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General
The name of the village derives from the Old English an-stiga and means ‘steep narrow footpath’. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the name is given as Anestige or Anestei.
The church of St. George in Anstey had a very narrow escape during the Second World War. Beside the church lies a moat which is thought to be the remains of an ancient castle. It was into this moat one night during the war that a fully laden bomber crashed. Fortunately the bombs in the bomb bay did not explode; if they had done the village would have ceased to exist.
The church font is unusual as it is supported by pagan mermen. Only one other church, St. Peter’s in Cambridge, has similar adornment.
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Cave Gate
About three kilometres south of Barkway on the London Road lies a disused chalk pit known as Cave Gate. The site has long had a reputation for evil and is avoided by the locals. It is believed that an old passage ran from Cave Gate to Anstey Castle two and a half kilometres away. In 1944 the castle moat was drained to recover a crashed B17 bomber and locked iron gates were found at the entrance to a tunnel.
The reputation of the site did not worry a fiddler called George who in 1750, after drinking at the local inn, later the Chequers, announced that he would explore the tunnel that very night. Accompanied by his dog and fiddle he entered the tunnel whilst a handful of friends looked on. As he walked George played his fiddle and his friends were able to track him as he walked along the tunnel. All went well until he reached Castle Hill when his friends heard a terrified scream and the fiddling stop. A few moments later George’s dog raced out of the tunnel with no tail and singed fur but there was no sign of George. Now, on windy nights, you can hear the sound of George’s fiddle coming up from the earth. It is said that no crops will grow on the castle mound and snow never settles there for long.
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