Huntingdonshire, an inland county of England, 30 miles long, and 23 broad, is bounded on the N. and W. by Northampton, Cambridge, and Bedford shires. Area, 359 sq. m., almost the whole of which is arable or in pasture. Pop. (1801) 37,568; (1861) 64,250; (1891) 57,761. Huntingdonshire has no hill-ranges of any importance, and is watered chiefly by the Nene, which forms its northern boundary, and the Ouse; in the fen-district in the north-eastern part of the county, forming part of the Bedford Level (q.v.), there were formerly some large lakes or meres, notably Whittlesea, Ramsey, and Ugg; but these have been drained and reclaimed for cultivation. The soil consists principally of clay, with, in places, sand, gravel, and peat earth, the latter being almost wholly confined to the fen-district. Huntingdonshire comprises four hundreds and the municipal boroughs of Huntingdon, Godmanchester, and St Ives, with part of the city of Peterborough, the greater portion of which is however in Northamptonshire. It contains 103 parishes, is almost entirely in the diocese of Ely and the South-eastern Circuit, and returns two members to parliament. A peculiarity in its civil government is that it is included under the same shrievalty with Cambridgeshire, the sheriff being annually chosen in rotation from the county of Cambridge, the Isle of Ely, and this county. Of its earlier inhabitants Huntingdonshire has numerous traces; two Roman roads traverse it; at Alwalton, Earith, and Chesterton are remains of camps, the construction of which is also ascribed to the Romans; and in many places Roman remains, as pottery, coins, &c., have been found. Among places of interest in the county those most worthy of mention are the ruins of Ramsey Abbey and Buckden Palace, the latter being formerly the residence of the bishops of Lincoln; Hinchinbrook
House, anciently the seat of the Cromwell family; Kimbolton Castle, the seat of the Duke of Manchester, where Queen Catharine resided for some time after her divorce from Henry VIII.; Horeham Hall, the residence of the Princess Elizabeth during the reign of her sister Mary; Denton, the birthplace of Cotton the antiquary; Little Gidding, the seat of Nicholas Ferrar's community; and Brampton, where lived for some years Samuel Pepys.