Entry for Bluntisham with Earith from Pigot's Directory of Huntingdonshire, 1839
Bluntisham is a village and parish, in the same hundred as Somersham, about two miles and a half south from that town; situate near the navigable Ouse, which river forms the boundary of the pariah for the distance of about three miles. The dean and chapter of Ely are in possession of a manor here, for which they hold courts occasionally. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, stands midway between this village and the hamlet of earith, a chapelry to Bluntisham parish. The benefice is a rectory, in the gift of the Bishop of Ely; the Rev. Richard Tillard is the present incumbent. In the church-yard (which commands an extensive view of Cambridgeshire and the towers of Ely cathedral), is interred Adrian Lucus, a celebrated prizefighter and wrestler, who died in 1672: his tomb, which was recently repaired and beautified by some gentlemen of the ‘fancy,’ is much visited by strangers coming into the county; upon it is inscribed the following singular epitaph:—
“ Here lies the conqueror conquered,
Valiant as ever England bred,
Whom neither art, nor steel, nor strength
Could e’er subdue, till death at length
Threw him on his back, and here he lies,
In hopes hereafter to arise.”
A place of worship for particular baptists, a charity school and another for infants’ are in the parish, and the poor are benefited by several benefactions periodically distributed. Fairs, chiefly for cattle and horses, are held at Earith, in the months of May, July and August. The parish of Bluntisham (exclusive of Earith chapelry, 707) contained, in 1831, 674 inhabitants.
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