Discoveries of flint tools in and around the modern village and aerial photographs which reveal a number of Bronze Age ring-ditches indicate that Burwell once formed part of a rich prehistoric landscape that spanned the chalk slopes of the fen edge. Many Roman artefacts have also been discovered, although they suggest that Burwell itself was not an area of dense Roman activity. It is possible that there was a Roman villa near to the site where Burwell castle now stands.

An Anglo-Saxon inhumation cemetery was excavated in the 1920s and the village itself may have Anglo-Saxon origins. In 1935, excavations at Burwell Castle revealed evidence for pre-12th century settlement which had been partly obliterated by the construction of the castle and more recent archaeological work has confirmed this.

In 1143, King Stephen ordered the building of a series of fortifications and castles in this region to control Geoffrey de Mandeville. Burwell Castle was probably part of this system of defences. Tradition has it that Geoffrey attacked the castle in 1144 and received a fatal wound. The threat removed, work on the castle ended and the earthworks remained unfinished. The site was subsequently occupied by a the Abbots of Ramsey who built a manor and a chapel at Burwell. The site was eventually abandoned during the fifteenth century.

Burwell is a medieval village which grew through a series of planned additions: High Town, North Street and Newnham. High Town is probably the earliest and contained the churches of St Mary and St Andrew. North Street, first mentioned in 1350, developed to the north of High Town and the two settlements were linked by a causeway. Newnham, first referred to in 1440 and probably an extension of North Street, had three parallel east–west lanes which provided the main route for wheeled traffic before 1815.

From the 16th century onwards new houses were built along the main streets. The development of water-borne trade following the drainage of the fens provided a particular boost to the local economy and the core of the village continued to develop. By contrast, the Newnham area became almost entirely uninhabited and in the later 19th century wattle and daub houses were built here.

Burwell village retained its traditional multiple-focus, elongated shape until WWII. After the war, new development occurred to the west of New Street and High Town and the 1970s witnessed expansion to the east and south of the historic village.

If you wish to learn more about the archaeology of Burwell, online access to the Cambridgeshire Historic Environment Record is available via the Heritage Gateway.