"MELBOURN, a parish in the hundred of Armingford, county Cambridge, 3 miles north-east of Royston, and 10½ from Cambridge. The village, which is large, is chiefly agricultural. The soil is of various quality. The manufacture of straw-plait is carried on. An Enclosure Act was obtained in 1839. The appropriate tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £860, and the vicarial for £220. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Ely, value £250, in the patronage of the dean and chapter. The church, dedicated to All Saints, an ancient structure built by Henry VII., contains several monuments to the Birch family. The register dates from 1558. The parochial charities produce about £165, of which £109 goes to Trigg's school, and £7 to Ayloffe's school. There is a school for both sexes, on the Lancasterian system, also an infant school. The Independents and Baptists have places of worship. Near the churchyard is an elm-tree of remarkable antiquity. John Hitch, Esq., and the Dean and Chapter of Ely, are lords of the manor."