Parish History

Parish History

The Offords is the name given to the two villages of Offord Cluny and Offord D’Arcy, situated on the east bank of the River Great Ouse between Saint Neots and Huntingdon in west Cambridgeshire. The Offords were both recorded in the Domesday Book as ‘Upeforde’ under two different landowners, which suggests they were one village at that time. By the 13th Century they had evolved into two distinct settlements, and remained so until the proximity and resulting close co-operation of the two villages lead to their merger in 2010.In 2008 the Parish Councils merged, and in 2010 the Huntingdon (Parishes) Order 2009 officially created the new Parish of ‘Offord Cluny and Offord D’Arcy’.

The name ‘Offord’ originates from the name found in the Domesday Book ‘Upeforde’, which in turn is believed to be derived from the Old English pre 7th Century “uppe”, up (stream), and “ford”, ford. The name ‘Cluny’ comes from Cluny Abbey in the Bourgogne region of France, which were granted a manor in Offord by Arnulf de Hesding some time before 1086. The name ‘D’Arcy’ is first mentioned in records when, in 1279 “William de Broughton was holding a manor, with a common fishery, in Offord Darcy of the Abbot of Ramsey”.

Source :Wikipedia