Aug 2019 Eleanor Whitehead - Local Historian f/b ComVoc

After a tasty meal today we had a fascinating talk from local historian Eleanor Whitehead who has a particular interest in the Histon & Impington area and has written several books.

Tonight was all about the tale of Moses Carter - the Histon Giant -  who appears on the Histon Village Sign.

There are a series of stories in the histories about this unusually tall and very strong man with long arms who lived 1801 - 1860 , born in Cottenham he lived most of his life in Histon. He was 6ft 10in and around 23 stone. His parents were James Carter and Susannah Chivers (from the famous local family - growers and preservers of fruit).  He was a hard working Market Gardener who was often called upon to help out when his strength could be useful. He could easily carry a large bag of grain under each arm. He was also a semi-professional boxer who often competed at the Stourbridge Common annual fair - one year the organiser tried to renege on his winnings but soon regretted it as he was bodily thrown into the crowd !

He would barrow his produce around the village selling to anyone who was interested. Once he disappeared for 3 days which worried his family and customers, only to reappear and explain that he thought he would try walking to Ely market to sell his wares. Moses was well known to love entertaining the local children and gave them rides on his barrow.

The Cambridge museum has some relics for you to see that belonged to Moses which include an enormous Size 13 hobnailed boot and a very tall stovepipe hat with his name inside. The Boot Pub in Histon was then owned by the Papworth Family who were related to Moses and they still possess a silver ring that he wore. There is a large stone still to see in the pub garden which he carried for a bet.

He was buried in the church yard and recently his grave was rededicated to commemorate this local celebrity, with a plaque and time capsule. Some of the Carter family attended along with a large group of well wishers.