Freda Wilkinson, the Managing Director of Millers Music Centre in Cambridge wrote this opinion piece in June 1965 – and it was spotted here by Mike Petty MBE “The recent controversy about future public halls in Cambridge brings to mind the changes which have taken place over the last 60 years. At the turn of … More Cambridge in need of a new public hall – 1965
Cambridge’s only independent midwife of her era, Gertrude Alice Dorrington, was awarded an MBE in 1957. A cycling midwife who lived in Romsey Town who was ‘never off duty’ – her cycle guarded by patrolling constables when spotted in the early hours, she delivered more than 3,000 babies. So if anyone wants to acquire her … More The Midwife of Cambridge
Could Cambridge and other towns learn from this example from over a century ago? It feels very similar to elements of Capturing Cambridge at the Museum of Cambridge – just an offline version! This article from 1922 is about a project that a girls’ school in Brighton undertook to make the link between local history … More Using local history to teach citizenship – an example from Brighton – 1922
In late 1919, the New Town ward (the residential area bounded by Brooklands Avenue to the south, Hills Road to the east, and Trumpington Road to the west) had a by-election. Bill Few, one of the first Cambridge Labour activists, was the candidate Labour’s candidate was William ‘Bill’ Few – pictured below following his appointment … More Leah Manning on inequality and municipal pride – 1919
Some of you may have seen headlines about a protest outside Great St Mary’s in the Cambridge Independent this week. Others may have noticed a candidate I think from a different party with a similar name standing for election in Abbey Ward. Longtime readers of this blog may also be familiar with the life of … More Cambridge communists complain about traffic lights on Mill Road Bridge – 1983
The economic and political pressures of the Second World War resulted in the further centralisation of a host of functions – yet the publication reminds us today of the importance of local government as a civic institution from a previous era, and the debates on regional government. Following on from my previous blogpost on Elizabeth … More What should post-war local councils be like?
Books from the time set out the dreams You can read Our Towns by Elizabeth Halton here. She would later be known as Lady Pepler after her husband George Pepler, who she married after this pamphlet was published, was knighted. She also served as Conservative councillor on the old London County Council at a time … More What should our post-war new towns be like?
Turns out there was so much concern that the King George Jubilee Trust commissioned a study on it – one published in 1955. It’s worth noting that the House of Lords referred to the Ministry of Education’s definition of ‘youth service’ as a term: “…generally used to denote the promotion by voluntary bodies and local … More What did adults think about children and young people in the 1950s?
In June 1964, two senior city council officials presented highlights of recent infrastructure and building works in Cambridge to their fellow professionals at the Institute of Municipal Engineers in Brighton – where I lived during my student days! One of the little-known features of Cambridge and Brighton are the numbers of young people who make … More Early post-war developments in Cambridge: 1964
In the first three months of 2024 we have seen three new books published on several of the women who made modern Cambridge. Could this be the tipping point that Cambridge’s local history needs to get our city to embrace the achievements of past civic heroes? The three books concerned are: Jane Elsden and Elizabeth … More Three new books on the women who made modern Cambridge
Lost Cambridge 