Two topics today, firstly the Arbury Carnival Poster Exhibition, secondly Albrach - did it actually exist?  First and foremost, the Arbury Carnival Poster Exhibition is at CRC, on King's Hedges Road, on 11 March! There will be music, and the winning poster art will be chosen! With entries from CRC, North Cambridge Academy, Castle School and Chesterton.  This is the 49th anniversary of the Arbury Carnival, with its debut now wreathed in the mists of time (1977).  'Doesn't seem that long ago to me,' says Andy, who is a bit sensitive about the passage of years as he marches into his sixties. But the origins of the Arbury name are wreathed in much more mist - prehistoric times!  Thanks to the Arbury Carnival Committee and all helpers and contributors, as always! There is a lot that goes into preparing our yearly day and we are very grateful to all those involved in the task.  The Arbury Town Park in Campkin Road is, as always, the location. Take a look at our maps f...

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...

Manor Girls' School 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. Lots of great emails and comments - all of which will be answered personally, or on here. Thanks very much indeed to everybody for taking the trouble to get in touch. The Arbury Blog has proved far more popular than we ever envisaged, and we are delighted. Thank you all to our visitors.  We've aimed to present a history of the historic Arbury district from the prehistoric, pre-Chesterton days of Arbury Camp, to the 21st Century, including Arbury Camp; the Roman developments and other finds on the ...

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 linked the formerly...