Parson Drove

The area was farmed by the Romans, who left evidence of their presence in several places throughout Parson Drove and the surrounding parish.{{cite web|url=https://www.wisbechstandard.co.uk/news/fascinating-roman-and-medieval-relics-discovered-at-site-of-future-housing-development-in-parson-drove-1-2328529|title=Roman and mediaeval finds|website=www.wisbechstandard.co.uk|access-date=9 January 2019}}

Samuel Pepys wrote about Parson Drove in his diary for 17 September 1663, describing it as a "heathen place" where he found his uncle and aunt in a "sad poor thatched cottage", after which he took them to a "miserable inn" (the Swan Inn), where he was staying, and where his uncle's horse was subsequently stolen. A lawyer's clerk from London was, by his uncle and aunt, suspected as the thief, who was then detained at the inn. At about midnight Pepys, after he had retired to a "cold, stony chamber", was informed that the horse was found.{{cite book |last=Gardiner FRHS |first=Frederic, John |date= 1898|title=History of Wisbech and Neighbourhood during the last fifty years, 1848-1898 |publisher=Gardiner & Co. |page= 384}}

John Peck (1787 – 1851), was a well-known member of the local community. He set up a farm in Parson Drove and later lived at Inham Hall.{{cite book|title= The Trade of a Farmer: John Peck of Parson Drove|author= Diane Blawer|publisher= Friends of Wisbech & Fenland Museum|year= 2000}}

He served on local drainage boards. He held the office of Parish Constable for 35 years. He kept diaries throughout his life, and these were transcribed in the 1990s and have become a useful source of local history.{{cite web|url= https://www.wisbechmuseum.org.uk/news/post.php?s=2019-12-19-john-peck-and-his-connections-with-wisbech-museum|website= Wisbech & Fenland Museum|title= John Peck|accessdate= 4 October 2021}}

File:Woad mill, Parson Drove.jpg (1906)]]

Parson Drove has buildings dating from the 16th century, ten of which are Grade II listed.{{cite web|url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/england/parson-drove-fenland-cambridgeshire#.XDpQjtGnyf0|website=www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk|title=parson drove|access-date= 11 January 2019}} The village has three public houses, including The Swan Inn, in which Pepys stayed in the 17th century.

The village churches are The Emmanuel Church, Southea (also known as the "New Church") which dates from 1873 and contains chandeliers originally from St Paul's Cathedral{{cite web|url= http://www.parsondrove.net/emmanuel.php|title= Parson Drove|website= Parson Drove|accessdate= 4 October 2021}}

, and St John the Baptist (also known as the "Old Church"{{by whom|date=January 2019}}) which dates from the 12th century, and includes additions and renovations from the 14th, 15th, and 17th centuries; it is Grade II* listed,{{NHLE |num= 1331998|desc= Church of St John the Baptist, Parson Drove|accessdate= 20 December 2013}} and under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/visit/church-listing/st-john-parson-drove.html "Church of St John the Baptist, Parson Drove, Cambridgeshire"], Churches Conservation Trust. Retrieved 8 January 2019

The Cage was built in 1829 as a village lock-up for local criminals and stray livestock, and housed the village fire pump for nearly 100 years.{{cite web|title= Parson Drove|url= https://www.prisonhistory.org/lockup/parson-drove-cage/|website= Prison History|accessdate= 4 October 2021}}

The last working temporary woad mill in Britain was in Parson Drove.[http://www.woad.org.uk/html/woad_mills.html "Woad Mills], Woad.org.uk. Retrieved 8 January 2019 It stood opposite St John the Baptist church, and closed in 1910.{{cite web|url= http://www.woad.org.uk/html/woad_mills.html|title=Woad mills|access-date= 9 January 2019}} It was demolished in 1914 and the last permanent woad mills at Algarkirk (1927) and Skirbeck (1932). A model of the woad mill is in Wisbech & Fenland Museum.{{cite book|title=Woad in the Fens, p11|author=Norman T.Wills|publisher=N.T.Wills|year=1979}}

The village is served by the Alderman Payne Primary School - formerly known as the Payne County Primary School, the Payne Council School and the Parson Drove Council School.{{Cite web|url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_ps=60&_q=Payne+School+Parson+Drove|title=The Discovery Service|last=Archives|first=The National|website=discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=6 November 2018}} It is a designated Community School operating under the control of Cambridgeshire County Council. The school is named for Alderman John William Payne.{{cite web|url=https://www.aldermanpayne.co.uk/visions-and-values/|title=Alderman Payne|website=www.aldermanpayne.co.uk|access-date= 6 September 2018}}

The local football club, Parson Drove, play in the Eastern Counties League Division One North.{{cite web|url=https://www.fcparsondrove.co.uk/#home|title=Fcparson drove|website=www.fcparsondrove|access-date=11 January 2019}}

{{reflist}}

• {{commons category-inline|Parson Drove}}
• [http://www.parsondrove-pc.org.uk/ Parson Drove village website]
• [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=21917 "Chapelry of Parson Drove"], Wisbech Hundred: Chapelry of Parson Drove, British History Online

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Category:Villages in Cambridgeshire

Category:Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire

Category:Fenland District