A frozen Manor Farm Drive in 1956. The photographer was looking towards Arbury Road, and standing opposite what is now the Arbury Town Park. The Manor Farmhouse was empty at this point. Photo: Cambridgeshire Collection. The original Arbury district has a long history of mud. From the iron age Arbury Camp, wreathed in the mists of prehistory and, no doubt, quite squidgy in the old soil department at times, to the Roman habitations built in the Arbury Meadows beside the earthwork north of Arbury Road, and on through the centuries to the Manor and Hall Farms, north and south of Arbury Road, mud was always a fact of life. As it was in rural districts across the country. On the subject of Arbury mud, Mrs Osland wrote about the Manor Farm Drive (now Campkin Road) and having to ride her bike down there to visit her aunt: We used to hear all sorts of things about Arbury being haunted by Romans and the part we called the 'Roman Arbury' was over by Chivers at Arbury Camp Farm and along ...
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.