Sawtry Village Sign Cambridgeshire - Pictorial Village Signs on Waymarking.com

Saltrede (11th century); Saltreia (12th century); Sautre (13th century) and Sawtry (16th century to modern times).
Prior to the 10th century there were many variations of the name. During the reign of Henry I in the 12th Century, the village was called "SALTREIA" or "SALTREAIM" which meant a landing place or stream.

Salt had been transported through Sawtry since before the Roman invasion. The evaporated sea water left salt in the fens which was collected and carried away by pack horse/mule from a landing place near where the Royal Oak pub once stood [now directly opposite Fen Lane under the south bound motorway lane], near where a dyke from the fens called Black Horse drain stretches Eastward into the then flooded fen land and out to Ramsey Mere.

Sawtry is an extensive parish with a large village close to the Great North Road overlooking the Fens. It contains some 17th century cottages and the Old Chequers Inn. Near the church is a moated site. The three former Anglican parishes of All Saints, St. Andrew and Sawtry Judith, were combined in 1934. William Sawtry, a priest here, was burned in chains at Smithfield in 1401, being the first Christian martyr in England after the Norman Conquest.

Monks Wood, in the south of the parish, was acquired by the Nature Conservancy in 1953. This 375 acre mixed woodland, mainly natural regeneration, is notable for its rare plants and insects. The black hairstreak butterfly was first found here.

Sawtry Abbey, founded in 1147, only excavated foundations now remain together with traces of the fishponds and the sites of the quays where the building stone was unloaded. The whole area is enclosed by dykes which were to protect it from the flood water of the Fens. The 17th century Manor Farm, the moated Grange Farm, and Abbey Farm which incorporates some of the monastic stonework, are all of interest.

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Occasion Commemorated: probably the millenium Location: on a Green triangle in the middle of town Plaque: no Construction Material: Metal on a wooden post Artist: not stated Web Address: [Web Link] Sign Date: Not listed

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