From the beginning…

Soham Mere, a large inland sea, was naturally created at the end of the Bronze Age, although a sacred pool of more ancient origin probably predated this vast expanse of water. Soham had been settled for approx. 2,000 years and had become a centre of Pagan pilgrimage. The Romans had already added to the population c.43BC and had introduced drainage technology into the area, built canals, proper roads, and established early trading centres.

410 AD - Roman withdrawal
The Roman occupation ended suddenly. They withdrew from the area leaving behind them many high status buildings, their roads and ditches, and the basis of a civilised society.

411 AD - The Anglo Saxons
The Anglo Saxons settled the area slowly, probably using Roman villas for their own habitation.

630 AD - St Felix
Sigebert, Saxon King of the East Angles brought Bishop Felix of Burgundy to Britain to convert his people to Christianity. St Felix established a monastery at Soham and succeeded the Pagan religious site with the first known centre of Latin Christianity in Cambridgeshire.

870 AD - Viking raids
The Vikings made a destructive progress across East Anglia. They destroyed Soham Abbey, stealing its treasures and killing the monks. The Abbey, unlike its later counterpart at Ely, was never rebuilt.

c.900 AD - The Cathedral of Luttingus
A Saxon nobleman called Luttingus built a Cathedral and Palace at Soham. These were situated on the site of the present day Church of St Andrew, and adjacent land. Traces of the Saxon Cathedral still exist within the fabric of St Andrews, but the separate round bell tower was pulled down when the late Norman tower was built. The Bishops Palace existed as a picturesque ruin until the mid 19th century.

Hereward the Wake
It was during the very early part of the Norman occupation that the legend of Hereward the Wake was set. He foiled a military attempt to gain access to the Isle of Ely and denied the Norman invaders access until he was betrayed. The story had been set, by ancient monks, in AIdreth, however, modern research identifies the oldest causeway to Ely as existing at Barway. Thus, this very famous legend can be relocated to Soham, where it is supported by the existence of Norman earthworks and architecture, as well as the existence of early military droves. 

c. 1400 AD - Medieval Port
The Medieval period saw Soham flourish as a centre of trade. Existing buildings indicated medieval prosperity through the establishment of an inland port. Early documents reveal that Soham was navigable to The Wash via the West River or the Old River Ouse, and to Cambridge via The Cam. 

1451 AD - The Church of St Andrew is granted to Pembroke College
On 3rd August 1451, Soham Parsonage and Vicarage were granted to Pembroke College.

1451 AD - The Church of St. Andrew is granted to Pembroke College
On 3rd August 1451, Soham Parsonage and Vicarage were granted to Pembroke College. This was confirmed by the signature of King Henry VI in 1454.  The College still maintains a strong connection with the Church today. The earliest church registers date from 1558 onwards. 

1496 AD - Sir William Brandon is killed by Richard III at Bosworth Field
The Battle of Bosworth Field which took place on the 22nd August 1485 near Market Bosworth in Leicestershire marked the end of the War of the Roses. The Battle was fought between the supporters of King Richard III and Henry Tudor. As the battle progressed with a stalemate to his front, Henry accompanied by a bodyguard of about 200 knights including Sir William Brandon of Soham (his standard bearer), decided to ride across to the Stanleys to see if he could persuade them to enter into the fray on his side. Richard observed Henry's dragon banner moving across the battlefield and saw an opportunity to end the battle at one fell stroke. Richard led the charge of his knights (approximately 1,000 men) downhill towards Henry's banner. With the whole power of the charge behind him, Richard transfixed Sir William Brandon of Soham with his lance. The lance broke and Sir William Brandon and the dragon banner crashed to the ground. The battle was eventually won by Henry Tudor with the death of Richard III and as a result he became King Henry VII of England and Wales.

1496 AD - A New Church Tower
Right at the end of the Norman period, William Yaxle bequeathed to the Church, money to build a new Church tower on the foundation of the old round tower. During the building works, a new bay was added to the Church building in order to join it to the tower. 

1581 AD - Thomas Peachey established 12 almshouses

1628 AD - Sir Robert Heath was ordered to set aside Common Land at Soham 
In 1628 Sir Robert Heath, the then Lord of the Manor, exhibited a bill against some of the tenants of the Manor, saying that they had surcharged the common with cattle, and the purpose of the bill was to see that everyone had their fair share of the 9400 acres of marsh and fen grounds which lay waste and common. 1500 acres in Metlam Fen and 500 acres in Barroway Fen were subsequently enclosed and handed down via his descendants to Sir Thomas Chicheley. 420 acres (of the 1500) were later taken by the drainage undertakers and the tenants threw down the enclosures.

C.1650 AD - Oliver Cromwell
The people of Soham remained quite resistant to Puritanism and the town was known as a Royalist stronghold. The Royal Arms, now The Fountain was established during this period and is rumoured to house a secret passage which then served as an escape route. 

1664 AD - Sir Thomas Chichely & Sir Jonas Moore established the Commons
By Deed Poll of 20 December 1664 it was agreed that to every acre of arable land in the fields there should, upon the division, be allowed half an acre in the common; and they ordered that 100 acres of the said common - 50 acres in Horsecroft next Down field, 20 acres in the Moore, and 30 acres in the borders next Metlam field, should be allotted and set out for working horses of such persons as shall plough or work in Soham fields, and no other cattle, they owning or farming six acres, at the least, in the fields.

1686 AD - Soham Free School was founded

C.1720 AD - Reginald Hawkins, Vicar of Soham, builds St. Andrew's House

C.1740 AD - Drainage of the Fens
Viscount Townshend inherited the Royal Manor of Soham c. 1740 and set about improving the land for agriculture using the method of banking and ditching introduced by the Romans. Parts of the Mere were originally drained during this period but the area was still subject to inundations until the arrival of the Steam Pump. 

18th Century - Andrew Fuller 'English Baptist Divine'
Andrew Fuller was born on the 5th February 1754 at Wicken. in his boyhood and youth he worked on his father’s farm, his parents, were poor farmers who rented a succession of dairy farms. In 1761 his parents decided to move a short distance to Soham, where he and his family began to attend the local Calvinistic Baptist Church which had been formed in 1752 at Brook Dam. Fuller was converted in November 1769 and after being baptized at the age of 17 he became a member of the Church. His gifts as an exhorter met with so much approval that, in the Spring of 1775, he was called and ordained as pastor of the Soham congregation. He later he became close friends with William Carey and helped him in his cause for foreign missions. He is still relatively unknown, being greatly overshadowed by the more famous George Whitefield and the Wesley Brothers who also ministered at the time, but is still affectionately called 'The English Baptist Divine'.

1776 AD - Poverty
Soham had the largest workhouse in the county which housed sixty residents at this time. Workhouse expenses included; carriage of water, turf and sedge for fuel, shoes, gowns, breeches, sundry maintenance, earthenware, dishes, spoons, medicines for widows in confinement, and coffins, plus a wage for the master, and provisions which consisted of cheese, flour, malt, barley, milk, onions and a little meat, besides what vegetables were grown on site. 

1792 AD Olaudah Equiano marries Susannah Cullen at St Andrew's Church
Perhaps the most famous marriage at St. Andrew's Church, Soham in Cambridgeshire was between Olaudah Equiano (The African) and Susannah Cullen (Spinster of the Parish of Soham) on the 7th April 1792. Slavery was still in force at the time of their marriage . Olaudah Equiano otherwise known as Gustavus Vassa was the African slave who gained his freedom and became an activist for the abolition of slavery in the 18th Century. He wrote his celebrated Autobiography - 'The Interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African 1789' which is still available to buy to this day. Evidence to suggest that the couple took up residence in Soham comes from the fact that both of their children were born here. He had two daughters Anna Maria Vassa born on 16th October 1793 and was baptised in St. Andrew's Church on 30th January 1794. His second daughter, Joanna Vassa was born on 11th April 1795 and baptised in St. Andrew's Church on 29th April 1795. Susannah was always thought to have died during Joanna's birth, however, records show that she died a year later, and was buried in Soham as Susanna Vassa, wife of Gustavus the African on 21st February 1796, aged 34. Gustavus died on 31st March 1797, aged 52, his death occurred in London, but the whereabouts of his burial is unknown. Sadly Anna Maria died a few months later on 21st July 1797, aged just 4 Years and is buried in St. Andrew's Church, Chesterton, Cambridge where there is a commemorative plaque in her memory. Joanna Vassa inherited a sizable estate from her father equivalent to £100,000 in todays money. She went on to marry the Reverend Henry Bromley and they ran a Congregational Chapel at Clavering near Saffron Walden in Essex, before moving to London in the middle of the nineteenth century. Joanna died in March 1857 at the age of 61 and is buried along with her husband in Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington. It's not yet known whether Joanna had any children. The Slave Trade was finally abolished on British ships 10 years after the death of Olaudah Equiano, in 1807. It took a further forty years to see the abolition in the British colonies.

C.1830 AD - Steam Pumps
The introduction of the Steam Pump c.1830 marked a turning point in fen drainage. One Steam Pump could do the work of many windmills and exceed the quantity and speed of water carriage to a level never before imagined. The successful drainage of the fens was now assured. 

1834 AD - Vicarage Enlarged
The Reverend Henry Tasker enlarged and improved St Andrews house at a cost of £3,000, a move which the patrons, Pembroke College, viewed as a liability to future incumbents.