Quy Fen spans about 73 acres and is the remains of a much large area of common land between the villages of Horningsea, Quy and Fen Ditton. As was the custom since Saxon times where less arable land lay outside villages, it was shared by the villages and used for cattle grazing, hay cutting, wood cutting and fen digging. The villages were small, the total population being only about 70 when the Domesday Book was compiled in 1086.
The fen has a number of water filled pits which were excavated in the 19th century for coprolite "dinosaur dung" and today act as host to a variety of wild life. Quy Fen Trust is responsible for the upkeep of the fen, which is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), and is supported by Natural England.
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