The manor was originally called Slepe, under which name a church
dedicated to All Saints was built by the Abbot of Ramsey, in 970. In 986 the
manor was given to Ramsey Abbey by Aethelstan Mannesone. In 1001 a ploughman
unearthed a stone coffin containing bones, which discovery was reported to the
Abbot of Ramsey. From the evidence of the ploughman's dream about the bones,
the abbot determined that they belonged to St Ivo, a 6th-century Persian
archbishop. The relic became a focus of pilgrimage at St Ive's Priory (now
destroyed), and was ultimately the cause of the change of name. In Domesday,
however, the manor is still Slepe, and a church and priest are mentioned.