About Benwick
Benwick is a small rural village in the heart of Fenland, Cambridgeshire. Located near 3 of the 4 Fenland market towns, Benwick is the only village which can truely claim to be built on black fen soil. The population of Benwick is around 900, although this is rising.
Due to the fact Benwick was built on peat, the village doesn't have many really old buildings left. When the Old West Water, the river which ran behind what is now the High Street, dried up, the rodden shrank over time, this meant that the backs of the buildings fell backwards - leaving many of the houses tilted, so much so tat doors had to be re-hung. Currently the oldest property is the Methodist Chapel, built in 1833.
Benwick has few amentities, since the shop closed in 2007. We have the village pub, The Five Alls, the Primary School, the Children's centre and a Village Hall. The school was built in 1873, and the current headmistress is Jackie North. Benwick School has around 100 pupils and has its own charity - the Friends of Benwick school, who raise money for extra-curricular things, and bits that don't come into the budget, such as school trips and play equipment.
Next to the school, is the Children's centre, funded by Sure Start, it is where the Benwick Butterflies Preschool are located. On the other side of the School, is the Village Hall, which was built in 1988. It is the meeting place for most of the village groups, and used for entertainment and clubs.
There is currently no Church in the village, but one is set to be built onto the side of the Village Hall, plans are currently going through at the moment, and it is expected in a couple of years.
There are a vast number of community groups in the village, from the Resident's Association, The Forget-me-Nots, the Friends of Benwick Church, Friends of Benwick School, Turf Fen Charity and more. They all operate for the benefit of the village, and Benwick has a strong band of volunteers who run these groups.
Stagecoach runs the bus services, number 32 buses go through the village, and Benwick has 19 buses a day, going to Peterborough, Ramsey, Chatteris and March. There is a bi-montly magazine which is produced by Jane Leviki, entitled the Benwick Bugle.
Benwick is traditionally a farming village, and is surrounded all sides by farmland, growing sugarbeat, corn and sometimes other crops. In the centre of the village, is Boons, an agricultural engineers, which Benwick is well known for, partly due to the spare parts which he has around his building.
The village sign was donated by the WI, and was replaced in 2003 with the current one.