Mepal

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

Village in Cambridgeshire, England

title: "Mepal" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["villages-in-cambridgeshire", "civil-parishes-in-cambridgeshire", "east-cambridgeshire-district"] description: "Village in Cambridgeshire, England" topic_path: "general/villages-in-cambridgeshire" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mepal" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Village in Cambridgeshire, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox UK place"]

FieldValue
static_image_nameVillageSignDetailMepalCambs(RodneyBurton)Aug2006.jpg
static_image_captionMepal's village sign, showing Cornelius Vermuyden's wooden bridge, and sheep being transported by boat
official_nameMepal
countryEngland
regionEast of England
os_grid_referenceTL441808
coordinates
post_townELY
postcode_areaCB
postcode_districtCB6
dial_code01353
shire_countyCambridgeshire
population976
population_ref(2021)
hide_servicesYes
::

| static_image_name = VillageSignDetailMepalCambs(RodneyBurton)Aug2006.jpg | static_image_caption = Mepal's village sign, showing Cornelius Vermuyden's wooden bridge, and sheep being transported by boat | official_name = Mepal | country = England | region = East of England | os_grid_reference = TL441808 | coordinates = | post_town = ELY | postcode_area = CB | postcode_district = CB6 | dial_code = 01353 | shire_county = Cambridgeshire | population = 976 | population_ref = (2021) | hide_services = Yes

Mepal is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. Mepal is part of the East Cambridgeshire district, and is located just north of the A142 road between Ely and Chatteris. First listed as Mepahala in the 12th century, the village name meant 'Nook of land of a man named Mēapa' in Old English.

History

Mepal's history has always been tied up with that of The Fens and the village is less than ten metres above sea level. One of the smaller villages of the Isle of Ely, Mepal lies at the western end of the Isle on what was once the shore between the fenland and the higher ground of the Isle.

The Old Bedford River and the New Bedford River (also known as the Hundred Foot Drain) run very close on the northwestern side of the village, and the only important bridges of the rivers are found in Mepal. The old and new rivers, originally modified by the Victorians, offer the main drainage route for the Fens and retain a major flood plain between the two river beds. The flood plain typically floods between November and March of each year.

A major fire devastated the village in the 19th century, leading to a drop in population from 510 to 397 between 1861 and 1871. There are thus very few remaining buildings dating from before the 19th century.

RAF Mepal

Mepal retains the historical pride of being the home of No. 75 Squadron RAF, which was operational between 1943 and 1945. It held the enviable post of being the prior home to No. 75 'New Zealand' Squadron which was equipped with Lancaster bombers. 75 Squadron flew the highest total operations for the whole of RAF Bomber Command, 8017 in total. Mepal is visited on an annual basis by previous members of the Squadron and their families, as part of remembrance. A museum jointly dedicated to RAF Mepal and RAF Witchford is located in the nearby village of Witchford.

After the Second World War, RAF Mepal was selected in 1957 as a site for deploying Thor medium-range nuclear missiles, although these were removed by 1963. The airfield was subsequently decommissioned and the land sold off.

Climate

|location = Mepal, Cambridgeshire (1991-2020 averages) |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |Jan high C = 7.6 |Feb high C = 8.5 |Mar high C = 11.2 |Apr high C = 14.3 |May high C = 17.7 |Jun high C = 20.4 |Jul high C = 23.0 |Aug high C = 22.9 |Sep high C = 19.8 |Oct high C = 15.4 |Nov high C = 10.7 |Dec high C = 7.8 |year high C = 15.0 |Jan mean C = 4.5 |Feb mean C = 4.9 |Mar mean C = 6.9 |Apr mean C = 9.3 |May mean C = 12.4 |Jun mean C = 15.2 |Jul mean C = 17.5 |Aug mean C = 17.3 |Sep mean C = 14.7 |Oct mean C = 11.2 |Nov mean C = 7.3 |Dec mean C = 4.8 |year mean C = 10.5 |Jan low C = 1.5 |Feb low C = 1.4 |Mar low C = 2.7 |Apr low C = 4.3 |May low C = 7.1 |Jun low C = 10.0 |Jul low C = 11.9 |Aug low C = 11.7 |Sep low C = 9.6 |Oct low C = 7.1 |Nov low C = 3.9 |Dec low C = 1.7 |year low C = 6.1 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 48.5 |Feb precipitation mm = 34.4 |Mar precipitation mm = 34.3 |Apr precipitation mm = 37.1 |May precipitation mm = 43.3 |Jun precipitation mm = 56.5 |Jul precipitation mm = 52.0 |Aug precipitation mm = 58.0 |Sep precipitation mm = 50.6 |Oct precipitation mm = 61.3 |Nov precipitation mm = 55.9 |Dec precipitation mm = 51.5 |year precipitation mm = 583.3 |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm |Jan precipitation days = 10.2 |Feb precipitation days = 8.6 |Mar precipitation days = 8.0 |Apr precipitation days = 8.2 |May precipitation days = 8.1 |Jun precipitation days = 9.1 |Jul precipitation days = 8.6 |Aug precipitation days = 9.2 |Sep precipitation days = 8.1 |Oct precipitation days = 10.0 |Nov precipitation days = 10.2 |Dec precipitation days = 10.3 |year precipitation days = 108.4 |Jan sun = 58.4 |Feb sun = 79.8 |Mar sun = 112.3 |Apr sun = 157.8 |May sun = 195.7 |Jun sun = 190.0 |Jul sun = 199.0 |Aug sun = 184.5 |Sep sun = 143.2 |Oct sun = 108.5 |Nov sun = 66.1 |Dec sun = 54.7 |year sun = 1549.9 |source 1 = Met Office{{cite web | url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/location-specific-long-term-averages/u1244qfq2 | title=Mepal Climatic Averages 1991-2020 | publisher=Met Office | access-date=1 August 2025}} |date=Aug 2025

Church

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Mepal_Church_-geograph.org.uk-_458563.jpg" caption="St Mary's Church, Mepal"] ::

The parish church, dedicated to Saint Mary, mother of Jesus, and a Grade II* listed building, dates from the 13th century and has been largely unaltered since. It is notable as the only church in the Isle of Ely without either tower or spire, having a double bellcote instead. The building is listed in Nikolaus Pevsner's Buildings of England, Cambridgeshire Vol. IV.

Kelly's Directory, a trade directory set up in 1835, wrote that the church features "inscriptions on the tomb of Alan de Walsingham, sub-prior and sacristan of Ely Cathedral, to the church of Ely, is a building of flint and stone in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch and a western turret containing one bell. The chancel was restored by the Rev. Charles S. Harris LL.M. rector (1876-84), and the church in 1905 at a cost of £600. In 1908, the interior was reseated and a vestry added at a cost of £200: there are 100 sittings. The register dates from the year 1559."

Village life

The village of Mepal retains a hotel, restaurant and bar (The Three Pickerels), a post office/village shop, and a Church of England primary school rated 'Good' by Ofsted in 2023. Mepal Village Hall was built in 1873-74 as Mepal National School and saw its first pupils on 4th May 1874. The Hall also functions as a polling station. There is a local football club shared between Mepal and Sutton, a youth club, and Friendship club. Allotments, rented out by the Mepal parish council, are located by the village children's play park.

Former public houses include the Cross Keys, in which Clement Freud lived when he was Member of Parliament for the Isle of Ely in the 1970s and early 1980s.

From Monday to Saturday Mepal has a two-hourly bus service (no Sunday service) to Chatteris, Ely and Cambridge.

Botanical

Adjacent to St Mary's church is a small woodland notable for the old elm trees, believed to be Plot elm hybrid.

References

References

  1. (2013). "Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics. Area: Mepal (Parish)". [[Office for National Statistics.
  2. Mills, A. D.. (2011). "A Dictionary of British Place-Names". [[Oxford University Press]].
  3. "About Mepal".
  4. Atkinson, T. D.. (2002). "A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely". Victoria County History.
  5. "Mepal - Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust UK".
  6. "RAF Witchford & RAF Mepal Museum images".
  7. "Cambridgeshire Aviation Heritage Trail {{!}} Mepal and Witchford".
  8. "CHURCH OF ST MARY, Mepal - 1162875 {{!}} Historic England".
  9. Hinson, Colin. (2023-12-24). "GENUKI: Mepal, Cambridgeshire".
  10. (2020-09-18). "Mepal Village Hall".
  11. "Allotments".
  12. [http://www.mepalparish.org.uk/Parish%20Council/About%20Mepal.shtml About Mepal] {{webarchive. link. (2010-10-17)
  13. Wilkinson, Gerald. (1978). "Epitaph for the Elm". Hutchinson.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

villages-in-cambridgeshirecivil-parishes-in-cambridgeshireeast-cambridgeshire-district