Hemingford Abbots lies approximately three miles east of Huntingdon and according to the 2011 Census, the population of the village was 635.
There has been a settlement at Hemingford Abbots since Roman times and evidence, including flints and a Roman sarcophagus have been discovered.
During the Anglo Saxon period, Hemingford Abbots and the neighbouring village of Hemingford Abbots were a single estate and it wasn't until the 9th Century, that they were separated and became single estates. In 974, both villages were registered under the manor of Ramsey Abbey.
Hemingford Abbots was listed in the Domesday Book in the Hundred of Toseland under the name Emingeforde. The annual rent paid to the lords of the manors in 1066 was £11.50. The Domesday Book does not detail the population of a place but it records there were 32 households, so probably between 112 and 160 people.
In 1250 the village was listed as having 96 holdings, but numbers fell following the Black Death. The population grew from 306 in 1801 to 564 in 1841, but dropped as many moved to towns and cities over the years, but grew rapidly after World War Two reaching 628 in 1961.
The village is home to a number of medieval buildings; Abbots End, the Manor House, Whiteways, Medlands, Abbots Barn, the White Cottage and Rideaway Cottage, which were all built prior to 1600.
A church is listed in the Domesday entry of 1086, although nothing remains of the building. The church was completely rebuilt at the end of the 13th Century and the tower was added in the late 14th Century and the spire in the 15th Century. The present St Margaret's Church was reconstruction in 18th and 19th Centuries.
Several years ago, the parish council took on a project to find and restore a milestone, which was thought to be around 250 years old. It was located in a ditch and a project was launched to restore it and set it in the ground.
The Turnpike Act of 1767 required milestones to be placed along roads to show the distances along the turnpiked road and the distances to parishes leading from the road. The Hemingford Abbots milestone is an example of the latter, and has a surviving ‘twin’ with the Hemingford Grey milestone situated at the southern end of Gore Tree Road.
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