CHATTERIS, a small town, a parish, and a sub-district, in the district of North Witchford, Cambridge. The town stands on the west border of the isle of Ely, near the Cambridge and Wisbeach railway, 10 ½ miles NNE of St. Ives; and has a station on the railway, a post-office under March, a banking-office, two chief inns, and a weekly market on Friday. It was known at Domesday as Ceterig or Caterig; and has ever since possessed some local importance; but was not made a market-town till 1834. A Benedictine nunnery was founded at it, in 980, by Alfwen, niece of King Edgar; annexed, in the time of Henry I., to the church of Ely; and given, at the dissolution, to the Clintons. An ancient manor-house now stands on the nunnery’s site. The parish comprises 15,090 acres. Real property, £37,460. Pop., 4,731. Houses, 1,070. Much of the land is fenny; much has been highly improved; part is common; and 284 acres are devoted to the poor. A hermitage, the burial-place of St. Hunna, was at Hunny farm. British relics were found, in 1757, in a barrow, and many Roman coins have been ploughed up. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely. Value, £1,500. Patron, W. Hawkins, Esq. The church is a handsome structure with a square tower. There are seven chapels for Independents, Baptists, Methodists, and Quakers.—The sub-district contains two parishes and parts of two others. Acres, 33,093. Pop., 8,222. Houses, 1,790.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
