What will you discover in millions of Cambridgeshire family history records?

By the 6th century, Cambridgeshire was established by the Angles. The county's unity was broken by Danish invasions in the 9th and 11th centuries and only became settled again after the Norman conquest. 

Historically, Cambridgeshire, like much of the East of England, was mainly agricultural. Over 90 mills, multiple fisheries and wheat, malt and honey are all mentioned there in the Domesday Survey. While the wool industry flourished in the 14th century, the Black Death of 1349 and the War of the Roses took their toll. By the following century, many of the county’s towns were impoverished. Cambridgeshire’s economy continued to see peaks and troughs in the generations that followed, including the agricultural depression in the 19th century. 

In more recent history, the region’s flat terrain has proved suitable for several Royal Air Force bases. While it remains a major agricultural area, today, Cambridgeshire has a diverse economy. A cluster of technology businesses has developed in the Silicon Fen region. 

Since 1209 when it was first founded, the University of Cambridge has continued to grow. Today, it’s one of the oldest and wealthiest universities in the world. 

Psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd, the thermos flask and theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking are all closely linked to Cambridgeshire. 

Was your relative at home in Cambridgeshire’s fenlands? Or did they spend their life in academia frequenting the colleges, libraries and grounds of the University of Cambridge?