By Tim Lambert
Early Huntingdon
Huntingdon began as an Anglo-Saxon and Danish settlement. Its name was probably Huntandun, which means the hill (dun) belonging to Hunta. By the 10th century, it was a small town.
There has been a church in Huntingdon since 973 but All Saints Church was largely rebuilt in the early 17th century.
At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, Huntingdon may have had a population of about 1,700, which was quite large by the standards of the time. The Normans built a motte-and-bailey castle to guard the town.
In 1205, King John granted Huntingdon a charter. In the 14th century, a bridge was built over the River Great Ouse. However, unlike other towns in the Middle Ages, Huntingdon did not grow and became relatively less important.
In 1599, Oliver Cromwell was born in Huntingdon. In 1628, he became the MP for Huntingdon and in 1653 Lord Protector of England. Meanwhile, in 1645, during the Civil War, the Royalists captured Huntingdon, but they were soon forced to withdraw.
In the 18th century, Huntingdon prospered as a stagecoaching town. Huntingdon Town Hall was built in 1745. However, the stagecoaches ended with the coming of the railways.
Modern Huntingdon
In 1801, Huntingdon was still a small town with a population of 2,368. It rose to 4,261 in1901.
The Commemoration Hall was built in 1842. The railway reached Huntingdon in 1850.
The Thinking Soldier statue was erected in 1923. The Cromwell Museum opened in 1962. Huntingdon Library and Archives opened in 2009. A new Fire Station opened in 2023.
In 1951, it was still only 5,282. However, in the late 20th century, it grew much larger. Today, Huntingdon is a thriving market town. In 2025, the population of Huntingdon was 26,000.
