Richard and Amelia Brett with their dog, Nell, in the Park Meadow at Manor Farm - later the site of Manor School/North Cambridge Academy. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was common for housewives to prepare dough for bread at home and then take it to the local baker to be baked. This was exactly what Mrs Amelia Brett of the Manor Farm on Arbury 'Meadow' Road, did. The dough would be wrapped in a sheet and placed in a pram to be taken to Chesterton village. The task of transporting the dough was entrusted to one or two of her eleven children. One hot summer's day, in the early 1890s, Amelia entrusted her daughters Elizabeth and Louisa with the task. They had never done it before - and so were rather pleased. But not for long. The large amount of dough in the pram kept causing it to tip from side to side, and as the girls pushed the sheet-wrapped bundle back into the carriage, something very odd began to happen. It began to swell. The sheet began to fill and overflow th...
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.