended from an Irish and English Royalist attack at the Battle of Rathmines ), Cromwell took the fortified port towns of Drogheda and Wexford to secure logistical supply from England. At
22578-459: The war. Manchester later accused Cromwell of recruiting men of "low birth" as officers in the army, to which he replied: "If you choose godly honest men to be captains of horse, honest men will follow them ... I would rather have a plain russet-coated captain who knows what he fights for and loves what he knows than that which you call a gentleman and is nothing else". At this time, Cromwell also fell into dispute with Major-General Lawrence Crawford ,
22737-476: The wife of Oliver St John, gives an account of his spiritual awakening at this time. In the letter, Cromwell, describing himself as having been the "chief of sinners", describes his calling as among "the congregation of the firstborn". The letter's language, particularly the inclusion of numerous biblical quotations, shows Cromwell's belief that he was saved from his previous sins by God's mercy, and indicates his religiously Independent beliefs, chief among them that
22896-585: The wounds of the 1640s and deepened antipathies to the regime. In late 1654, Cromwell launched the Western Design armada against the Spanish West Indies , and in May 1655 captured Jamaica . As Lord Protector, Cromwell was aware of the Jewish community's involvement in the economics of the Netherlands, now England's leading commercial rival. It was this—allied to Cromwell's tolerance of
23055-520: The year report an air frost. The absolute minimum at Wyton was −16.1 °C (3.0 °F) in January 1982. The mean for the annual coldest night of the year is −7.7 °C (18.1 °F). With annual rainfall at under 550 millimetres ( 21 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches) a year, the Huntingdon area is among the driest in the UK—103.4 days on average record at least 1 mm of rain. All averages mentioned refer to
23214-406: Was 5,493.1 inhabitants per square mile (2,120.9 inhabitants per square kilometre). The former Literary and Scientific Institute is now Commemoration Hall. Following the 2013 closure of RAF Brampton , once home to Headquarters RAF Support Command , there are now two operational RAF stations within 4 mi (6 km) of the town: RAF Wyton , once a major flying station but now a facility of
23373-819: Was an English statesman, politician, and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms , initially as a senior commander in the Parliamentarian army and latterly as a politician. A leading advocate of the execution of Charles I in January 1649, which led to the establishment of the Commonwealth of England , he ruled as Lord Protector from December 1653 until his death in September 1658. Although elected MP for Huntingdon in 1628 , much of Cromwell's life prior to 1640
23532-442: Was appointed commander of the New Model Army cavalry under Sir Thomas Fairfax , and played a key role in winning the English Civil War . The death of Charles I and exile of his son , followed by military victories in Ireland and Scotland , firmly established the Commonwealth and Cromwell's dominance of the new regime. In December 1653, he was named Lord Protector, a position he retained until his death in September 1658, when he
23691-438: Was attracted by the idea of an assembly made up of men chosen for their religious credentials. In his speech during the assembly on 4 July, Cromwell thanked God's providence that he believed had brought England to this point and set out their divine mission: "truly God hath called you to this work by, I think, as wonderful providences as ever passed upon the sons of men in so short a time." The Nominated Assembly, sometimes known as
23850-482: Was derived from a Saxon verb meaning "to buy". A major study carried out by the University of London found evidence for least 2,400 markets in English towns by 1516. The English system of charters established that a new market town could not be created within a certain travelling distance of an existing one. This limit was usually a day's worth of travelling (approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi)) to and from
24009-409: Was elected to this seat in the House of Commons in 2024, replacing Jonathan Djanogly . The town lies on the north bank of the River Great Ouse opposite Godmanchester and close to the market town of St Ives to the east and the village of Brampton to the west. Huntingdon incorporates the village of Hartford to the east and the developing areas of Oxmoor, Stukeley Meadows and Hinchingbrooke to
24168-432: Was further harmed by a tax proposal by Major General John Desborough to provide financial backing for their work, which the second Protectorate parliament —instated in September 1656—voted down for fear of a permanent military state. Ultimately, however, Cromwell's failure to support his men, sacrificing them to his opponents, caused their demise. Their activities between November 1655 and September 1656 had, however, reopened
24327-487: Was in the trained bands, the local county militia. He recruited a cavalry troop in Cambridgeshire after blocking a valuable shipment of silver plate from Cambridge colleges that was meant for the King. Cromwell and his troop then rode to, but arrived too late to take part in, the indecisive Battle of Edgehill on 23 October 1642. The troop was recruited to be a full regiment in the winter of 1642–43, making up part of
24486-498: Was marked by failure. He briefly contemplated emigration to New England , but became a religious Independent in the 1630s and thereafter believed his successes were the result of divine providence . In 1640, Cromwell was returned as MP for Cambridge in the Short and Long Parliaments . He joined the Parliamentarian army when the First English Civil War began in August 1642 and quickly demonstrated his military abilities. In 1645, he
24645-570: Was put down with deployment of 6,000 English troops there. Presbyterianism was allowed to be practised as before, but the Kirk (the Scottish Church) did not have the backing of the civil courts to impose its rulings, as it had previously. Cromwell was away on campaign from the middle of 1649 until 1651, and the various factions in Parliament began to fight amongst themselves with the King gone as their "common cause". Cromwell tried to galvanise
24804-415: Was signed by 59 of the trying court's members, including Cromwell (the third to sign it). Though it was not unprecedented, execution of the King, or regicide , was controversial, if for no other reason than the doctrine of the divine right of kings . Thus, even after a trial, it was difficult to get ordinary men to go along with it: "None of the officers charged with supervising the execution wanted to sign
24963-480: Was succeeded by his son Richard , whose weakness led to a power vacuum . This culminated in the 1660 Stuart Restoration , after which Cromwell's body was removed from Westminster Abbey and displayed at Tyburn . His head was placed on a spike outside the Tower of London , where it remained for 30 years, and ultimately reburied at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge , in 1960. Winston Churchill described Cromwell as
25122-405: Was under Danish rule, Danish merchants held a monopoly on trade with Iceland until 1786. With the abolishment of the trading monopoly, six market town ( Icelandic kaupstaður ) were founded around the country. All of them, except for Reykjavík , would lose their market rights in 1836. New market towns would be designated by acts from Alþingi in the 19th and 20th century. In the latter half of
25281-583: Was widowed, and his seven sisters unmarried, he would have been needed at home to help his family. Cromwell married Elizabeth Bourchier (1598–1665) on 22 August 1620 at St Giles-without-Cripplegate , Fore Street, London. Elizabeth's father, Sir James Bourchier, was a London leather-merchant who owned extensive lands in Essex and had strong connections with Puritan gentry families there. The marriage brought Cromwell into contact with Oliver St John and leading members of London's merchant community, and behind them
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