Prehistory and early history Archaeological evidence has been found of
Neolithic,
Bronze Age and
Iron Age settlements in the area, and Chatteris possesses what has been interpreted as the only upstanding Neolithic boundaries in Fenland. Saxon evidence is less well preserved, although in 679, Hunna, the chaplain to
Æthelthryth of Ely built a
hermitage on Honey Hill. More apocryphally, Chatteris is reputed to have been the last refuge of
Boudica as she fled from the Romans. According to the legend, Bricstan was a pious
free tenant from the town who had joined the monastery at
Ely Cathedral in 1115 to begin training as a monk. However, he was accused of theft and imprisoned in
London. The legend recounts that one night he had a vision of
Saint Etheldreda coming towards him, and as if by a miracle, his heavy chains fell from him and he was shackled no longer. When he awoke from his dream, he discovered that this was indeed true and he was free of his chains. The wife of
Henry I,
Matilda of Scotland, heard of the miracle, and she assured herself that he was no rogue or thief, issued a writ of pardon and declared him a free man. During the Medieval period, the town was dominated by
Chatteris Abbey, a small
Benedictine nunnery dedicated to St Mary, built in 980 by
Eadnoth the Younger for Aelfwyn or Alfwen the niece of
King Edgar and one of only eight nunneries mentioned in the
Domesday Book. The first abbess of Chatteris was Eadnoth's sister, Aelfwyn. Throughout its existence, the abbey was comparatively poor compared to other foundations, due to a lack of royal
patronage and a consequent lack of
tithe estates. As a result, the abbey survived the first wave of closures during the
Dissolution of the Monasteries, but was surrendered to the king's commissioners in 1538, by which time there were eleven nuns in residence. At this date fourteen local families still used the abbey church as parochial but this, unusually, did not save it from demolition, the parishioners being transferred to nearby St Peter and St Paul's Church in the area. It has been conjectured that due to the short space between them, the parish church may have been the abbey church, although
Claire Breay's
Cartulary of Chatteris Abbey discounts this idea, citing that historical documentation clearly defines two separate churches. A range of the cloister buildings survived as part of a mansion known as Park House. This was demolished in 1847 and the site has now completely vanished beneath streets and housing, although the "Park Streets" of Chatteris mark the boundary of its walls and several buildings contain stone originating from the abbey. A large portion of the town was destroyed by a great fire in 1310, which destroyed the nunnery and a large portion of the church, leaving only sections of the base of the tower.
Early modern and contemporary before closure in 1967 Later fires in 1706 and 1864 destroyed most medieval and Georgian architecture, and a large proportion of the town's
listed buildings date from the Victorian period onwards. However, many of the pasture fields on the outskirts of the town have evidence of
ridge and furrow farming practices, although these are under threat by current building proposals. To the north of the town runs the
Forty Foot Drain, a large river also called
Vermuyden's Drain, after the Dutch engineer whose name is associated with the fen drainage works of the middle of the 17th century. Several of the older buildings of the town show evidence of the Dutch architectural style. Chatteris is a market town and has possessed this designation since 1834, although an earlier market existed in the town, which was discontinued due to poor roads in 1808. A small market is still held every Friday. Following the
Beeching Axe,
Chatteris railway station, formerly on the
St Ives extension of the
Great Eastern Railway, was closed in March 1967. The station buildings no longer exist. == Geography ==