Yelling

History

Yelling has had a variety of spellings recorded through its history, including Gellinge (11th century), Gylling (12th–15th century) and Illyng (16th century). The name is thought to be derived from the manorial family Gill or Gell. The village was listed as Gelinge, Gellinge and Ghellinge in the Domesday Book in the Hundred of Toseland in Huntingdonshire. In 1086 there were two manors at Yelling and 25 households.

In A History of the County of Huntingdon: Vol 2, published in 1932, the village is noted for its 17th-century houses and cottages. Many of these are found on the High Street and include The Old Forge and the double-pile plan Church Farmhouse, built of local red brick.

Government

For Yelling the highest tier of local government is Cambridgeshire County Council. Yelling is part of the electoral division of Buckden, Gransden and The Offords and is represented on the county council by one councillor. The second tier of local government is Huntingdonshire District Council, a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire. Yelling is a part of the district ward of Gransden and The Offords and is represented on the district council by two councillors. As a civil parish, Yelling has a parish council.

Yelling was in the historic and administrative county of Huntingdonshire until 1965. From 1965, the village was part of the new administrative county of Huntingdon and Peterborough. Then in 1974, following the Local Government Act 1972, Yelling became a part of the county of Cambridgeshire.

At Westminster Yelling is in the parliamentary constituency of Huntingdon, and has been represented since 2001 in the House of Commons by Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative). For the European Parliament Yelling is part of the East of England constituency.

Population

In the period 1801 to 1901 the population of Yelling was recorded every ten years by the UK census. During this time the population was in the range of 242 (the lowest was in 1901) and 414 (the highest was in 1861).

From 1901, a census was taken every ten years with the exception of 1941 (due to the Second World War).

All population census figures from report Historic Census figures Cambridgeshire to 2011 by Cambridgeshire Insight.

In 2011, the parish covered an area of 1,846 acres (747 hectares) and the population density of Yelling in 2011 was 104 persons per square mile (40. 2 per square kilometre).

Religious sites

Although a church in Yelling is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, the oldest part of the Grade II* listed Parish Church of the Holy Cross dates back to around 1190. It includes two original 13th-century windows in the south aisle wall and south doorway. There is a canonical sundial on the south wall. The noted evangelist Henry Venn was Yelling's vicar from 1771 until his death in 1797, and there is a plaque in his memory over the pulpit.

The village also has a Baptist chapel, established in 1850 and still in use today for services and community events. This no longer appears to be the case and there is a planning application for a dwelling on the notice board outside the church.