The History of Huntingdonshire

Here begins a long task to map out the History of Huntingdonshire. You'll have to check back often to see how we are doing as it will not be fast work!

Before the Romans there is very little historical evidence of any settlement around Huntingdon, occasional hut circles, flint tools and other sporadic finds indicate that Celtic peoples did inhabit or at least forayed into the area. What evidence there is is documented in detail in the sections on Prehistoric Huntingdonshire and Ancient Earthworks (See menu on the left). In those times Huntingdonshire was at the boundary of the Catuvellauni based at St Albans in the south and the Coritani, based around the Trent and Nene valleys, so people venturing into Huntingdonshire from either direction would have been really out in the wilds. The upland areas were still predominately densely forested when the Romans arrived and the lowland areas, as we know, were part of the Great Fen and generally underwater for most of the year.

So the name Huntingdonshire appears to describe the county very well, as the place to go hunting although this does not appear to be the origin of the county's name.