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Sawston Sawston is a large village in Cambridgeshire in England, situated on the River Cam seven miles south of Cambridge. It is the largest village in the county with a population of 7,150 (Census 2001). Sawston Hall is a Tudor Manor House rebuilt in the 16th century. Historically it was owned by the Huddleston family, a prominent Catholic family in England. Queen Mary I of England spent a night there before she was queen because she hiding from John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, a Protestant nobleman. John Huddleston disguised her out of Sawston Hall as a dairy maid and Northumberland's supporters burned Sawston Hall when they could not find Mary. The hall was rebuilt after Mary's coronation, in fact the new Monarch donated some of the rubble from the ruined Cambridge castle for the rebuilding. It is assumed that only a ruined portion of the castle was donated as most of Sawston Hall is brick built. Sawston Hall sits adjacent to the, presumably earlier, Norman styled St. Mary's church. Prehistory Although the current village of Sawston has only existed as anything more than a hamlet for 400 to 600 years, there is evidence for a settlement in the vicinity dating back to the early Bronze age almost 5000 years ago. It is also worth noting that the northern high-ground in Sawston would have been the only vantage point from which to view the ancient chalk figures discovered in the Wandlebury section of the Gog-Magog hills. Geology The underground structure of Sawston is the same as that of the region - permeable chalk and impermiable clay. The low lying nature of the village is indicative of a former flood plain which still tends towards the moist, although comparatively recent dredging of the local ditches and rivers has alleviated the general flooding problem. The chalky nature of the local geology provides for a clean, if hard, water supply as it's drawn from artesian wells in the area. The chalk and clay in the area contains a large quantity of flint that often finds its way into older local construction. While some larger industries and sites in the area draw their water supplies directly from bore holes in the chalk, there have been problems with toxic chemicals and waste being discharged into the ground water, necessitating filters on the supply to protect against an outbreak of poisoning and Cryptosporidiosis. Local Industry For the last couple of hundred years, the two principle industries in Sawston's evirons have been Paper & Printing and Leather. The original paper mill in Sawston is on the current Spicers site, named after the family who owned the mill in the last century. This complex is located at the north-west corner of the parish. There are two sites in Sawston which support or have formerly supported Tanning facilities. The site south of the village centre and backing onto the grounds of the Sawston manor house - Sawston hall - is the Hutchins and Harding site. The other site is on the southern border of the village, crossing over into neighbouring Pampisford, the Eastern Counties Leather site which has now been mostly converted into a general industrial estate. These industries were introduced into Sawston to take advantage of the clean water supply. Examination reveals that both sites are located on bore holes or streams. See also External Links
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