m_ of the Isle. Cambridgeshire has
always been remarkable for its lack of county families, and for the
frequent changes in the ownership of estates. No Englishmen retained
lands of any importance after the Conquest, and at the time of the
Domesday Survey the chief lay proprietors were Alan, earl of Brittany,
whose descendants the Zouches retained estates in the county until the
15th century; Picot the sheriff, whose estates passed to the families of
Peverell and Peche; Aubrey de Vere, whose descendants retained their
estates till the 16th century; and Hardwinus de Scalariis, ancestor of
the Scales of Whaddon.

From the time of Hereward's famous resistance to the Conqueror in the
fen-district, the Isle of Ely was intimately concerned with the great
political struggles of the country. It was defended against Stephen by
Bishop Nigellus of Ely, who fortified Ely and Aldreth, and the latter in
1144 was held for the empress Maud by Geoffrey de Mandeville. During the
struggles between John and his barons, Faukes de Breaute was made
governor of Cambridge Castle, which, however, surrendered to the barons
in the same year. The Isle of Ely was seized by the followers of Simon
de Montfort in 1266, but in 1267 was taken by Prince Edward. At the
Reformation period the county showed much sympathy with the Reformers,
and in 1642 the knights, gentry and commoners of Cambridgeshire
petitioned for the removal of all unwarrantable orders and dignities,
and the banishment of popish clergy. In the civil war of the 17th
century Cambridgeshire was one of the associated counties in which the
king had no visible party, though the university assisted him with
contributions of plate and money.

Cambridgeshire has always been mainly an agricultural county. The
Domesday Survey mentions over ninety mills and numerous valuable
fisheries, especially eel-fisheries, and contains frequent references to
wheat, malt and honey. The county had a flourishing wool-industry in the
14th century, and became noted for its worsted cloths. The Black Death
of 1349 and the ravages committed during the Wars of the Roses were
followed by periods of severe depression, and in 1439 several
Cambridgeshire towns obtained a remission of taxation on the plea of
poverty. In the 16th century barley for malt was grown in large
quantities in the south, and the manufacture of willow-baskets was
carried on in the fen-districts. Saffron was extensively cultivated in
the 18th century