Today, St Neots is a thriving market town. The modern town incorporates Eynesbury (originally the main settlement and the oldest part of the town) and two areas across the river, Eaton Ford and Eaton Socon (originally separate villages). The town continues to grow rapidly, taking its share of the increasing population in the area near Cambridge. Technology-based industries now operate from some of the town's light industrial estates, and there is a gas-turbine power station at Little Barford on the edge of the town.
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2 History 3 Nearby settlements 4 Related topics 5 External links |
Local geography
St Neots is situated in the valley of the River Great Ouse, partly on the flood plain and partly on slightly higher ground a little further from the water. The Great Ouse is a mature river, once wide and shallow but now controlled by weirs and sluices and restrained in a well-defined channel. Tributaries entering the Ouse in the town are the River Kym, Hen Brook, Duloe Brook, and Colmworth Brook.
St Neots developed at the site of a ford where overland routes converged. This was replaced by a medieval bridge, and today there are two further crossings just outside the town, one to the north and another to the south.
The soil is mainly light, overlying gravel beds, and gravel extraction is one of the local industries. Older disused gravel pits form useful nature reserves and amenity areas at nearby Paxton Pits and at the Wyboston Leisure Park. Away from the river, the higher land is mainly a heavy clay soil with few large settlements. Much of the land is used for arable farming.
St Neots is close to Cambridge, Bedford and Peterborough. The A1 links the town by road with London to the south and Peterborough to the north while the nearby A14 provides access to the Midlands and East Anglia. There is also a good rail service from Peterborough via St Neots to London.
St Neots lies close to the south-western edge of Huntingdonshire. Despite its name, this is not a county but a district council forming part of Cambridgeshire.
History
Although Roman and even pre-Roman finds have been made in and around St Neots, there was no significant settlement until Saxon times. Early developments were in Eynesbury, Eaton Socon and Eaton Ford.
The Normans rebuilt the Priory near the river and the town of St Neots grew up against its southern wall.
Main article: History of St Neots
Nearby settlements
Related topics
External links