Village Focus: Kings Ripton is steeped in history.

The village forms part of the neighbouring parish of Hartford, but at the time of the Domesday Book the area was known for a while as Ripton Regis, a hamlet of Hartford.

The village has also variously been referred to as Riptone, Rippetona, Ryptone Regis, and Kyngesrippton. According to historical records, there were two churches and two mills at one time.

The prefix of 'Kings' has been used to distinguish it from neighbouring Abbots Ripton.

The village has around 80 homes and the most notable of these is The Limes, which is a Grade II listed building which stands opposite the church.

The parish church of St Peter's, which sits in the middle of the village, dates from the 13th Century and the building has undergone much work over the years.

St Peter's Church, in Kings Ripton, dates back to the 13th Century. (Image: HUNTS POST)

Kings Ripton is a quaint village close to Huntingdon. (Image: HUNTS POST)

There was a church on the site at the time of the Norman Conquest though no trace remains of the original building, but it is thought one of the two churches mentioned in the Domesday Survey in 1066, recorded under the manor of Hartford, was in Kings Ripton.

The earliest part of the present church is the south wall of the nave, which is thought to date to the 13th Century, and the north and east walls of the chancel dating from late in the same century.

In the 14th Century, a north aisle was built, the nave walls raised and a clearstory added. The south wall of the chancel was rebuilt early in the 15th Century, and a little later the west tower was built; the porch was built early in the 16th Century. The church was restored around 1851.

An early Quaker leader called James Nayler was buried in the village on October 21, 1660 in the Thomas Parnell's burying-ground. There is also a Quaker burial ground to the rear of Quakers Rest on Ramsey Road.

Kings Ripton still has its traditional red telephone box. (Image: HUNTS POST)