Townapedia
UK Fordham (Cambridgeshire)
UK Fordham (Cambridgeshire) · Uksignpix, CC BY-SA 3.0
Fordham Cambs War Memorial2
Fordham Cambs War Memorial2 · Charles Matthews, CC BY-SA 4.0
Fordham Cambs War Memorial3
Fordham Cambs War Memorial3 · Charles Matthews, CC BY-SA 4.0
Isleham Nature Reserve 4
Isleham Nature Reserve 4 · Dudley Miles, CC BY-SA 4.0

Fordham, United Kingdom

Fordham is a town of 2,712 people in England, United Kingdom.

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Population2,712 GeoNames
RegionEngland
Elevation39 ft 12 m
Time zoneEurope/London
Nearest airportRAF Mildenhall (MHZ) 6 mi
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Why visit Fordham

Townapedia lists 2 museums and landmarks, 6 parks and trails and 6 places to eat in and around town.

Highlights include war memorial, Isleham Nature Reserve and Fordham Woods.

About Fordham

Fordham is a village in rural Cambridgeshire, England. Fordham is part of the East Cambridgeshire district. It is four miles north of Newmarket, as well as being close to the settlements of Soham, Burwell, Isleham, Mildenhall and Chippenham.

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

Museums and landmarks2

war memorial

Monument and historic site

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Downfields (Pollard's) Windmill

Monument and historic site · 1.5 mi

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Parks, trails and playgrounds6

Isleham Nature Reserve

Park · 1.3 mi

Park in United Kingdom

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Fordham 2000 Memorial Garden

Park

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Fordham Woods

Park · 0.5 mi

Nature reserve in the United Kingdom

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Soham Meadow

Park · 1.8 mi

Nature reserve in the United Kingdom

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Chippenham Fen

Hiking and trails · 1.3 mi

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Fordham Woods NR

Hiking and trails · 0.6 mi

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Restaurants and cafes6

The Crown

Bar and pub

14 Church Street, Ely

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The Chequers

Bar and pub

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Sunflower Cafe

Cafe · 0.4 mi

41 Market Street, Ely

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The White Pheasant

Restaurant · 0.4 mi

21 Market Street, Ely

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Dojima Sake Brewery

Brewery and winery · 0.7 mi

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Churches and places of worship4

Isleham Priory Church

Church · 2.3 mi

Church in East Cambridgeshire, England, UK

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St Peter & St Mary Magdalene

Church · Anglican

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Congregational Church

Church

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Wesleyan Chapel

Church · Wesleyan

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History

The parish of Fordham covers 4,331 acres (1,753 ha) in an irregular shape. Its southern border is the county border with Suffolk and most of its south-eastern border with Snailwell follows the path of the River Snail. It also borders Chippenham and Isleham to the east, Soham to the north, and Burwell to the west, as well as having a short boundary with Wicken at its western tip. In 1953 the civil parish was merged with that of Landwade, a tiny parish of only 147 acres (59 ha), although Landwade and its ecclesiastical parish are both in Suffolk.

The parish has been occupied for several thousand years; weapons and tools in both flint and metal have been found from the Early Bronze Age and Iron Age, as well as pottery and burials. Wall plaster and tiles have been found from the Roman era, indicating that villas may have been sited near to Biggin and Block Farms in the 2nd to 4th centuries A.D.

In the Middle Ages the village was home to Fordham Priory, a Gilbertine priory and cell to Sempringham Priory, that was founded in the reign of Henry III in the 13th century by Robert de Fordham. Fordham Abbey, a Grade II listed Georgian manor house was built on the site of the Priory in the eighteenth century.

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Fordham had a railway station serving as a junction the Cambridge to Mildenhall railway and the Ipswich to Ely line that opened to the west of the village in 1879. The station finally closed in 1966.

Though spelled Fordeham in the Domesday Book of 1086, the village's spelling has remained unchanged since the 10th century. The name "Fordham" means "homestead or enclosure by a ford".

Fordham War Memorial commemorates the village's dead from the two world wars. It was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and originally featured a bronze statue of St George by Sir George Frampton. The memorial was destroyed and the bronze stolen in 1991 and the community raised funds to rebuild it and replace the bronze with a fibreglass replica. It is a Grade II listed building.

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

Shopping1

Gas and EV charging2

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Schools, colleges and libraries1

Map of Fordham

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

Getting there and nearby towns

RAF Mildenhall (MHZ) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 6 miles away.

  • Isleham 2 mi northeast, about 4 min by car
  • Exning 3 mi south, about 5 min by car
  • Newmarket 5 mi south, about 7 min by car
  • Mildenhall 6 mi northeast, about 9 min by car
  • Ely 8 mi northwest, about 13 min by car
  • Stretham 8 mi west, about 12 min by car
  • Bottisham 8 mi southwest, about 13 min by car
  • Witchford 9 mi northwest, about 15 min by car
  • Wilburton 9 mi west, about 15 min by car
  • Haddenham 11 mi west, about 17 min by car

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

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