Arbury, 1904...

Arbury Camp (remains of) and Arbury Camp Farm on a 1904 map. Note the earthwork.

The two farms which were built over to create North and South Arbury in the 1950s and 1960s were called Hall and Manor Farms. The entrance to Hall Farm was around where Carlton Way is now; the entrance to Manor Farm was just slightly closer to the houses on the right hand side than the roadway at the Arbury Road junction with Campkin Road now.

The Manor Farm 'drive' was narrower than the new road, so now lies partly under front gardens and partly under the pavement. Two cottages, Numbers 1 and 2 Manor Farm Cottages, stood in the middle of what is now Campkin Road - and, today, traffic passes over the spot!

Travelling back to Arbury in 1904 would be an interesting trip for any time machine owner.

Arbury Road, known locally as Arbury Meadow Road, was longer than now - and connected with Histon Road.

The 'Meadow' part of the name probably related to the fact that the land north of Arbury Road over the years had become known as the Arbury/Harborough Meadows. Harborough was a variation on the Arbury name and the two were interchangeable. The names were derived from the prehistoric earthwork, which was something of a local landmark, and featured in 13th Century documents as 'Ertburg' or 'Herburg'. Some years after the Chesterton Enclosures in 1840, the Manor Farm was established in the old Arbury Meadows and this contained two fields named after Arbury Camp - 'Arbury' and 'Arbury Field'. The Manor Farm/Arbury Meadows were swallowed up by North Arbury.

As well as Manor Farm, there was one other farm up near Histon Road and that was Arbury Camp Farm, which contained the ancient site of Arbury Camp.

This is now the site of Orchard Park, originally Arbury Park, whose residents favoured the idea of their site being named after the old Chivers Jam Factory orchard rather than the iron age camp. Curiously, as Arbury was an ancient British camp, dating back to the iron age, Orchard Park features roads named after Roman culture - like Chariot Way. Roman structures and artefacts were spread across the old Arbury Meadows north of Arbury Road (and south), but not Arbury Camp, which pre-dated their arrival.

So, where was King's Hedges, you ask? And King's Hedges Road?

Well, King's Hedges Road as it now is a far more modern creation than Arbury Road, dating back to the late 1970s, when it was redirected and pulled across the old Arbury Meadows, lopping off the original Histon Road end of Arbury Road. It was originally a much shorter, dead-end road, leading from Chesterton to the fifty eight acre King's Hedges Farm, north of what is now the Guided Busway. King's Hedges Farm (which was simply called 'King's Hedges') has nothing to do with the nonsensical electoral ward (originally the old Arbury Meadows).

The old field names north of Arbury Road, before the 1840 Chesterton Enclosures.

In the original Arbury layout, of course, we have North and South Arbury, based solidly on the history of the area, which run from the Gilbert Road entrance to Carlton Way up to King's Hedges Road. One side of Arbury Road is South Arbury, the other North. South contains Arbury Court, the Kingsway Flats and so on, and North the Arbury Community Centre, Arbury Town Park, Arbury Adventure Playground and so on. The community's heart or centre was set around Arbury Road - with Arbury Court, the Arbury Community Centre, Arbury Town Park, the local senior school and the church of the Good Shepherd in a small area on either side of the road.

Bizarrely, looking back, it seems council planners were obsessed with importing the King's Hedges name into the historic Arbury area. But their invented King's Hedges was originally seen as a sub-district of North Arbury - and pulling the area back for a 'King's Hedges Ward' to cover the whole of North Arbury (and now parts of East Chesterton) was - and is - absurd. And even more so as voting takes place at the Arbury Community Centre, North Arbury Chapel and, when Arbury Court was pulled into the King's Hedges Ward for some years, the Arbury Court Library! I'm afraid not even King's Hedges School is in any area historically known as 'King's Hedges'. It is in the old Arbury Meadows.

Stretten Avenue, Darwin Drive, Akeman Street, Histon Road, etc, were not part of the original (and I think 'real') Arbury and many residents of these roads were surprised when they became part of 'Arbury Ward' in the mid-1970s - having previously been Castle Ward and, before that North Chesterton Ward. One woman I spoke to recently, from Bateson Road, expressed her amusement at the City Council's attitude to local history and community identity. For many years Bateson Road was tossed into the 'Arbury Ward' pot, but then in recent years became 'West Chesterton Ward'.

'Without a by-your-leave!' as she put it. 'I don't take any notice. It's not up to Cambridge City Council to keep changing the name of where I live!'

I am convinced that the wards now have little to do with the actual identity of some of the Cambridge City areas - particularly the poorer areas like Arbury - and have just been fiddled around with for council planners' convenience, rather than build any community identity based on historical facts. Anyway, who wants to refer to their area as a 'Ward', apart from local council representation and voting? Sounds like a hospital!

The shops on Carlton Way. There used to be four small shops here - Dean's - greengrocer's, Blackwell's - butcher's, Yarrow's (pronounced locally 'Yarrer's') - grocers, and Stops - newsagents.

Here, we'll concern ourselves with the original Arbury estate development site, North and South, and head back to 1904.

So, there you are, having left your time machine, standing in Arbury Road in 1904, trying to orientate yourself. No Arbury Court, no Manor School or North Cambridge Academy, no Arbury Town Park, no Church of the Good Shepherd, no Arbury Community Centre.

You spot a white gate, with two brick cottages standing to the left of it, and head in that direction. Stepping through the gate, you ask a passer-by on a bicycle where you are and are told the Manor Farm.

The entrance to the Manor Farm from Arbury Road. Traffic now passes over the site of numbers 1 and 2 Manor Farm Cottages - they stood in what is now the middle of Campkin Road.

To the right of you is a lovely old orchard. Further down, you see the Jacobean style Victorian chimneys of what appears to be a large house. The wide path you are standing on, simply a dirt track, is lined with horse chestnut trees. You begin to walk down the Manor Farm drive to explore further...

PART TWO TO FOLLOW...

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A Tribute To Debbie - Much Loved Arbury Archivist

The death of Debbie Brett on Sunday has saddened us all deeply. Debbie was very much an 'outdoors person', she loved the countryside. She painted and drew in her spare time, and liked nothing better than being on a train going somewhere! She was always deeply moved by the beauties of nature and, sitting in her hospital bed at home a few days before she died, watching the sky deepen from light to dark blue as the evening set in and the lights appeared in the windows opposite, exclaimed: 'Isn't it beautiful?!' 'I wouldn't have noticed,' said her husband Andy. 'But when I looked, it was. She took great pleasure out of looking out of the window, noting all the flora and fauna. I'm so glad the NHS supplied a hospital bed and she was able to stay at home until the end.' Debbie was a very loyal and active member of the Arbury Archivists - as she said, she 'married an Arbury man' - hubby Andy has family links here back to the old farm days in...

Manor School Memories Part 1

The Manor School on Arbury Road was one of the main focuses of life for North and South Arbury for decades. With its evening classes and youth centre, and various community activities - like the annual Christmas party for the elderly and the annual school play in the 1980s ( Annie Get Your Gun and Dracula Spectacular spring to mind) - the Manor opened as separate boys' and girls' schools in 1959 (the girls had to share the boys' buildings at first as their own were still under construction). The school later became co-ed. An aerial view of t he Manor Schools - Boys' and Girls', around 1960, with a section of Arbury Road and Arbury Court. Note Arbury Court was yet to gain its library and large supermarket building, and Campkin Road was still the Manor Farm Drive. The lay of the land, complete with field names, at the Manor Farm in 1900. The Park Meadow contains the Manor School/Community College and North Cambridge Academy sites. The Manor Farm was established...

Exploring The REAL King's Hedges...

The Cambridge and St Ives Branch railway line is now the Guided Busway. Where was King's Hedges historically? How did the name come about? Why is the majority of King's Hedges Road no more historic than late 1970s - and nothing to do with the course of the original road? What have council planners of the 1960s and 1970s and the needs of motorists got to do with the King's Hedges presence in the historic Arbury district? All will be revealed... We're going to leave Arbury briefly and go to King's Hedges. No, not King's Hedges Ward/King's Hedges Estate (AKA North Arbury) - that area is, in reality, one of the most Arbury of Arbury areas in Cambridge historically, but the REAL King's Hedges. North of the Guided Busway. You see, the land north of Arbury Road is the site of the Arbury Camp, the Arbury/Harborough (a variation on the Arbury name) Meadows and Furlongs and the Arbury fields of Manor Farm. It has absolutely nothing to do with King's Hedges at...

Arbury Court - Part Of The 'Centre' Of The Original Arbury Estate...

A view across Arbury Court, looking towards Arbury Road, in 1976. Arbury Court is part of the 'centre' of the original Arbury Estate in Cambridge. The Court, with its pub, supermarket, hardware store and post office, chip shop, newsagent, TV shop, greengrocer, hairdresser, chemist, supermarket and branch library, is part of the 'hub' of the estate. The historic Arbury district. The Arbury or Harborough (the names were variations on each other and interchangeable) Meadows and Furlongs covered land north of Arbury Road, and included a swathe of land south of the road. Arbury Road ran from Milton Road to the Histon/Cambridge Road until the late 1970s. The Manor Farm was formed in the years following the 1840 Chesterton Enclosures. Orchard Park (originally Arbury Park and, before that, Arbury Camp Farm) features the outline of part of the Arbury prehistoric settlement at Ring Fort Road. We've inserted the sites of Arbury Court, Arbury Town Park, the Guided Busway, and t...

Manor School Memories - Part 2

Lads from the Manor Boys' School in 1960. D. Claton, M. Farrow, R. Mitchell, C. Peck, I. Skeels, R. Potter and G. Paine are present. Do any readers remember who is who? School's back in - Manor School/Community College on Arbury Road that is (now North Cambridge Academy). Here is the second part of our series on Manor Memories - Part 1 is here . Pupils' foreign holiday, 1960: the first Manor girls to go on a joint foreign holiday with Manor boys: G. Anderson, J. Barnes, C. Blackwell, H. Brown, S. Budd, L. Carter, A. Clarke, L. Doggett, C. Doughty, P. Drake, S. Hardy, E. Harradine, B. Kaspar, D. Miller, J. Parker, L. Phillips, J. Reeves, J. Spencer, J. Symonds, with headmistress Mrs Firman. Note the Manor Schools' caretaker's house can be seen in the background, and the trees of the old Manor Farm orchard. October 1960, and here is a view of the Manor Boys' and Girls' schools from the car park at the Snow Cat public house (now the Cambridge Gurdwara). A view ...

What Did The Romans Ever Do for Arbury? Jim Smith

Our trusty old Arbury map showing location details before the Manor Farm was established. The red line, inspired by Jim Smith's Roman Arbury map, indicates the course of the Roman road - Akeman Street or the Mere Way. The land north of Arbury Road was the Arbury or Harborough Meadows, Arbury/Harborough furlongs and Arbury Camp, King's Hedges was in its original position, north of the railway (now guided busway) and Arbury Road ran from the Ely/Milton Road to the Histon/Cambridge Road - as it did until the late 1970s. Introduction - by the Arbury Archivists Jim Smith is a local history researcher and a good friend of the Arbury Cambridge Blog. He has been researching Roman finds in the historic Arbury area and has written this article for us. We are most grateful! He follows the adventures of those who scraped away centuries of soil to reveal ancient findings beneath. Of course, as always, we deal with historic Arbury here, not council planners' estates or electoral wards, ...

Main Streets of Arbury: Campkin Road - Part 1

Left: work begins on Campkin Road in 1961. Numbers 1 and 2 Manor Farm Cottages have been demolished, but the intention is to preserve the old trees lining the old Manor Farm Drive. Right: a similar view in more modern times, with the Arbury Town Park and Campkin Road. In 1982, Campkin Road was described as the 'Hauptstrasse of North Arbury' by local journalist Sara Payne. Ms Payne's local history articles in the Cambridge Weekly News were hugely popular and, for each one, Ms Payne visited a street in Cambridge and talked to the residents, collecting their memories for publication and producing a fascinating series of 'Then and Now' style articles. 'Cambridge Weekly News', 1982. Down Your Street followed in the footsteps of a similar series in the local press in the early 1960s - by Erica Dimmock - and both now make fascinating reading. We're starting our look at Campkin Road with material from the 'Arbury 1980' project and accounts from locals...

Ask Arbury: The Roman Villa in Arbury

E-mail to Arbury Cambridge blog: Was a Roman villa found at King's Hedges? I recently saw an outside display in North Arbury/King's Hedges Ward called 'The Roman Landscape in King's Hedges' which claims there was one. And is King's Hedges Road Roman? We've seen that display. Electoral wards are not historic areas and local historians really do need to be mindful of that fact. The answer to your questions regarding the Roman villa and King's Hedges Road is no. The Roman villa was found on the site of King's Hedges School, which is not part of the historic King's Hedges acres. Historically, King's Hedges was simply a named property, a farm, of fifty eight acres, and is now north of the guided busway. It was never a district. King's Hedges School is dearly loved by many of us and we treasure it, but those in the know accept it's not actually in any historically meaningful King's Hedges district, and the site it was built on ha...

Mrs Hinchcliffe's Memories of Old Arbury, Chesterton & Vicarage Terrace - Part 9

The ninth part of the memories of Mrs Grace Hinchcliffe (1910-1998), contributed to the Arbury Archive in the 1980s. Mrs Hinchcliffe was Andy's grandmother and this is very much an insider's view of life in rural Arbury and Chesterton (with occasional insights into life in Vicarage Terrace) in the 1910s and 1920s. If you would like to read Mrs Hinchcliffe's recollections in order, from the beginning, a link to Part 1 is here . 'Aunt May had worked at Luke Eyres' [pronounced Eye-ers] knitting factory on the corner of Hale Street and always been bustling about. I remember when I stayed nights at the farm her getting on her bike to go to work in the morning - she never seemed tired. She was always on the go, but she gradually got worse and worse with the Sleeping Sickness. And Grandma went downhill and they weren't good times. 'Grandma and Grandad Brett's house at Arbury was very quiet with the illnesses going on there. I think Aunt May was frustrated as s...

Ask Arbury: "King's Hedges Woods"

The Arbury district, circa 1904. Various farm and field names have been inserted, including the 58 acre King's Hedges. Although King's Hedges was a farm, it always appears simply as 'King's Hedges' on maps. While Arbury Camp Farm became a poultry farm and an orchard for Chivers of Histon, King's Hedges housed some much older trees, as did the neighbouring Impington Park, which was an entirely separate property. Lovely email to the Arbury Cambridge site today. Thanks to the sender: When I was a kid in the 50's and 60's, we often used to play in Kings Hedges woods. It was a lot of fun. I came on this site to try and find out why the woods were just done away with, which is a shame. There used to be cuckoo's there and numerous wildlife. How destructive to just get rid of it Valuable oak, elm and ash trees (timber) were recorded on the sales particulars for the historic King's Hedges acres in the 1909 sales particulars for the 58 acre farm. They are...

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