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. The fields north of Arbury Road were known as the Arbury or Harborough Meadows (a variation on the 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
Is Arbury simply an electoral ward in the university city of Cambridge, the boundaries of which are arbitrarily redefined by Council planners whenever they choose? Or is it an area with a history of its own? We've studied Arbury, North and South, its prehistoric origins, Roman times, the old farms, the early housing estate and right up to date. We cover the original area, from Carlton Way to King's Hedges Road.