Ramsey
Ramsey maps (2 available)
Map of Cambridgeshire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of Cambridgeshire
Personalised maps
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Ramsey books (10 available)
- 5 photos on Ramsey appear in 2 Frith books - View photos of Ramsey
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Ramsey and Cambridgeshire
Ramsey memories
Read and share memories of Ramsey and Cambridgeshire inspired by Frith photos
Going to school in the Abbey
I was lucky enough to pass the 11+ and attend the Ramsey Abbey Grammar School,
What a picturesque place to be educated, although 11 year old children did not necessarily appreciate it. Going into the main building always seemed to make one stand up straighter and keep voices quieter (oh for such an atmosphere in modern schools!!). All teachers wore their black gowns and on speech days and other special days most wore their graduation gowns, often trimmed with fur.
Contributed by Frances Marshallsay
Cambridgeshire memories
Going to school in the Abbey
I was lucky enough to pass the 11+ and attend the Ramsey Abbey Grammar School,
What a picturesque place to be educated, although 11 year old children did not necessarily appreciate it. Going into the main building always seemed to make one stand up straighter and keep voices quieter (oh for such an atmosphere in modern schools!!). All teachers wore their black gowns and on speech days and other special days most wore their graduation gowns, often trimmed with fur.
A memory of Ramsey contributed by Frances Marshallsay
Evacuation to Abbots Ripton 1939
My father, Gerald Blockley, originally from Derby, had just completed a degree in History from Unversity College, London and was appointed to teach at Bruce Grove School in Tottenham in 1939. He was evacuated with a lot of the children to Abbots Ripton in the autumn of 1939. He managed to find lodgings for all the children but none for himself, so the owner of the Manor House took pity on him and took him in to stay with him. It was a particularly bad winter with a lot of snow and they all used to meet up at the village pub. He had very happy memories of his time there. He volunteered to join the army from there.
A memory of Abbots Ripton contributed by vivienne charrett
David and Julie Smith lived in Abbots Ripton 1987-1999.
walky talkys enabling the posse to catch him hidding in a storm drain very wet and cold and very frightend.
Hopefully this ended ...read more here
A memory of Abbots Ripton contributed by David Smith
Extracts From Ramsey & Cambridgeshire books
The Horse and Gate pub (left) has been redeveloped into shops, the Lion Hotel (right) is now flats, and parking is only allowed on the left-hand side of the street. The one constant is the bank, now NatWest, at the junction of Great Whyte and the High Street, built over the Bury Brook.
An extract from from"Cambridgeshire Living Memories".
Ramsey attained early importance with the foundation of its abbey in 969. It survived for around five hundred years until Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. These days, Ramsey is one of the smallest towns in England to have its own mayor, and all that remains of the abbey is one gatehouse.
An extract from from"Cambridgeshire Photographic Memories".
In the middle of Great Whyte stands the 'dummy clock'. Erected by public subscription in memory of Edward Fellowes, first Baron de Ramsey, it has recently been completely refurbished. Few people realise that the culverted Bury Brook runs under the Great Whyte, as the Gas Board recently discovered by accidentally drilling through the roof!
An extract from from"Cambridgeshire Living Memories".
Up until just over a hundred years ago, a watercourse, or lode, ran down the centre of this street. Cut from the Old Nene river around two miles away, its purpose was to allow access to boats supplying goods to the town and abbey.
An extract from from"Cambridgeshire Photographic Memories".
Ramsey in the 1950s was a thriving Fenland town, but it has now declined. Barclays Bank (right) still stands on the corner of Little Whyte, but the other traders have all gone. The last to go was Freeman & Sons, a tobacconist and newsagent's (left), which is now a card shop.
An extract from from"Cambridgeshire Living Memories".