The Stourbridge Fair helped to bring prosperity to the city
of Cambridge for 800 years, in part aiding in the overcrowding of Central
Cambridge. As the city became more
overpopulated, areas were enclosed, railways were built and development
expanded outward. The area of Newmarket Road and River Lane was dominated by
the Town Gaslight Company, and the Cambridge Corporation sewage pumping
station, the chimney of which you can still see soaring high above the River
Cam. The surrounding area was generally focused upon industry, both small local
smithies and large brickworks companies, with domestic workers’ housing intermingled
between the industrial complexes.
Our excavation site rests on the corner of Newmarket Road
and River Lane. One of the earliest Ordnance Surveys we have of the area is the
1888 Town Plan. This plan seems to illustrate a row of small houses along River
Lane with an entrance to a central courtyard and another collection of houses
along Newmarket Road with an entrance off Newmarket Road into an internal
courtyard with a waterpump. The Abbey School and its play grounds resided along
the north-western edge of the site. The area farther north-west of the site is
the remaining Priory Land. This site remained widely unchanged until 1964 when
the last of the buildings were demolished to make way for a car park and
expansion of West’s Garage.
While 14.5 square meters may not seem like a lot of living
space in our modern age, this house was the common size in post-medieval
England; most likely being two stories tall. We can see on the 1888 Town Plan
that the majority of the housing in the immediate vicinity was of similar size,
and each building may have even housed more than one family at a time, which
was a common occurrence during the post-medieval period.
We’ll keep you updated on new discoveries each week, so make
sure to check back as we #DigDeeper.
Sources:
2014. Wests Garage
Site-Student Housing; Heritage Statement. Beacon Planning.
2017. The 800-year-old
story of Stourbridge Fair. University of Cambridge. http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/the-800-year-old-story-of-stourbridge-fair
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