Tourism

There has been evidence of a settlement existing in Soham since the Stone Age but the documented history goes back to the year 630 AD when St. Felix 'The Apostle of the East Angles' is said to have founded an Abbey here. St. Felix's Abbey pre-dates the building of Eltheldreda's Convent/Monastery at Ely by 43 years and was the first centre of Latin Christianity in the whole of Cambridgeshire. A cemetery of the pre-Saxon period has been found at Soham, and the history of this place is well authenticated from then through Norman and Medieval times.

Soham became a prosperous port and trade centre during this period. For many centuries the route to Ely was by boat across Soham Mere and over the Fens until windmills were introduced to drain the fens by lifting the water to maintain levels. Some of these windmills had been in existence since the early 18th century and must have presented an inspiring view. With the arrival of the steam pumping engines in the late 19th century, the Mere was finally drained completely and the reclaimed land used for farming. 

The town also has to its credit three unique Commons as well as Horse Fens and Charity Land which are all derived from strip farming methods and land rights that go back to the medieval period. The Commons are still protected by law and not allowed to have developments built on them. They are not known to exist, in quite the same way as they do in Soham, anywhere else in the country. 

Soham has a very long, rich and varied history which has been much ignored by tourists and overshadowed by the more predominant towns and cities in the area such as Ely, Newmarket, Bury St. Edmunds and Cambridge. Soham has a much undiscovered legacy of social history and a strong community spirit, this speaks for itself if you take a look at some of the people who have either been born, married, resided or died here:-

• St. Felix 'The Apostle of the East Angles' is said to have founded an Abbey at Soham in 630 AD. St. Felix's Abbey pre-dates the building of Eltheldreda's Convent/Monastery at Ely by 43 years and was the first centre of Latin Christianity in the whole of Cambridgeshire.

• A Saxon nobleman called Luttingus built a Cathedral and Palace at Soham, circa 900 AD, way before the one at Ely was constructed. These were situated on the site of the present day Church of St Andrew, and adjacent land.

• Sir Thomas Chichely & Sir Jonas Moore established the Commons in 1664 AD which still exist uniquely in Soham to this day.

• Andrew Fuller first preached in Soham as a Baptist Pastor in 1775 AD, he later he became close friends with William Carey and helped him in his cause for foreign missions. He is still relatively unknown, being greatly overshadowed by the more famous George Whitefield and the Wesley Brothers who also ministered at the time, but is still affectionately called 'The English Baptist Divine'.

• Olaudah Equiano, the African slave who gained his freedom and became an activist for the abolition of slavery in the late 18th Century, married Susannah Cullen at St. Andrew's Church, Soham and had two daughters who were both born and baptised here. Slavery was finally abolished in England, 10 years after his death in 1807.

• William Case Morris who made his mark many miles away in South America, founding a network of children's homes across Argentina, was born in Soham, he later returned a poor elderly man where he died in 1932.

• Soham was saved from certain destruction when a train carrying bombs for the D-day advance caught fire at Soham Station in the early hours of 2nd June 1944. The town was saved by the uncoupling of the burning wagon which took up valuable escape time. The ensuing explosion, which occurred as the train pulled out of the station killed fireman James Nighthall and signalman Frank Bridges instantly while the driver Benjamin Gimbert and guard Herbert Clarke miraculously survived, being blown clear. A cargo of four hundred tons of bombs and the town of Soham remained intact due to the heroic actions of those four men, Gimbert and Nighthall were both awarded the George Medal, Nighthall posthumously.

Soham Millennium Walks & Art Trail	St. Andrew's Church	Downfields Windmill

Amongst the attractions to be found in present day Soham are:- St. Andrew's Church, Downfields Windmill & Northfields Windmill, The Steelyard Weighing Machine (one of only two remaining in the country), one of the best Village Colleges in Cambridgeshire, the well equipped Ross Peers Sports Centre with a full size championship bowling arena, some of the best angling in the country, Soham Millennium Walks & Art Trail which forms part of over fifty miles of pubic rights of way, horse riding and pony trekking facilities, an annual Carnival & Heavy Horse Show, an annual Pumpkin Fair to name but a few.

Soham is situated only a stones throw away from Wicken Fen (Britain's Oldest Nature Reserve), Ely Cathedral (The Ship of the Fens), Newmarket (The Home of British Horseracing), Mildenhall (RAF Mildenhall Airshow) and the City of Cambridge (World Famous Universities).

The present day small town is the centre of a prosperous farming and urban community. It has all the modern services and amenities and a very active and progressive urban life. Although it stands in a low-lying countryside, devoid of the scenic contrasts of hills and valleys, its far horizons and vast sky-scape of ever changing patterns and tints endow this fenland with distinctive charm.

Soham Town Guide
Adobe Acrobat .pdf Format - 286Kb

Visit the Award Winning Soham On-Line Community Website to find out more about the history of Soham

For more information about tourism in the Soham area please contact either:-

Soham Museum Project

P.O. Box 21, The Pavilion, Fountain Lane, Soham, Cambridgeshire, CB7 5PL

Tel: 01353 723472

Fax: 01353 723472

Website: www.soham.org.uk/history/

E-Mail:

Soham Library

Clay Street, Soham, Cambridgeshire, CB7 5HJ

Tel: 01353 720469

Fax: 01353 624517

E-Mail: