Townapedia
Eye parish church 2006-07-31 002web2
Eye parish church 2006-07-31 002web2 · Kev747 at en.wikipedia, Public domain
Stanground Wash 4
Stanground Wash 4 · Dudley Miles, CC BY-SA 4.0
Ashton lead tank at Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery
Ashton lead tank at Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery · Lajmmoore, CC BY-SA 4.0

Eye, United Kingdom

Eye is a town of 2,875 people in England, United Kingdom.

Loading the weather...
Population2,875 GeoNames
RegionEngland
Elevation43 ft 13 m
Time zoneEurope/London
Nearest airportRAF Marham (KNF) 32 mi
Advertisement

Why visit Eye

Townapedia lists 9 museums and landmarks, 10 parks and trails, 14 places to eat, 1 place to stay and 1 attraction in and around town.

Highlights include Embassy Theatre, Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery, Flag Fen and Stanground Wash.

About Eye

Eye is a village in the unitary authority area of Peterborough, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The village is 3.8 miles (6 km) west of Thorney and 4.5 miles (7 km) south of Crowland, both known for their historic abbeys. The hamlet of Eye Green is immediately to the north, separated by the A47 trunk road.

From the Wikipedia article Eye, Cambridgeshire (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Things to do1

Embassy Theatre

Cinema and theater · 3.1 mi

Former theatre and cinema in Peterborough, England

Open in Google Maps · Wikipedia

Museums and landmarks9

Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery

Museum · 3.4 mi

History and art museum in Peterborough, England, United Kingdom

Open in Google Maps · Wikipedia

Car Dyke

Monument and historic site · 0.7 mi

Open in Google Maps

Flag Fen

Monument and historic site · 2.4 mi

Archaeological open-air museum in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England, UK

Open in Google Maps · Wikipedia

Peterborough Castle

Monument and historic site · 3.1 mi

Castle in the UK

Open in Google Maps · Wikipedia

Car Dyke

Monument and historic site · 0.4 mi

Open in Google Maps

Anglo Saxon Burial Ground

Monument and historic site · 0.6 mi

Open in Google Maps

Car Dyke

Monument and historic site · 0.7 mi

Open in Google Maps

Car Dyke

Monument and historic site · 1.4 mi

Open in Google Maps

Eye War Memorial

Monument and historic site

Open in Google Maps

Parks, trails and playgrounds10

Stanground Wash

Park · 3.3 mi

Nature reserve in the United Kingdom

Open in Google Maps · Wikipedia

Central Park, Peterborough

Park · 2.4 mi

Park

Open in Google Maps · Wikipedia

Dogsthorpe Star Pit

Park · 0.7 mi

Nature reserve in the United Kingdom

Open in Google Maps · Wikipedia

Eye Green Nature Reserve

Park · 0.5 mi

Park in United Kingdom

Open in Google Maps · Wikipedia

Eye Green Local Nature Reserve

Hiking and trails · 0.6 mi

Open in Google Maps

Star Pit Nature Reserve

Hiking and trails · 0.8 mi

Open in Google Maps · Wikipedia

Children's play area

Playground

Open in Google Maps

Little Close Playing Field

Park

Open in Google Maps

School Garden

Park · 0.4 mi

Open in Google Maps

Woodfield Park

Park · 1.4 mi

Open in Google Maps

Advertisement

Restaurants and cafes14

Starbucks

Cafe · Coffee Shop · 0.4 mi

Crowland Road, Peterborough

Open in Google Maps

House of Feasts

Restaurant · 0.6 mi

41 Crowland Road, Peterborough

Open in Google Maps

Kipling Patisserie Cafe

Restaurant · 1.2 mi

Peterborough Road, Peterborough

Open in Google Maps

McDonald's

Fast food · Burger

Crowland Road, Peterborough

Mo-Su 00:00-24:00

Open in Google Maps · +44 1733 223792

KFC

Fast food · Chicken · 0.9 mi

Peterborough Road, Peterborough

Open in Google Maps

Greggs

Fast food · Sandwich, Bakery · 0.4 mi

Open in Google Maps

Subway

Fast food · Sandwich · 0.4 mi

Open in Google Maps

Blue Boar

Bar and pub

46 High Street, Peterborough

Open in Google Maps

Mattoni

Restaurant · Italian

2 Peterborough Road, Peterborough

Open in Google Maps

Sharon's Snack Shack

Cafe

31 High Street, Peterborough

Open in Google Maps

Eye Pizza House

Fast food · Burger, Pizza, Kebab

51 High Street, Peterborough

Open in Google Maps

Musa

Fast food · Pizza, Burger, Indian, Kebab

33 High Street, Peterborough

Open in Google Maps

2 more on the map.

History

According to A Dictionary of British Place Names, Eye derives from the Old English ēg, meaning a place at "the island or well-watered land, or dry ground in marsh". In the 10th century, this particular Eye was spelt "Ege".

There has been a chapel at Eye since at least 1543. The present church, dedicated to Matthew the Apostle, was built by George Basevi in 1846. The 125 feet (40 m) broach spire added 10 years later was removed for safety reasons in the early 1980s and the steeple now has a saddleback roof. Adjoining the southeast corner of the churchyard on Back Lane stands the former village fire station dating from 1826, when it housed a Merryweather fire engine. Closed after 1945, it was repaired by the parish council in 2011.

Eye Cornmill was an eight-storey windmill with eight sails 75 yards (70 m) from the church. The village previously had a brick pit (a quarry for clay for making bricks). Northolme in Crowland Road was the site of the brickworks social club. When this closed, the buildings and pit were taken over by the British Sub-Aqua Club and run as a national dive site. The buildings were later demolished and it is now a nature reserve.

Read more of the history

Eye Green railway station (originally named Eye) on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway line between Peterborough and Wisbech was opened in 1866 and closed in 1957. Eye war memorial, carved in granite, was erected at Crowland Road cemetery in 1920. It is dedicated to forty-one killed in the First World War, with fourteen Second World War deaths added later. The memorial was Grade II-listed in 2016.

The £7.5 million A47 bypass was opened in October 1991, by Malcolm Moss MP.

There was a mid-air collision between two Harriers at 11.40 am on 23 February 1983, at around 10,000 ft (3,000 m).

Flt Lt John Leeming, 39, married with two children, attended St Mary's College

Flying Officer David Haigh, aged 21, from Sidmouth in east Devon

The pilot of Harrier XV795 of 3 Sqn, Flt Lt D Oakley, aged 32, ejected and landed in Borough Fen, Crowland, around 500 m (1,600 ft) from the Lincolnshire boundary.

From the History section of Eye, Cambridgeshire on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

More about Eye

Geography

Eye was part of the Soke of Peterborough in Northamptonshire until 1965, when it became part of the short-lived county of Huntingdon and Peterborough. Since 1974, it has formed part of the City of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. The Eye, Thorney and Newborough ward, comprising 133.1 square kilometres (51.4 mi2), was formed in 2016; it elects three councillors.

The three-mile £7 million A47 Eye bypass opened in October 1991. In recent decades Eye has expanded due to a growing demand for property. However this expansion has been strongly resisted by residents. Between 2001 and 2011, the population grew from under 3,900 to over 4,400.

From the Wikipedia article Eye, Cambridgeshire, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where to stay1

Churches and places of worship3

Advertisement

Shopping3

Gas and EV charging2

Schools, colleges and libraries6

Advertisement

Healthcare1

Map of Eye

50 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.

Getting there and nearby towns

RAF Marham (KNF) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 32 miles away.

Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.

Towns near Eye

Keep exploring

Reviews, tips and questions

Loading what members have shared...

Sources and licences

Photo credits

Page built November 10, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.