How many things that are, or have been, called 'Arbury' in Cambridge and its immediate environs can you think of over the years? Most 'Arbury' things are clustered north of Arbury Road - one of the most historic Arbury areas in Cambridge, although, nonsensically, part of the "King's Hedges" electoral ward. Check out King's Hedges on the map. That's right. It's north of the guided busway/railway line and was a fifty eight acre farm. A lot of the land north of Arbury Road, and a swathe of land to the south, were known as the Arbury or Harborough Meadows, North Arbury/Harborough Furlong, etc. Harborough is a variation on the Arbury name.
We put our thinking caps on, and came up with:
1) Arbury Road:
This road connected the Milton/Ely Road with the Histon/Cambridge Road until the late 1970s when a new road was built across the Arbury Meadows/Manor Farm by the iron age Arbury Camp at the time of the A14 development. The new road connected Arbury Road with the formerly dead-end King's Hedges Road and lopped off the original end of Arbury Road. Council planners called the new road 'King's Hedges Road', although it was not in the historic King's Hedges acres. King's Hedges was a 58 acre farm, north of what is now the Guided Busway. The historic Arbury Road runs on the alignment of what is likely to be an ancient track which may once have connected the iron age fort or village at Arbury Camp with the river in what is now Chesterton. Arbury Road is the only road name in Cambridge city with prehistoric links.2) North Arbury Stores and North Arbury Post Office, Cameron Road:
In the early 1980s, there was hairdressing there too...
3) North Arbury Chapel, Cameron Road:
The North Arbury Chapel gained its own building in the early 1980s.
4) Arbury Kebab, Cameron Road:
A legend in its own mealtime. After a few drinks at the Ship, or an evening stroll, these things are terrific! YUM!
5) Arbury Adventure Playground, Nun's Way playing field:
Wonderful memories for many... another Arbury community effort, as was the Nun's Way field it stood on.
6) Arbury Community Association:
- residents' association formed around 1963.
7) Arbury Community Centre, Campkin Road, Cambridge:
Campaigned for by locals for years and finally made its debut in 1974.
8) Arbury Camp - Arbury Road, Cambridge:
The ancient earthwork enclosing an ancient settlement, which gave the road and the whole district its name. For many years, it was believed that Arbury Camp was the iron age equivalent of a village, but more recent excavations reveal that it could have been a fort. Part of the earthwork alignment is preserved in Ring Fort Road at Orchard Park (formerly Arbury Park and Arbury Camp Farm).
9) Arbury Camp Farm, Arbury Road, Cambridge:
Named after the ancient earthwork and settlement, the farm was on Arbury Road, before the massive expansion and redirection of King's Hedges Road across the Arbury Meadows/Manor Farm for the A14 motorway in the late 1970s.
10) Arbury Orchard, Histon/Cambridge Road:
11) Arbury Town Park, Campkin Road, Cambridge:
Another community facility campaigned for by the Arbury community many years ago. A far bigger plot was promised, but the Council put more and more houses on it until it dwindled down to what we have. We're still thankful for it.12) Arbury fields, Manor Farm, Arbury Road, Cambridge:
See map at location 7...
13) Arbury Carnival:
- the one and only, since 1977! The Carnival takes place at the Arbury Town Park in Campkin Road every year, with a themed procession through the former Arbury/Harborough Meadows - see entry 21.
14) Arbury Community Church, Arbury Community Centre, Campkin Road, Cambridge
15) Arbury Court, Arbury Road, Cambridge:
Shopping centre in the middle of the original Arbury Estate. The original buildings were completed in the late 1950s, with additional supermarket and library buildings added in the 1960s and early 1970s.
16) Arbury Court Recreation Ground, Arbury Road, Cambridge
17) Arbury Hardware, Arbury Court, Arbury Road, Cambridge
This was also the Arbury Court Post Office...
18) Arbury School, Carlton Way, Cambridge:
The first of the Arbury primary schools, which opened in 1956. Headmaster Mr Jones and some of Arbury's pupils are pictured in 1981.
19) Arbury Community House, Lawrence Way, Cambridge:
A 1970s initiative of Cambridge City Council to help provide advice and community support.
20) Arbury Hedges:
A property at the Histon/Cambridge Road end of the original Arbury Road, revealed in an 1829 newspaper advertisement for a sale of wood. 'Cambridge, Wisbech, Ely, Chatteris, Manea, Upwell, Thorney, Whittlesea, Newmarket, Soham, Linton and Royston Advertiser'.21) Arbury/Harborough Meadows/Furlongs:
Land mainly north of Arbury Road, including the Arbury/Harborough Meadows, North Arbury/Harborough Furlong, the Arbury/Harborough Furlong and West Arbury/Harborough Corner. These later became part of the Manor and Arbury Camp Farms (scroll up for map). Manor Farm included the Arbury name as two fields near Arbury Camp. 'Harborough' was a variation on the Arbury name and the two were interchangeable. The Arbury/Harborough Meadows also included a swathe of land to the south of Arbury Road.22) Arbury Terrace:
On the corner of the Chesterton and Milton Roads - part of the Victorian New Chesterton development. The houses are now commercial premises. There was also an Arbury House in Chesterton Road.
23) Arbury Fast Fit (in Arbury Ward, not on the estate), Histon Road, Cambridge
UPDATED: 25/03/2024
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And so the planners decided to make a 'King's Hedges Ward' out of the most 'real' bit of Arbury? Thank God most people don't take any notice of them! Very high handed and out of touch. Typical. We're like medieval serfs.
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