Coordinates: 52°13′N 0°10′E / 52.22°N 0.17°E / 52.22; 0.17

Fen Ditton
Thatched cottages on the outskirts of Fen Ditton, from across the River Cam
Fen Ditton  Fen Ditton shown within Cambridgeshire
Population	747 [1]
OS grid reference	TL485602
District	South Cambridgeshire
Shire county	Cambridgeshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CAMBRIDGE
Postcode district	CB5 8
Dialling code	01223
EU Parliament	East of England
Website	http://www.fenditton.org/
List of places: UK • England • Cambridgeshire

Fen Ditton is a village on the northeast edge of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England. The parish covers an area of 5.99 square kilometres (2 sq mi)

Fen Ditton lies on the east bank of the River Cam, on the road from Cambridge to Clayhithe, and close to junction 34 of the A14. The nearest railway station is Cambridge, however Waterbeach station is just north of the village.

History[link]

The site has been occupied since at least neolithic times, and stone tools have been found on the meadows between the village and the river.

The name was first recorded in around 950 as Dittone, meaning "the village by the ditch", derived from the Fleam Dyke, the prehistoric ditch that passed through the village from the river to the edge of the fens at Stow-cum-Quy and can still be seen just to the east of the village. The name was later changed to its present name to distinguish it from Wood Ditton.^[2]

The village's history is closely connected to its position on the River Cam, which provided trade throughout the medieval period and its principal connection to other settlements. A large wharf at the western end of the High Street allowed goods to be delivered for the annual Stourbridge Fair between the 12th and 14th centuries, but trade declined in later centuries. The wharf was still in use in 1845, but the opening of the London-Cambridge railway line removed its commercial purpose and it closed. More recently the river has been used primarily for leisure purposes.^[3]

A papermill was opened in the parish in around 1550, only the second recorded in England. Standing on Coldham's Brook at the junction of modern-day Ditton Walk and Newmarket Road it had fallen out of use by the early 19th century; it is now occupied by offices.^[3]

The first road in the village passed between the river and the church, linking Fen Ditton to Horningsea from at least the start of the 15th century. By the 17th century it had been moved to the east of the church. Neither route to Horningsea is still in evidence, but its route south towards Cambridge is now marked by Ditton Walk and the Wadloes footpath. In the 18th century, a new road was added on the higher ground to link the Newmarket Road to Fen Ditton and Horningsea and now serves as the main route through the village. The railway line from Cambridge to Fordham which opened in 1884, ran through the southern half of the parish.^[3]

The area known as Fen Ditton Fields was part of the parish until it was transferred to Cambridge in 1938. With the expansion of Cambridge, housing was built on the fields in the first half of the 20th century, and it also contains Cambridge's only remaining cemetery that takes new burials. The area is now bounded by the former railway line, Coldham's Common, and Cambridge Airport. Pye Telecommunications, pioneers of the use of radios in taxis, opened their site in this area in 1944 until taken over by Philips in the 1980s.^[3]

Church[link]

The church of St Mary The Virgin

The church of St Mary The Virgin was built in the twelfth century. Made from Barnack stone and rubble with clunch and limestone dressings, it consists of a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, a south porch, and west tower. Some original twelfth century masonry survives, and the tower dates from the thirteenth century.^[4]

Village life[link]

Fen Ditton is often associated with The Bumps, the annual rowing races held on the river alongside the village. This association can be seen in the church's weather vane, which takes the form of a rowing eight, and a service for rowers is held there each year. During the 1940s and 50s a ferry would operate across the river to The Plough public house during May Week until it sank in 1961.^[3]

There are four public houses in Fen Ditton. The Plough runs down to the river at Green End; The Ancient Shepherds on the High Street was built as three cottages in 1540; The King's Head, active since at least 1760, is situated alongside the church; The Blue Lion, rebuilt in 1951, sits where the High Street meets the Horningsea Road. The Blue Lion closed in March 2012 and the site is to be redevelop as housing. Former pubs include The Sluice or Pike and Eel, to the north of the village on the river, and The Harvestman on Green End.^[3]

Children initially attend Fen Ditton Primary school and usually then go on to Bottisham Village College. The village's store and post office closed in 2005.

Fen Ditton is home to both a cricket^[5] and a football team. Both sides play their home games on Fen Ditton Recreation Ground.

Nearby villages[link]

• Horningsea
• Clayhithe
• Waterbeach

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fen Ditton

• The Ancient Shepherds
• Fen Ditton Cricket CLub
• Fen Ditton Parish Council
• 2001 Census summary (PDF)

Saint Vincent de Paul, C.M.
Confessor, Founder
Born	(1581-04-24)24 April 1581 Pouy, Gascony, France
Died	27 September 1660(1660-09-27) (aged 79) Paris, France
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion
Beatified	13 August 1729, Rome by Pope Benedict XIII
Canonized	16 June 1737, Rome by Pope Clement XII
Major shrine	St Vincent de Paul chapel, Rue de Sèvres, Paris, France
Feast	27 September 20 April (Roman Calendar, 1737-1969)
Patronage	charities; horses; hospitals; leprosy; lost articles; Madagascar; prisoners; Richmond, Virginia; spiritual help; Saint Vincent de Paul Societies; Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory; Vincentian Service Corps; volunteers

St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan, New York City

St Vincent de Paul and Church of St Vincent de Paul redirect here. For the church dedicated to him in Paris, see Church of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Paris, and for other uses, see Vincent de Paul (disambiguation).

Vincent de Paul (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660) was a priest of the Catholic Church who became dedicated to serving the poor. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He was canonized in 1737.^[1]

Biography[link]

St. Vincent was born in Pouy, Landes, Gascony, France, to a family of peasant farmers. He had four brothers and two sisters.^[2]

He studied humanities in Dax, France, with the Cordeliers and he graduated in theology at Toulouse. He was ordained in 1600, remaining in Toulouse until he went to Marseille for an inheritance. In 1605, on his way back from Marseille, he was taken captive by Turkish pirates, who brought him to Tunis and sold him into slavery.^[3] After converting his owner to Christianity, Vincent de Paul escaped in 1607.

After returning to France, de Paul went to Rome. There he continued his studies until 1609, when he was sent back to France on a mission to Henry IV of France; he served as chaplain to Marguerite de Valois. For a while he was parish priest at Clichy, but from 1612 he began to serve the Gondi, an illustrious family. He was confessor and spiritual director to Madame de Gondi, and he began giving preaching missions to the peasants on the estate with her aid.^[3]

In 1622 de Paul was appointed chaplain to the galleys, and in this capacity he gave missions for the galley-slaves.^[2]

In 1625 de Paul founded the Congregation of the Mission, a society of missionary priests commonly known as the Vincentians or Lazarists. In 1633, with the assistance of Louise de Marillac he founded the Daughters of Charity.^[1] He also fought against the Jansenist heresy.

De Paul was renowned for his compassion, humility and generosity.^[1] For this reason he is known as the "Great Apostle of Charity".

Veneration[link]

In 1705, the Superior-General of the Lazarists requested that the holy process of de Paul's canonization be instituted. On 13 August 1729, Vincent was declared blessed by Pope Benedict XIII. He was canonized nearly eight years later by Pope Clement XII on 16 June 1737. In 1885, Pope Leo XIII gave him as patron to the Sisters of Charity.^[3] He is also patron to the Brothers of Charity.

St. Vincent's body was exhumed in 1712, 53 years after his death. The written account of an eye witness states that "...(t)he eyes and nose alone showed some decay." However, when the body was exhumed again during the canonization in 1737 it was then discovered to have decomposed due to an underground flood. His bones have been encased in a waxen figure which is displayed in a glass reliquary in the chapel of the headquarters of the Vincentian fathers in Paris. His heart is still incorrupt, and is displayed in a reliquary in the chapel of the motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity in Paris.^[4]

In 1737, his feast day was included in the Roman Calendar on 19 July, because his day of death was already used for the feast of Saints Cosmas and Damian. It was originally to be celebrated with the rank of "Double", which was changed to the equivalent rank of "Third-Class Feast" in 1960.^[5]

St. Vincent is honored with a feast day in the Church of England and the Episcopal Church (USA) on September 27.

One of the feasts celebrated by the French Deist Church of the Theophilanthropy was dedicated to Vincent de Paul.

Pope Paul VI transferred the celebration of his memorial to September 27, Cosmas and Damian having been moved to September 26 to make way for him, as he is now better known in the West.^[6]

The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, a charitable organisation dedicated to the service of the poor, was established by French university students in 1833, led by the Blessed Frederic Ozanam. The Society is today present in 132 countries.^[7]

DePaul University takes its name from Vincent de Paul.

Vincent de Paul in literature & fiction[link]

Pierre Fresnay portrays Vincent de Paul in the 1947 biographical film, Monsieur Vincent.

References[link]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vincent de Paul

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Vincent de Paul

• Life of St. Vincent de Paul by F. A. Forbes
• The life of St. Vincent de Paul (1856)
• Founder Statue in St Peter's Basilica
• Vincent on Leadership: The Hay Project
• "St. Vincent of Paul, Confessor", Butler's Lives of the Saints