Thank you, thank you, thank you from the Arbury Archivists to all who visit the Blog here. We've had some wonderful comments and emails - and many, many visits. We've got a bumper blog post for you here, covering an array of things - hence the long title! We hope you enjoy it. Please contact us via the comments facility or at arburyestate@btinternet.com if you'd like to add any of your recollections to the Arbury Archive or have any enquiries. We were delighted to be contacted by the family of Mr Brian Downham, who lived at the Manor Farm. Mr Downham lived at No 2, Manor Farm Cottages, which stood in what is now the roadway by the junction of the Arbury and Campkin Roads. Traffic now passes over the spot where Mr Downham's semi-detached cottage once stood. Mr Downham made a photographic record of his old home's demolition, and you can see one of his photos above. And if you take a close look in the bottom left corner you will get a glimpse of Arbury Court. The house...

In January, 2013, Arbury gained a major community first.  The Grove (formerly Snowcat) public house in Arbury Court, became the Cambridge Gurdwara, the first Sikh temple not only in Arbury, not only in Cambridge city, but in the whole of Cambridgeshire. The building was erected in 1959 as the Snowcat public house, to serve the 'rapidly expanding Arbury estate'. The architect was David Roberts, the builders Kidman and Sons, and the cost £16,000!  A 1965 report on the Snowcat. The Snowcat was a part of the Arbury community for years, but times changed, and its reputation as a decent pub went downhill around the turn of the 21st Century. In an effort to improve things, the Snowcat was renamed 'The Grove' - confusing, with the Grove School in Campkin Road (named after Manor Farm trees) in close proximity. Two 'Groves' - one a primary school, one a boozer? It really did not compute. As usual, it's the few that give a pub a bad name, and after a particularly nasty...

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, although the Arbury form was more common) 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, ...

                Hooray - hot off the Press, the latest news from the Arbury Carnival organisers! The 2026 Carnival will be on Saturday, 13th June - at the Arbury Town Park in Campkin Road. It was nearly half a century ago that the very first Arbury Carnival was held at the Park in 1977... Our wonderful Carnival organisers are seeking a theme for 2026, and we can all be involved. The suggested themes are Colours of the World, Follow Your Dreams or Music Legends. You can vote HERE .  The Arbury Carnival theme for 2025 was circus - 'The Greatest Show'. The procession was photographed from a bus!  A wonderful time was had by all. Andy, who attended the first Arbury Carnival in 1977, often wonders what he would have made of a glimpse of the 21st Century future way back then. MOBILE phones?! And people using them to make videos and take photographs? Good grief! The first hand-held mobiles arrived in the UK in 1985 - they were far more basic, n...