The Covington and Keyston History Group originally started out as the Covington History Group its origins being just around the millennium when a group of villagers started to collect information for a Covington family tree and conducted a survey of all residents to understand who lived in the village and what their interests were.

Over time this expanded to visiting archives and researching all aspects on the village. In February 2012 the group joined Jigsaw (a collaboration between Oxford Archaeology and Cambridge County Council to protect Cambridgeshire’s archaeological heritage) with the aim of learning how to use archaeology, alongside historical sources to find out more about the village. At this point the group had around ten core members but wanted to engage as much of the village as they could. Initial meetings to discuss how the archaeological project in the village should proceed were followed by members of CHG attending training courses run by Jigsaw. These included Test pitting, finds recognition, Roman pottery and how to operate Geophysics equipment. Jigsaw also supported the group in a fieldwalking exercise. With the first dig taking place in June 2012.

Over the next five years there were a number of archaeological digs with substantial finds that kept members busy identifying and reporting on them.

By 2022 the number of original members had dwindled as people moved on from the village, at the same time interest in a history group was rising in the nearby village of Keyston and it became clear that a joint venture would be beneficial to both villages. The group is still a member of Jigsaw which provides access to both equipment and expertise. On average around 20 people attend each of our winter presentation and we still welcome any local residents that wish to join our group.