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Hah.

THIS pub is in Chester, Mrs tac's hometown -

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The bridge I drive over every time I go down to the other village was built in 1206.

Our neighbour market town of Godmanchester is a LOT older - The village is on the site of the Roman town of Durovigutum. There is archaeological evidence of Celtic and earlier habitation prior to the establishment of a key Roman town and a Mansio (inn), so the area has probably been continuously occupied for more than 2,000 years. The settlement was at a crossroads of Roman roads Ermine Street, the Via Devana (from Cambridge, between Colchester and Chester) and a military road from Sandy, Bedfordshire. The Roman settlement was sacked by Anglo-Saxons in the third century. In contrast to Huntingdon, archaeological finds have been extensive in the centre of Godmanchester, which has two conservation areas of early recognition, including many timber-framed Tudor houses, the largest being Tudor Farm, dating from 1600 and restored in 1995.

The Roman castra is mentioned in Godmanchester's name, which comes from Anglo-Saxon Godmundceaster, referring to a Roman fortified place or army camp of/belonging to Godmund, a typically Saxon name. The location is likely to have been originally settled due to the gravel beds providing a ford across the River Great Ouse.

The place was listed as Godmundcestre in the Domesday Book of 1086 in the Hundred of Leightonstone in Huntingdonshire.[4] The survey records that there were 26 ploughlands, with capacity for a further 31 and, in addition to the arable land, there were 160 acres (65 hectares) of meadows, 50 acres (20 hectares) of woodland and three water mills, a church and a priest.

The village was the first chartered by King John in 1212, though it had been a market town and royal manor for some years.

In 2003, Godmanchester had a population of about 5,500 in 3,500 homes, with the largest[6] increase in population occurring between 1981 and 1991 (81%) and more modest growth since.
 
As a historian I so need to get up to visit you neck of the woods...
As someone who enjoys your postings here on the forum...I so need to go to your neck of the woods , just say Howdy in person...:D
Andy
 
Andy, the largest civil engineering construction site in UK since the building of the 130 mile around M25 London orbital is the A14 project, now almost finished way ahead of of schedule. Needless to say, altering the landscape like this, in a part of England that has been continuously inhabited for over 6000 years, is going to shw a LOT of archeaology that is new - this is a long post, so I can pull it if it causes upset in any quarters. However, I'd like to point out, that prior the 1776-85, IF you had English ancestors, this is all part of YOUR history, too.

A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon archaeological work - facts and figures
Nearly 250 archaeologists from the UK, Europe and all over the world are working on the archaeology programme
· Around 1.35 square miles (350 hectares) of archaeology is being investigated - equivalent to around 800 small football pitches
· Over 17 miles (28 kilometres) of exploratory trenches were dug before the main excavations even began
· More than 40 separate excavations are to be completed by summer 2018
· Around 25 settlements, dating from prehistoric to medieval periods have been uncovered so far with:
o 40 Roman industrial pottery kilns along Roman roads (one is pictured here)
o 7 prehistoric burial grounds (barrows and cremation cemeteries)
o 8 Iron Age to Roman supply farms, some with wells
o 3 prehistoric henge monuments (ceremonial enclosures)
o 2 post-medieval brick kilns
o 3 Saxon settlement sites, one with royal connections
o 1 deserted medieval village occupied from 8th to 12th century
· Thousands of kilogrammes of artefacts such as pottery (7 tonnes), animal bone (6.5 tonnes), building materials (over 1 tonne) and small finds (over 7,000 in total) are expected to have been uncovered
· Over 140 tonnes (154 imperial tons) of environmental soil samples have been taken – that would fill almost 5 shipping containers
· More than 250,000 individual site records will have been made by the end of the project
· Since starting the project, tens of thousands of person days have been worked on archaeology
· 24 trainee students, graduates and some local non-graduates have been coached and mentored in fieldwork skills on Highways England's archaeology contractor's programmes (MOLA Headland Infrastructure).
· Notable artefacts uncovered so far:
o An ornate Roman jet pendant (late 2nd to 4th century AD) was excavated at Brampton. Depicting the head of Medusa, it is believed to have been a protective amulet. It is thought to have been collected by later Anglo Saxon settlers and passed down through the generations as a special or exotic relic. It is one of only 10 found in the UK.
o A rare Anglo Saxon bone flute of the 5th to 9th century has been found in the Brampton area, giving us an insight into the cultural and musical traditions of the Anglo Saxons.
o A remarkably well preserved Middle Iron Age timber ladder was discovered near Fenstanton, now radiocarbon-dated to 525 – 457 BC. It was used to climb several metres into a pit, so that its owner could collect water or stir liquids with a wooden paddle, which was also discovered there.
o A Neolithic (c. 4,000 – 2,500 BC) flint axe-head is one of the earliest finds from the excavations. Beautifully shaped and polished, the stone was carefully chosen for its shape and colour. It was hard-wearing, so with a wooden handle attachment may have been used to cut down small trees, but it may also have had a ceremonial purpose.
o An Anglo Saxon (c.7th century AD) object decorated with a dot and circle pattern may have been part of a belt-hanger for a woman's domestic tools (a 'chatelaine'). As it is made from deer antler, it could also have been worn as an amulet.
"No previous excavation had taken place in these areas, where only a few cropmarked sites indicated the presence of former settlements, but we now know that extensive, thriving long-lived villages were built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman and Saxon periods.
"The valuable contribution of the A14's excavation programme has also been to unlock major multi-period settlements and populate what had been an empty modern agricultural belt along the A1 west of Brampton with hundreds of people over time."
How the work was carried out
Highways England has and continues to work closely with Cambridgeshire County Council to carry out this important work.
The project started with geophysical surveys in 2009 when the scheme was first being considered and went on to cover an area the size of 800 football pitches.
The project has been made possible due to the work to upgrade the 21-mile stretch of the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon to three lanes in each direction, including a brand new 17-mile bypass south of Huntingdon, with four lanes in each direction between Bar Hill and Girton.
It will also include 34 bridges and main structures, which Highways England promise will add additional capacity, boost the local and national economy and cut up to 20 minutes off journeys.
How you can learn more
There will be opportunity for people locally and further afield to see the archaeology work in action on the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme on Saturday, April 7 2018 between 10am and 5pm.
The open day is a free event, which will include meeting the archaeologists, seeing the artefacts unearthed so far and taking a tour of one of the digs.
Booking for the site tour is essential and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information and to book a place on the tour, visit here.
People not going on the tour will still be able to drop in on the day for displays, talks and activities at the scheme's Brampton site offices on Buckden Road, although they will not be able to go on site.
76516486337
The archaeology team's Time Truck will also visit Tesco Bar Hill on Thursday May, 31 between 10.30am and 4pm for people to drop in and find out more about the archaeology being uncovered along the A14 route.
Younger visitors will also be able to take part in practical craft activities or try their hand at being an archaeologist.
For more information visit here.

cambridgeshirelive
Follow @CambsLive
 
Not only old, I imagine the beer is better too. I've had an opportunity to drink some contraband, aka beer a neighbor smuggled into the states from a handful of European nations, and I was amazed at how good it all was. Was a huge difference than the pinesol we drink here in the PNW. I've read a handful of history books on British ales. Some recipes date back centuries, which is super cool. A lot to be said about a tradition that holds its own for hundreds of years.
 
The oldest one I've been to is The Brick in Roslyn with the English bar and the running water spitoon.

Always a must stop after coming out of the Cascades backpacking. Nothing better after eating freeze dried food for a week.

 
The oldest bar/pub that I have pattonized is Quinten Matsijs in Antwerp.

The building dates from 1565 and has always served as an Inn/bar. Originally named t Gulick, after the many merchants from the County Gulick, nearby Luxemburg, coming to Antwerp to trade. The inn/bar was divided into 2 rooms, one for the guests, the other for their horses. Over time the horses were replaced by mid-century paintings, a 250 year old tonspel, an ancient pipe rack, a rich collection of beer Steins and an old piano which was played by many "virtuosos". 4335069_SMj2Q1ZrUEHZByCLXVwLZEfZ7AiBne03KGVDUXNQFbU.jpg
 
On my way home from a deployment I had an 18 hour layover in England. After a quick S, S and S I took a cab to a nearby town and enjoyed some beverages with some friendly locals. It had a petrified cat on the ceiling which was rumored to be hundreds of years old. Nice group of Brits.
 
On my way home from a deployment I had an 18 hour layover in England. After a quick S, S and S I took a cab to a nearby town and enjoyed some beverages with some friendly locals. It had a petrified cat on the ceiling which was rumored to be hundreds of years old. Nice group of Brits.

That was traditional thing to do many hundreds of years ago - to wall up a cat as you finished off the house, for good luck, so 'twas said.

NOT if you were the cat....
 

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