Editing St Ives, Cambridgeshire (section)

===Origin: Slepe and Ivo===
St Ives was founded on the north bank of the wide [[River Great Ouse]] between [[Huntingdon]] and [[Ely, Cambridgeshire|Ely]], probably in the fifth or sixth century CE. There had been some Roman activity in the area, but the settlement that became St Ives originated in Anglo-Saxon times.<ref name = hudson1>Noel Hudson, ''St Ives: Slepe by the Ouse'', St Ives Town Council 1989, ISBN 0 9515298 0 3, page 1</ref> It developed because it was possible to [[Ford (crossing)|ford]] the river there; any more easterly crossing point would not have been practicable. The settlement was originally known as "Slepe", implying a muddy area. At that time and later, the area was virtually one large forest.<ref name = hudson1/>

Little and Werba, writing in 1974, stated that "The site of the ford, of which a trace remains at the bottom of Church Street, was well upstream of the present bridge". This point if view is supported by the foundation of a Saxon church at the location of the present All Saints Church, suggesting that this was then the centre of the settlement. Burn-Murdoch, writing in 2009 argues that the straight track that became London Road "leads straight to the river bank and so must have been going to a river crossing of some kind... so the Saxon river crossing was probably either a ford or a ferry" at the location of the present-day bridge... Upstream at Slepe itself the river is deep and narrow with a muddy bottom, making it very difficult to ford..." He continues, "Crossing the river at Slepe [would  have been] only half the battle: you also need to get across the wide expanse of the flood plain. The meadows on the south side of the river still flood regularly and are then impassable for days or weeks afterwards because of the mud left on them..." and there is no evidence of a Saxon causeway there.<ref name = werba1>Bryan Little and Herbert Werba, ''St Ives in Huntingdonshire'', published for the St Ives Borough Council by Adams and Dart, 1974, ISBN 0039001435, page 1</ref><ref name = shaping17>Bob Burn-Murdoch, ''The Shaping of St Ives'', published by the Friends of the Norris Museum, 2009, ISBN 978 0 9525900 9 5, pages 17 to 21</ref>

Whatever the exact location of the ford, Slepe became important as it was the lowest convenient crossing of the River Great Ouse; it was an important waypoint for traffic between the Eastern Counties and London. River traffic too developed, although navigation on the river was difficult until major improvements were made much later, in the 17th century.<ref name = summers45>Dorothy Summers, ''The River Great Ouse: the History of a River Navigation'', David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1973, ISBN 0 7153 5971 1, pages 45 to 49, 88 and 117</ref>

The legend of [[Ivo of Ramsey|St Ivo]] relates that Slepe received a surprising visitation about a century after it had been established. One morning a tall, dignified man carrying a bishop's crozier and accompanied by two companions, forded the river Great Ouse and announced to the villagers that his name was Ivo, and that he was a missionary. He added that he had been ordered by God to travel to Slepe where he was to make his home and preach the gospel in the surrounding area.<ref name = hudson1/> The eleventh-century chronicler [[Goscelin|Goscelin of St Bertin]] wrote that Ivo was a Persian archbishop, and this claim has been repeated in later reports. Ivo remained at Slepe and eventually died there in the seventh century.<ref name = goscelin>Goscelin's Life of Ivo is printed in Jean Bolland, ''Acta Sanctorum'' (in Latin)</ref><ref name = biog324>William Smith and Henry Weiss (editors), ''Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature Sects and Doctrines During the First Eight Centuries'', volume 3, John Murray, London, 1888, pages 324 and 325</ref> 

In the tenth century, [[Ramsey Abbey]] was founded and in 986, the Manor of Slepe, which by that time was an extensive property, was bequeathed to the Abbey. In the year 1001 CE, a peasant ploughing a field discovered a stone coffin containing a complete human skeleton. It was taken back to the church at Slepe, and declared by the Abbot [[Eadnoth the Younger|Eadnoth]], to be the remains of Ivo. At the time it was a lucrative matter for an Abbey to possess the bones of a saint, as wealthy pilgrims were attracted to the location. The relics were claimed to have healing properties. The editors of the Dictionary of Christian Biography describe the legend of Ivo as utterly improbable, "and the monks of Ramsey must be held responsible for the legend. Their abbey had been newly built and needed relics; a consecrated spot was wanted for a daughter-house [at Slepe]".<ref name = biog324/>

Ivo was a Cornish saint. Suggestions of a Persian link came about when Withman, Abbot of Ramsey, heard in the [[Holy Land]] of a Persian bishop named Ivo; subsequently the link to the Fenland Ivo was written down by Goscelin of St Bertin. The tradition is completely spurious.<ref name = eadnoth>Cyil Hart (editor), ''Eadnoth I of Ramsey and Dorchester'', in ''The Danelaw'', Hambledon Press, London, 1992, ISBN 1-85285-044-2, pages 613–23, originally published in ''Proceedings of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society'', page 56, 1964</ref> There is a seaside town in Cornwall named [[St Ives, Cornwall|St Ives]]. That name derives from a holy woman named [[Ia of Cornwall]] and has no connection with the Cambridgeshire town's name.<ref name = cornwall>Gilbert Hunter Doble, ''The Saints of Cornwall'', published by the Dean and Chapter of Truro, 1960, pages 89–94</ref> 

Nevertheless, Slepe became an important destination for pilgrims, and in time the name used for the settlement became "Saint Ives". The presence of the remains gave Slepe considerable prestige. Ramsey Abbey had been established in AD974 with a charter from [[Edgar, King of England|King Edgar]], and the community at Slepe was made subordinate to Ramsey Abbey. The significance of Ivo's remains meant that the community at Slepe became referred to as St Ives. About 1001 CE Abbot Eadnoth had Ivo's remains moved to Ramsey, but by that time the name St Ives had become the usual name for the town that had originated as Slepe.<ref name = werba2>Little and Werba, page 2</ref><ref name = page>"Parishes: St Ives", in ''A History of the County of Huntingdon: Volume 2'', ed. William Page, Granville Proby, S Inskip Ladds (London, 1932), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hunts/vol2/pp210-223 [accessed 9 May 2025]</ref>