I fell down an internet worm hole having picked up on a social media post about the civil service from times gone by. Now 1955 is relatively modern as far as this blog goes, but it still pre-dates computers and is inevitably embedded in a mindset (that of Empire) that the Second World War found … More Original documents on reforming the civil service in Victorian England
Back in 2017, the Wellcome Library digitised and uploaded its collection of public health reports for the Borough of Cambridge. This post lists and links to each of the reports. Alternatively, have a search through the documents on the search terms ‘Borough’ ‘Cambridge’ which brings up related subjects. Not all of the reports are available. … More 80 years of public health reports for Cambridge Borough/City Council
One of the things that becomes clear when researching the changes to Cambridge and County in the 19th Century is the sense of those active in social reform and improvement that they understood themselves to be in an age of significant change, progress and improvement. Furthermore, the drive for improvement from those active at the … More Oversight of mental health provision at Fulbourn Hospital in the 19th Century
An incredible find on the Internet archive, digitised here which I’ve transcribed below (including switching the letter ‘f’ to ‘s’ amongst other things!), written and published anonymously by a Governor of Addenbrooke’s Hospital in 1776 – which shows how old Addenbrooke’s is. A decade before, Addenbrooke’s was placed on a statutory footing – that is … More The case for public hospitals like Addenbrooke’s – 1776
Much as I’d like to see Belcher’s design of 1898 improved, upgraded and built, I can’t fault the councillors of the day for trying again in 1913 to get it built. Above – John Belcher for Mayor Horace Darwin – voted down in a ratepayers’ referendum in 1898. From a small photo in the Cambridgeshire … More How a ratepayers’ rebellion finally sank John Belcher’s magnificent guildhall plan. 1913.
Cambridgeshire County Council sub-committee declines gift of a German field gun after WWI From the British Newspaper Archive. What to do with all that scrap metal. Members of a Cambridgeshire County Council committee turned down the opportunity to place a German field gun outside the old guildhall/Shire House in Market Square – a proposed gift … More “The field gun is too big – can we have a couple of trench mortars instead?”
The Cambridge District Scout Archive has a lovely article on former Mayor of Cambridge Cllr/Alderman Howard Mallett OBE <<– Click to read it. As the article shows, Howard Mallett was one of a group of Conservative councillors who campaigned successfully for new community facilities – his efforts being rewarded with a social centre built on … More The Cambridge District Scout Archive & Cllr Howard Mallett OBE
A much-needed online resource by the Cambridge Industrial Archaeology Society at the Cambridge Museum of Technology. Needs no further explanation from me, sit back and enjoy. See the links here. Support the Cambridge Museum of Technology – join their membership scheme here! Some other videos in a similar theme of industry & construction may also … More Cambridge University & Town Gas-Light Company Presentation: Dr Gordon Davies. 20 April 2020
Following my previous blogpost on the discovery of the political activities of Cambridge builder Reuben Slingsby, inevitable questions follow on the details. What things did he campaign on? When did he start campaigning, and for how long was he campaigning for? It turns out that he was active in local democracy and community action for … More Labour’s Reuben Slingsby’s 1893 election address to voters in St Matthew’s Ward
Two decades before the foundation of the modern Cambridge Labour Party, the voters of St Matthew’s Ward (east of East Road) found themselves with a Labour councillor for the first time in the history of Cambridge Borough Council. As with Florence Ada Keynes two decades later, Cllr Slingsby won his seat by default of being … More Cllr Reuben Slingsby – the first Labour councillor on Cambridge Borough Council – 1893.
