These ‘sister’ towns have
distinctive Roman origins.
Godmanchester started
out as a settlement on a crucial crossroads - the
Via Devana ran from Colchester to Chester while
Ermine Street linked London with York.
The town
became one of England’s earliest boroughs and was
granted a charter in 1213.
Today it forms part of
Huntingdon and the two are separated only by a
stretch of land crossed by footpaths and channels
of the River Great Ouse.
Handsome Huntingdon boasts a beautiful 13th
century road bridge, a number of fine Georgian
properties and a strong association with the
Cromwell family.
Oliver ‘Lord Protector’
Cromwell was born here and was baptised at All
Saints Church, where his father is buried.
The George Hotel was once owned by his grandfather
while his great-grandfather owned Hinchingbrooke
House which was bought by Sir Sydney Montague in
June 1627 and remained in his family until the
1960's.
Oliver Cromwell and the
diarist Samuel Pepys were both pupils at
Huntingdon’s old grammar school, which is now the
Cromwell museum.
