Balsham in the south-eastern corner of Cambridgeshire, near the borders with Suffolk and Essex, is a quiet dormitory village of about 1600 souls these days, but it has a particularly bloody claim to fame as the most significant moment in its history. In 1010AD Norse raiders led by Thurkill the Tall reached the village having already put Thetford and Cambridge to the sword and flame. At Balsham the Vikings killed every inhabitant bar one, who has gone into legend either heroically or ironically as The Brave Man of Balsham, depending on which version of the tale you accept: in one he stands in the church doorway and keeps the fiends at bay with his sword; in the other he hides in the church and is missed by the plunderers. Rivalling the unnamed survivor as Balsham’s most famous son is Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely, who in 1284 founded Peterhouse College in nearby Cambridge (about nine miles to the northwest), that city’s oldest college. The village has a primary school and two pubs, one a fine black and white building from the Tudor period, but as so often its most notable structure is its church, in this case a largely 14th century structure dedicated to St Nicholas, though the earliest parts date from the previous century. Balsham is situated in the pleasantly defined if low undulations of the Gog Magog Hills, a small area of chalk downland (where the Chilford Hall Vineyard is to be found a mile or so south of the village), with Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill, Saffron Walden and Newmarket all within easy commuting distance, along with of course Cambridge. The A11 is a short drive away and just beyond it the M11, making access and longer distance commuting relatively easy.
Pub and Bar
Places to Stay near Balsham
The Black Bull Inn (0.05 miles)
This gem has just been taken over by the owners of the award-winning Red Lion Hinxton and has ... More | visit website
The Old Red Lion Inn (2.67 miles)
The Old Red Lion Inn (2.76 miles)
Old Red Lion (2.76 miles)
The Old Red Lion hotel dates back to its 18th Century days and was originally an old farm house. The lodges offer comfortable accommodation in a charming setting. There are 12 comfortably ... More
The Swynford (4.16 miles)
Swynford Hotel is set in over 5 acres of beautiful grounds in an open park land setting. The Hotel's meandering entrance way is flanked by specimen trees framing the approach to the ... More
White Horse Inn (4.31 miles)
Traditional Thatched Country Inn with bar restaurant and 5 letting rooms in a converted cart lodge for either single or double occupancy convenient for Cambridge, Newmarket, Bury St Edmunds and ... More
The White Hart Inn (4.98 miles)
Cross Green B & B (5.23 miles)
There are excellent road and rail links from Dullingham to Newmarket, Cambridge, Ely, Saffron Walden and ... More | visit website
Old Vicarage (The) (5.30 miles)
Days Inn Haverhill (6.25 miles)
The Days Inn offers style and comfort where it matters. All of the rooms are designed in a bright contemporary style with Hypnos beds, white cotton duvets, spacious desks and superb en suite shower rooms complete ... More | visit website
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