Editing Eye, Cambridgeshire

{{distinguish|Eye, Suffolk}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2009}}
{{Infobox UK place
| static_image_name        = Eye parish church 2006-07-31 002web2.jpg
| static_image_caption     = Eye parish church of St.Matthew's
| official_name            = Eye
| country                  = England
| region                   = East of England
| os_grid_reference        = TF2202
| coordinates              = {{coord|52.602|-0.200|display=inline,title}}
| post_town                = Peterborough
| postcode_area            = PE
| postcode_district        = PE6
| dial_code                =
| lieutenancy_england      = [[Cambridgeshire]]
| constituency_westminster = [[Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)|Peterborough]]
| unitary_england          = [[City of Peterborough|Peterborough]]
| hide_services            = Yes
| population               = 
}}

'''Eye''' is a village in the [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]] area of [[City of Peterborough|Peterborough]], in the ceremonial county of [[Cambridgeshire]], England. The village is {{convert|3.8|mi|km|sigfig=1}} west of [[Thorney, Cambridgeshire|Thorney]] and {{convert|4.5|mi|km|sigfig=1}} south of [[Crowland]], both known for their historic [[abbey]]s. The hamlet of [[Eye Green]] is immediately to the north, separated by the [[A47 road|A47 trunk road]].

==History==
According to ''A Dictionary of British Place Names'', Eye derives from the [[Old English]] ''ēg'', meaning a place at "the island or well-watered land, or dry ground in marsh". In the 10th century, this particular Eye was spelt "Ege".<ref>Mills, Anthony David (2003); ''A Dictionary of British Place Names'', [[Oxford University Press]], revised edition (2011), p.181. {{ISBN|019960908X}}</ref>

There has been a chapel at Eye since at least 1543. The present church, dedicated to [[Matthew the Apostle|Saint Matthew]], was built by [[George Basevi]] in 1846. The {{convert|125|ft|m|sigfig=1}} [[broach spire]] added 10 years later was removed for safety reasons in the early 1980s and the steeple now has a [[saddleback roof]].{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} Adjoining the southeast corner of the churchyard on Back Lane stands the former village fire station dating from 1826, when it housed a [[Merryweather & Sons|Merryweather]] [[fire engine]]. Closed after 1945, it was repaired by the parish council in 2011.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

Eye Cornmill was an eight-storey [[windmill]] with eight sails {{convert|75|yards|m|sigfig=1}} from the church. The village previously had a brick pit (a quarry for clay for making bricks). Northolme in Crowland Road was the site of the brickworks social club. When this closed, the buildings and pit were taken over by the [[British Sub-Aqua Club]] and run as a national dive site. The buildings were later demolished and it is now a [[Eye Green Nature Reserve|nature reserve]].{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

[[Eye Green railway station]] (originally named Eye) on the [[Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway]] line between Peterborough and [[Wisbech]] was opened in 1866 and closed in 1957.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eyepeterborough.co.uk/heritage/railway/|title=Eye Green Railway Station and the M&GN|website=Personal web site for Eye village|access-date=11 January 2019}}</ref> Eye war memorial, carved in granite, was erected at Crowland Road cemetery in 1920. It is dedicated to forty-one killed in the [[First World War]], with fourteen [[Second World War]] deaths added later. The memorial was Grade II-[[Listed building|listed]] in 2016.<ref>{{NHLE|num= 1432921|desc=Eye War Memorial|access-date= 12 January 2019}}</ref>

Eye was part of the [[Soke of Peterborough]] in [[Northamptonshire]] until 1965, when it became part of the short-lived county of [[Huntingdon and Peterborough]]. From 1974, it has formed part of the City of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. The Eye, Thorney and Newborough ward, comprising {{convert|13,307|ha|acres|sigfig=1}} or {{convert|133|km2|mi2|sigfig=1}}, was formed in 2016; it elects three councillors.<ref>[https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1858/contents/made Peterborough (Electoral Changes) Order 2015] (SI 2015/1858)</ref>

The three-mile £7m A47 Eye [[Bypass route|bypass]] opened in October 1991. In recent decades Eye has seen expansion due to the growing demand for property seen throughout the UK. However, this generated much resistance from residents as a result of the rapid rate of expansion. Between the years of 2001-2011 the population grew from under 3,900 to over 4,400.

==Community facilities==
Local facilities include a GP surgery, a dentist's surgery, a library, a community centre, a care home, a household recycling centre, a cemetery and a skate park. There are shops and restaurants in the village. There is a [[Christian school#United Kingdom|Church of England]] primary school on Eyebury Road.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Eye, Cambridgeshire}}
*[http://www.eyepeterborough.co.uk Eye village website]
*[http://www.eyeparish.org.uk Eye Parish Council]
*[http://www.eyepeterborough.co.uk/directory/82/manor-farm-community-centre "Manor Farm Community Centre"], Eye Community Association

{{Peterborough}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Cambridgeshire]]
[[Category:Geography of Peterborough]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire]]