Pampisford is about 7 miles south-east of Cambridge and covers a fairly large area for its 250 households, as a lot of the area is good farming land. It is crossed by the A505 (east-west) and the A11 and M11 (north-south). The parish is bordered by those of Abington, Hinxton, Whittlesford and Sawston. To the south of the A505 is the estate of Pampisford Hall containing a large arboretum.

Village Pumps

One of the most interesting features of the village is the presence of 4 water pumps. These were installed following a particularly bad outbreak of cholera in the 19th century to provide clean supplies for the residents. One of these is still operational.

The Village Signs

The village is proud to possess a pair of beautiful signs, one near the Chequers on Town Lane and the other at the far end of Brewery Road. These were originally erected in celebration of the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977 and were carved and painted by Harry Carter of Swaffham to designs by Olive Mayo. The signs were repaired in the 1990s by David Carter, grandson of Harry, with lettering carved by Brian Saltmarsh, a villager.

The signs have been restored again by David, at the behest of Barry Moore, local farmer. Both signs are now back announcing the village.

The Town Lane sign depicts the well loved Rectory Farm horses Punch and Captain ploughing (this sign is close to Ploughboy Cottage). In the background is the medieval Church of St John the Baptist. Apodemus flavicollis, the Yellow-necked Mouse, is above: this was believed (incorrectly) to be distinct to Pampisford by Sunny Wright, a neighbour of the Church, and it also appears on the Church altar kneeler.

The Pampisford Patch

In 2004 a community project was started to create the Pampisford Patch, to build on the village being a finalist in the ACRE Best Village Competition. As interest grew, many residents created 6-inch square embroideries or appliqué representing a memory, event or impression of life in Pampisford. The end result is a set of 6 wall-hangings with 9 patches apiece.

By 2007 the Patch had won a grant from UK Villages and an award from CPRE as an ACRE Best Village Special Project. It was unveiled at a village event and is on display in the Village Hall - the patches are rotated around periodically. A booklet describing each patch and its story was also created.

A little history

At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 "Pampeswurde" was a small village of 25 inhabitants, but this slowly grew to farm the land. Only the Church retains portions from this period. By the 19th century there was a school and more buildings as other businesses arrived, notably the leather working that spread from Sawston and several breweries (the remaining building of one can be seen in the grounds of the business off the appropriately named Brewery Road).

A branch line from Cambridge, via Shelford, to Colchester existed from 1865 and there was a station for Pampisford close to where Solopark is now on the A11/A505 junction (the embankment is still visible and Solopark is on Station Road). The line closed in 1967. Being so far out of the village proper (it is closer to Abington!) it probably served Pampisford Hall more than the village.

With the breweries came several public houses - The Ploughboy (1871-1965, next to the brewery on Brewery Road), the Railway Inn (1900-1967, opposite the Pampisford Station), the White Horse (1841-2012, at the Sawston end of the village) and the Chequers (16th century- present, at the centre of the village).