Welcome to Hilton

The famous Hilton Maze in the village of Hilton, Huntingdonshire

Hiltone (12th century), Hulton (13th century) and Hilton (Modern)

Hilton is one of the southern most parishes of the district, it stretches up to the crossing of the B1040 from St Ives with Ermine Street A14(t). This point is 114 feet above seal level. The village lies nearly 2 miles north of this crossing and 4 miles south of St Ives. A byroad links it with Fenstanton.

Hilton is a particularly pretty little village with unfenced roads about its spacious Green - as large as a common - beside which the old world cottages are scattered with charming irregularity.

On the Green is a remarkable turf-cut maze. In this shallow circular hollow, low earthen banks twist and turn to form a maze leading to a central stone pillar, inscribed on each of its four faces. The east side records the death of William Sparrow, aged 88, on the 25th August, 1729.

At the large house on the Green where the Sparrows lived, wall paintings were uncovered showing the Royal Arms, dated 1632, of Charles I and the Prince of Wales (later Charles II), together with other pictures. The first was given by Mr David Garnett to Hilton Church and the others to the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The well proportioned 15th century church stands on the site of an earlier one and has Roman tiles built into its walls and a 13th century cross incorporated into the tower. There are fragments of medieval glass, a matrix of a monumental brass, a 15th century font and a 17th century chest.

Of special interest but in the private grounds of Hilton House is a 17th century square-built dovecot.

Hilton is one of the parishes of the District of Huntingdonshire, whose administrative centre is Huntingdon, the other principle towns being St Ives home of the Chapel on the Bridge, St Neots the largest town in the County of Cambridgeshire, the Roman town of Godmanchester and Ramsey site of the former Abbey.