Balsham is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, just under ten miles south-east of Cambridge city centre as the crow flies. The parish borders West Wratting, West Wickham, Linton, Hildersham, Little Abington and Fulbourn, and Linton village lies about three miles to the south-south-west. Its other boundaries follow old lines across the landscape: the Fleam Dyke to the north-east, the Icknield Way to the north-west and Wool Street to the south-west. Roads link the village with Fulbourn, Hildersham, West Wickham and West Wratting.
The 2021 Census recorded about 1,600 people living in the parish. The village is the parish's only centre of settlement. The church, the site of the old manor house and a small green lie close together near its centre, and the village has two conservation areas, covering the village centre and the West End.
The Fleam Dyke, which forms the parish's north-eastern boundary, is an earthwork probably dating from the 7th century. Chalk underlies the whole parish, covered by boulder clay in the east. There are no streams, but the clay holds many ponds, and wells have been sunk through the clay to the bottom of the chalk. Balsham Wood, about 200 acres near the south-eastern end of the parish, is the remains of once extensive woodland.
Hugh of Balsham, Bishop of Ely from 1258 to 1286 and founder of Peterhouse, was most probably born on the bishop's manor at Balsham. In the 19th century the agriculturalist Philip Howard Frere lived for a time on his father's estate at Dungate Farm, and the author Frederick William Rolfe, known as Baron Corvo, taught at a private school in the village in the 1880s.
Balsham also has a Plough Monday tradition. Plough-boys used to go round the village collecting money in early January, a custom that lasted into the 20th century and was revived in 1972 to raise money for local causes. The Balsham Ploughmen still tour the village each Plough Monday.
There was a church at Balsham by 1010, and between 1017 and 1035 Leofflaed, daughter of Beorhtnoth, left Balsham to Ely Abbey in her will. The Domesday Book of 1086 records 12 villani, 12 bordars and 2 servi (unfree labourers) here. When the see of Ely was created in 1109 the manor passed to the bishop, and it stayed with the bishops for the next four centuries. In 1245 the bishop was granted a Monday market at Balsham and a three-day fair at the feast of Holy Trinity.
In 1611 the manor became part of the endowment of Thomas Sutton's new foundation, the Charterhouse, which still owned it when the Victoria County History account was written in the 1970s. Around 1560 Christopher Vitels, a disciple of the Family of Love, set up a congregation in the village.
Most of the parish's farmland stayed unenclosed until 1806. The population rose from 759 in 1811 to 1,352 in 1851, fell to 650 by 1931 and then grew again, from 712 in 1961 to 1,204 in 1971. Council houses were built on the Cambridge road in 1926 and on the West Wickham road in 1948 and 1960, with private houses built in small closes off both sides of the main street.
Balsham has two conservation areas, Balsham Village Centre and Balsham West End, both designated in May 1995. Greater Cambridge Shared Planning publishes boundary maps for both but does not list a conservation area appraisal for either.
Holy Trinity Church is listed Grade I. Built of field stones and brick with freestone dressings, it stands on the higher ground near the centre of the village. The tower, of the 13th century, is the oldest part. The nave and aisles were rebuilt in the later 14th century by the rector John Sleaford (d. 1401), who is also credited with the fine choir stalls in the chancel. Memorial brasses to Sleaford and to another rector, John Blodwell (d. 1462), are in the chancel. The church was restored in 1875 under William Butterfield.
The Black Bull Inn on the High Street is a thatched, timber-framed 17th-century building, said to have been a coaching inn. It is listed Grade II.
The Victoria County History counted about ten surviving 17th-century farmhouses in the village, timber-framed and plastered, with most of the other older houses dating from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
The Meadow Primary School on the High Street takes children aged 4 to 11. It is an academy within the Anglian Learning trust. Ofsted last inspected the school in January 2023, and the full report is available on the Ofsted website.
Balsham has no secondary school of its own. Its catchment secondary school has been Linton Village College. Catchment areas can change, so families should confirm current arrangements with Cambridgeshire County Council admissions.
Check National Rail for current train times before you travel.
Balsham's housing mixes old cottages, some dating from the 16th century, and 17th-century timber-framed farmhouses with newer houses and closes. The biggest expansion began in the 1960s.
HM Land Registry recorded 36 standard residential sales in Balsham between October 2024 and August 2026. The median price was £420,000. Of those sales, 19 were semi-detached houses, 16 detached and 1 terraced, with prices ranging from £225,000 to £2,000,000. Because the mix of homes sold varies from year to year, these figures give a general picture rather than a precise valuation.
Thinking of moving to or from Balsham? Book a free valuation or browse property for sale with our team.
Balsham is just under ten miles south-east of Cambridge city centre in a straight line.
No. The nearest station is Dullingham, about five miles away, on the Cambridge to Ipswich line. Whittlesford Parkway, about six and a half miles away, has trains to Cambridge and London Liverpool Street.
Yes. The village has two conservation areas, Balsham Village Centre and Balsham West End, both designated in 1995.
The Meadow Primary School in the village serves children aged 4 to 11. The catchment secondary school has been Linton Village College; please confirm current catchment with Cambridgeshire County Council.
