Wandlebury Ring

Just a couple of miles to the south-east of Cambridge, on the edge of the low ridge of the Gog Magog Hills, lies Wandlebury Country Park, a great place for a stroll; rich with history and nature. You can travel there by car or public bus service or, like me, you can include it as part of a longer walk. I told you about the walk in the last post so now lets concentrate on Wandlebury.

Wandlebury today is managed by Cambridge Past, Present & Future. There's a picnic field and many woodland walks to enjoy. There's interesting and varied wildlife as well as much to learn about the history of the area.

Like many chalk hills in the area Wandlebury was important to early man. Archaeological finds indicate that the area has been settled since the Neolithic but you don't need to be an archaeologist to see the evidence from the Iron Age (about 400 BC). A hill fort was begun then and the ditch and rampart which was created then can be seen to this day. You can walk around the whole circular excavation which measures about 985m (1,077 yds) in circumference.

At one point a bridge crosses the ditch. This presumably dates from 1685 when a racing stables was built within the ring fort. The attraction for racehorse owners was the same as for early man: namely the open free-draining grassland, ideal for exercising horses and giving Iron Age man a clear view of any enemies who might be approaching. The woodland has only grown up since the area stopped being grazed by sheep.

In the 1730s Francis, 2nd Earl of Godolphin, who was also known as Viscount Rialton, bought the stables and added a large house and gardens. Godolphin was a keen breeder of racehorses and bought a horse known as "The Godolphin Arabian", one of the three horses who are the ancestors of all modern racing thoroughbreds. His most famous descendant today is "Seabiscuit". When the Arabian died in 1753 he was buried at Wandlebury.

Also in the grounds you can have a look at an old granary which was rescued from a farm at Tadlow....

The building was in very poor condition but has been lovingly restored. It would have originally stood upon staddle stones but these had been replaced with brick piers at its original location. The building was raised off the ground to deter rats and mice from entering.

The door was locked but I managed to put my camera through the gap at the top and take a picture of the roof structure. You can see that the beams are held in place with wooden dowels rather than nails or bolts.

As I left I recalled the story which was related in the recent Cambridge Past Present And Future newsletter, which I present in shortened form here:

In the 16th and 17th centuries the area around Wandlebury was open grassland. Students from the University used to come up here to take part in games and sports such as bowling, running, jumping, shooting and wrestling. The University did all they could to prevent this kind of nonsense and issued a decree forbidding "scholars of what degree so ever, to resort or go to any play or game either kept at Gog Magog Hills or elsewhere within five miles radius of Cambridge on pain of a fine of 6s 8d"  (What a contrast to today when universities promote so many sports.)  Luckily for the participants the open nature of the hill meant that any approaching University Proctor could be spotted long before his arrival!  In 1620 games were planned to take place at Wandlebury under the designation of "Olympic Games" but the Vice-Chancellor of the University managed to prevent them taking place. Interestingly the new Olympic Stadium in London has a very similar shape and dimensions to Wandlebury Ring.

Take care.