Ask Arbury: Changing Times, Positive About Arbury...

Arbury Court - 'the centre of the massive Arbury housing estate' - December, 1977.

Lorraine P. has sent us a suggestion for an Arbury seasonal hymn title:

We Three Kings (hedges) of Arbury Are.

Love it, Lorraine. A suggested next line:

8pm and we're all in the bar...

A very interesting e-mail and lovely Christmas e-card from Mr Peter Wilson:

I like your site but I think community spirit has died down a lot everywhere because everybody's always messing about with computers and mobile phones. The Arbury is lucky to still have its carnival and community centre. I've been amazed at how much you know about the Arbury's history, it's amazing but I don't think you'll bring back the old community spirit, like the Arbury is where we live book. I could be wrong but I don't see it happening. Best thing is the Carnival, so Arbury is still special.

My best wishes to you all for Christmas and the coming New Year.

Thanks, Mr Wilson. The same to you! We would like to help increase community spirit within the historic Arbury district (Carlton Way to the original King's Hedges Road) and we agree that it's a great triumph that the Arbury Carnival and Community Centre continue. We can't return to the past, but we can tell people about Arbury history. A prehistoric fort or village is very important, after all, not to mention all the finds in the Arbury fields adjacent. But, in the end, this is NOW so people will do as they want to do and follow modern trends, as always. We simply present the opportunity to learn about Arbury for people who want to read.

We are very happy though that there is now a positive outlet for Arbury online, and that it covers the historic district, not electoral wards with unconnected areas roped in and particularly important historic Arbury areas excluded.

And that leads us to our next comment, which is from "anonymous":

You just write about the good things in Arbury but it's had loads of aggro. Why do you do that?

Thanks for that, "anonymous". Yes, we tend to dwell on the positive side because when it comes to Arbury we think people tend to do the opposite. But it's not all positive. If you read the historical stuff, we feature illnesses like sleeping sickness and TB, the First World War, and even a murder (although not in Arbury). Amongst the more modern material, there's the attempted Manor Community College closure and the struggle to save it (ultimately successful, but a hard-fought battle), and the recollections of a gay Arbury teenager at Chesterton Community College and then at the Manor Community College in the 1980s - which feature some very unhappy experiences.

We will be dipping into the negative side of life again in future Arbury Snippets and reminisces but, ultimately, this is a positive site about Arbury, strange though it may seem. You could pick any area of Cambridge and write about negative stuff. There would, of course, always be plenty to write about.

Praise for North Arbury, Cambridge Evening News, 1996.

Well, that's it from us until next year, folks. Thanks to all that have written. Andy is still struggling in the wake of Debbie's death. We all miss her terribly. Hopefully, Andy will return to us soon. It has certainly been a very bad year for the Arbury Archivists, although a very good one for the Arbury Blog. Page views are averaging around 3,800 per month and we have had much positive feedback.

Wishing everybody celebrating Christmas everything you'd wish yourselves, and the same to those who don't.

See you again in January 2025!

Comments

WendyJanuary 27, 2025 at 1:39 PM
I missed this and just found it today. I hope you all had a good Christmas or festive season or whatever and I still enjoy your work. Wishing you all the best!
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Arbury CambridgeJanuary 27, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Thanks, Wendy. Glad you're still enjoying the site. Much more to come.
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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...

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Ask Arbury: Living In The Old Manor School Tower Block and a Memory of Debbie...

Interesting query: I didn't realise the old Manor Community College in Arbury had been pulled down. Has it really? To our minds, it's a shame - but yes, the Manor disappeared a few years ago. We wish the council had used the money to upgrade the existing buildings and install a swimming pool for local community use. The site had first known split use in the 1980s, with the Cambridge Regional College's 'Arbury Centre' being accommodated there. In later years, the old tower block was used as student accommodation by Bellerbys language school. It's hard to imagine actually living in the tower block, but students on the top floor would have had a fine view over North and South Arbury, with glimpses of some of the villages beyond, and Cambridge. We would love to hear from people who lived in the tower block. Bellerbys named their student accommodation 'Manor House', which is interesting as there was no manor house in Arbury. But there was the old Manor Farmh...

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