The talk today was a walk down Cherry Hinton Road. Mary Burgess brought the road to life starting at the old Ford garage top of the road off Hills Road meandering road a leisurely pace talking about the avenues and why there are some roads with trees and the history of these side roads, without wandering too far down them.
She told us about how much the road has changed and the various shops that lined the road and her memories of growing up down the road, from butchers, and groceries and bakers. We learnt how there were different butchers selling different meats. A world away from Tesco!
As we travelled further down the road, we saw the transition from the Victorian bikes to the hustle and bustle, okay, nose to tail cars, of today.
As we crossed the road at the top of Cherry Hinton Road we then headed back towards Hills Road, coming forward in time to the Second World War. This was an emotional journey for me, as my Nan lived off Cherry Hinton Road during the war years and had an Anderson Shelter; but most poignantly for me was the story of the house on the corner being bombed and the bath hanging out! Lo and behold, Mary had a picture of this house, and there it was, the bath. Precariously hanging from the upstairs bathroom. A solemn reminder that not even Cambridge escaped the War.
She wrapped up the talk by houses that had been rebuilt and why Cherry Hinton Road has different style buildings as some are much older than others as a result of expansion and the effects of the War.
The floor was then opened to questions, and an opportunity to by her books.
The talk was really interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed my journey down Cherry Hinton Road.
Post contributed by Di Symonds
