The Arbury Adventure Playground on the Nuns Way playing field in North Arbury was a fixture for over twenty-five years. It made its debut in 1973. One of the featured newspaper articles in this post details progress towards its creation - and is something of a hymn of praise to the original Arbury community spirit. Hello, and welcome to our latest round-up of past newspaper articles about Arbury, which was a hive of community action in its early years. The three articles we include here are shining examples of the community spirit of  'The Arbury', with an adventure playground in the offing, a social club for lonely elderly people already established, and a county councillor happy to chop down four foot high weeds... But first... A Word About Arbury...  Where Is Arbury, What Is It? Readers familiar with historic Arbury as opposed to 'Arbury Ward' and 'King's Hedges Ward' (a name imported into the Arbury Meadows from elsewhere) can skip this. But, for newcome...

The Manor Boys' School nearing completion in 1959. At this point, some of the Manor Farm buildings remained. Part Five of Mrs Wiles's 1986 recollections of life in Old Arbury and Chesterton: From The Manor School in the 1970s To Christ's Pieces in the 1920s... 'I've only been to the Manor School once. It was a fete a few years back, with my friend, Mrs Royston. Well, it was a lovely day and I was telling Mrs Royston about the Manor Farm and Gran and Grandad and everything, and we were looking at that big tall block and wondering what the view was like from the top. We met one of the teachers, I think it was the headmaster, and he was lovely, we were chatting to him, just ordinary, about it all. He was very interested. He asked if we'd like to see the view from the top and we said, "Oh, yes, please!" and he got the caretaker and we went in. 'Now, wasn't that nice of him? 'It was better inside than out because there were a lot of windows and ...

The Story So Far... Andy has been driving Debs and her wheelchair all over the original Arbury Estate ('Stop, chauffeur, in need of fish n' chips!' she said at one point), looking at the area, remembering the past, and having a good day of it. Starting in North Arbury at Arbury Town Park, the pair have visited the Arbury Community Centre in Campkin Road, the old Manor School site, North Cambridge Academy, Nicholson Way and Walker Court. Then it was over to South Arbury for Arbury Court and the Carlton Terrace shops and Carlton Arms in Carlton Way.  Sadly, they were too tired to get up to the North Arbury Chapel and Arbury Kebab van in Cameron Road, and the site of the legendary Arbury Adventure Playground on the Nuns Way playing field. They're now finishing off with a look at Carlton Way... Now, READ ON! The 1950s council-built houses in Carlton Way always say 'Arbury' to us, even when we see similar in Cherry Hinton. . . The Arbury Primary School made its debut...

  Debs and Andy, intrepid Arbury Archivists, set off for an Arbury day out on 16 September, 2022. Here's Debs in Arbury Town Park, Campkin Road, admiring the view of Colonel Bennett's Manor Farmhouse garden trees across the road. Campkin Road. The site across the road once contained the Manor Farmhouse and the view was then more like the picture below. A tree by the front of the farmhouse had been earmarked for saving at the time of the North Arbury development in 1960, but sadly died. The small island at the top of the alley leading to the garages marks the spot. Manor Farmhouse in the 1930s. Looking across part of the old Arbury Meadows, now containing Nicholson Way, Hanson Court, Walker Court and much more. Andy was thrilled to use the Arbury exploration to demonstrate his tremendous skill as a lousy photographer.  Much of the area of North Arbury and Arbury/Orchard Park was once known as the Arbury/Harborough Meadows, furlongs and corner. King's Hedges had nothing to do...

Photo captioned 'South Arbury homes' from the 'Cambridge Evening News', 1972 - Kingsway Flats, Carlton Way. In more recent years, great kebabs have been sold here. In 1972, I'd never even heard of one! We lived in Cunningham Close on South Arbury, and it surprises a lot of people to hear that, although it was the early 1970s, some people were buying their council houses. Before the 1980s, council houses were sold - it depended on individual councils. In the '80s it simply became a right for all. We didn't buy ours - only a few people in the road were doing that. Quite a lot of people, when they bought their house, would put on a new front door - hard wood, latticed, with a few panes of bullseye glass for a Victorian look perhaps, and might put up a Victorian style lamp by their door. It wasn't that people were desperate to be 'retro' as we call it nowadays - but Victorian style looked 'nice' and 'posh'. Anyway, every decade has i...