page_title: Over, Cambridgeshire
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Over, Cambridgeshire / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Signpost in Over, Cambridgeshire made by Fred Cave
context_page_description: Over is a large village near the River Great Ouse in the English county of Cambridgeshire, just east of the Prime Meridian.
  The parish covers an area of approximately 2,535 acres. It is ten miles east of the town of Huntingdon and is also ten miles northwest from the city of Cambridge.
  Over contains the basic village facilities, including a primary school, shop, one public house and St. Mary's Church. In recent years, the village has expanded rapidly, with the inclusion of several housing estates, a community and conference centre and modern sporting facilities. An Over day centre was set up in 1989 by Dr. Pamela Cressey. The Over Community Centre was set up with National Lottery funding of almost £1 million in 1999.
  Over is mentioned in the poem "The Old Vicarage, Grantchester", by Rupert Brooke.
context_section_description: By 1628 the fens and meres to the north of the settlement were enclosed, as was the rest of the village land by 1837.
  Originally, there were two distinct settlements. One was at Church End around St Mary's Parish Church, the other at Over End – the south eastern part of the village around West street
  When it comes to buildings, Over is a village full of contrast both in terms of age and designs. Although the exact date is unknown, a row of old thatched cottages on the north side of the High Street were burned to the ground during a fire started by an arsonist. These were replaced by the large Victorian houses which feature balconies to the front.
  Much of the antiquated property in the village is Victorian, as the majority of the older clunch and wattle cottages have been demolished.
  The influence of the Dutch who, under the leadership of the engineer Vermuyden, came to drain the Fens, can be seen in several of Over's older houses – The Old Black Horse in the High Street and the Ivy House in Fen End are the most obvious, with their rounded end-walls and angled brick-ties.
  The town hall, in the High Street opposite Overcote Road, has the date MDCCCXLIX (1849) carved over the door.
  Apart from the parish church, the oldest remaining structure in Over now is believed to be the wall running down Fen End from the Willingham Road corner. The small patch of wall, now incorporated into newer brickwork, was believed by the late Ernie Papworth to have stood for over 500 years.
caption: Signpost in Over
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