Editing Grantchester

{{Short description|Village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England}}
{{other uses}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name = Grantchester
| country = England
| region = East of England
| os_grid_reference = TL432555
| coordinates = {{coord|52.179|0.095|display=inline,title}}
| post_town = CAMBRIDGE
| postcode_area = CB
| postcode_district = CB3
| dial_code = 01223
| shire_county = [[Cambridgeshire]]
| shire_district = [[South Cambridgeshire]]
| static_image_name = Banks of the Cam at Grantchester.jpg
| static_image_caption = The banks of the [[River Cam]] at Grantchester (May 2008)
| population = 540
| population_ref = (2011 Census)
| constituency_westminster = [[South Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)|South Cambridgeshire]]
}}

'''Grantchester''' ({{IPAc-en|uk|ˈ|ɡ|r|ɑː|n|tʃ|ɪ|s|t|ər}}) is a village and civil parish on the [[River Cam]] or [[Granta (river)|Granta]] in [[South Cambridgeshire]], England. It lies about {{convert|2|mi|0|spell=in}} south of [[Cambridge]].

==Name==
The village of Grantchester is listed in the 1086 [[Domesday Book]] as ''Grantesete'' and ''Grauntsethe''.<ref name="Domesday">{{cite web|title=Open Domesday: Grantchester|url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SU8604/chichester/|access-date=28 February 2023}}</ref> Before, it is also mentioned briefly in book IV, chapter 19 of [[Bede]]'s ''[[Ecclesiastical History of the English People]]''. [[John de Grauntsete]], a lawyer who had a successful career as a judge in Ireland, was born in Grantchester, {{circa|lk=no|1270}}, and took his surname from his birthplace. The present name derives from the common [[Old English]] [[suffix]] ''[[wikt:ceaster|-ceaster]]'' (variously developed as "-cester", "-caster", and -"chester"), used in names of forts or fortified cities throughout [[England]].

Grantchester is sometimes identified as the {{nowrap|Cair Grauth}}<ref name=mommy>[[Nennius]] ({{abbr|attrib.|Traditional attribution}}). [[Theodor Mommsen]] ({{abbr|ed.|Editor}}). [[s:la:Historia Brittonum#VI. CIVITATES BRITANNIAE|''Historia Brittonum'', VI.]] Composed after AD&nbsp;830. {{in lang|la}} Hosted at [[s:la:Main Page|Latin Wikisource]].</ref> ("Fort [[Granta (river)|Granta]]") listed in the ''[[Historia Brittonum|History of the Britons]]'' among the 28 [[civitas|cities]] of [[Sub-Roman Britain|Britain]],<ref name=nashford>Ford, David Nash. "[http://www.britannia.com/history/ebk/articles/nenniuscities.html The 28 Cities of Britain] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415120312/http://www.britannia.com/history/ebk/articles/nenniuscities.html |date=15 April 2016 }}" at Britannia. 2000.</ref> but the [[Roman Britain|Roman]] [[Duroliponte]] and subsequent major [[Britons (Celtic people)|British]] and [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] settlements in the area were at [[Castle Hill, Cambridge|Castle Hill]] in [[Cambridge]], whose [[Old English]] name was Grantabrycge. The confusion arises from the lower stretches of the Granta having been renamed [[River Cam|the Cam]] after the city.

==Overview==
Grantchester is said to have the world's highest concentration of [[Nobel Prize]] winners, most of these presumably being current or retired academics from the nearby [[University of Cambridge]].<ref name="Cambridge News">{{cite news|title=Nine things you didn't know about Grantchester|url=http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/things-didn-t-know-Grantchester/story-23121959-detail/story.html|access-date=20 December 2015|work=Cambridge News|date=13 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913222711/http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/things-didn-t-know-Grantchester/story-23121959-detail/story.html|archive-date=13 September 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
Students and tourists often travel from Cambridge by [[punt (boat)|punt]] to picnic in the meadows or take tea at [[The Orchard (tea room)|The Orchard]]. In 1897, a group of Cambridge students persuaded the owner of Orchard House to serve them tea in its apple orchard, and this became a regular practice.<ref name=Kelly>{{cite news|last1=Kelly|first1=Tony|title=Yes Rupert, there's still honey for tea...|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/yes-rupert-theres-still-honey-for-tea-1244687.html|access-date=20 December 2015|work=The Independent|date=10 August 1997}}</ref> Lodgers at Orchard House included the [[Edwardian literature|Edwardian poet]] [[Rupert Brooke]], who later moved next door to the [[Old Vicarage, Grantchester|Old Vicarage]]. In 1912, while in [[Berlin]], he wrote a poem of [[homesickness]] entitled "[[The Old Vicarage, Grantchester]]". The house is currently the home of the Cambridge scientist [[Mary Archer]] and her husband, [[Jeffrey Archer]].<ref name=Kelly/> Grantchester has been the home since 1969 of the sculptor [[Helaine Blumenfeld]] OBE.<ref name=Wright>{{cite news|last1=Wright|first1=Karen|title=Helaine Blumenfeld: 'Art is a commitment to risk, a reflection of life – nothing stays the same'|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/helaine-blumenfeld-art-is-a-commitment-to-risk-a-reflection-of-life-nothing-stays-the-same-7827250.html|access-date=20 December 2015|work=The Independent|date=9 June 2012}}</ref>

The footpath to Cambridge that runs beside [[Grantchester Meadows]]<ref>Cambridge: A Cultural and Literary History Martin Garrett - 2004 -- Page viii 1902669797 "Its propensity to flood has threaded through Cambridge from the pubs in Grantchester to the Ditton Plough, a broad green ribbon of flood plain — Grantchester Meadows, The Iammas Land, the Backs, Jesus Green, Midsummer Common, ... "</ref> is nicknamed the Grantchester Grind.<ref name=Kelly/> ''[[Grantchester Grind]]'' is the title of a 1995 comic novel written by [[Tom Sharpe]].<ref name=Reynolds>{{cite news|last1=Reynolds|first1=Stanley|title=Tom Sharpe obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/06/tom-sharpe-dies|access-date=20 December 2015|work=The Guardian|date=6 June 2013}}</ref> Further upstream is [[Byron's Pool]], named after [[George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron|Lord Byron]], who is said (by Brooke, at least) to have swum there.<ref name=Jordison>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Going swimming with Roger Deakin|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/jul/08/going-swimming-roger-deakin|access-date=20 December 2015|work=The Guardian|date=9 July 2009}}</ref> The pool is now below a modern weir where the [[Bourn Brook, Cambridgeshire|Bourn Brook]] flows into the River Cam. Byron's Pool is a [[Local Nature Reserve]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=0&N=byron&ID=1123|title= Byron's Pool|series=Local Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England|access-date=4 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=lnrIndex&query=REF_CODE%3D%271084814%27 |title=Map of Byron's Pool|series=Local Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England|access-date=4 August 2013}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
Grantchester is the subject of "[[Grantchester Meadows (song)|Grantchester Meadows]]" (composed and performed by [[Roger Waters]]) a song by [[Pink Floyd]], with the village being home to band member [[David Gilmour]].<ref>{{cite news|title=A Pink Floyd spotter's guide to Cambridge|url=http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Pink-Floyd-spotters-guide-Cambridge/story-22364076-detail/story.html|access-date=20 December 2015|work=Cambridge News|date=26 August 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222125050/http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Pink-Floyd-spotters-guide-Cambridge/story-22364076-detail/story.html|archive-date=22 December 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> A few years later, Gilmour also wrote a song about Grantchester Meadows, called "[[Fat Old Sun]]". The village is also the setting for [[James Runcie]]'s sleuth novels ''[[The Grantchester Mysteries]]'', adapted as an [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]] drama titled ''[[Grantchester (TV series)|Grantchester]]'' shown in the UK from autumn 2014<ref>[http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/itv-announces-cast-new-six-part-drama-grantchester] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401032047/http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/itv-announces-cast-new-six-part-drama-grantchester|date=1 April 2014}}</ref> and filmed on location in Grantchester.

The village is the subject of Rupert Brooke's poem [[The Old Vicarage, Grantchester]].

==Grantchester Church==
[[File:St Mary and St Andrew, Grantchester, Cambridgeshire - geograph.org.uk - 334067.jpg|thumb|left|upright|St Mary and St Andrew Church]]
The oldest parts of the [[Church of St Andrew and St Mary, Grantchester|Church of St Andrew and St Mary]] ([[Church of England]]) date from the twelfth century. The [[chancel]] is mid-fourteenth century and the tower is late-fourteenth or early fifteenth century. The porch is sixteenth century. The [[nave]] was extensively restored in 1876–1877. The church is a [[Grade II* listed building]].<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1309436|desc=Church of St Mary and St Andrew|access-date=11 May 2018}}</ref> Rachel Rosborough became vicar in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Elliott|first=Chris|date=20 April 2017|title=The new vicar of Grantchester is a woman - and she won't be trying to solve crimes|work=Cambridge News|url=https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/new-vicar-grantchester-woman-wont-12920123|access-date=15 May 2021}}</ref>

===Graveyard===
The church is surrounded by a graveyard, where the burials include:<ref>{{cite web|title=Interesting People|url=http://church.grantchester.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Interesting-People.pdf|website=Grantchester Church|access-date=11 May 2018}}</ref>
* [[Constantine Walter Benson]] (1909–1982), ornithologist and author
* [[Francis Crawford Burkitt|Francis Burkitt]] (1864–1935), theologian 
* [[Anne Clough]] (1820–1892), the first principal of [[Newnham College, Cambridge]]
* [[Dermot Freyer]] (1883-1970), Irish author and political activist
* {{ill|Irving B. Fritz|de}} (1927–1996), physiologist and endocrinologist
* Sir [[James Gray (zoologist)|James Gray]] (1891–1975), zoologist
* Dame [[Elizabeth Hill (linguist)|Elizabeth Hill]] (1900–1996), academic linguist
* Sir [[Robert Yewdall Jennings]] (1913–2004), President of the [[International Court of Justice]].
* [[Frank Kingdon-Ward]] (1885–1958), botanist and explorer
* Sir [[Desmond Lee (classical scholar)|Desmond Lee]] (1908–1993), classical scholar, headmaster of [[Clifton College]] and [[Winchester College]], President of [[Hughes Hall, Cambridge]].
[[File:Gravestones at Grantchester.jpg|thumb|Grantchester Graveyard]]
* [[J. Rawson Lumby]] (1831–1895), theologian
* [[Arthur Henry Mann]] (1850–1929), organist and composer of hymn tunes
* [[Michael McCrum]] (1924–2005), [[Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge]], Master of [[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge]], and Headmaster of [[Tonbridge School]] and [[Eton College]].
* [[Jean Purdy]] (1945-1985), embryologist and co-founder of the [[Bourn Hall Clinic]] with Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards
* [[George Shaw (academic dress scholar)|G. W. Shaw]] (1928–2006), biologist and expert on academic dress
* [[Robert Stevenson (director)|Robert Stevenson]] (1905–1986), film writer and director
* [[Charles Swainson]] (1820–1887), theologian
* [[David J. Thouless]] (1934–2019), physicist
* [[Robert H. Thouless]] (1894–1984), psychologist and parapsychologist

It also contains the [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission|Commonwealth war graves]] of three British Army soldiers of the [[First World War]] and an [[Royal Air Force|airman]] of the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{cite web |title=GRANTCHESTER (SS. ANDREW AND MARY) CHURCHYARD |url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/search-results/?Cemetery=GRANTCHESTER+(SS.+ANDREW+AND+MARY)+CHURCHYARD |website=www.cwgc.org |access-date=9 November 2020 }}</ref>

==Barrel race==
{{float right clear none|[[File:cmglee Grantchester barrel race.jpg|thumb|A Grantchester barrel race in 2007]]}}
Every year on [[Boxing Day]] (26 December), Grantchester holds an inter-village barrel race which is around 40 minutes long and ends with a hog roast at the Rupert Brooke pub. This tradition dates back to the 1960s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/dec/20/boxing-day-activities#,|title=Where to go bonkers on Boxing Day|work=The Guardian|date=20 December 2009 |access-date=3 November 2014 |last1=Thorpe |first1=Annabelle }}</ref>

==Legends==
An underground passage is said to run from the Old Manor house to [[King's College, Cambridge|King's College]] Chapel {{convert|2|mi|0|spell=in}} away. It was said that a fiddler who offered to follow the passage set off playing his fiddle; the music became fainter and fainter, until it was heard no more and the fiddler was never seen or heard of again.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ash |first=Russell |date=1973 |title=Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain |publisher=Reader's Digest Association Limited |page=235 |isbn=9780340165973 }}</ref> This story is told of many supposed tunnels. On a 17th-century map of Grantchester, one of the fields is called Fiddler's Close.<ref>[http://www.thegreenmangrantchester.co.uk/flash/index-3.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020074926/http://www.thegreenmangrantchester.co.uk/flash/index-3.html|date=20 October 2013}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
Grantchester1.jpg|The Green Man
Grantchester2.jpg|Grantchester Meadows
</gallery>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
Manor Farmhouse, Grantchester.jpg|alt=A large farmhouse with many red-brick chimneys|Manor Farmhouse
GRantchester Meadows Sign.jpg|alt=Road name sign in front of foliage|Grantchester Meadows sign
Grantchester Village Hall.jpg|alt=Small thatched building|Grantchester Village Hall
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Grantchester}}
* [http://www.grantchester.org.uk/ Grantchester village website]
* [http://church.grantchester.org.uk/ Church website]
* [http://www.grantchestercricket.com/ Grantchester Cricket Club]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120110054543/http://www.rbgrantchester.co.uk/ "Rupert Brooke's Grantchester" : the full text of the famous poem, plus a commentary and photographs by two local residents]
* [http://www.theorchardteagarden.co.uk/ The Orchard]
*{{cite web|last1=Colburn|first1=Ben|last2=Ynys-Mon|first2=Mark|title=Grantchester, SS. Andrew & Mary|url=http://www.druidic.org/camchurch/churches/grantchester.htm|website=Cambridgeshire Churches}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Grantchester| ]]
[[Category:Villages in Cambridgeshire]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire]]
[[Category:South Cambridgeshire District]]