Walls And Plaques To Former Sluice On River Granta West Of Parish Church Of St Mary

The walls and two plaques to the former sluice on the River Granta, located west of the Parish Church of St Mary in Little Abington, date back to 1721. The structure features limestone plaques and a local stock brick wall. Originally, the plaques were positioned on opposite banks of the river, each inscribed with the words, "The bottom or lowest part of this stone is the height of ye Floodgate of this sluce 1721."

The original three-sluice dam and a new cut were part of a project aimed at flooding the water meadows between Abington and Babraham, designed and partly carried out by Hugh May around 1654 for his cousin Thomas Benet of Babraham. A lawsuit around 1720 involving John Benet and Thomas Wester necessitated the installation of a flood gate to prevent flooding in Abington. A new cut created further south in the 19th century likely rendered the 17th-century sluice obsolete, and it is probable that the two plaques were relocated to the south bank wall at that time.