Roll out the pillar box! 'New Post Office for Arbury Estate', 'Cambridge Evening News', September, 1971. Thanks to Paul who recently sent us some pics of the sadly departed North Arbury Post Office, in Cameron Road. The North Arbury Post Office and Stores opened in September, 1971 - in a building which was intended to be temporary. It was there for around three decades! By 1981, the Stores were part of the Spar chain (remember the slogan, 'So near, so Spar'?) and also supplying hairdressing services for North Arbury! The North Arbury Stores and Post Office, Cameron Road, in the 1990s. Note the high tec 'Phonecards' phone box to the right! The first phone card boxes had arrived in the 1980s. The National Lottery - a 1990s innovation - had also arrived by the time this photograph was taken. Thanks again to Paul. Photographs like these are just what we're looking for - they help the Archive tremendously. We'll trawl the 'CEN' archive for mor...

Richard and Amelia Brett with their dog, Nell, at the Manor Farm, Arbury Road, 1913. The photograph was taken in the farm's 'Park' meadow - later the site of Manor School/North Cambridge Academy. The Bretts usually had family photographs taken in the 'Park'. 'Arbury', 'Arbury Field' and the 'Stable Field' (on the other side of the Manor Farm 'Drive'/Campkin Road towards Arbury Camp Farm) were cultivated, but the 'Park' was a grassed meadow - often used for grazing. Looking back at how Christmas was celebrated at the Manor Farm on Arbury Road, over one hundred years ago...  The Bretts, Richard and Amelia, lived at the Foreman's/horse keeper's house at the Manor Farm from 1886 to the early 1920s. They had eleven children and many grandchildren.  Richard and Amelia were married at St Andrew's Church, Impington, on 19/10/1880, and moved to King's Hedges a couple of years later. King's Hedges was the name of a f...

We love receiving your enquiries, but please remember our Arbury Cambridge YouTube video, which answers a lot of questions about the historic Arbury district. There are more videos in the pipeline (this was our very first effort, so please forgive any rough edges!) but if the historic Arbury district interests you, we think you'll find the video useful. From the iron age site to the Carlton Arms, from the Roman settlement to Arbury Court, from the Arbury Community Centre to the Arbury Adventure Playground, from Manor Farm to Campkin Road - it's all there...

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...